A Facebook post was brought to my attention by a friend and i was asked to comment on it.
Here are some excerpts of the post:
Lust is not a demon.... There's nothing like the spirit of lust. Lust is not evil. Lust is the beauty of Sexually desiring your spouse. Just discipline yourself and lust only after your spouse. In fact, it is evil NOT to lust after your spouse. Hear me... Any marriage/relationship where there's no lust is already lost. Don't demonise an emotion just because you can't control it..... Lust is not a demon.... That's why even after several deliverance sessions, you still crush on someone.
Read the post here: https://www.facebook.com/100006215524692/posts/2217162775167552?sfns=mo
The following conversation ensued between the person that brought this post to my attention and I:
“My page on facebook is not just for me. I wanted to get critical responses on things I post. Especially the ones I share. I work with a few church guys on my page. They drop the corrective comments / measures as the crowd speak their minds. But the pentecostals okayed the post i shared on the lust subject. But what's your take on it... because I shared it too on my whatsapp group and people are talking....
My response
I give the author of the post the benefit of doubt because I think I understand what he is trying to say. And i agree with him to an extent, at times choice of words and clear distinction of terms might portray the wrong message.
He should be weary also that the danger of driving a point to an extreme is that, sometimes, it will come in direct conflict with the TRUTH and mislead people. Especially those who are not grounded in the word and when they don’t get the balance, it can be dangerous.
Some (definitely not the majority) of the Pentecostals might be okay with the statement because of the spirit of deception creeping into the body of Christ as well as the lack of the rightly divided word of truth in majority of the denominations.
We live in the age of deception, where people have itching ears to hear and accept what suits the desires of their flesh.
(PLEASE NOTE AM NOT SAYING THAT THE AUTHOR IS LIKE THIS AM SPEAKING GENERALLY, WE SHOULD BE WEARY AND ALERT TO DECEPTION).
Jesus, the Prophets, Paul and the Apostles warned us of deceivers and deception.
When you hear or read things like these, always check scriptures quoted to support such teachings and statement?
Never believe anything that is not rightly divided by two or more scriptures. I will give you in excess of 10 in this response - from the Law, Prophets, Christ and the Gospels.
Please note the words in CAPS! Please read them don’t glance through them.
by means of the HYPOCRISY of LIARS SEARED in their OWN CONSCIENCE as with a branding iron
But FALSE PROPHETS ALSO AROSE AMONG the PEOPLE, just as there will also be FALSE TEACHERS among you, who will SECRETLY INTRODUCE DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES, even denying the Master who bought them, BRINGING SWIFT DESTRUCTION UPON THEMSELVES. MANY WILL FOLLOW THEIR SENSUALITY, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
"How long? Is there anything in the HEARTS of the PROPHETS who prophesy FALSEHOOD, even these PROPHETS of the DECEPTION of their OWN HEART.
and from AMONG YOUR OWN SELVES MEN WILL ARISE, SPEAKING PERVERSE THINGS, to DRAW AWAY the disciples AFTER THEM
For such men are SLAVES, NOT of our LORD CHRIST but of their OWN APPETITES; and by their SMOOTH and FLATTERING SPEECH they DECEIVE the HEARTS of the UNSUSPECTING
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by EVERY WIND of DOCTRINE, by the TRICKERY of MEN, by CRAFTINESS in DECEITFUL SCHEMING
Now we have gotten out of the way, that men preach heresies just to support their lust (desires of the flesh) let’s tackle the statement head on.
Please read the following carefully
By saying LUST isn’t SIN! Is both correct and incorrect. I see comments of people that agree with him citing the dictionary definition of the word. They are towing the right path by doing that but instead of going to the dictionary first, we need to find out from the scripture how the word was used as. By checking the Aramaic Hebrew and Greek lexicons for the context in which the words were used in the bible.
The word, LUST, using King James Version (KJV) first appeared in:
Exodus 15:9 (KJV)
The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my LUST shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
The Word translated LUST here is nepes- used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental): — any appetite of a beast, body, desire, lust of man, mind, mortal one, person, pleasure....
Same word was used in this scripture too:
Psalms 78:18 (KJV)
And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their LUST.
Another word translated LUST is ṯa’ăwâ; a longing; by implication, a delight, a charm): — dainty, desire, exceedingly, greedily, lust(ing),
This word can be found in:
Psalms 78:30 (KJV)
They were not estranged from their LUST. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,
For those not familiar with this scripture, it is reference to the children of Israel in the wilderness when they murmured and demanded meat because they said they have had enough of manna. And the Psalm gives us a back story on why God killed them while the flesh was still in their mouth - THEIR LUST!
Psalms 78:31-32 (KJV)
The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel. For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
SO MY QUESTION IS WHY DID GOD KILL THEM WHEN THE MEAT WAS IN THEIR MOUTH AND NOT WHEN THEY LUSTETH AFTER THE MEAT?
The book of James paints the picture perfectly. Being TEMPTED is NOT THE POINT WHEN SIN IS COMMITTED, but ACTING on the TEMPTATION MAKES YOU A PERPETRATOR OF THE 'CRIME'!
James 1:13-16 (KJV)
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God CANNOT be TEMPTED WITH EVIL, NEITHER TEMPTETH HE ANY MAN:
But every man is tempted, when he is DRAWN AWAY of HIS OWN LUST, and ENTICED.
Then when LUST hath CONCEIVED, it BRINGETH FORTH SIN:
and SIN, when it is FINISHED, BRINGETH FORTH DEATH.
DO NOT ERR, my beloved brethren.
verse 16: GOD WILL NEVER TEMPT YOU, the bible is clear on that; SATAN IS THE TEMPTER.
EVERY HUMAN BEING THAT HAS FLESH HAS DESIRES OF THE FLESH. THIS IS NATURAL AND COMMON TO MAN.
GOD CONTACTS AND CONNECTS WITH YOU THROUGH THE HUMAN SPIRIT, SATAN AND DEMONS TRIES TO CONNECT WITH YOU THROUGH YOUR FLESH.
Why is Satan so concerned with your flesh?
Because the desires of the flesh are things we call SIN: things that when you act on, separates you from God. Here’s a list of some of them:
Galatians 5:19-21 (KJV)
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
If you desire (LUST) for any of these and DO THEM, THEN YOU HAVE SINNED.
The Greek work which was transla- ) as LUST in these scriptures in James is:
ἐπιθυμία epithymia; a longing (especially for what is forbidden): — concupiscence, desire, lust (after).
THE FLESH AND THE SPIRIT ARE IN CONSTANT CONFLICT.
Galatians 5:17 (KJV)
For the FLESH LUSTETH (ἐπιθυμία - epithymia) AGAINST THE FLESH: and these are CONTRARY (CONFLICT) the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Romans 8:5,7 (KJV)
For they that are after the FLESH DO MIND THE THINGS OF THE FLESH; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Because the CARNAL MIND (ruled by fleshy LUST) is ENMITY against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Back to the Book of James...
What Satan does is to make you LUST (desire) after one or more from the list in Galatians 5:19-21 - (YOUR OWN LUST).
At this point, it is not SIN yet! Remember we are human and it is natural to feel these fleshy things. But as believers we are supposed to be transformed by the renewal of our minds - Romans 12:2.
We should resist the temptation immediately! As there’s a Crown of Life that awaits us - James 1:12.
If we give in to the temptation and OUR LUST/s then we have SINNED.
When we ACT on IT, it brings separation from God (death).
James 1:15 (KJV)
Then when lust hath CONCEIVED, it BRINGETH FORTH SIN: and SIN, WHEN IT IS FINISHED, BRINGETH FORTH DEATH.
Jesus points out a case where brooding on the LUST is already sin and I will explain it is.
Matthew 5:28 (KJV)
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to LUST after her HATH COMMITTED ADULTERY with her already in his heart.
The primary sex organ is the mind, no one can have sexually gratification without your mind. That is why masturbation is a sin, because you are not really having sex with a man/woman; the mind was engaged in virtualising the act.
So in this case when you desire a man/woman (not your spouse) so much so that you can undress him/her in your mind and even mentally have sex with them. Or imagine you are having sex with them whilst making love with your spouse, them you have sinned without ’ACTING’ on the thought physically.
Then you have sinned!
Time to summarise this.
In as much as lust is temptation and doesn’t become sin until it is conceived it doesn’t make it adorable. Once it is directed at desires that are ungodly and unholy, we should not be ignorant of the sponsor - the enemy, Satan the devil and his cohorts.
We should embrace desires that line up with God’s and resist those that come from the enemy. Because the end of the lust is to separate you from God.
This is the balance we need, so we don’t embrace unholy and ungodly desire in the name that it is not sin.
💗
See you at the next one!
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