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What Lust Does
This page is part of our study on lust
Lust harms our body, mind and spirit. Specifically,
lust:
Leads us to dishonor our bodies (which are made in
God's image): (Romans 1:24) Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their
hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them.
- Burns like an increasing fire:
(Isaiah 57:5 NIV)
You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your
children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags.
Consumes God's blessings in our lives: (Job
31:12) It is a fire that burns to Destruction; it
would have uprooted my harvest.
- Enslaves us to sin: (Romans 6:12) Therefore do
not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts
Angers and grieves God: (Ephesians 2:3) Among
them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the
flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (see also Ezekiel
6:9 , 1
Thessalonians 4:4-6)
Separates us from God: (Ephesians 4:18 NIV) They
are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the
ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
- Corrupts us by deceit:
(Ephesians 4:22)
that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is
being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit (see also Titus 3:3 & 2 Peter
1:4)
Causes ruin and destruction: (1 Timothy 6:9) But
those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful
desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
Drains our vitality/energy for life: (Proverbs 6:26
NKJV) For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; And
an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
- Wars against our souls:
(1 Peter 2:11 NKJV)
Living before the world beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from
fleshly lusts which war against the soul
Causes self-hatred: (Ezekiel 6:9 NIV) They will
loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices.
Fills the body with darkness: (Matthew 6:22-23 NKJV)
The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be
full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of
darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Blocks God's love from working through us: (1 John
2:15-17 NKJV) "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves
the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but
is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the
will of God abides forever"
Destroys our sensitivity to God: (Ephesians
4:19 NIV) Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality
so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
Hardens our spiritual heart: (Ephesians
4:18 NIV) They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God
because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
Bible passages concerning lust
Proverbs 6:23-26 NKJV
For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction
are the way of life, To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a
seductress. Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her
eyelids. For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress
will prey upon his precious life.
Flattery can lead to lust in the heart
Beware of enticement through the eyes
Lust opens door for consumption of one’s life by evil
Job 31:1-12 NIV
I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. For what is man's lot from
God above, his heritage from the Almighty on high? Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster
for those who do wrong? Does he not see my ways and count my every step? "If I have
walked in falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit-- let God weigh me in honest
scales and he will know that I am blameless--if my steps have turned from the path, if
my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled, then may others
eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted. "If my heart has been enticed
by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door, then may my wife grind another
man's grain, and may other men sleep with her. For that would have been shameful, a sin to
be judged. It is a fire that burns to Destruction; it would have uprooted my harvest.
- It is shameful and sinful to allow the heart to be led with
the eyes into lust
- It is shameful and sinful to entice another person to sin
- Lust will destroy the harvest of good things that a righteous
man has
Ephesians 4:18-20 NIV
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the
ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all
sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind
of impurity, with a continual lust for more. You, however, did not come to know Christ
that way.
- Lust hardens out spiritual heart, producing ignorance and
separation from the life God has for us
- Lust destroys our sensitivity to God, plunging us into
sensuality of every kind of impurity
- Lust is never satisfied. It continually lusts for more
Proverbs 5:3-5 NKJV
For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; But in
the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death,
Her steps lay hold of hell.
- Feeding lust is like eating rat poison wrapped in chocolate.
It tastes good, but kills you.
- You find out after feeding lust that you believed a lie and
forfeited the good things of God for your own destruction. It gives bitterness a foothold
in your life.
Bible stories dealing with lust:
Samson (Judges
13-16)
David and Bathsheba (2
Samuel 11-12)
Solomon (1
Kings 11)
Amnon and Tamar (2
Samuel 13)
The wayward woman (Proverbs
6:24-26 NIV)
Potiphar’s wife and Joseph (Genesis
39:6-13)
The Mob that started a war (Judges
19) (Levite and harlot concubine)
Sodom’s perverted mob at Lot’s house (Genesis
19:4-11)
The perverted Romans (Romans
1:20-32 NIV)
The "Lust Sisters" – Oholah and Oholibah (Ezekiel
23)
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