12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. –James 1:12-15 (KJV)
In our language today lust is almost exclusively used to mean sexual desire. However, the true definition of lust is an intense desire for something. And, we all have many different types of desires, some good, some bad; they are not all focused on sex. In the original Greek text, the word Epithumia is used and its translation can either be desire or lust. To lust/desire for something is to seek it with a passion and yielding yourself to it; this opens the door for you to sin as you are yielding to yourself. It is vitally important, that we commit ourselves to God; yield to God, not ourselves. This is noted in the warning/teaching Jesus gave us when he said:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. — Matthew 5:28 (KJV)
When you entertain your own desires, you have effectively pushed out God.
People don’t want to talk about or even mention the word sin. They smirk, roll their eyes and think you’re a Bible basher just for saying the word, but therein lies a problem in itself. Not wanting to know, or more specifically shunning what sin is, is the first step in being deceived (lying). It is your pride and ego that makes you do that and that pride makes you a prime candidate to fall when temptation comes. We talked about lying to yourself back in Post #6 – Be Honest.
Now, to have a moment of desire or a simple thought about something is not sin! Many people are tormented by this and even think they need to repent, because they had a bad thought. It is the entertaining and welcoming of the desire or thought (aka lusting) that leads to sin, as is noted in verses 14 and 15; notice how sin came in later. This is how many people live their lives, doing whatever they desire without restraint; if it’s pleasurable, they welcome it, entertain it, and do it. They spurn God’s will and justify their actions with prideful thoughts: “it’s my life” and “don’t tell me what to do”. And, let’s be direct and open, there is pleasure in sin (totally self-gratifying), that’s why people do it, but there is a price… God has rules over what we can and cannot do: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:20 KJV). You may not believe that, but after you die, you will wish you had heeded the warning.
Also, serving God is more pleasurable than sin when you yield to Him and stop being bull headed. I don’t have a worst day being saved, because every day gets better living WITH God. So, every day with God has been better and better than my best day in sin: this is manifested with the fruits of The Spirit.
This is not a relatively long post this week, but the message is vitally important. Make sure you study and understand these passages; ask The Spirit for understanding. They are key to understanding the origin and the driver of sin.
If you are not saved/redeemed please do so today.
Come to God open, empty and without statements.
Ask him to be real to you and believe in Him.
Humble yourself before Him, confess who you are, and tell Him that you are sorry for your sins.
Ask Him to forgive you and to come into your life and start a personal relationship.
Believe this and be born again!
May God bless and keep all who read this.
May God bless and keep all brothers and sisters, new and old in the faith, in his name.
With his love and mine,
Chrom