Purity in Singleness
By Paul J. Bucknell
The Power to Run
Why do I as a Christian still have those strong lustful desires at times?
- Lusts don't mean rejection.
- Has God totally rejected you?
- Why do I have strong lusts at times?
- Am I caught forever?
- Power Decision Chart (sample)
- Personal Testimony
- God's love is powerful
Why do Christians
still have lustful desires?
When God's people do not understand the teachings in the Word of God, they are immediately set to a disadvantage. This is one area of life that puzzles many Christians but shouldn't.
God has said that sinful desires will continue to be part of our fleshly nature. This will not disappear until we leave this earth. As Christians, our binding commitment to that old nature has ceased. We of course can let it come back but in fact we need just to reject it. In Romans 6-8 we see the struggle of sin between the godly apostle Paul and his sin nature. Paul's conclusion to a dialogue with himself in chapter 7 leads to this conclusion,
"Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7:24-25, NASB).
Our sinful nature is like a corpse that we carry around. We just need to continue to remember not to let it make itself dominate our minds (read further on in Romans 8). God has not rejected us simply because we have lustful desires. We wish we could separate ourselves from this fleshly self, but it will not happen until we physically die and are separated from it.
There are verses throughout the scriptures of the dangers of backsliding and leaving the Lord. Oftentimes, we have thought that there is no hope for those who have done evil after he has become a Christian. There is no doubt that a Christian can sin. King David serves as an example from the Old Testament on how God will treat those people who humble themselves after they have sinned. The unpardonable sin describes those people so hardened that they have totally lost their faith. They cannot return. The positive way to look at it is that as long as you are concerned about the effects of sin on your relationship with God, then you have hope to repent and turn to Him no matter how despicable acts you have committed in the past.
On the contrary, we find that at times Satan and his forces come along and introduce filthy thoughts in the minds of God's people. These thoughts are not even from our flesh. They are satanic. The way to detect their source is to see if they are: 1) sudden, 2) out of the blue (not connected with what one was doing, and 3) blatantly evil. The evil one wants to shake your confidence so that you will shift focus. Instead ask the Lord to protect you with the blood of Christ and recommit yourself to God and His ways alone. This should always work if you are a Christian. If they seem to come often, check and see if you have stepped out from some authority over your life and so make yourself more vulnerable.
God's grace is a present grace. This means that as long as you have today and are sensitive to Him, you can turn to Him and cry out for help. You will be surprised how quick the Lord can help you. The problem is that sometimes we can fool ourselves. We can say we don't want to do something but still do it. Think for a moment on what problems continue to be problems because of certain decisions you make. Are there people you shouldn't spend time with? Are there places you shouldn't go to? Make those decisions and you will see a change on your relationship with God. But if you do not make those decisions to change, then perhaps you are not really interested in living a pure life. Below is a sample chart that you can map out what is happening to your life because of certain decisions. On the right side note how you are encouraged to make new decisions. Click for the full page version of the Power Decision Chart.
OLD DECISION | CONSEQUENCE | NEW DECISION | Hope |
|---|---|---|---|
Go to ___ lounge | making wrong relationships | Join a small group | New good friends |
Driving to show off | Pick up girls, etc. | Sell fancy car | Find friends not by impressing them |
If you really want to be controlled by love rather than lusts, then why haven't you followed through on doing what is right? You need to recognize your wrong and cry out to God for a hatred of these things. You might have friendships to break up with and a lot of tempting and popular situations, but you must choose. Your choice in the end will affirm whether you really are a Christian. The consequences of these sins hint at worse things coming in the future. They are to warn us and encourage us to make those good decisions.
"For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God;
and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED,
WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? (1 Peter 4:17-18, NASB).
And again, more severely,
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment,
and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.
Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses
sides without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. (Hebrews 10:26-28, NASB).
PersonalTestimony
If we are sincere about knowing God's love, then we must be willing to put away our sins. I remember once when I had this kind of conflict. I desired God's will but kept falling due to my fulfilling of my fleshly desires. A great battle tore at my soul. But I was God's. My chief delight kept me fighting for moral purity. I could not put down my war axe until I had won the battle. I met Him many times in confession. I again and again repented. I did not let go. Nor did I minimize my sin. I sought out His ways more and more. I found Christ's blood so important. sEach of us can be an overcomer even though we have been living in defeat.