Moving from Lust to Purity

This is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.
–1 Thessalonians 4:3

Years ago, a commercial for a leather company featured a beautiful businesswoman walking into a hotel’s sitting area. She takes off her leather jacket and sits, pulling out some papers to review. A handsome man watches her. The woman notices the attention, and the man is sure she gives him the look. So he sets his room key on the table in front of her–“808” it says in large numbers–and walks away. When she finishes her work, she thinks for a moment, holding the key, then she sees a balding, middle-aged man at the bar. On her way out, she slides the key to him. The commercial ends with the two men in the elevator. As the doors close, the younger man does a double take as he realizes the balding man has his room key.

It was a funny commercial, but the truth is, there’s nothing funny about lust. During my years as a pastor, I’ve seen lust destroy the lives of individuals, families, and entire churches. Lust also destroys the witness of the church–every few months, it seems another pastor or theologian is in the news for sexual sin.

It may surprise you to learn that the Greek word translated as “lust” in the Bible (epithumeo) is not always negative. For example, in 1 Timothy 3:1, Paul used epithumeo to describe the desire to be a pastor. And in Luke 22:15, Jesus said He “earnestly desired” (epithumeo) to eat the Passover meal with His disciples.

Craving or longing for something is not wrong unless it’s outside of God’s prescribed boundaries. God created sex. The desire for sex is not wrong unless it’s directed outside of God’s design. In Matthew 19:4–6, Jesus reiterated God’s plan for sex: one man with one woman in a lifelong relationship called marriage. Any sexual activity outside of this plan misses the mark. So we can define lust as the insatiable desire for sexual activity that is outside of God’s will.

Have you ever desired something or someone you knew was outside of God’s will for you? Disordered desires fall short of what God wants for us and can lead us further away from God than we ever thought we’d go. This week, we’re going to talk about gaining victory over lust before lust conquers us and ruins our witness for Christ.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Moving from Lust to Purity,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2021.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.