Application

Is Lust by itself Sin?

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;” (James 1:2) How often do we go around beating ourselves up because we have some lustful desire in our heart? If you are carrying around this burden I pray that understanding lust by itself is not sin will relieve your mind of this burden. Only when you join your evil desire with action are you guilty of sin. Do as James says and rejoice when you fall into the various temptations you face in life. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” (James 1:12)

“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:3-4) In many ways our lives would be so much easier if we didn’t have to face the daily onslaught of lustful thoughts. James tells us to rejoice when we face the various temptations of life, and in the next two verses he tells us why: we develop patience when we successfully resist temptation. But patience goes on to work something else within us: perfection (completeness). Resisting temptation is required for one to have patience, and patience is required for one to be perfect and entire. God wants us to be perfect (that is, complete), so He will not remove that which is required for us to become perfect. However, He will not allow us to be tempted beyond that we are able to bear. He provides a way of escape so we can successfully bear the temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) It’s not uncommon to hear people ask, “Could Jesus have sinned?” Rather than asked as a question you may have heard someone declare, “It was impossible for Jesus to sin.” By applying what you now understand about the force of sin and the act of sin you can answer this question. The writer of Hebrews states Jesus was tempted in all points as we are. Where does temptation come from? Our own lust. Where does lust come from? The force of sin. When is the act of sin conceived? When lust is acted upon. It was entirely possible for Jesus to commit the act of sin during His life on earth. He was tempted, which means He must have had lust. Since He must have had lust, the force of sin must have been working within Him. But just think about the words of the writer in this verse: He was tempted in all points as we are. Each of us has our own set of evil desires. I have mine, you have yours. Some may be the same. Others will be mine but not yours and still others will be yours but not mine. Jesus had them all! The force of sin was “working overtime” in Jesus, doing all it could to entice Him into committing the act of sin. But Satan’s General failed. Jesus was tempted in all points as we are, but he never acted on the lust the force of sin sent His way. Just imagine what His life must have been like. It’s hard enough to keep from committing sin with the limited set of evil desires we have. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for our Lord as Satan’s General bombarded Him with every lust experienced by man. Knowing this, consider what Hebrews 4:16 means to each of us: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus understands what each of us is going through. He’s been through it Himself. He knows more about your individual struggles than another human being will ever know. Is He there to help you during the struggles in your life?

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 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 5:27-28) “What you’re saying about the act of sin can’t be right! Jesus said that one can commit adultery with a woman in his heart. Where’s the action there?” That’s a good question. Let’s look at these two verses and see if action is involved. First, is adultery a sin? Yes, it is. Next, is the usual physical act between two people not married to each other involved in these verses? No, it isn’t. Well, if Jesus isn’t speaking of the usual act and James is right that sin requires lust be joined with action to conceive sin, what is the action in Matthew 5:28? Here are Jesus’ words again: “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” I emphasized “looketh”, because that is the action in verse 28. As we learned earlier in this section, lust by itself is not sin. You may have the lustful desire for a woman, but if it’s never joined with the act of looking you have not committed sin! But there’s also a purpose for looking in verse 28. “Looketh on a woman to lust after her”. For adultery in the heart to be committed one must look upon a woman (not his wife, by the way) with the purpose of satisfying sexual desire. As a physician I use my profession as an example to prove this point. Sometimes I’m required to look at parts of a woman’s body that are normally covered. If my purpose is to look for evidence of disease, have I committed sin? No. Let’s say I go home from work and watch a pornographic movie. The same parts are exposed, but what’s my purpose now? To satisfy lust. Am I guilty of sin? Yes! Looking upon a woman not my wife for the purpose of satisfying lust brings together both things that are required for me to commit the act of sin.

It’s so very important for women and men to behave modestly (in action and in dress) when around members of the opposite gender. God has given us the desire and the means to satisfy the desire in accordance with His will. Satan’s evil purpose is to deceive us into satisfying our desire in ways contrary to the will of God. To behave immodestly places those you meet at risk of committing sin, and also places your own soul at risk for being guilty of leading another into sin. Committing adultery in the heart requires action, but not the usual physical act we think of as adultery.

“For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” (Romans 7:9) After this study we should all be very familiar with this verse. Notice what Paul says: He was alive without the law once. He’s not speaking of someone else, he’s speaking of himself. But there was never a time in Paul’s life when he didn’t live under some law of God. He either lived under the law of Moses or the law of Christ. What did Paul mean when he said that at one time he was alive without the law? This was the period of time during Paul’s infancy and childhood when he couldn’t understand the commandments of God! Earlier in Romans Paul said this: “For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” (Romans 5:13) God does not hold us accountable for something we cannot understand. For example, is it ever not wrong to lie? No, it’s always wrong. Is an infant held accountable when he tells a lie? No, he’s not. Romans 5:13 tells us why: God doesn’t hold one accountable who does something wrong, but could not understand His commandment. When the child is old enough to understand lying is wrong but tells a lie anyway, he is now held accountable. Infants do things against the commandments of God, but He doesn’t hold them accountable.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15-16) Jesus speaks these words as He’s about to return to His heavenly Father. I believe we’d all recognize these as being commandments of the Lord, and not hard to understand. There is a consequence for disobeying this commandment. One must believe and be baptized to be saved. If I don’t believe or I am not baptized I cannot be saved, making eternal condemnation the consequence for disobeying this commandment. But what do we hear so often in the religious world today? Baptism is a sign of salvation, not a requirement for salvation. Such a claim puts salvation before baptism, thereby changing the consequence of disobedience! Jesus said I cannot be saved unless I believe and am baptized. Preachers today say I’m saved before I’m baptized, and that baptism just shows I’m saved. Remember, changing the consequence of disobedience to God’s commands is one of Satan’s deceptive tactics. One who changes the consequence of disobedience is doing what Satan does, thereby identifying himself as a minister of Satan masquerading as a minister of righteousness. When a consequence of disobedience is changed, what generally accompanies it? An explanation (Satan’s third deceptive tactic). In preparation for this study I went to the internet to read what’s being taught concerning baptism. Here are just a few examples. After a several page explanation, CARM concludes “Baptism is not necessary for salvation. It is the initiatory sign and seal into the covenant of grace.” After an equally long explanation, E. Calvin Beisner states, “It has been shown that there is no text in the Scripture which proves the necessity of baptism for salvation.” As a third example, “All About God” gives their explanation and claims, “Is baptism necessary for salvation? If the question is concerning water baptism, the answer is no. We are not saved by ritual or works but by ‘grace through faith’”. These are ministers of Satan masquerading as ministers of righteousness, using the deceptive tactics their master used in the Garden of Eden.

Baptism is not the only commandment of God that is changed by Satan’s ministers. Be wary whenever you hear a preacher say something that appears to contradict the plain teachings of the scriptures. In my mind, bells and whistles blow and red flags fly when I hear an explanation. Many explanations are good and very useful in helping us understand the word of God. But, explanations can also be very bad when spoken by one who is not a true minister of righteousness.