The Bible has a great deal to say about the idea of lust. It appears multiple times in scripture, and we are wanted countless times to avoid it. Lust goes beyond the sexual, though that is the realm where it likely has the most power.
If you are at war with lust – which as men with free circulating testosterone is almost certainly the case – then these passages of scripture may help you in your war. Remember that when Christ faces temptation from the devil in Matthew 4, He responds to temptation with the words of scripture – because those words are weapons.
1 John 2:16: “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.”
The three types of lust are identified here. We lust with our eyes after things we want, after things that are beautiful. This lust goes hand in hand with the lust of the flesh, where our body literally craves something powerfully. Maybe this is a natural desire like sex, but because it is challenged in the wrong direction towards women who are not our wives, it becomes a sin and a snare. Then the pride of life is a lust for things of this world that make us feel powerful, and reduce our trust in God. We can earn things of this world, but when they become idols and the tools by which we elevate ourselves in the minds of other men, this becomes a massive problem.
Matthew 5:28: “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Christ addresses adultery at its root. Christ understands our psychology, that whatever we think about we eventually do. Thoughts become things. God in the flesh knew this better than anyone. So He gives us this instruction to correct the thought, so we never have to suffer the consequence of the “thing”.
Christ is not making the command more difficult, He is making our lives easier by instructing us to pull up the sin at the root so we don’t have to worry about what happens when it becomes a full-grown tree.
Galatians 5:16: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Spiritual matters are our primary concern while we live this life. We do not always act this way, We forget the importance of God and our role as Christians and as men. But the antidote for this is to saturate the mind in spiritual matters. That is what is meant by the word “Spirit” here. We are to be involved with and fully saturated in spiritual matters of life so that we do not idolize and worship the physical.
James 1:14: “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”
James outlines a critical component of temptation. We learn here that much of our temptation comes from our own mind. The devil doesn’t even have to spend time tempting us, we are drawn away by our own thoughts. This is another reason to control our thoughts at the root before we allow ourselves to be the passive income of the devil.
Colossians 3:5: “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
The root of several of these sins is sexual in nature. The first three and arguably four items on this list revolve around the lusts of the flesh that we are commanded to control. Not only are we to control them, but we are to put them to death. We are to enact spiritual violence on our sin – kill it. Kill the old way of living. Literally “make dead” is what the original language says in this scripture. It’s an admonition for spiritual violence because that is what is required to purge sin.
2 Timothy 2:22: “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
Why are lusts identified as youthful? Ask any older man and you’ll quickly find out that the struggle with lust does not end with age. It still requires that you go to war.
But it seems that there are certain things that are more tempting to different age groups. Just because youthful lusts are identified here does not mean there is no such thing as lust for older people [remember not all lust is sexual]. And recall that in this instance Paul is writing to Timothy who is a young man at the time – and as such he is still warring with the sins that young men war with.
1 Corinthians 10:6: “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.”
Paul is writing about the Old Testament scripture. We learn from the examples of the OT not to chase the same things or categories of things that the Israelites chased after. We saw how it turned out for them, and we have a responsibility to avoid that sin for ourselves.
1 Thessalonians 4:5: “Not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God.”
There is a separation between people who know God and people who do not know God. One of the key differences involves lustful action. There should be a difference between Christians and the godless people of the world. But how often do we act as if there were no difference at all?
1 Peter 2:11: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”
This is one of my favorite passages because it outlines the critical role of spiritual warfare and the psychomachy of the human experience. You won’t always want to serve God with your whole being. Your mind and spirit want to serve God but your flesh has become your enemy.
It is acceptable to have this civil war inside yourself. You will engage in it till the day you die, with victory some days and defeat other ways. But you must always get back up and reengage the enemy.
2 Peter 2:14: “Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.”
An incredible passage from Peter indicates that some people have trained their eyes on ungodly practices. Here he talks about adultery. Because of the focus of their eyes, they cannot cease from sin. Where the eyes go the body follows. They are trained in sinful behavior. This is not the way we are to be.
Proverbs 6:25: “Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids.”
A very practical proverb written about an adulterous woman: adultery sounds like a great idea when our mind and thoughts are concentrated on the sex act itself. But what happens after the orgasm? We don’t think about that moment.
When the dust settles and the rational mind returns to the man who just had an affair – what is left of that soul? What guilt and sadness rest in the soul of that man? Perhaps none, if he has so seared his conscience. But perhaps there is much guilt and shame because this man did not think far in advance. He did not foresee evil and correct his actions. Led by his libido, he made a decision he would live with forever.
Don’t even fall into the trap of these women. And there are plenty of them in the world.
Romans 6:12: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”
We commit sins as human beings. But we must immediately purge that sin from our lives as it enters. Lust wants you to do what it says, but you have to resist it. Go to war with it. Purge it.
Titus 2:12: “teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”
The wrong way to live is to allow worldly lusts into our minds and lives. But instead, we are to deny them. There is a denial, which means that lust and sin are making a request of us and we have to turn it down. This is demanding. The Christian lifestyle is demanding. But it can be done. Deny ungodliness.
2 Samuel 11:2: “Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.”
This is the key moment at which David fell. What he saw with his eyes led to a new picture that he saw with his mind. And marinading on that mental picture he would alter inquire about Bathsheba and take her as his own.
It started with a look.
1 Timothy 6:9: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.”
This is an example of a non-sexual lust. At least not directly sexual. Who doesn’t want more money and possessions in their lives? It becomes difficult to have those things while serving God first and foremost. It can be done, as evidenced by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Job – but the spiritual life must be correct first and foremost.
Genesis 3:6: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.”
All three lusts are mentioned in this verse. It looked good – the lust of the eyes. It would please the flesh – the lust of the flesh. And it would make one wise – the pride of life. These things together made this the trifecta of temptation. Most sin falls into one or all of these three categories. And we have to resist all three.
Psalm 81:12: “So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.”
Ephesians 4:19: “Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
At a certain point of living in the flesh and in lust, we can become past feelings. That is a state of affairs. To be so far beyond feeling that we give ourselves completely over to the lusts of the world. It happens frequently – so we have to be ready for it and fight against it to prevent it from ever getting to that point.
Job 31:1: “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?”
This is one of the key texts of the Old Testament. And what a statement reflecting the character of Job. Who would do this today? A promise with the eyes, a covenant with them. This is what we must all do as men.
2 Corinthians 7:1: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Filthiness of the flesh frequently refers to sexual sin in the Bible. It’s one of the things we are repeatedly told to cleanse ourselves of. This is a difficult cleansing and it has been so for all time. But it is possible.
Plant these verses deeply in your mind and use them for war against lust.
