Lesson for April 24, 2024
Mental Attitude Sins
Lust
Lust is the overwhelming desire for something; a passionate desire; an illicit, uncontrolled, overwhelming desire which originates from the sin nature. The lust pattern of the sin nature includes many categories of sinfulness. When a believer gets their eyes off Jesus and ignores or neglects Bible doctrine, they are in danger of becoming lustful. This pattern is noted many times in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Paul mentioned common patterns of lust, along with other sinful thoughts, words, and acts in II Timothy 3:2-4,“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Pleasure lust is loving pleasure rather than loving God by putting pleasure above your relationship with God. When pleasure replaces time with God or involves sinful activity it becomes lust. Lust destroys the motivation of believers to fulfil the Protocol Plan of God. Pleasure lust is a distraction to the Christian way of life.
Anything that replaces your ongoing relationship with God is wrong and will eventually make you miserable.
All categories of lust in the life of a believer do not bring the happiness that is anticipated. Only life inside God’s power system brings the true, lasting happiness that we all seek. Happiness and contentment cannot originate from the fulfillment of the lust pattern of the sin nature. Happiness and contentment come from our relationship with God, the understanding of His grace provision, grace policies, the use of the Problem-Solving Devices, and staying in fellowship with God a maximum amount of time. Being content with what God provides us is the solution to pleasure lust taking control of our lives.
Power lust is a desire to have control over others and/or organizations. Seeking power as a believer ignores the power of God that resigns within you and replaces it with human power. Operating with human power will lead a believer into other categories of lust like crusader lust, social lust, approbation lust, popularity lust, and monetary lust.
Crusader lust seeks to dominate government entities, including political parties and results in both Christian and political activism, destroying the distinction between church and state. Attempting to change or fix the world system, which is controlled by Satan, is a waste of time and contrary to the will of God for believers. The purpose of the Church on earth is the invisible impact of spiritually maturing believers who fulfill the plan of God and sustain the client nation through their function of evangelism, spiritual growth from Bible teaching, being a testimony for Christ, and supporting missionary activity.
Social lust is a self-righteous believer who has become involved in the arrogance of legalism/religion and seeks to be the dominate Christian with the fellowship of a church or social club and control the social activities of others. This activity is often defined as “Christian fellowship,” but is not Christian fellowship as defined by the Word of God. True Christian fellowship s based on the like-mindedness of believers. Coming together in a social setting with other believers can be a source of enjoyment and encouragement if there is no competition for spiritual superiority.
Approval lust is the irrational desire for God’s or others’ approval of you or your lifestyle. These human viewpoint systems of approval include giving money, living a moral life, being active in a church, “putting on airs of holiness,” “mutual admiration societies,” etc. The Bible is clear that we please God by faith – believing the truth of the Word of God and applying it to our lives. Any other system of “approval” is human viewpoint and contrary to the teaching of God’s Word.
Money lust is putting the desire for wealth above God and the spiritual life. It expresses itself in all the categories of evil. There is nothing wrong with having and acquiring money; that is not evil or sinful.God does bless some people with money and blesses other people in other ways. We must distinguish between the blessing of God in monetary success and the acquiring of money apart from any divine blessing. One’s attitude toward money very clearly defines one’s overall philosophy of life or one’s spiritual condition or lack of spiritual life. I Timothy 6:10, “For the love for money is the root of all kinds of evil, and some by lusting for it have wandered away from doctrine and stabbed themselves with many griefs [heartaches].”
The love of money includes lust for power, material wealth, success, and status. These desires are described as injurious and harmful (wandered away and stabbed themselves) because lust for these things is not compatible with the will of God for believers. When doctrine is rejected, material wealth becomes a trap of self-induced misery because this believer is never satisfied with what they accumulate.
When Bible doctrine and spiritual growth are a believer’s desire, they will develop the capacity to receive greater blessings from God. These blessings may or may not include material wealth and success. Either way, this believer will be content because of the knowledge and application of Bible doctrine, and they will enjoy spiritual prosperity.
A believer’s objective in life should be to glorify God. When God is not being glorified in the life of believers, they are never satisfied or happy, but become miserable persons with or without wealth, miserable persons with or without success, miserable persons with or without status symbols, and nothing ever makes them happy.
Money itself is not evil. We need money to provide for ourselves, our families, and the work of God. It is only when accumulating money becomes number one priority to the exclusion of God and Bible doctrine does it become evil. And it also brings self-induced misery to the one who gets caught up in the pursuit of it. It is a very definite fact that love for money can distract people from Bible doctrine. Hebrews 13:5, “Let your life be free from the love for money and be content with what you have. For He has said, `I will never leave you nor will I ever forsake you.’”