In one movie some shipwrecked men are left drifting aimlessly on the ocean in a lifeboat. As the days pass under the scorching sun, their rations of food and fresh water give out. The men grow deliriously thirsty. One night while the others are asleep, one man ignores all the previous warnings and gulps down some salt water. He quickly dies. Ocean water contains seven times more salt than the human body can safely ingest. Drinking it, a person dehydrates because the kidneys demand extra water to flush out the overload of salt. The more salt water someone drinks, the thirstier he gets. He actually dies of thirst.
When we lust, we become like this man. We thirst desperately for something that looks like what we want. We don’t realize, however, that it’s precisely the opposite of what we really need. In fact, it can kill us!
As red-blooded, healthy Americans, we have that same savage struggle with lust. Non-Christians and Christians alike wrestle with it and its persistence in our lives. Some think that getting married will cause temptation to flee. It doesn’t. Others have tried isolating themselves, but sensual temptation goes with them, fighting and clawing for attention and gratification. Not even being called into the ministry to do the Lord’s work helps! Temptation is there, relentlessly pleading for satisfaction.
So how do we cope with moral temptation? How do we say no when lust screams yes?
Well, the Bible doesn’t dodge tough issues. It offers us plain and achievable counsel that works! It promises hope, power, and assurance for those who are tired of losing the battle and living with guilt. Lust is never very far away. And just when you least expect it, there it is again!
Temptations come packaged in various shapes, sizes, and colors, but most of them fall into one of three categories: 1. Material Temptation - this is the lust for things – things that may be as large as a house or as small as a ring; as snazzy as a new car or as dull and dusty as a 200 year old dresser. 2. Personal Temptation - this is lust for status – special recognition. The status of fame, fortune, power, or authority. Having a title that makes heads turn, like "top executive" or "president" or "executive director" or even "doctor." 3. Sensual Temptation – this is lust for another person – the desire to have and enjoy the body of another, even though we know such pleasure is illegal and immoral. Today we’re going to limit our focus on lust on this third category. And even though we’ll do that, don’t think for a minute that this one area is all there is to temptation to lust. Sensuality is a large part of the battle, but it is by no means the whole story of the conflict within.
Let’s plunge into the life of someone who faced it head-on. His name is Joseph. His story’s told in Genesis chapters 37 through 50. Turn with me to Genesis 39 beginning with verse 1, when lust paid the man an unexpected and unforgettable visit. Joseph became a trusted slave of a high-ranking Egyptian official named Potiphar. Joseph, a handsome young Hebrew, earlier was sold off into slavery by his brothers who hated and rejected him. Although Joseph was a man of high principles and true godliness, he was nothing more than just a common slave. Follow along as I read: "Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome."
Potiphar had a very responsible position. As "captain of the bodyguard," he was in charge of an elite group of men who surrounded Pharoah and other officials with protection. You could say he was like the director of the FBI and Secret Service combined. He was a respected, busy, well-paid officer. With a discerning eye, he bought Joseph off the slave market and saw in this young man the marks of maturity and responsibility. As time passed, Joseph was promoted to the very important position of "overseer" – in other words, put in charge of all that Potiphar owned.
A couple of things stand out here: 1. The Lord was with Joseph. He was empowered by God. Whatever Joseph was given to do got done and was done well. 2. Because of Joseph the Lord prospered Potiphar. The Bible says: "...the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had..." The promotions were well-deserved. Finally, the top spot was given to Joseph – house steward – Potiphar’s personal and trusted confidant. He was the reason Potiphar had no worries. But keep in mind that these series of promotions also made Joseph more and more vulnerable. With success comes greater privileges and privacy. F.B. Meyer once wrote: "We may expect temptation in days of prosperity and ease rather than in those of privation and toil. Not on the glacier slopes of the Alps, but in the sunny places...not where men frown, but where they smile sweet exquisite smiles of flattery – it is there, it is there, that the temptress lies in wait! Beware! If you go armed anywhere, you must above all, go armed there!"
Joseph was a "sitting duck" for the appealing and flattering lure of lust. And maybe it’s because of this that the section we looked at ends with the words: Now Joseph was well-built and handsome." Not that there’s anything wrong with a man being handsome and well-built. It’s like being wealthy – not necessarily wrong, it just intensifies the battle, because there will always be others who notice and drop the bait of lust – which is precisely what happened to Joseph. Verse 7 reads: "...and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" Now that’s what you could call the direct approach! The Hebrew says the woman "lifted up her eyes," which conveys the idea of paying close attention to him. She’d been watching Joseph, imagining how enjoyable it would be to have him hold her and make love to her. With time on her hands, Mrs. Potiphar – a desperate housewife -- allowed lust to dominate her mind. She put the moves on this handsome, muscular young man and fully expected him to melt into her arms with passion.
Egyptologists and archaeologists alike verify that ancient Egyptian women were among the first to consider themselves fully liberated. And that probably explains her bold and shameless proposition. Joseph’s response must have shocked her: (verses 8 & 9) "But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
No way would he give in! How could he? But then again, how could he not? She was available! Secrecy could be guaranteed! He was unmarried and certainly a man with a strong sexual drive. How could he reject her? Look closely at the verse we just read:
1. He rejected her on the basis of reason. How foolish to break the trust he had been building for years! 2. He rejected on the basis of conscience as well. It was unthinkable that he could violate the name of God by yielding to her advances.
Do you think she gave up? Not on your life! The next verse says that she poured it on
"day after day." And it also tells us that he kept on refusing her persistent appeals. It even says that he stopped being with her – he stayed away! We admire the man. He was so determined not to yield that he took practical steps to keep lust at arms length. Smart move!
Anyone who’s played with lust can tell you that it plays for keeps. Like fire, it’ll finally burn you. German Lutheran pastor, D. Bonhoeffer tells us why: "In our members there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power desire seizes mastery over the flesh. All at once a secret, smoldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames. It makes no difference whether it is sexual desire, or ambition, or vanity, or desire for revenge, or love for fame and power, or greed for money, or finally, that strange desire for the beauty of the world, of nature. Joy in God is...extinguished in us and we seek all our joy in the creature. At this moment God is quite unreal to us, He loses all reality, and only desire for the creature is real; the only reality is the devil. Satan does not fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God....The lust thus aroused envelops the mind and will of man in deepest darkness. The powers of clear discrimination and of decision are taken from us...It is here that everything within me rises up against the Word of God."
Joseph was smart enough to realize that his "slumbering inclination" would become a sudden and fierce savage – demanding gratification if he listened to her offers. He would simply "forget God" for awhile and enjoy! No – he stood his ground! Still she didn’t quit. Let’s read on: (Verses 11-12) "One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house."
The Hebrew says he left her and fled "to the street." I mean, he split! He had tried to reason with her, and she ignored his rationale. He had tried to avoid her and spurn her advances, and she refused to honor his determination to remain pure. Now the only thing left to do was run. Literally, he ran! You may be surprised to know that every time the subject of sensual lust comes up in the NT, there is one invariable command – RUN! We’re told to get out, to flee, to run for our lives. It’s impossible to yield to temptation while running in the opposite direction.
Keep in mind, dear friends, that You Can’t Reform Your Lust. Sometime people think that being a follower of Christ means the lust problem is solved. It’s as though they think Jesus waved some sort of magic wand over them and-presto!--their sinful nature was eliminated. Their lust was gone. Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 7:10. He said, "The very command that was supposed to guide me into life was cleverly used to trip me up, throwing me headlong." As sinful human beings, our lustful appetites are so evil, they’ll use God’s good commands to tempt us. Like a stick stirring up dirt that has settled to the bottom of a jar of water, so God’s law excites our lust. Maybe that’s why forbidden things are more exciting. Women and men who are off-limits take on a greater appeal. God says don’t and our lust says do. God says do and our lust says don’t. Trying to reform our lust is like trying to make a dog into a person.
I heard a story about a family that had a 13 year-old cocker spaniel named Pumpkin. Over those years they taught Pumpkin all kinds of tricks. She obeyed the common commands like sit, lie down, and roll over. They trained her to jump through a hoop, close a door, sit on her hind legs, and fall over as though dead when she was shot with an imaginary gun. Yet in spite of all of the training, they couldn’t keep Pumpkin from acting like a dog. She always did doggy things. She ate things people tried not to step in. She sniffed other dogs in places only dogs sniff. She did her business in public. No matter how well they trained Pumpkin, she was still a dog. In the same way, our sinful propensity doesn’t get reformed when we walk through the church door. It doesn’t change when you come to faith in Christ. You can go to church, read your Bible, pray daily, and even be a leader in a ministry but your sinful nature is still there! Paul said, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature" (Romans 7:18). When we fall under the domination of our sinful nature, we’re capable of doing anything evil, whether we’re believers or not. When controlled by our lust, we can no more do good than a dog can talk.
But God does provide us with the spiritual resources we need in order to fight temptation and to win the battle over our sinful nature. 1. Treasure God’s Word in your heart. Remember the familiar account when the devil tempted Christ? He launched a full-scale attack on the Son of God. But Jesus never yielded. Why? What was it that gave Him such inner strength? When you read the first eleven verses of Matthew 4, you’ll hear yourself saying the same words three times: "It is written...." "It is written...." "It is written...." Jesus used the Word of God, which he quoted aloud from memory. He picked up the sword of the Spirit in the face of the tempter. After Jesus quoted Scripture the third time, "the devil left Him." If you want to stand strong against the magnetic, powerful lure of lust, quote aloud the Word of God. The psalmist said it this way: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."
2. Remember that temptation is an inside job! James, practical Christian that he is, spells out what happens when we yield to temptation. "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." As we think over those descriptive words, three facts emerge: A. Temptation is inevitable. It says "when tempted". No way can we ever find a place that will secure us from all temptations. Not even the monk in the remotest monastery is safe! He may think he’s protected, but his mind is there, ready to paint the most colorful, sensual, mental pictures imaginable.
B. Temptation is never prompted by God. God is infinitely pure –totally separate from sin. The next time you want to implicate God in our battle with lust, don’t waste your time. You’ve been "drawn away" and "enticed" by your own lust. It’s always an "inside job!" You alone are responsible. C. Lust always follows the same process. The bait is dropped. Your inner desire is attracted to the bait. As you yield and bite, actual sin occurs. And then tragic consequences are set in motion. Like the hooked fish, we end up fried! I think it’s extremely significant that the Greek term translated "entice" in verse 14 is a fishing term. It means "to lure by a bait." In order to attract the fish, the right lure is needed – with just the right eye-catching color or shape or sparkle. And it has to be handled just the right way for the fish to be "lured" out of his safe hiding place.
And so it is in life. Our enemy, crafty and clever and experienced as he is, knows which lure best attracts each one of us. Our inner "itch" longs to be satisfied by that particular outer "scratch." And unless we draw upon the all-conquering power of Jesus Christ, we’ll bite the bait, and suffer the consequences.
Finally, 3. Remember that God is there with you through it all! The apostle Paul gives us hope in this verse of Scripture. "But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it." A close look at these words tells us something we tend to forget when we’re tempted: God is there through it all! He’s faithful! We may feel alone, but we’re not alone. He places definite limitations on the attack, not allowing the magnet to be stronger than we can bear. And He also promised to provide "a way of escape" so that we aren’t totally surrounded and consumed by temptation. Left to ourselves, abandoned and forgotten by God, we’d have absolutely no hope of victory. But God is faithful. He doesn’t leave us in a lurch. Never!
A father told the story of his son’s first serious conflict at school. His boy was being picked on by three bullies. They would punch him, push his bike over, and generally made his life miserable. They told him that they’d meet him the next morning before school and beat him up. That evening the dad really worked hard to show his son some moves on how to defend himself, passed on a few helpful techniques, and even gave him some tips on how he might win them over as friends. The next morning, the boy choked back the tears knowing that the inevitable was going to happen. With a reassuring hug, the father smiled confidently and said, "you can do it, son. I know you’ll make out all right." The boy got on his bike and began the lonely, long ride to school. What the boy didn’t know was that every block he rode was under the watchful eye of his dad...who drove his car a safe distance behind, out of sight but ever ready to speed up and assist if the scene became too threatening. The boy thought he was alone, but he wasn’t alone at all. The father was there all the time.
The Spirit of God is there to strengthen us in the struggle against lust and other sins. Ask Him daily to help you apply a filter to what enters your mind and your eyes. Trust Him to provide you with the discipline and discernment you need. Paul writes in Galatians 5, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature...Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." And take it one day at a time. If the Lord could give Joseph the strength he needed to withstand the sensual assault of a woman centuries ago, He’ll do the same for you today.
He’s a faithful God! When we do stumble and fall, He’s there to pick us up in His forgiveness and grace. "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him." Amen.
