Matthew 5:28

[Lenno]

Wanted to delete but don’t know how

 

[Carl Emerson]

Hey Lenno.

Welcome to the family of God and CF

God has a time table to address issues in your life - it takes time.

Lust is sin - period, even in marriage.

His will is that all our motivation comes from His love.

We are all sinners but in His great mercy Jesus died for us and destroyed the consequences of sin on the cross - but He has a plan for us to be renewed in heart and mind - this takes time.

Ask him for conviction so you learn to deal with what He is putting His finger on rather than fishing for bad stuff yourself.

 

[St_Worm2]

Matthew 5:28

Does this mean that all lust is a sin unless it is your wife you lust after? I find this hard to accept. I can believe some sexual practices are perverse and to be avoided but all lust is evil? Also when does admiring a woman’s body (which I personally feel is natural) become lust?

Im a very new Christian (27 days)

Also I’m wondering if Matthew 5:28 is repeated in the other gospels or not

Hello Lenno, I believe that for most, sexual sin is the most difficult of all to find our way past regularly as a Christian, especially as a new believer (the Lord has set a high bar for us, yes, just like He did earlier in Matthew 5 when He equated "hating" someone else with "murdering" them). The Christian faith (as I'm sure you already know) has as much to do with the heart, our inward motivations, as it does with what we actually do in this life .. e.g. Mark 7:20-23; James 1:13-15.

Sadly, Satan is also aware of how difficult this particular temptation can be for us

I was 30 and single when I finally became a believer, so I am well aware of how difficult a time you are probably having with this. I remember hearing a sermon on this matter from a pastor on the radio back then, Chuck Swindoll (Insight for Living), and what he suggested ended up being very helpful to me.

1. Lust, for us men, begins with our eyes, so whenever you see a pretty woman (incl a picture of one), either choose to look her in the eyes (when you are talking to her), or choose to immediately look away. As Pastor Swindoll said about his time as a Marine in Korea (when his platoon entered an area of a town over there that was lined with brothels), "eyes straight ahead, Charlie, eyes straight ahead"

2. Try to remember that Christian women are your "sisters" in Christ and treat them accordingly. Of course, we need to be careful, particularly as believers, to avoid thinking of any woman (Christian or otherwise) as a sexual "object".

3. Grow in your knowledge and understanding of God's word every day, because His word is the principal means that He uses to sanctify us (make us more and more Christlike throughout our lives here) .. e.g. John 17:17; Romans 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5.

(Pastor Swindoll recommended Scripture memorization, and after doing it for some years myself, I would HIGHLY recommend it too because 1. it rapidly removes all of the stinky garbage that we still have stored up there in our brains from our life prior to being in Christ, and then it permanently replaces it with something FAR better and 2. it becomes more and more difficult to sin when you give the Holy Spirit something to work with, because once you even begin to know Scripture that well He will bring two or three perfectly memorized verses/passages to the forefront of our minds to remind us why we shouldn't do so whenever we are faced with a new or recurring temptation .. I realize that memory work may be a step too far at this point in your Christian walk, but if you'd ever like to give it a try, just PM me as I'd be happy to help you get started)
​

All that said, the good news, first and foremost, is that temptation isn't sin, so resist (refuse) those thoughts of lust and take them "captive" .. 2 Corinthians 10:5; James 4:7 as soon as they enter your mind/before they become sin. If you fail to do so however, the good news is that the Lord has an ongoing remedy for that as well .. 1 John 1:9

God bless you!

--David
p.s. - appreciating that a woman is pretty is not the sin of lust, just FYI.

Psalm 119:9,11
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word. Thy word I have treasured [hidden] in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.
.​

 

[hedrick]

The OP can request closing or deleting a thread. Use the report link in the same pop up as the edit link.

 

[Sketcher]

The sin of lust is sexual coveting. Coveting is an inordinate desire for that which is not yours.

David coveted Bathsheba as she was bathing, and committed adultery with her.
Absolom coveted David's throne, and staged a revolt to take it.

So it's not just the action (adultery or staging the revolt) that was wrong; the covetous desires for the woman and for the throne were also wrong as they burned inside.