This is my first audio-blog which was recorded on a long drive when I was visiting my mom as she was undergoing surgery.  If you are going to take the 14:19 to listen to this audio-blog, take the time to read through some of the passages of scripture and ideas that I'm going to wrestle with in this recording.  Please enjoy the background music and the noise of the car ride.

Verses:

• 1 Corinthians 10:13 - No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
• Matthew 6:33 - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Ideas:

• Sin of commission: is to know something is wrong, and do it anyway; deliberate disobedience to the known will of God
• Sin of omission: sins of failing to do what we should have done
• Temped: being compelled to sin (to act in a way that not in complete alignment with the will and nature of God and His goodness)

Audio-blog: Beyond what you can bear

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!

What does this say to me?  For me it requires that I question myself on every decision that I make.  What does "selfish ambition" or "vein conceit" really mean?  I've pulled together some references, but it's very clearly anything with selfish motives (even if they are "good" and can seem God-glorifying).

I think of this song by Mainstay, Take Away, where the artist says, "Ruin my agenda, holy as it never was."  I know that I try to claim that my plans and agendas are holy and of God, but they are only me attempting to fool God and manipulate Him into my agenda.  For some reason, I like to set forth on things that most people will think are good and godly, yet I know that I'm only doing it for their praise and that my God isn't really all that trilled at all.

I also think of those preachers who only want to grow their church just because bigger is better - it's somehow validates their worthiness as a pastor.  Vein conceit comes to play when I think of people that manipulate others in some way.  It's this idea that my idea and way is better and I don't respect your idea as on equal footing as mine.  It's this conceit rooted in vanity (or pride) for whatever reason - age, intelligence, physical abilities, etc - just our abilities.  I consider those (our abilities) vain - only because everything is given by God out of grace.  For we deserve nothing and have nothing except by the grace of God.  We are no better than anybody else because we simply can't weigh the value of traits because all of them are given at His discretion; who are we to judge value?

James speaks of "selfish ambition" as earthly, unspiritual and demonic "wisdom" (James 3:13-16). The Lord himself warned against seeking first place (Matthew 20:26-27), desiring power, prestige and wealth (Luke 14:10). Jesus called his disciples to a life of self-sacrifice that gives priority to God's kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

From The Complete book of Everyday Christianity

As a work of the flesh, selfish ambition is present when we define ourselves by our achievements, rather than by our character. For many men, and increasingly for women, the choice of career represents an "idealized fantasy of who one is or might become . . . the medium through which these dreams are enacted and judged" (Ochberg, p. 3).

Symptoms of this selfish ambition are relentless striving with an inability to rest, discouragement at the lack of recognition obtained for one's hard work, predatory competition (even in Christian leadership), use of the present situation (and people) as a stepping stone and an "endless itchiness for other possibilities" (Schnase, p. 17). The Bible leaves little room for exalting human achievement and constantly points us in the direction of exulting in God's achievements. But our motives are always mixed, and a theology of grace accepts humanness just as it is. At the same time it points to something better. Because ambition is not uniformly evil, it is a risk worth taking.

Somehow, I need to check my motivations consistently and have my friends relentlessly question why I live my life the way I do.  I'll have to agree with Socrates when he says, "The unexamined life is not worth living."  So, I invite you to examine my life each and every day.  For, I give myself too much slack.  Plus life is way more fun examined and alongside great friends.

So, if that's not it, then it's got to be something else.  And as I see it, it's very clear that Jesus simply asks for the man's full identity to be rooted in Him alone.  It wasn't commandments/obedience that were keeping him from eternal life, but it was his security he derived from his status, power, riches, and expected longevity.

This is why I love the gospel. It's always about give up everything; lay it down; forget yourself, your money, your past, your future. Jesus goes on to say only a few verses later "I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."  Basically, I see Jesus saying that we have to give up things of great value - even things that seem like very good and beneficial things - to fully devote ourselves to him.  (But when?  How?  What does that look like?)

I wonder about the "rich young ruler" some more.  Why didn't Jesus tell him to throw a big event where Jesus could preach?  Or why didn't Jesus say that he should have the man use the money to build a trust and support the church movement?  Or a bunch of other good things that could advance the gospel?  And, I believe it's because this man's security (identity) was wrapped up in his riches.  But, I take it a step further to his achievements.  He had achieved an abundance of money and power at a young age and to give them up was unreasonable [Jesus is generally pretty unreasonable, but somehow the nonsensical lifestyle is always full of adventure, abundance, and joy].  Maybe using them to enhance the kingdom would be reasonable, but I bet the man would just find security in doing what looked good and advanced the reach of the gospel message.  Rather, Jesus cared about His character more than how many Bibles the rich man could distribute (yet another thing derive security/pride).

I see character as what is most important to God throughout the Bible - not achievement of God-type things.  I wonder why Moses wandered for 40 years, why Jacob had to wait 21 years for Rebecca, why Abraham was told to slaughter his only son (whom the promise was to come through), why Joseph was in jail for 7 years, etc.  God could have just given them their goal immediately, but he didn't.  Why is that?

Then, this same God not only wants to develop our character, but he also tests us.  Why does he test us? I wonder.  I mean, God knows everything, it's not like God needs to find out something about us (Does God wonder, "I wonder how he'll handle this?").  So, maybe the only reason for a test is so that we can see our true character plainly.  For when Abraham passed the test to kill his son Isaac, it was counted to him as righteousness (Romans 4:9).  But, God knew Abraham's heart beforehand and what he would do.  But, I bet Abraham doubted himself - if he would actually follow through and fully trust God.  But, after he put his faith and God and saw that God was faithful, how much more confidence does Abraham have in God and himself?

So, Jesus tested Philip with the feeding of the 5000 (John 6:5-15) - He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do (John 6:6). Again, why? So that Philip would see his own lack of faith.  Then we look at Jesus tempted.  I wonder about this at times, for these would have been very tough tests that Satan put before him.  For, Satan basically told Jesus that he could save the whole world from Satan's domination if Jesus would only worship Satan.  Wow, that is exactly Jesus' goal - to save the world.  There is a small nuance difference, but both routes achieve Jesus' goal to save the world.  It's just what is "good and right" as I see it.  There is the "good and right" way to achieve the goal and the seemingly straightforward and immediate way.  Jesus focused on the eternal perspective and knew that immediate gratification (no matter how tempting) is not the way of righteousness (aka God).

Where do I find my identity?  How do I handle seeing the results of the character tests God places before me (both success and failure)?  Am I willing to give up everything to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousnesses (what is good and right)?  Do I trust him over these things I'd love to find security (money, job, intellect, physical abilities, charisma, health, youth, status, etc.)?

James 4 - 13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

Isaiah 55:9 - As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Interpretation: We are incapable of determining God's thoughts through human reasoning; therefore, we are dependent on divine revelation.

These verses tell me that I can't plan for tomorrow and that I can't even imagine that I can come up with what my tomorrow should even look like.  How depressing.  What am I supposed to do?  How do I deal with topics like:

• Retirement savings
• Emergency savings
• Decision to go back to school or not
• Moving or getting a new job
• Changing my longer-term commitments: girl, friends, family, organization, activities, leadership

When I read through the Bible I get even more confused.  There are some really rich people in there and some really poor.  There are people that gave up everything to follow a calling (but how can we be sure something is that "calling"?) and people that did great things in their positions (jobs).  There are people who are well-learned and those with no education.

I guess I get frustrated at God's creativity.  For, I'd love to just be able to figure things out easy on my own.  I'd like be able to apply analysis and logic to situations in my life and figure out what to do.  But it's not that simple, simply because God doesn't want us bloat with pride by using the abilities he has given us to avoid Him.  So, it's cool in the end that I must go back to Him.  I must not have pre-conceptions of where my future is going that I'm unwilling to release.  I must constantly check-myself.

How do I check myself?  Well, I generally ask myself these questions when coming on a decision.  Of course, I'm not so objective or perfect that I always allow myself to admit the full truth, but it's definitely a start.

• Am I rationalizing/justifying my actions? (Are there excuses or self-assurance with sensical reasons?)
• Am I scared to do it and it is in alignment with God's truths (probably should take the risk)?
• Do I have peace that after (and usually before) that I've acted righteously and in complete and utter humble submission to God?
• Is this good and right?

Does this resonate?

Does openness to lust potentially stem from one's views on when sex is appropriate, the meaning of sex, what love looks like, etc? I feel like it does. I was having related discussions this weekend on the topic. And what came out of each of them (from me - so potentially inaccurate) is the notion of honor. What is love?

1 Corinthians 13

[New American Standard Version]

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails;

[Amplified]

4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

[Message]

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

So as we love another, these characteristics will begin to come out. Do we lust after someone we love? What is lust? Very simply it is - desiring something that isn't our own/right (as I see it, please correct me). How does lust and love mix? I don't think they can as we see above. Lust may seem ok when marriage is around the corner, but that doesn't embody the patient attribute of love. Is it kind to lust after someone? I encountered a situation where one had disclosed the lustful thoughts to the person whom they were about. But, the individual being lusted after felt violated after this. Is that honorable? Is that kind? Is that "not rude"? Is that "not self-seeking"? Just because the act happens only in the mind, it is still a sexual violation felt by the victim when realized. It seems that lust would be insisting on one's own rights for sexual gratification (aka self-seeking). Is fornication unrighteous? Of course. Didn't Jesus say that thinking it just as committing the sin (Matt 5:28)? And it seems that the victim in both cases feels/is violated. Sure, there are temptations, sexual desires, and even sexual rights (within marriage). But love "endures all things" (even these struggles) "patiently".

I would beg to say that lust is not enduring all things patiently, is self-seeking, acting unbecomingly, and is not kind (because it violates the victim).

But, who cares about love anyways. I don't love the person I'm lusting after, I just think he/she is hot and would like to have sex (or at least thing about having sex) with him/her.

Apparently, love is pretty important under the new covenant:

Matt 22:39, John 13:34, John 13:35, John 15:12, John 15:17, Rom 13:8, 1 Pet 4:8, 1 John 3:11, 1 John 3:23, 1 John 4:7

How do we practically address the topic of lust in our lives? It clearly needs to be a heart change. But how does that happen?

Response #1

I remember hearing a Christian motivational speaker (I think it might've been Dr. James Dobson, but I don't remember) that "boys play at love for sex, but girls play at sex for love." Women and men are both struggling with the same thing- a need for intimacy. Men express and want to receive intimacy in a physical manner, while women look for it emotionally. So, while a man is lusting after a woman, he seeks intimacy with her in the only way he knows- through a sexual nature.

So your question: how does love and lust mix? People crave intimacy. For women, that is emotional, because women are feelers. For men, it is physical. The thing is, when we're married, we have sex; it is part of the whole package of intimacy that God created for us. But sex shouldn't be taken out of context; it should be saved for whomever you marry. And by lusting after a woman, you are taking away from your vow to your future wife as well as the future husband of that woman. Though the physical pull isn't as strong for women, the emotional need is strong. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

Ss for the question of is lusting bad, it says specifically in the Bible that it is. It Proverbs states explicitly about how extra-marital sex is evil and one should stay away from an adulterer. It also states "The righteousness of the upright deliver them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires" (11:6).

So, how do we overcome our worldly desires? Galatians 5:16-17 says, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." Okay, so why the heck would you follow the Spirit instead of the sinful nature of man? Because, when we were saved, we became new creations, we are no longer our old selves. Romans 6:14 says, "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." Basically, we're not perfect but we should strive to be because we are under the Grace of God now.

I have personally never had a problem with lust, but, like everyone, I have craved intimacy. I think we all have a hole on our heart, dying for approval, to be loved and cherished. But there is only One that can fill that hole, and that's God. Spending more time with Him will take away those desires, as our lives will be filled with His love and intimacy.

Response #2

In general, lust in my opinion is very selfish. Lust by definition is desiring something that you can't have. When two people love each other, specifically in a marriage relationship, they may “lust” for each other, but that is not lust at all because they belong to each other. Lust is allowing yourself to experience something (whether in reality or in your mind) that you know is wrong.

So how do we overcome lust in our lives? By staying in constant prayer with the Lord and binding our minds to the minds of Christ. If this is truly a struggle, He is the only one that can set us free.

· Binding your mind to the mind of Christ: continuing to pray that God will transform you thoughts and desires to what would be the thoughts and desires of Christ would be. We need to recognize that Satan attacks peoples' thoughts and reject thoughts that we know are not of God.

· Stay in Constant prayer with the Lord: Not much of a definition to give pretty plainly we need to talk to God all day long as if he is a friend. Our thoughts and conversations with God can be short, but they should be frequent. We need to actively make him a part of our lives. A relationship with a friend would not grow if we did not talk to them frequently…it is the same with God.

Sexual Immorality

Titus 2:11-12

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

· worldly passions: Tit 3:3

· self-controlled: Tit 2:2,5,6; Tit 1:8

· Decisively reject ungodly passions: Rom 1:18-32; 2 Tim 2:22; 1 John 2:15-17

Romans 1:24-32

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

· "Gave them over" - God has abandoned these persons to intensified lusts

· "sinful desires" - passionate lust for forbidden sexual pleasure (2 Cor 12:21; Gal 5:19; Eph 5:3)

· God has two purposes in abandoning the unrighteous to sin: (1) allow sin and its consequences to accelerate as part of his judgment on them (2:2), and (2) to make them realize their need for salvation (2:4).

· Homosexuality: Gen 19:4-9; Lev 18:22; Lev 20:13; Dt 23:17; 1Ki 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; Isa 3:9; 1 Co 6:9-10; 1Ti 1:10; 2Pe 2:6; Jude 7

Galatians 5:19-21

19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

· sexual immorality: 1 Co 6:18

· "sexual immorality": (Gk porneai), immoral sexual conduct and intercourse; it includes taking pleasure in pornographic pictures, films or writings (Ex 20:14; Matt 5:31-32; 19:9; Ac 15:20,29; 21:25; 1Co 5:1)

· "impurity": (Gk akatharsia), sexual sins, evil deeds and vices, including thoughts and desires of the heart (Eph 5:3; Col 3:5)

· "debauchery": (Gk aselgeia), sensuality; following one's passions and desires to the point of having no shame or public decency (2Co 12:21)

· "orgies": (Gk komos), excessive feasting and revelry; a party spirit involving alcohol, drugs, sex, or the like.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

12 "Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." 17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

· "The two will become one flesh": Gen 2:24; Mt 19:5; Eph 5:31

· "sexual immorality": 1Co 6:9; 1Co 5:1; 2Co 12:21; Gal 5:19; Eph 5:3; 1Th 4:3-4; Heb 13:4

· "flee": Gen 39:12 [present tense used - continually flee]

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;

· "sexual immorality": 1Co 6:18

· "body": 1Co 7:2,9

· "passionate lust": Ro 1:26

Ephesians 5:3-5

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

· "sexual immorality": 1Co 6:18

Exodus 20:14

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

· "adultery": Lev 18:20; 20:10; Nu 5:12,13,29; Pr 6:29,32; Mt 5:27; 19:18; Mk 10:19; Lk 18:30; Ro 13:9; Jas 2:11

Colossians 3:5

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

· "sexual immorality": 1Co 6:18

Genesis 2:24

24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Matthew 5:27-30

27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

· "heart": Pr 6:25; 2Pe 2:14

Hebrews 13:4

4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

· "sexually immoral": 1Ti 3:3

Standards for Sexual Morality

Above all, believers must be morally and sexually pure (2Co 11:2; Tit 2:5; 1Pe 3:2). The word "pure" (Gk hagnos or amiantos) means to be free from all taint of that which is lewd. It suggests refraining from all acts and thoughts that incite desire not in accordance with one's virginity or one's marriage vows. It stresses restraint and avoidance of all sexual actions and excitements that would defile one's purity before God. It includes controlling one's own body "in a way that is holy and honorable" (1Th 4:4), and not in "passionate lust" (4:5). This Scriptural instruction is for both those who are single and those who are married. With regard to the Biblical teaching concerning sexual morality, not the following:

(1) Sexual intimacy is reserved for the marriage relationship and is approved and blessed by God only in that state (Gen 2:24 [2:7; 4:12]). Through marriage, the husband and wife become on flesh according to God's will. The physical and emotional pleasures resulting from a faithful marriage relationship are ordained by God and held in honor by him.

(2) Adultery, sexual immorality, homosexuality, sensuality, impurity and degrading passions are considered grave sins in God's sight, since they are a transgression of God's law ([Ex 20:14]) and a defiling of the marriage relationship. Such sins are severely condemned in Scripture ([Pr 5:3]) and place one outside God's kingdom (Ro 1:24-32; 1Co 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21).

(3) Sexual immorality and impurity include not only forbidden intercourse or consummated acts, but also involve any act of sexual gratification with another person other than one's marriage partner, achieved by uncovering or exploring the nakedness of that person. The contemporary teaching that says sexual intimacy among "committed" unmarried youth and adults is acceptable as long as it stops short of full sexual union is a teaching contrary to God's holiness and the Biblical standard of purity. God explicitly prohibits having any kind of "sexual relations with" (literally, "uncovering the nakedness of") anyone who is not a lawful wife or husband (Lev 18:6-30; 20:11,17,19-21; [18:6]).

(4) The believer must exercise self-control with reference to all sexual matters before marriage. To justify premarital intimacy in the name of Christ merely on the ground of a real or a felt commitment to another flagrantly compromises God's holy standards with the world's impure ways and, in effect, justifies immorality. After marriage, sexual intimacy must be confined to one's marriage partner. The Bible names self-control as one aspect of the Spirit's fruit, the positive and pure behavior that is in contrast to immoral sexual play, gratification, adultery and impurity. One's faith commitment to God's will with regard to purity will open the way to receiving this gift of self-control through the Spirit (Gal 5:22-24).

(5) Biblical terms used for sexual immorality, describing the breadth of its evil, are as follows: (a) Sexual immorality (Gk porneia) describes a wide variety of sexual activities before or outside of marriage; it is not limited to consummated sexual acts. Any intimate sexual activity or play outside the marriage relationship, including the touching of the intimate parts of the body or seeing another person's nakedness, in included in this term and is clearly a transgression of God's moral standards for his people (Lev 18:6-30; 20:11-12,17,19-21; 1Co 6:18; 1Th 4:3). (b) Debauchery, or sensuality, (Gk aselgeia) denotes the absence of clear moral principles, especially disregard of sexual self-control that maintains pure behavior ([1Ti 2:9]). It includes the inclination toward indulging in or arousing sinful lust, and thus is a participation in Biblically unjustifiable conduct (Gal 5:19; Eph 4:19; 1Pe 4:3; 2Pe 2:2,18). (c) Exploiting or taking advantage of someone (Gk pleonekteo) means to deprive another of the moral purity that God desires for that person in order to satisfy one's own self-centered desires. To arouse in another person sexual desires that cannot be righteously fulfilled is to exploit or take advantage of that person (1Th 4:6; Eph 4:19). (d) Lust (Gk epithumia) is having an immoral desire that one would fulfill if the opportunity arose (Eph 4:19,22; 1Pe 4:3; 2Pe 2:18; [Mt 5:28]).

Proverbs 6:25

25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty

or let her captivate you with her eyes,

1 Peter 4:3

3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

Ephesians 4:19

19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

· "sensitivity": 1Ti 4:2; Ro 1:24

· "sensuality": Col 3:5; 1Pe 4:3

Lifestyle

1 John 1:7-9

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Luke 4:13

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Matthew 5:29-30

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Galatians 6:7-8

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.