By knowing what the Bible says about the dangers of lust, not only will this help us seek to avoid lusting after others, but it will also help us understand why we must never mess around with a lustful person.
And by the phrase “a lustful person,” I’m not referring to someone who struggles with lust but is also actively repenting and seeking God’s help through Jesus to change. Instead, I’m talking about someone who has fully given themselves over to this sin.
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1. When Someone Gives Themselves Over to Lust, God Lets Them Be Consumed By Their Own Shame
Not only does it cause harm to others, as we will discuss in the points ahead, but the Bible clearly states that sexual sin negatively affects the person who is committing these wrongs in a worse way than other forms of sin.
While all sin is damaging, sexual sin seems to hurt us in a special way because of the way God designed it to be used properly. Sex is the only way two people can become one flesh physically. Thus, when used outside of marriage, sexual sin is the only way to become one flesh with people you should never have united with. I believe this is why 1 Corinthians 6:18 states, “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.”
All sin is harmful to the sinner. But only sexual sin can cause your body to be united in a sinful way with another person’s body. I believe this is why Paul said, “the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” This form of self-destruction results in inner suffering stemming from the shameless acts committed against our own bodies (Romans 1:26-27).
While we can lust without physically being united with someone else’s body, even when you lust in your heart (Matthew 5:28), there is a special type of shame that can consume you. Sexual sin hurts us in our core. Somehow, it reaches deeper than other sins. Proverbs 6:32, “He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.”
Thus, not only must we avoid being a lustful person because we will be consumed by shame if we don’t repent, but we must also avoid getting entangled with lustful people since they will be a temptation to us. As 1 Corinthians 6:18 states, “Flee from sexual immorality.”
Which leads us to point 2.
2. Lust Is So Dangerous Because It Will Lead You to Reap God’s Terrible Punishment on Those Who Are a Temptation to Others
Lust is contagious. It’s like a virus that spreads from one person to another, killing all in its wake. This is important to highlight because Scripture states there is a greater judgment on those who not only give in to temptation but who are actually being a temptation to others. In Matthew 18:7-9, Jesus said:
Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.”
This is why we must avoid lust and lustful people. When we let others tempt us into sexual sin, eventually we become so lustful that we will start tempting others into sexual sin. And this brings God’s severe wrath on us in a terrible way.
3. Lust Will Destroy You Because It Pulls You Away from God’s Presence
In point 1, we discussed how we hurt ourselves through lust. In point 2, we discussed how our lust can hurt other people. Now we must highlight what the Bible says lust does to our connection with God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 states:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
1 Corinthians 6:13, “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” When we give ourselves over to lust, we are actively pushing away the presence of God. This causes us to lose the Lord’s protection and favor.
If it were not for grace, none of us would have any hope. And yet, while sexual sin does cause terrible damage, Scripture is equally clear that God’s grace can restore all sin tried to steal from us (Romans 5:20). Through God’s grace, purchased on the cross by Jesus, our purity can be restored, we can be set free from all evil bonds, and Lord can infuse us with his joy once more (1 Corinthians 1:30).
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God . . .”
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