Lust: The Enemy of Belief

PART A: “.....ye shall be as gods”

THE LIE

We have learned that lust is the unlawful desires of one's heart. It is the wantonness for the things of this world. However, in order to really understand this as enmity against God, we must first go back to the beginning.

Romans 7:7

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

According to Paul, it was the law that identified lust in man. If we were to go back to the Garden of Eden, we would see the pitiful state of man after the fall.

First of all, we must take note of the fact that Adam and Eve were created in a world without sin and death. They knew no evil; nor did they know the shame of sin. However, once they tasted the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they became sin conscious, or rather, their conscience became one of sin.

Genesis 3:2-7

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

TRUTH DISPLACED

David said, “the Lord desires truth in the inward parts.” (Psalm 51:6). These inward parts are the conscience, which is the spirit of man; and the soul, which is the spirit of the mind. Adam and Eve had the knowledge of the word of God. This truth was displaced by the indwelling of iniquity, the spirit of Satan; the lie. Immediately, they began to see things in this world through the eyes of Satan. Their spiritual location moved from one of innocence, to one of experience and occupation of evil.

With the indwelling of the spirit of iniquity (Eph 2:1-2), all of the emotions of mankind became perverted. This can be seen in Paul’s account of the effect of the fall on Eve.

1 Timothy 2:14

14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

Here we see that it was Eve that tried to lessen the evil in her actions. She accepted the lie as truth. She believed that the fruit of the tree would make her wise, even as God. She did not realize that the tree was earthy, therefore, it could only make one aware of the things pertaining to the earth. Sadly, her intellect was no longer the divine inspiration of God. It was now the wisdom of this world, which is severely limited in comparison. This acceptance of evil, or lie, is evident in her quest to cause Adam to partake of the forbidden fruit. The scripture says she was “caught in the transgression.” Therefore, all of her desires and emotions took on the nature of satan.

SATAN’S AMBITION

Satan’s ambition was to possess this new world and all that was therein, including man. Since Adam was the bishop, in order to possess the world, he had to control the man who had the dominionship.

Once Adam followed his wife in this sin, he too, became possessed by the spirit of iniquity. He was now a part of the Lie. Therefore, by the disobedience of this one man, Satan was able to possess the whole human race. “Wherefore, as by one man sin came into the world.” Satan lived in Adam and Eve. For this cause, all their offspring were born in sin and shaped in iniquity.

Here is where the meaning of the statement, “In me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing,” originates (Romans 7:18). When the parents of the human race fell, the spirit of iniquity entered and seized possession of their conscience, thus forbidding righteous judgment of their deeds. The end result was promiscuity. The spirit of satan fed the soul new and sinful appetites and desires. Therefore, the heart responded with new emotions.

As a result of this, man is controlled by the works of the devil. He is helpless. His body has become a host for the spirit of iniquity. Satan now has a body to act out his perverted desires.

THE MIND MUST SUFFER TRUTH

John 8:31-47

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

37 I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

Jesus makes it quite clear as to why man will not hear the word of God. “You are of your father the devil, and it is his lusts that you will do.” In other words, it is the lust of the flesh that wars against the word of God. Remember, it was the spirit of satan that perverted man’s emotions and desires. Man has accepted the great “Lie” as truth for his life. Therefore, anything that contradicts the desire or lust of the flesh is not to be tolerated.

For a certainty, the Word of God is a direct contradiction to the dictates of the unregenerated flesh. The flesh is the property and domain of the spirit of satan. It is accustomed to living out the contents of its imagination.

In order for this “Lie” to be accepted as a lie, the soul must suffer truth.

The truth can be seen when one is taken back to the original words of God. This is what Jesus was doing. He reminded them that God is a righteous God. Furthermore, the same is true of Abraham and the prophets. They gave these men something with which to compare their lives. In other words, their lives did not line up with the oracles of God they had already received as a nation. This truth should have humbled them. Had they accepted the truth, they would have seen how far they had fallen from the covenant of God. However, pride and greed would not allow them to suffer such truth. Paul asked, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”(Romans 7:24). He also gives us the answer in the following passage:

Romans 8:11-16

11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

What glorious deliverance! If the Spirit of Christ dwells in us, it will also quicken our mortal bodies or rather make us alive unto God. This explains why sin’s power is broken in the born again experience.

Nevertheless, we must also remember that our heart has a memory of sin. Therefore, it can be tempted to return to its old modes of operation. That’s why it is important to stay under the Word and in the influence of the Holy Spirit. If you will suffer the truth that is in God’s Word, there will be no limit as to your growth in Christ.

Furthermore, the acceptance of the truth about one's negative spiritual location, would result in an obvious change in one’s character, desire and purpose. If one is not ready to come into agreement with the mind of God for his life, then he will not hear the word or counsel of God.

As you can see, this operation is the same for the saved or unsaved. Those that will not suffer truth will remain in their same spiritual location. However, in the case of the saved, the Holy Spirit will not usher such a one to another level of spiritual operation, until they come into agreement with Him, as to their true spiritual disposition.

Beloved the day you hear His voice harden not your heart. He is ready to change you for His glory.