A Little Bible Q & A For Your Day

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Date: Feb 03 2017 8:52 PM

Hey Everybody,

I hope your week was great! I also hope your weekend is productive. Please plan to join us Sunday morning at 9 & 10. We'd love to see you all.

For today, here is a little Q & A

The Question:

Dear Brother: Would you please explain what the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life are? What is lust? I want to be sure I don't have eye or pride problems.

The Answer:

The passage where these three terms are used reads as follows: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever" (I John 2:15-17).

The word "lust" is defined: "Desire for what is forbidden; an obsessive craving." Although there are legitimate desires for which God makes provision, lust refers to the desire for things that are contrary to the will of God (Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary). Please note that lust is not simply desire, it is illicit, unlawful or otherwise forbidden desire.

The "lust of the flesh" would usually refer to unlawful sexual desire - that which would lead to fornication (Prov. 6:25; Matt. 5:28; Rom. 1:27; Gal. 5:16; etc.). But "lust" can also refer to other types of desire. Israel "lusted after evil things" (1 Cor. 10:6), and the context shows that many different things are meant. The source of all of our sins is described this way: "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed" (James 1:14). A person can lust after money, sex, jewelry, or nearly anything else on earth. Whatever we lust after to gratify the flesh is what is forbidden by the text in 1 John 2.

The "lust of the eyes" obviously refers to what is seen, or what we want to see. The eyes delight in things of beauty and riches, and when we lust after those things (see definition above), it is the lust of the eyes.

The "pride of life" refers to what we think of ourselves. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov 16:18). The apostle Paul wrote, “To everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think ... In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Rom. 12:3;Phil. 2:3). When we consider that we have "sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23), then we will identify with Paul, "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10). We are to be clothed with humility, not pride.

The contrast which John is making in 1 John 2 is based on what he had written in chapter one of that book. He had shown that "walking in the light" meant living for God (1 John 1:5-7), and "walking in darkness" meant living according to the standards and desires of the world (1 John 1:6). When we attune our hearts to God, we will constantly strive to live for Him. When we attune our hearts to the world, our desires are for the things which the world offers, and then is when the lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes and pride take over.

I hope this helps.

Have a super weekend.

Mitch Robison

Enon Church of Christ

1366 Enon Rd.

Webb, AL 36376

[email protected]

enon.churchofchrist.info

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