Jan 12 - Lust. Desire. What's the difference? Gen 29-30; Matt 10

Gen 29:17 records that Jacob recognized Rachel as beautiful. Certainly there was a aesthetic attraction that sparked their relationship. But didn't Jesus say in Matt 5:27-28 not to lust? Was Jacob lusting then?

1. Lust is not sexual desire as such. Sexual desire is a God given incentive to marriage (but certainly not the primary motivation to marriage!), to intimacy in marriage, and to reproduction. 1 Corinthians 7:9 does not condemn the desire itself, but only a desire that CANNOT BE CONTROLLED.

2. Lust is not a general recognition of another person’s attractiveness (Gen 29:17). The human form is one of the beauties of God’s creation.

3. We should not confuse lust with temptation. One can be tempted to sin without sinning as Jesus was. This does not mean that we should seek out opportunities to be tempted. Quite the opposite (Matthew 6:13)

So then what is lust? It is the DESIRE, not just act, to engage in sexual acts that are contrary to God’s laws. So when a man thinks about the sexual attractiveness of a woman who is forbidden to him, he often slips across a line in which it becomes lustful intent (Matt 5:28).

Be very watchful about activities that lead us into a desire for sexual intercourse contrary to God’s will for us. But sexual sins, like others are not unforgivable (1 Cor 6:11).

Lastly, in this age of rampant abortion and complains about having children, we are reminded that conceiving is a gift of God (Gen 29:31).

References:

John Frame, Doctrine of the Christian Life