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paintersteve
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 07:43 am |
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| do we have power to stop lusting if we want to? if not why?
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tallmike00
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 03:09 pm |
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I think this has two possible answers. Are you a Christian? If you are not, then the answer is most likely not by anything. A person who is not a Christian is a slave to sin. That isn't to say that someone who is not a Christian would not stop lusting. Anything could happen but the lusting most likely would continue. If you are truly a believing Christian, then you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He can enable you to stop lusting. That does not mean he will without you truly desiring it. I don't believe that for most Christians God "zaps" us free from sin overnight. God alone will choose what He will do and may miraculously free someone from a lusting problem, but for most of us after becoming Christians, we are expected to "put off" and "put on". Read Ephesians 4:22-24 There are numerous other admonitions in the New Testament to put off our sinful behaviors. God's Word does promise that we will have the power to overcome or flee temptations. But there is an onus on us to reckon ourselves dead to the realm of sin and alive to Christ.
You need to be mindful and catch yourself when a lustful thought comes to mind. Then, it helps if you memorize 2nd Corinthians 10:5. Bind the lustful thought and then give it to Jesus. Give it over. Don't dwell on it and fantasize, allowing it to grow in your mind and bring forth sinful actions in response to the lusts of the flesh.
It also helps to read Psalm 51. Identify your own set of sins in a similar fashion to what David did in his own life after his sin with Bathsheba. Begin to see yourself as a sinner who has committed major offenses against a Holy God and in need of forgiveness and cleansing. In a humble supplication, appeal to God that He create in you a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you.
It is through God's grace that we receive salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit. By reckoning ourselves dead to sin and acknowledging that the Holy Spirit gives us the determination to quit sinning, we are able to stop. This isn't generally a solitary action. We need accountability to other Christians in our lives. Knowing that we are accountable to other Christians erects a fairly substantial wall against acting out.
Practice the 3 R's: Radical amputation: Remove all temptations from ones life. Radical Appropriation: Lay aside the old self and put on the new. And Radical Accountability: Get those Christian accountablity partners.
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Steve
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 08:38 pm |
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paintersteve wrote: do we have power to stop lusting if we want to? if not why?
Only by the transforming grace of Jesus Christ! Hallelujah! 
____________________
"Isolation is bad for any man, but for the sexual addict it is fatal." -Russell Willingham
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