Jesus said some 2000 years ago,
“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart”(Matthew 5:28).
There is no need to explain this statement. Jesus was here warning us that more than what one does; true Christian living is primarily about what one thinks in his mind. And that is influenced by what one looks at. So guard your eyes.
Jesus also said that when our eye is good the body is full of light. But when our eye is bad our body is also full of darkness. He therefore warned, “See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness” (Luke 11:35).
Dear young man, are you struggling with lust? Come to the cleansing blood of Jesus which purifies you from all sin (1 John 1:7). That is the only way you can overcome the evil one (see Revelation 12:11). Hide God’s word in your heart by reading and meditating it every day (Psalm 119:9, 11). This is the secret by which a young man can keep himself pure.
You also need to realize that without the help of the Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart you cannot resist the flood of sexual temptations that comes to your from all directions wherever you turn. Recognize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit of God (Read 1 Corinthians 6:18-20). Therefore keep it pure.
Be also urgent; do not wait to look again and again at the source of your temptation. But run to Jesus. He is your high priest in heaven who was tempted in all points as you are; yet did not sin.
So he perfectly understands the pressures you feel when sexually tempted (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15, 16). Run to him. Tell him honestly what you feel. Confess to him your helplessness. Tell him that you long to live with a pure heart. He will come to your help.
Learn also how to consider women. Paul asked Timothy to treat “older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity” (1 Timothy 5:2).
This is becoming increasingly difficult in today’s culture where women are often shown through advertisements, movies and other entertainment media as objects to be desired, mastered, and thrown away after use.
Do not follow this thinking of the world but be changed by renewing your mind (see Romans 12:2). Think on pure and lovely things (Philippians 4:8).
If you prayerfully treat women with respect, knowing that they are made in God’s image and likeness, you’ll be able to resist the lustful look. Do not violate a woman in your mind. That is sin in God’s eyes.
No need to be in doubt whether lust is sin or not: the Bible clearly states: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honourable” (1 Thessalonians 4:3, 4).
Finally remember that lust of the eyes never has satisfied anybody. Lust will keep craving for more. It will prove to be your ruin unless you cry out to God for mercy now. He is compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.
If you cry out to him, he will pardon you and restore you (see Isaiah 55:6, 7). Know that lust hates what it a moment ago desired and craved for (see 2 Samuel 13:15). It has never satisfied anybody.
So do not lust. Instead let your eye, the lamp of your body, be kept pure to light up your entire body as when the light of a lamp shines on you!
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