Lust is a wicked thing

Jonathan Owen writes in the mortification of sin that “there are many ways through which sin diverts the mind from correctly understanding its guilt. Its foul vapors darken the mind so that its judgment is distorted.”

In this context Owen was talking about lust and he then goes on to use an example from scripture that speaks on sexual lust. He says,

“Solomon speaks of someone enticed by a lewd woman. He says he was “among the foolish ones;” he was “a young man without understanding.” And what was his folly about? “As a bird to the snare, he did not know his life was at stake.” 

Owen then goes on to talk about David. 

“The only way David could have remained ignorant for so long about the true extent of his atrocious sin, was “because his was corrupted time and again. It hindered him from taking a clear view of its ugliness and guilt in the mirror of the law. This made it necessary to send the prophet to awaken him. He silenced all the subterfuges and pretenses by his parable, so that David might completely grasp the guilt of what he had done. Treasoninghis is the proper consequence of lust in the heart. It darkens the mind so that it cannot rightly judge its guilt. There are many other ways in which it extenuates itself that I will not go into.”

Lust is a wicked thing. We ought to forsake it in its every form and kill it entirely. How sad that many men have forsaken their dreams for Christ because of lust. They were enticed to go into the immoral house when they should have kept their feet on the narrow road. And after coming out of the immoral house, they are weighed down with guilt in the deepness of their soul that they can no longer go all out for Christ because of their shame. And though they know that they are forgiven, yet in truth they have never forgiven themselves, so they settle for a safe Christianity and rather than lose it all for Christ as they once dreamt, they secure themselves in the comfort of their jobs and secular pursuit. 

The parts in quotation is from Mortification of Sin by John Owen.

K.Oni