By Kathy L. McFarland
Matthew 5:27–28 (KJV 1900)
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
This lecture is on a very important part of the Standards of Jesus Christ. Unlike the LORD God’s first children, His Chosen people that are part of Judaism, who are only required to obey His commandments literally, Christ’s standards are more detailed and deeper. Not only does Christ require adherence to the Commandments of the LORD God, He also requires diligence of the heart. He uses the example of lust in the heart that is just as sinful as doing the deed. Those that follow Jesus Christ accept His Standards and strive mightily to meet each of His requirements to be His people.
But here is the problem. Satan is quite aware that Christ’s baptism frees His Followers of original sin. The likelihood of Baptized Believers breaking the Commandments of God literally are slim. However, Satan knows that if He can corrupt the heart, that Christ will count that in His Standards as disobedience to God, and the devil becomes successful in his efforts.
Lust in the heart is the worst possible conflict every Christian must fight against. It is critical that you understand this condition fully and are armed with smart rules of engagement that give you the ability to keep Satan away from your heart. But this is important: Unless you take serious control over what enters your heart, you are susceptible as a Christian to having it contaminated with unrighteous and evil things. So not only are you tasked with obeying Christ’s Standards, you also must guard against Satan disrupting that obedience by corrupting your heart. Let’s get to work and see what Scripture has to offer us concerning the spiritual condition of lust that contaminates the heart.
(Special Note: During this lecture, please examine each Scripture carefully, and look at my Statements of Fact (SOF). See how concise I write my SOF’s and capture the full Truth of God. From this point on, please note the SOF’s into your learning, so your SOF’s can be powerful in your own personal study of the Word of God.)
1 John 2:15–17 (KJV 1900)
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Lust – 2123 ἐπιθυμία (epithymia), ας (as), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ Str 1939; TDNT 3.168—1. LN 25.12 deep desire, longing (Mk 4:19; Lk 22:15; Php 1:23; 1Th 2:17+); 2. LN 25.20 lust, coveting, craving (Gal 5:16; 1Ti 6:9; 2Ti 2:22; 1Pe 1:14)
1. Christians should not love the world.
2. Christians should not love the things that are in the world.
3. If anyone loves the world, then the love of the LORD God Father is not within them.
4. There are three things that are not of the Father LORD God, but of the world:
a. Lust of the flesh
1a. Lust of the flesh wars against the soul. (1 Peter 2:11)
2a. The works of the flesh are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like. (Galatians 5:18-21)
b. Lust of the eyes
c. Pride of life
5. If a Christian has any of these conditions, they are not of the Father.
6. When this world ends and passes away, so will to the lusts within it.
7. Those who do not have the lust are doing the will of the LORD God and they will live forever.
8. The Greek word for Lust means the deep desire or longing for something; coveting is another word for lust.
Galatians 5:16–17 (KJV 1900)
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
9. Walk in the Holy Spirit, and you will not have the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16-18)
10. The flesh lusts against the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is against the flesh.
Lusts of the Heart
Mark 4:18–19 (KJV 1900)
18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
11. Christ says the following ENTER INTO a person, choke the Word of God, and become unfruitful according to His Parable, “Sower of Seeds.” (Note it does not originate from the person but enters into!)
a. Cares of this world
b. Deceitfulness of riches
c. Lusts of other things
12. Also note that the way Mark 4:18-19 is worded (“lusts of other things”), both the cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches are lusts also.
Mark 7:20–23 (KJV 1900)
20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
13. HOWEVER!!! That which COMES OUT of people, defiles them.
14. Those things that COME OUT of people’s HEARTS are:
a. Evil thoughts
b. Adulteries
c. Fornications
d. Murders
e. Thefts
f. Covetousness
g. Wickedness
h. Deceit
i. Lasciviousness
j. Evil eye
k. Blasphemy
l. Pride
m. Foolishness
Teachings of Kathy L McFarland:
Are you understanding what Scripture tells us about the difference between those things that come from outside our bodies and enter into us, and those that develop inside our bodies in our hearts?
Cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches, and lust for “other things” enters into us and develops into all sorts of terrible lust inside our heart. Those lusts of the heart are the things that cause us to sin and be in disobedience to the Lord. Those lusts in the heart are interrelated to our development of all sins known to mankind.
It is not just about adultery. Look at SOF #14. All those things can develop in our hearts. Where do those things come from? Look at SOF #11. They come from outside the person’s body. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and lustfulness of other things go into the body, and drastically affect the heart of the Believer.
When the believer has absorbed these things from the world, the heart becomes corrupted, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. Once that corruption happens, thoughts come to the Believer from the heart that are NOT righteous or pure. The corrupted heart becomes part of the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and it becomes more and more difficult to be guided by Him.
Do I need to tell you that Satan desires to get into your heart and control you from the inside? He doesn’t dare come close to your heart, because he knows that the Holy Spirit dwells within. So, Satan has figured out a way to squeeze into your heart that doesn’t require his presence. He doesn’t want to be clobbered! So, he injects the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and other lustful things into the presence of the Christian, and if the Christian does not shield, corruption starts seeping in.
At this point, the heart begins doing sins of the flesh (SOF #4 (2a)). Soon the fallen Christian walks away from the Lord and embraces the things of this wicked world. The End.
(Hint: Say NO! to fancy clothes, seeking wealth, manipulating people to be successful in the world, worldly tricks and treats, connections to powerful entities in the world, titles to gain peoples respect, worldly sexual pleasures and practices, etc. Quit seeking fame, fortune, and fantastic opportunities!
Stay humble and focused upon the Word of God, reject the world and all its riches, and keep your attention upon the Holy Spirit’s guidance always!)
May the Lord help keep us from our foolishness! Amen.
