Is There a Difference Between Lust and Normal Sexual Desire?

What's the difference between lust and normal sexual desire? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE. Make a note of that, 833-THE-CORE or 1-833-843-2673 to talk to Pastor Adriel live. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts, or email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, we have a voicemail question we received from one of our international listeners in the United Kingdom.

Hi guys, my name is Alexander Barker and I'm a pilot in the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. I just want to thank you so much for your show. It's a huge blessing. It really keeps me company when I'm away from my family and when I'm down route and out of country.

So I really want to thank you guys for your show. It's really kept my faith strong in some real challenging times. I just wanted to ask a hypothetical question, but possibly a theologically relevant question.

If the wages of sin is death and Christ was without sin, had he not been killed, would he have ever died? I wondered if you have an answer to that. I don't think that from what I've read in the Bible I am found answer. Thank you so much and God bless you so much. Yeah, God bless you as well, Alexander. What a joy it is for me and I know for the whole team to hear from you and to hear that you're encouraged by the broadcast. I pray that the Lord continues to encourage you through our work.

A really interesting question. It's important for us to understand that Jesus, the eternal word of the Father, assumed everything that it is to be human, including the frailty of the human body, which came as a result of sin, but he was sinless. He came, Jesus came as the second Adam.

We sometimes use that kind of language and it's language that we see in scripture in places like Romans chapter 5 and in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. He didn't inherit the guilt of Adam's sin, but he came into a sin-torn world we might say. I think that his body, and you're right, I mean this sort of speculative, but I think that his body would have experienced death as a result of that, but we have to also remember that Jesus wasn't just murdered.

It wasn't as if he was forced prematurely to die. The cross was the pinnacle of his earthly ministry, we might say, and passages like Romans 5, the text that I just mentioned, that says it very clearly there. Another passage of scripture where this is made absolutely clear is in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14 and following, Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. And so I mean the cross, Jesus' crucifixion, this is the pinnacle of his ministry.

It's what he was destined to go to. You see this in Acts 2 and Acts chapter 4 as well, and so we have to keep that in mind as we think about his suffering and his passion. And again, thank you so much, brother, for listening all the way in the UK, and I just want to take a moment to pray for Alexander as he continues to grow in his faith. Father, thank you for Alexander.

I pray that you would bless him, that you would bless his family also, Lord, that they would grow continually in the grace and the knowledge of your son, Jesus, that they would be built up in your word day by day, sanctified by your Spirit. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Amen. You're listening to CORE Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Christian life or the Bible, here's the phone number to call.

It's 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Diana in Garden City, Kansas. Diana, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi, I have a question about Romans 8, 19 through 21. It says, For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay, and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. I was wondering, how can the current earth be redeemed since there's going to be a new earth?

Yeah, it's an excellent question. One of the things that I love about your question, Diana, about this text of Scripture, is oftentimes when we think about salvation, we think about it very individualistically. You know, it's just me and my personal relationship with God, and I'm saved so that I can go to heaven.

And all of those things are true. I mean, we do go to heaven. We're eagerly waiting for the resurrection of the dead, and that's part of what's being alluded to here in Romans 8. But the other thing that we see here is just a sort of cosmic nature of the redemptive work of Christ, that ultimately he's setting the whole world right.

And that's something that we long for, that we hope for. You know, we look around us today, and there's a lot of brokenness. There's a lot of pain. There's a lot of sin. We see and feel the decay that sin creates, and we have this promise in God's Word, this promise that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Now, how is that going to happen? Well, it's ultimately the work of God himself, and it's not that this world that we're in is just going to be completely eradicated. We're going to receive, just like we're going to receive, you know, new glorified bodies, there's going to be a new glorified world that we get to be a part of as those who have trusted in Jesus Christ, as those who believe in him. And so that's what the Apostle Paul is getting at here. And again, all of it, it's rooted in what Jesus has done for us. You think back, even to the Garden of Eden, you know, the very beginning, God making all things good, and then the effect that sin had on the world, thorns and thistles. Now, you know, labor has been transformed into this thing that we don't like or love.

You know, we're going to have to work, you know, with the sweat of our brow, that kind of a thing. Well, everything is being transformed by Jesus, and ultimately that's going to happen at the new creation, the final judgment. And so, Diana, thank you for your question. Now, is that specifically what you were getting at in terms of, you know, is this world going to be recreated, or is it going to just be destroyed, and then we're going to have a new one? Yeah, yeah.

Okay. Well, thank you for calling in, and may the Lord richly bless your day. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

We'd love to hear from you. There's a variety of ways to ask a question you can call live, and we should let you know that some of the radio stations that air the program air it on a delayed basis. So here are the times to call if you want to talk to Pastor Adriel live. You call at 11 30 a.m pacific time, 12 30 mountain time, 1 30 central, or 2 30 eastern time if you'd like to get through and talk to Pastor Adriel live. Here's a voicemail we received from Moses. Hi, this is Moses calling from Nebraska. I was just curious if you had any advice of how to share...

I don't even know if... I mean, I know we're called to share the gospel, but to someone who once was in the faith, but has quote-unquote backslidden, or I was going to have a conversation with her about her watch to kind of get an idea, and if that's where she's at, but I'm just sure of how one would go about reaching out to try to advise that person to come back to Christ. Thank you. Yeah, Moses, I mean, I think it's wonderful that you're wanting to encourage, it sounds like a sister or someone who was once in the church, to get back into the fellowship, who's walked away. You know, I immediately was thinking about what James said in James chapter 5, my brothers, verse 19, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. And so this was something that even in the earliest days of the church was happening, you know, people wandering from the truth, leaving the church, turning their backs on Jesus. And so how do we as Christians and as good friends really reach out to them? Well, I think, one, there is the call to be gentle in one sense. I mean, I think also of Galatians chapter 6, verse 1, brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. And so I think when you approach this friend, you're going to want to really try to get to the bottom of, you know, what happened. You know, a lot of people have turned away from the church, from walking with Jesus, because they've been hurt by the church in one way or another, and they've tried to wrestle through those things. They just feel like, I can't be there anymore. So I would say, you know, have a conversation about what took place. And I think that's a really fair question to ask.

Sounds like the two of you are friends. And just say, you know, why have you turned your back on the Lord? And then focusing on who Jesus is, his mercy, his goodness, his grace, even for those who wander, even for those who, you know, flee from him. I think of, you know, the parable of the prodigal son. Remember the prodigal son, how he just basically left the father's house, went and indulged in sin, in terrible behavior, and when he came back, you know, he was loaded down with guilt.

And I think that's another thing. Sometimes people don't come back because they just are carrying this shame, this guilt. And a lot of times if churches don't do a good job at clearly communicating the grace of the gospel and the heart of God, the heart of the father, I think they can add to that shame and guilt and just crush people, and that keeps them away. And so I would say, you know, understand your friend's story, you know, what's going on, what's going on, and then point your friend to the beauty of Jesus, to who he is, to his grace, to his mercy. And with that, I think you can also give warnings. I mean, when we turn away from the Lord, when we turn our backs on the truth, I mean, that's why James said what he said there in James chapter 5, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death.

We're talking about eternal souls here. And so I think that there is a sense of urgency that you want to have with your friend while at the same time being gracious and opening up this discussion. And certainly I would also say, Moses, pray. Pray that the Lord would soften her heart and open her eyes to see what she's missing, what she's missing from the fellowship of the church and ultimately from walking with Christ who loves us and is good. And so thank you for your question and may the Lord really guide you as you have this discussion with your friend. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, we'd love to hear from you right now. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Richard who's calling from Pennsylvania. Richard, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?

Hi, Pastor. My question is, what is your opinion of the New Living Translation Bible regards to accuracy and reliability? Yeah, well, you know, I don't personally use the New Living Translation of the Bible.

I think that there are some, I mean, obviously you have a spectrum, right? You have some translations of the Bible that are going to be more wooden and sort of stick closer to the Hebrew and Greek texts, the originals. And then you have others that essentially are paraphrases.

I mean, they're not really trying to communicate what the original was communicating in the same way. Maybe they're trying to update the language so much so that really they sort of lost the word-for-word kind of translation. And so I think that in terms of translations, the New Living Translation is probably going to be closer to a kind of a paraphrase. And so in my preaching and teaching and just in my own personal devotions, I tend to use other translations like the ESV or the New American Standard Bible or even the NIV.

I don't really have an issue with the NIV. And different translations have strengths and weaknesses as well. And so I think it's helpful to use a variety of translations if they're available to you.

And that's one of the sweet things about, you know, there's really an abundance of translations that we can get a hold of just on our phone right now. And so I would say, you know, if it's something that you want to look at from time to time to just kind of get a different perspective, that's okay. But in terms of real serious Bible study, I would stick with something else like the ESV. This is Core Christianity. We'd love to hear from you if you have a question for Pastor Adriel. By the way, if you aren't particularly comfortable talking about the Christian faith when you're discussing, you know, the issues of faith with maybe, say, friends or relatives or even somebody who might be an atheist or agnostic, there is a wonderful book that we'd like to offer you today, and it will help you do just that.

It's called More Than a Carpenter. Yeah, written by Josh McDowell, over 15 million in print. You think about that question we just received earlier from Moses, wanting to have conversations with this friend who is straying from the church and from the Lord. Well, at the end of the day, I mean, the reason we have these kinds of conversations, the reason we pursue one another is because Jesus really rose from the dead, because the promise of eternal life is for us and for all those who place their trust in Him.

And it's really important for us to understand those promises and why we can be confident that they're true. And that's what a book like this will help you to understand and go deeper in your own sort of ability to defend the Christian faith, which we think is really important here at the core. And so we want to get this resource in your hands again, More Than a Carpenter, written by Josh McDowell. You know, with Easter coming up, this is really a fantastic time to read this book and prepare yourself for some of the conversations you may be having with friends and family members who don't believe in Jesus or who have questions about the Christian faith. You can get your copy of More Than a Carpenter today for a donation of any amount at corechristianity.com forward slash offers.

That's corechristianity.com forward slash offers. Or you can call us at 833-843-2673 for help getting any one of our offers. One of the ways you can ask a question is by leaving us a voicemail on our line, or you can go to our website and record a voicemail there. Let's hear a voicemail that came in last week.

Hey, this is James from Cincinnati, Ohio. I wanted to get your thoughts on the difference between lust and, I guess, normal sexual desire. Is there a difference in those two? Because it seems like if God created us, it wouldn't necessarily be classified as lust. So I just want to get your thoughts on the potential differences between the two.

Thank you so much. Yeah, I really appreciate that that question. So lust in the New Testament, oftentimes it translates the Greek word epithumia, used to describe a strong desire, not always a sexual desire, but oftentimes that can be the sort of connotation. And it's not really used positively. I mean, when we talk about lust in Scripture, and so I think we want to be careful to differentiate between those two ideas. First, I think of what Jesus himself said in Matthew 5, beginning in verse 27.

You have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery, but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And you see there this sort of this sense of covetous desire, longing for, passionately desiring something that you should not have. Now, I want to also say that the Bible does celebrate sexual desire. And there's a way in which we ought to talk about this positively too.

So it's not all negative. Lust, we might think of that negatively as longing for, passionately desiring something that you shouldn't have. But the natural sexual desire is actually something that the Bible celebrates within the context of marriage.

You think of the entire book of the Song of Songs, for example, which is essentially a celebration of marital intimacy, coming together, husband and wife. I also think of this passage in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 5, this exhortation beginning in verse 15, it says, drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets, let them be for yourself alone and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth. A lovely deer, a graceful doe, let her breasts fill you at all times with delight.

Be intoxicated always in her love. What a beautiful description of intimacy in the context of marriage. So that's something that is celebrated by the Bible. I think it's important for us to distinguish there, because I think sometimes people can have this just sort of taboo view of sex in the Christian life. It's bad, it's icky, that kind of a thing, but the Bible doesn't do that. No, this is a gift that God gave to his people to be enjoyed in a particular context. Lust, what it does is it takes those natural desires, those good desires, and it twists them. It drives us to reach for things and pursue things that we shouldn't have. Again, it's this sort of covetous desire.

So that's how I would distinguish between those two things. I appreciate the question, brother. You're listening to Core Christianity. Let's go to Rick, who is calling in from Santa Clarita, California. Rick, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, hi, gentlemen. Thank you for your show. I really appreciate it.

It's been a blessing. My question is, myself, I take a complementary, basically, stance when it comes to women in ministry. However, my in-laws, who I'm very close with, do attend a church where it's an egalitarian church. There is a women pastor, and I know there may be a time soon that they may wish to invite me to spend a Sunday service with them at their church. So in regards to my stance as a complementarian, would it be sinful for me, in a sense, to go and sit under that church on a Sunday morning? Would it be, in a sense, also supporting a sinful thing or a biblical, disobedient situation that Sunday? That's my question.

Hey, Rick. Yeah. Well, so my take is that, you know, it sounds to me like you are in a good church and you're settled where you are.

And again, let me just define these terms, because not everybody understands, you know, complementary and egalitarian. It's just, you know, can women serve as pastors in the local church? I mean, that's a lot more than that, but it sounds like that's what you're getting at here in particular. And I would say if, you know, you got invited on a Sunday and you're invested in your local church, I mean, one thing you could just say is, hey, you know, I have a church that I'm already attending, but would it be a sin for you to go to this other church to visit with your in-laws? I don't think that I would say, you know, that it's a sin. No.

No. The reality is, is if you've shared your own opinion and, you know, they understand kind of your view, I mean, it could open up a discussion with them, not just to talk about this issue, but to talk about the things of the Lord. Now, I don't want to minimize this issue because it's an important thing and the Bible speaks to this, but the most important thing is what is being preached, right?

I mean, is the gospel being faithfully preached? And maybe that's the question that you can bring up with your in-laws in terms of what you hear if you go there and why it's so important for us to be under the ministry of the word, to hear the law of God proclaimed, to be convicted of our sins, and then to be pointed to what Christ has done for us to redeem us. And so, you know, like I said, it sounds to me like you're in a good church, you're committed there. That's a wonderful thing. If, you know, one Sunday you get invited, I don't think you need to view it as a sin issue.

It's a personal decision, but it could open up a conversation with your in-laws that might lead to something fruitful. And so that's how I would think about it at least, brother, and I appreciate you reaching out to us. Thanks, Rick. We appreciate your call. Thanks so much for listening to Core Christianity. If you have a question for Pastor Adriel, here's the phone number to call.

It's 833-843-2673. Let's go to John, who's calling in from North Sioux City, South Dakota. John, welcome to Core Christianity.

Yeah, good afternoon. I had a question. I've had some conversations recently with different folks, and there seems to be a lot of controversy on at what point would a child be accountable for their sins. I guess, for example, my four-year-old son has made a profession of faith and trust in Jesus Christ, but I know as his father, he doesn't really quite understand what's going on. You know, he knows what he hears from his mom and I, and what he's learning in church and Sunday school and whatnot, but it's just obvious at that point. A child really doesn't know, and I've heard some folks say, you know, if a five-year-old doesn't accept Christ and they die, they go to hell, and I just think that is absolutely absurd, and I would like to see what your opinion is and maybe some scriptures to back that up. Hey, well, John, thank you for that question.

We don't have a ton of time because we're coming close to the end of the broadcast, but I mean, I have four young children as well, and so this is a question that I've thought about. I mean, certainly as a child continues to grow in their understanding, right, I think that there's a higher level of accountability there, and anyone who says, you know, that a four-year-old or a five-year-old can't be saved, you know, I think they're just missing so much of what the New Testament actually reveals to us. I mean, we're told in Luke chapter one that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he was in his mother's womb, and so there's evidence of the fact that God saves even babies. I mean, it's a work of his spirit. The spirit of God is sovereign. Now, we're called to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and as they grow, they become more and more accountable. Thank you for your question, brother. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.