Putting Sin to Death: A Call to Reorient Desires

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Paul taught that the wrath of God was coming because of these things, and we don't want to experience the wrath of God and we don't want to dishonor Christ and we don't want to commit idolatry. We want to be appropriately dead and reckon ourselves dead and defeat the things to which we have died so that we live in newness of life and honor Christ and Escape wrath. [00:50:46]

It is actually reported that there is a sexual or a sexual immorality same word among you and of a kind so they're different kinds of this of a kind that is not tolerated even among the pagans for a man has his father's wife. This is usually taken to be his stepmother probably but could be his mother but the fact that he says it this way means stepmother so that kind of sexual immorality namely having sex with your father's second wife after your mother dies is absolutely unheard of among the pagans. [00:108:24]

Paul uses the word impurity nine times in his letters four of them he pairs it with sexual immorality this very word these two are regularly together but only in one place does Paul give a glimpse into what kind of activity he means by impurity and I'll point you to that you're in Romans 1 24 therefore God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity so God gave them up to impurity and what is he talking about to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. [00:227:76]

For this reason he gave them up to dishonorable Passions for their women exchange natural relations for those that are contrary to Nature and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another men committing Shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error this is homosexuality both women to women and men to men and that's what he's referring to is impurity here and therefore it would be legitimate to say one of the things Paul has in mind with impurity is homosexual practice. [00:280:91]

It's interesting these two are behaviors done with the body these three on two three are internal in the heart so he's shifting from outward Behavior which come from these to the inner descriptions of what we should not feel what we should not experience passion and what what is passion well it's interesting that passion in relation to desire appears to be something that simply elevated much stronger than ordinary desire. [00:327:24]

So when he talks about desire here it's not simply a repetition he adds evil to say that there are ordinary and good desires and evil is is what defines desire here and if we ask now what would that be the most natural place perhaps to go would be to Jesus where he says you have heard that it was said You shall not commit adultery but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to desire her that's a literal translation looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. [00:421:56]

Covetousness ordinarily means we want more and more stuff right and that's what it means for example in Luke 12 15 and he said to them take care and be on your guard against all covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possession so covetousness is the craving of more and more possessions but covetousness has other connotations for example Ephesians 4 19 they have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality for the working of all uncleanness in covetousness. [00:520:70]

Covetousness is that untethered desire of the soul to have either more possessions or more sex than it ought to have so idolatry what does that refer to usually we take it to refer to covetousness but covetousness is so much like passion strong desire desire evil desire covetousness more and more and more desire that it's Indus it can't it can be limited to just covetousness. [00:590:06]

What makes them idolatry is that in preceding section we are supposed to seek the things that are above where Christ is seek long for desire the things that are above you have died your life is hidden with Christ in God when Christ who is your life appears you will appear with him in glory we are to seek long yearn for if you want to use the word covet covet Christ covet life that is above in Christ covet the glory that is there. [00:646:01]

When these things, Christ life in Him Glory from him are not treasured and loved and desired more than sexual morality and impurity by means of passions and desires and covetousness we are idolaters because we are elevating these things above Christ. [00:683:39]

Put to death therefore all of these things and I promised I mean I said maybe it was a promise that I was going to talk about how you do that in this session and I've just taken up all of our time defining these things which I think are so important to understand and so I'm gonna next time I really think it will happen next time talk about what it is to put to death by the Spirit by the word by those glorious things we saw in the previous four verses put to death this idolatry and all of its forms here in these five things. [00:707:33]

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