Lust Well – The Law of Liberty (5)

Lust Well

The Law of Liberty (5)

This is part 5 of a 49-part series of In the Gates on The Law of Liberty. Readers will gain a better perspective on the main teaching of this series by reading The Ground for Christian Ethics, by T. M. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, click Publications, then click Waxed Tablet, and scroll down until you see this little volume.

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other… Galatians 4:17

I want to encourage every follower of Jesus Christ to learn the art of lusting well. Yes, indeed, the more perfectly we lust, the fuller and more abundant will be our lives. So lust well, my friends.

Which is to say, lust as the Spirit does. Lust is simply inordinate desire, a sudden hankering to experience, possess, or know something that doesn’t normally come into our minds with the kind of intensity it shows when lust has kicked in. Our natural tendency, when it comes to lust, is to give in to the weaknesses of our flesh, which, as Paul explains, are contrary to the desires of the Spirit. Since the Spirit desires nothing so much as the glory of God, and to equip and enable us to live for that glory by teaching us to obey God’s Law (Ezek. 36:26, 27), if only we could learn how to lust as He does, we’d be free from those baser lusts which, as we’ve seen, always lead to bigger sins.

How does one learn to desire God’s Law above the lusts of the flesh? Well, not by ignoring or neglecting it, you can take that to the bank. Rather, we must study the Law, meditate in it daily, talk about it with other believers, and contemplate its manifold beauty, wisdom, goodness, and truth. Once we begin to see and understand the Law, not as a burden to be avoided, but as a liberating code to set us free unto righteousness, then we’ll hanker and long for more of it. We’ll be lusting well at that point, just like the Spirit Himself.

And that kind of desire–for the holy and righteous and good Law of God–leads to life full and abundant and glorifying to God (John 8:32; Lev. 18:1-5).

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.