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Taming The Flesh Through Suffering

There are at least a dozen books in my pastoral library that deal with battling lust. It is true that this is a huge issue for men and a great source of stumbling to many men and many pastors for that matter - so on one hand I am glad they are there and I am grateful for the insight they have given to me.

But I was really struck by a verse of Scripture this morning from 1 Peter 4:1b-2.

"for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions, but for the will of God."

Simply put, I believe Peter is telling us that those who are suffering for Christ's sake have their mind on Christ and suffering and not on the passions of the flesh. The reason so many men battle with lust and fleshly temptations (and I include myself in that group) is that our minds are far from the things of Christ.

Suffering in the flesh is the direct opposite of indulging the flesh. The man who is getting lashes on his back in China is not thinking about the girl wearing a short skirt on the corner. The man who is risking his job by sharing his faith with his coworkers is probably not spending his work time watching pornography on his computer.

God's word cuts right to the heart of the issue - we sin, because we have not set our minds on the things of Christ, but on the things of the flesh - and the flesh does not want to suffer.

Comments

Coffee drinkin redneck theologian said…
Good post and a good reminder for me to get off the computer and get into the Word.
1:47 PM
Anonymous said…
It is useful to try everything in practise anyway and I like that here it's always possible to find something new. :)
12:02 AM
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