How Sexual Lust Destroys the Great Commission

Every Christian knows the Great Commission. Jesus taught us to take the Gospel to the whole world, and to make disciples of all nations (see Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:16). When we hear those verses, we often just shut our ears off because we have heard them countless times before.

Still, we know it is a command to be fulfilled.

And yet, there are various hindrances that we allow to keep us from fulfilling this command. Maybe the two most commonly cited are (1) a fear of rejection and (2) being too busy with other things. We could list nearly countless things that keep us from reaching lost souls beyond these two, however.

Today I want us to think of one that hit me like a ton of bricks when reading recently. I had thought of it before, but the way it was presented really made me think.

I have been reading Disciplines of a Godly Young Man by Kent and Carey Hughes. Thus far, I’m impressed by what I have read, but one paragraph jumped off the page at me the other day.

In a chapter called “Discipline of Purity,” the authors write:

Today, Christian guys have given in to temptation and given up their purity for the sake of a few moments of pleasure. Having what we want, when we want it, how we want it has become our priority, but it has come at a great cost. We have sacrificed our holiness, our discipline, and our obedience. Our friends look at us, see Christians as no different from them, and dismiss the message of a God who changes lives. (page 31)

Key in on that last part. If those around us do not see us as any different, how can we tell them that God changes people! And while the book is geared toward men, the application is universal: people will not change to what we are, if we are already just like them.

Knowing that, consider the specific point of application from the quote above. How many Christians use the same crude jokes and double entendre as others around them? How many Christian women post on Facebook about going to watch “that” film, and the reason they give is because the male lead is “so hot?” How many Christian men “check out” every girl that walks by when he is out with his buddies at the gym or restaurant?

We are letting our sexual lust not only consume our minds; we are letting it destroy our ability to show others what it means to “transformed” by having a mind that is renewed through the Gospel (Romans 12:2). If we are not different from those around us, what are we asking them to “convert” to?

There is no doubt that we live in a sexually-saturated society, but that does not give Christians the right to fall prey to that snare of the devil. He is using lust not only to trap Christians in thoughts and actions that are unholy, but also to keep us from being lights that shine for the Lord.

We often say that we can take the Gospel to others not only through words, but through our actions as well. If our actions are no different from those around us, due to our lust, “how shall they hear?”

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