Winning the War On Lust

In 1 Thessalonians 4 we are told that it's God's will that we should be sanctified and holy, avoiding lust and learning to control our own bodies.

This often seems easier said than done.

This week’s Christ Church Care Resource, a 13 minute audio response from John Piper, provides some wise strategies for countering lust in a decisive, godly way.

God calls us to not only resist lustful thoughts, but to fill our minds with the beauties of Christ so that our desires gradually conform to his.

Winning the war against lust is by far the most common theme of all the emails we get in our inbox. Today’s question comes from an anonymous listener.

“Hello, Pastor John. Thank you for taking my question! I am a female college student in Maryland, and I love listening to your podcast. Thank you for the encouragement and truth that you put out each week. My question is this: How exactly does one transform the way they think?

The Bible talks about letting your mind be transformed, but I feel it’s not so cut and dry as it is laid out in Scripture. Lately, I’ve been struggling with lustful thoughts that make me feel very insecure and guilty. So how do I deal with this, especially in a sex-crazed culture? I want to fight the temptations. Every time a lustful thought occurs, I feel like I’ve let God down. How do I let my mind get transformed, as the Bible says, so that I can win this overwhelming and exhausting battle?”