Fighting sin

How do we mortify the flesh? I want all boys and girls to [pay attention here] because now is the time to practice this.

You first must know your particular lust. This is really what the Bible means by besetting sin. Each of us in God's providence, have certain manifestations of lust. We are not all the same; we are not cut out of the same mold. We are sinners through and through, but we have proclivities, we have propensities, we have heart desires that will be stronger in different areas for different people. And we are not to go through life ignorant of who we are. We need to be aware of who we are and where our weaknesses lie; and this is where the process begins.

Second, in temptation, we do not go after the suggestions of lust...You are concentrating then on the thing that is enticing you. You go to the root; you go to the lust. You know your lust, that is where you fight the battles. Whatever your particular propensities, desires, sinful passions, and pleasures are, you go there.

Third, you apply the work of the Lord Jesus Christ—both as motive and as death dealing. As motive, because he suffered these awful things to deliver you from your lust. Remind yourself of what he has done for you. Remind yourself of his sufferings and his trials, of the agony of Calvary's cross, of his whole existence here in this life. And tell yourself, He did that so that I might be delivered from sin. How can I go on sinning? But even more, you ask him to crucify your lust. You crawl up on the cross and say, Lord, nail me, nail these lusts. Show me the power of the cross that can put our sin to death. But because of union with Christ, we know that is happening, and he will apply the efficacy of his death as well as his resurrection.

Fourth, starve your lust…and [let] it be put to death. Matton says, just as the Babylonian brats were to be smashed against the wall, we are to smash the brats of our hearts against the wall. We starve them, we kill them. That means we cut off the occasions, people, conversations. Sometimes young people's parents tell them, I do not want you to play with person X, and maybe they will not go into all of the reasons. Those parents recognize that in that person or in those children are patterns of behaviour or habits that will only hurt their own children spiritually. And it is for their well-being that they tell them, No, you may not play with them. We must learn to do that: I am not going to play with them; I am not going to do that. We do not want to feed our lusts, we want to starve them. That means avoiding peoples, places, and things that stir our particular lust up within us.

And then remember, make daily diligent and careful use of a private means of grace, and corporately of a corporate means of grace, for they have been designed by God to put to death our lust and to bring us in conformity to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.¹

Joseph A. Pipa