The Idolatry of Desire: Guarding Against Impurity and Passion

2. 1 John 5:21  Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

3. Exodus 20:3  "You shall have no other gods before Me.

4. The Idolatry of Desire

5. The Idolatry of Desire Idolatry is “making a good thing an ultimate thing.”

6. Colossians 3:5-6 (ESV) Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.

7. Colossians 3:5-6 (ESV) Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. “The series recounts various forms of evil love, and is so arranged as that it starts with the coarse, gross act, and goes on to more subtle and inward forms. It goes up the stream, as it were, to the fountain head, passing inward from deed  to desire.” —Alexander Maclaren

8. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Sexual immorality – porneia

9. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Sexual immorality – porneia 1 Corinthians 5:1 (NIRV) It is actually reported that there is sexual sin among you. I'm told that a man is living with his father's wife and is having sex with her. Even people who do not know God don't commit that sin.

10. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Sexual immorality – porneia Recently, The Barna Group found that 56 percent of people under age 25 think that not recycling is wrong…  

11. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Sexual immorality – porneia Recently, The Barna Group found that 56 percent of people under age 25 think that not recycling is wrong, but only 32 percent think that viewing porn is wrong! The same survey found that nearly half of young people actively seek out porn monthly or more often. 

12. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Impurity – akathartos

13. Impurity – akathartos Ephesians 5:3-4  (NIV) But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.  4  Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

14. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Passion & Evil desire

15. “Then follow ‘passion’ and ‘evil desire’; the sources of the evil deeds. These are again more inward and more general than the preceding.” Passion is more passive, evil desire is more active. “The ‘lusts of the flesh’ are in the one aspect kindled by outward temptations which come with terrible force and carry men captive, acting almost irresistibly.... On the other hand they are excited by the voluntary action of the man himself. In the one the evil comes into the heart; in the other the heart goes out to the evil.” —Alexander Maclaren

16. Addiction, therefore, is voluntary slavery. Addicts make choices. They are in control. They are committed to their way of managing life. Yet, they are also enslaved and out of control. They are overpowered by the triumvirate of the world, the flesh, and the devil. This is why addiction experts no longer wait to intervene until someone hits bottom, because there is no bottom that brings clarity or empowers an out-of-control, enslaved person. — Edward Welch

17. Make no mistake, every addiction (uncontrolled desire) is idolatry and involves a choice. At first it’s a choice made BY you, and then it’s a choice made FOR you.

18. “…some people are wired for addictions, and that wiring gets further tangled by the addiction itself. Scripture is not opposed to this idea, especially when wiring is taken as a contributing rather than an irresistible cause.” —Edward Welch

19. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Passion – pathos

20. Passion – pathos 1 Corinthians 7:9  But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

21. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Evil desire – kakosepithumia

22. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Evil desire – kakosepithumia This word for “desire” is used positively in: Luke 17:22, 22:15; 1 Thess. 2:17; Heb. 6:11.

23. Desire – epithumia 1 Timothy 3:1  It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

24. Desire – epithumia 1 Timothy 3:1  It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. “The moral character of a strong desire or lust is determined by the object of that lust.”

25. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Covetousness – pleonexia

26. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Covetousness – pleonexia Greed is “the fierce and ever fiercer longing of the creature which has turned from God to fill itself with the inferior objects of sense. To such a god there is given the first thought of the morning, the last wish of the evening, and the action of every waking hour.” —Richard Trench

27. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Everyone believes in god, but not everyone believes in God.

28. Colossians 3:5-6  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Everyone believes in god, but not everyone believes in God. Hebrews 11:1  (KJV)Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

29. Desire • Discern— Practice sorting out your desires • Deny— Learn to say no to your desires • Direct— Commit to lifting up your desires

30. Dealing with the Idolatry of Desire • Discern— Practice sorting out your desires • Deny— Learn to say no to your desires • Direct— Commit to lifting up your desires Psalms 73:25  Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.