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Summary
- Three practical steps help a Christian overcome lust: remove the triggers that feed it, tell a pastor or trusted friend, and decide in advance what to do when temptation comes.
- In Matthew 5:27–30 Jesus called looking at a woman “to lust after her” adultery “in his heart” and told his hearers to cut off whatever causes them to sin; John Chrysostom read the eye and hand as people too dear to lose, not limbs.
- Temptation is not yet sin: Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus was tempted “yet without sin,” and James 1:14–15 describes sin beginning when desire is welcomed and kept.
- The Catholic Catechism lists lust among the seven capital sins, and the Reformed Westminster Larger Catechism forbids “all unclean imaginations, thoughts, purposes, and affections.”
- The WHO’s ICD-11 lists compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (6C72); a licensed counselor can help when repeated efforts to stop have failed.
- The 1928 Book of Common Prayer’s Collect for Purity asks God to “cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit.”
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Genesis 39:12; 2 Samuel 11:2; Job 31:1; Psalm 51:10; 119:11; Proverbs 4:23; 5:18; 24:16; Matthew 4:4; 5:27–30; 19:12; Mark 7:21; John 8:11; Romans 8:13; 12:2; 13:13–14; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:5, 9; 10:13; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Galatians 5:16; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:5; 2 Timothy 2:22; Hebrews 4:15; 13:4; James 1:14–15; 4:7; 5:16; 1 John 1:9; 2:16). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997. Paragraph 1866: https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P6D.HTM; paragraph 2351: https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P85.HTM
- Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005. Questions 304, 306 and 527–529. https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html
- Westminster Larger Catechism (1648), question 139. https://thewestminsterstandard.org/westminster-larger-catechism/
- John Chrysostom. Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 17. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 10. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200117.htm
- Eusebius of Caesarea. Church History, Book 6, chapter 8. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 1. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250106.htm
- Augustine of Hippo. Confessions, Book 8, chapters 7 and 12. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 1. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/110108.htm
- Jerome. Letter 125, to Rusticus. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 6. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001125.htm
- World Health Organization. ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics (2025-01), 6C72 Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder. https://icd.who.int/browse/2025-01/mms/en#1630268048
- The Book of Common Prayer (Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Standard Book of 1928. The Holy Communion, the Collect, p. 67; the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, the Collect, p. 214. PDF facsimile: https://www.artisticdailyprayers.org/uploads/3/0/1/6/30164961/bcp1928std.pdf
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