“So flee youthful passions and pursue
righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with
those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
– 2 Timothy 2:22
he above Scripture verse is probably one of the most concise Tbits of advice reminding us how we should engage in ghting
lust. Commit it to memory. Chew on this verse daily. Let your
mind marinate in it, for in it lies three Biblical strategies for ghting
lust.
- Run From
“So flee youthful passions”
“Passions” refer to our cravings, our longings, our desires. More
specically the passage speaks of “youthful passions.” These
eshly lusts are said to “wage war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
On the surface these cravings are anchored in the members of our
body (Romans 6:12), but as we look deeper we nd they stem from
our sinful hearts (Romans 7:7). Ultimately these passions are forms
of idolatry (Colossians 3:5), revolving our lives and desires around
created things rather than the Creator.
We must run from these things. Every Christian, even though he or
she is indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, still lives in a mortal body
surrounded by worldly amusements. These youthful lusts
stubbornly cling to our heals. As we see these passions stirred in us,
we must habitually flee from them.
This might mean mentally fleeing: bouncing our thoughts away
from lustful imaginations.
This might mean visually fleeing: bouncing our eyes away from
lustful images.
This might mean physically fleeing: walking (or running) away
from tempting situations. - Run To: “pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace” It is not enough to flee from youthful lusts. We must run toward a new passion. We are to “pursue,” that is, eagerly and swiftly run toward Christlikeness. Christ promises His people a heart of . . .
Righteousness (real integrity, a passion for justice, and a life
pleasing to God)
Faith (strong and welcome conviction and trust in God)
Love (benevolent affection toward God and others)
Peace (tranquility in the heart and harmony with God and others)
We are to run hard after these things each day knowing these
character qualities are how we were created to live. We pursue
these things knowing it is our destiny to live this way. A billion
years from now, when sin is a distant memory, we will be living
lives of love, peace and righteousness in the kingdom of God.
Have this hope we purify ourselves, just as He is pure (1 John
3:3).
- Run With
“. . . along with those who call on the Lord from a
pure heart.”
We must not only run from lust and toward God’s vision for our lives,
we must also run with our brothers and sisters with the same vision.
We must all nd companions for this stretch of the road, those who
share our faith and convictions, those in the common struggle for
holiness.
These friends should be those who “call on the Lord,” an expression
for those who are saved (Acts 22:16; Romans 10:13). These are
other men and women who have also cried out to God for the
forgiveness of their sin from a “pure” (genuine) heart.
Running with others involves a certain level of intentionality. It is not
enough to simply know others around us are on the same journey
because they profess a Christian faith. We must have real running
companions, those who actually help us ee youthful passions and
pursue a Christlike heart.
James 5:16 and Hebrews 10:24-25 offer a structure of what
this kind of accountability looks like.
Building a good accountability relationship takes time. There are
benets and blessings along the way, but the ripest fruit comes after
a real friendship is built.