Journeys of a Former Firebrand

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” (1 John 2:16, NASB 95)

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What is the “unholy trinity of sin,” you may ask? Perhaps you’ve heard of the seven deadly sins. It’s not those.

In fact, these are even more insidious because they aren’t sins unless they are dealt with in a sinful way. What am I talking about?

I’m glad you asked! It’s the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. There. I’m glad we cleared that up.

Wait. Maybe you’ve never heard of this “unholy trinity of sin” before. We all should know these. They are what tripped Eve up in the Garden of Eden and what continues to trip us sinful human beings up to this day.

Notice what caused Eve to break the command of God after the serpent had tempted her:

“When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6, NASB 95)

Notice: She saw it was good for food (lust of the flesh), that it was a delight to the eyes (lust of the eyes) and desirable to make her wise (the pride of life). Satan tempted Eve with these, and we’ve been falling for these same three things ever since.

So it’s important to know what these are.

Let’s look at the “unholy trinity of sin” a little closer and see how it affects us and how we can avoid it. To do this, we will revisit our opening text, 1 John 2:16:

Lust of the Flesh — This is craving out of control.

So I have a few questions for you. Is food sin? Is enjoying a soft drink sin? Here’s a more difficult one. Is sex sin?

The answer to all these may surprise you. The answer is a decided no. None of these things in themselves is sin. They are all simply aspects of life that are necessary.

However, if used in improper ways, these things can become sinful.

Food eaten in too large of quantities is gluttony. It not only affects the way we look but also our health. Obesity is a serious problem in this country, and it all stems from the sin of gluttony.

Sex on its own is beautiful. God created it so that the human race might continue (see Genesis 1). God even gifted it to us in such a way that there is pleasure in it. None of that is wrong in any way.

However, sex is only to be practiced within the context of marriage. Anything outside of that is sin, according to God’s standard, and is considered adultery. In fact, premiscuous sex has a greater chance of contracting and spreading sexually transmitted diseases. God gave the command to engage in sex within marriage for a reason. Anything beyond this is disobediece to God and is sin.

These are just two examples of the lust of the flesh. In themselves they aren’t sin. Anything beyond that is the lust of the flesh.

Lust of the Eyes — This is viewing beauty out of control.

Beauty isn’t wrong by itself. God built beauty into His creation so that we could enjoy it (Genesis 1-2). He also created some people with beauty. To notice that a woman is beautiful or that a man is handsome isn’t wrong. God created the system that way.

However, a lack of self-control regarding beauty leads to serious problems. Pornography feasts on out-of-control lust for beauty. It not only exploits women in inappropriate ways but causes the viewer to become so addicted, he can’t control his impulses. This may manifest itself in different ways in different people, but the point is that it is a seriously addictive activity that leads to ruined marriages, ruined relationships, ruined professions and ruined lives.

The same could be said for the imagination. The imagination can conjure up all kinds of beautiful things. Art, music and literature are great examples of the beauty of imagination.

However, the mind sometimes takes that beauty and contorts it. Erotic story-lines have led many into inappropriate fantasies, resulting in illicit affairs and other sinful behavior. So called “erotic literature” and movies spawned from them have misled many into imagining that there’s beauty in sexual fantasy. As noted above, some even claim pornography is “art” and “beautiful” when in reality it’s simply sin.

At the end of it is heartache as the lust of the eyes eclipses obedience to God.

Boastful Pride of Life — This is control out of control.

We hear a lot about freedom in our culture, and rightly so. Especially here in the United States, we have great freedom bought with the blood of many who fought for it. That’s a precious gift.

The only drawback is that we think we control our own fate. We think that freedom buys us the ability to do what we want. Freedom makes us free.

It doesn’t.

Let me explain with a simple illustration: Try driving 150 miles per hour on the freeway. When you get pulled over, try telling the law-enforcement officer that you have the right to go that fast because you are “a free moral agent.”

That’s probably the fastest way to get your backside thrown in a cell of one kind or another. It won’t work. You don’t have THAT much freedom.

The same is true regarding our attitude toward God. He has given us a lot of freedom to act. We have families that we make decisions for. We may work in a job where we are in a position where we tell others what to do. I’m a pastor and have charge over a flock of God in Grizzly Flats.

However, we don’t assume that this authority that we have makes us a law to ourselves. Sometimes we may think that way though.

When we wrestle control of our lives away from God and go at it ourselves, we take for ourselves authority that we haven’t been granted. We have been told to depend on God for everything. It’s when we go our own way without asking God how He wants it done that we fall into trouble.

You see, there are times in our lives when we become “practical atheists” and we live as if we are in control of our lives rather than God. In those moments, we have sinned the sin of the pride of life.

We have made ourselves God, and that isn’t okay. Only when we see our lives lived out under God’s authority and to His glory can we avoid the sin of the pride of life.

So What?

None of these things in and of themselves are wrong, so we are given the goahead to do all these things within the context God has given them.

Enjoy food in moderation.

Enjoy sex only within the context of marriage, but certainly enjoy it!

Enjoy flexing your creative muscle in ways that glorify God rather than letting your mind wander where it shouldn’t.

Control those things that God has given you control over, leaving the rest up to God.

The simple truth is this: Obey God, and you won’t fall into the trap and snare of the devil (compare 1 Timothy 3:7). Obey God, and you won’t fall into sin. Obey God, and you will avoid the unholy trinity of sin.

After all, it was our sin that sent God’s sinless Son, Jesus Christ, to the cross. That payment cost Him His life. We should see our lives as testimonies of God’s grace and live for His glory.