Polishing the Lust Apple

 

This morning it occurred to me that there is a column to be written on our incessant chasing after lusts. Are we not all guilty of chasing lusts? The new pickup for me, shines brightly and tempts me to incur deep debt. But I do not want this column to be one where I am just talking about our very real fight against the lusts of the world. Rather I want to talk briefly about the person who does not walk circumspectly, and allows his lusts to fill his life.

Voddie Baucham, in his book It’s Not Like Being Black, writes of the complete and utter debauchery of Kinsey. I grew up in a time when Kinsey was a respected authority and quoted often even in classrooms. I knew that much of his research had been proven fabricated, but back then, no one even realized that much. But Kinsey was much worse and deserved death a thousand times over for his misdeeds in abusing children. No, I do not want to write about Kinsey. A half moment’s thought about Kinsey does not suggest a good outcome for his judgment.

Rather, I want to write about the young believer, and the sad possible outcome for his life, if he follows the lust apple, whatever it may be. Long ago, for I am getting very old, I saw a period where men delighted in putting bumper stickers on their cars that read, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” I do notice that some believers walk down this errant track, and seem unable to find a righteous walk with the Lord.

Consider the Christian who is tempted toward sexual sin. As a young person, he polishes the apple until the shine becomes so bright that he cannot do anything but take a bite. We all understand the brightness of the temptation, and it takes an older person to realize that years of denial are the only course to righteousness. But our poor young man, having experienced the delights of the flesh, can only see how wonderful it was. He takes to polishing his apple. Getting out his wax, and buffing it with a soft cloth, it becomes shinier and shinier. It becomes so big in the young man’s life that he can see nothing else, and he begins to give in again and again. Until his lusts for the shiny apple seem to consume him.

Proverbs has a great deal to say about the young man needing not to give himself to sexual sin. It is old wisdom, but still wisdom for all of its age. But in our days and times, there is now a phenomenon happening along with such sin. After being frustrated repeatedly about turning away from his sin, he begins to rationalize. “It’s not so bad,” he reasons. “God loves us all anyway.”

It is not long before his rationalization has reached new heights. “It is just the way I am, and God takes us just the way we are.” Now his apple of lust has become so big in his mind that he can think of little else. It becomes his all-consuming passion, the “idol” of his life. And along with it, a new attitude. “God made me this way. God loves me. Therefore God must approve of my lifestyle.”

A true statement partially, for God does indeed love you. But the God who made you, did not make you to continually sin. Something has become broken. Proverbs says,  Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.  Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. (Proverbs 4:14, 15). There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof is death.

We all have family caught in the throes of sin. Indeed, if I look in the mirror too long, I turn away in despair. But the bounds of wickedness have enlarged for our generation. Now those with polished apples are telling us that we need to accept them as they are, to love them as Jesus would have us to do. But Jesus never taught us to accept wicked behavior as the norm. Remember that he warned the Pharisees with “you brood of vipers.” One of the measures of Christianity must be a continual renewal to God, and a denial of lusts. We must turn away from our polished apples, no matter how they shine.

What is the outcome of such people? I do not know. I agonize over the poor souls I see struggling. At the best I fear that all their works will be burned up in the judgment, but perhaps they themselves will be saved. I know not. It surely is not a good place to be in when we all stand before the bema seat of Christ.

But I do know that their attempt for you to accept their sin is wrong. We must repudiate all sin, and attempt to walk in the light with every footstep, guarding our course carefully, for that day when we meet Christ. Do not feel sorry for them—they have polished their apples, and they alone must face the consequences. It is ever a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. As enjoined in the Bible, we must all prepare to meet our God.