Are Desires Evil or Not (Ephesians 2:1-10)
Gary McManus, 10/08/2023Part of the Life With Jesus is Better series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
October 8, 2023 Ephesians 2:1-10
American Christians are afraid, but not of Mamon, money.
More people trust money. Jesus said, “Y’all cannot serve
two masters. (Matthew 6:24)
Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. It is a deadly sin
because it (and the seven deadly sins) lead to the death
of the soul.
Many see lots of money as a blessing. Examples?
American Televangelists of the 1980s and The Prosperity
Gospel. (See Job 42:10. But really, 6,000 camels?!)
From the last several weeks in the Bible, we come to the root
of the problem of greed. . and that is desire.
The word “desire” is in the Bible over 200 times.
Christians are not the only religion concerned with greed;
Buddhism. Buddhism, at its very base, is concerned with
the problem of human desire.
Buddhism: fourth largest world religion
--360 million followers
--half are in China
--only 7% of the world population
--not expected to grow in the 21st Century
Buddhism is a Humanist philosophy based on the teaching
of one man, Siddhartha Gautama, born 2,500 years ago.
Today in the Bible, we look at Ephesians 2:1-10.
Ephesus, a pagan capital of the ancient world;
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world,
the Temple to the Goddess Artemis of Ancient Greece.
The Apostle stated plainly, y’all were like all the other
pagans—following the desires of BODY and MIND. . .
But then what happened to the believers?
By grace they were saved through Christ.
Made alive?
All believers got a NEW LIFE. . .(Revelation 21:5)
and were born again (John 3:3).
Believers’ desires come from a new heart, and the Holy Spirit.
So, does a new heart and the Holy Spirit--does that SOLVE
the problem of desire for Christians? NO.
The Apostle said that desires came from the body and mind.
Did you know that your body has a memory?
The body memory remains in habits and cravings.
The Apostle will say. . “be transformed by the.renewal
of your mind. . .” Romans 12:2.
Colossians 3:5: “Put to death. . .evil desire, . . .”
All desire? No. Evil desire.
The warning still stands in 1 Timothy 6:9.
Even for the believer, the possible problem of desire remains:
James 1:14-15.
Please notice the Greek word in these several passages is the
same, “desire” not any different word or additional words.
Desiring a slice of pie is a desire. Desiring a slice of pie and
then eating the whole pie is gluttony and that is a sin.
There wasn’t anything evil about wanting a slice of pie. And yes,
gluttony is ALSO one of the seven deadly sins.
Notice: James was not writing to pagans! James was writing to
Jesus followers. Sin was still very possible and we can all be
enticed by our desires.
Beware habits, cravings and addictions.
Unhealthy habits can be replaced with healthy habits
. . .like prayer and gratitude. Yes, really.
See Romans 8:5-6
Through Jesus we have the Holy Spirit and we may NOW
set our minds on the things of the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:4, Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them. AMEN.
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