Question:

How can young people Scripturally deal with lust, especially sexual lust?

1 Corinthians 10:6-12 gives us an encouragement to avoid giving in to sinful lusts.  Verse 12, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall,” shows that we need God’s help to resist temptation.  Verse 13 adds that “God…will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.”  2 Timothy 2:1, “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus,” shows us that any time lust comes to mind we should look to Christ rather than try to handle it on our own.  It helps us to resist sin when we recognize that all sin is against God (Psalm 51:4) and not only against our fellow humans or our own selves.  We need to ask God to search us and judge our thoughts and show us any sinful tendencies lurking in our hearts that we are not yet aware of (Psalm 139:23,24; 19:12).  Also, we need to “think on” those “things that are pure” (Philippians 4:8).

We should have the Lord Jesus before us in our thoughts: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14).  “Make not provision for the flesh” would include being careful about where we go and with whom we associate.  “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out” (Mark 9:47).  This means that we may need to be radical in our efforts to make no provision for the flesh, perhaps removing cable channels from our TV, or getting rid of the TV altogether, or canceling Internet service if we are stumbled by these promoters of fleshly desires in our homes.

“Flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14).  Joseph was an example of one who literally fled from temptation (Genesis 39:12), and whose resistance to temptation was strengthened by the consideration that failure to resist would involve sin against God (Genesis 39:9) as was mentioned above.

Going back to Romans 13:14, the thought of putting on the Lord Jesus Christ is similar to putting on clothes.  We put them on in the morning and they are with us all day long.  We should be aware of Christ’s presence with us all day long.  Joseph was conscious of being in the presence of God.

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18).  If we value a close relationship with the Lord and appreciate being able to go always to Him in prayer, then we need always to confess and forsake sin.  It is also helpful to remember that if I yield to temptation, that is one more sin the Lord had to suffer for.

If we want the best marriage and God’s best blessings on us, we should wait for God to lead us to the marriage partner of His choice, maintain a pure physical relationship throughout the courtship and engagement period, and reserve physical intimacy for marriage.