Posted: 10/27/07

Are You Still Handicapped?

Set the captive free…

The sign said "handicapped" and I should have heeded the warning. But because I didn't understand the real meaning of the sign I sat there in pain, waiting for the crawling ants to stop, while in a handicapped bathroom. Normally I don't talk so publically about such things but I saw the truth through the pain and considered it worth your embarrassment to point it out… bear with me…

First, do not use the handicap bathroom unless you like walking in excruciating pain while your legs get blood back to where it should go. I could feel my poor heart pound trying to catch up; it was not fun… Yes, the handicap bathrooms are nicer to look at and they do seem to be better than the normal ones but don't be deceived: Handicapped facilities are designed to make you handicapped if you are not already.

Now, of course, I am joking here (mostly), but this leads me to a point about another warning much more serious to contemplate:
Sex outside of marriage seems like it is nice to engage in, and is for a season, but, let me warn you, only thinking about engaging in improper discourse, known as "lusting", will injure you if you engage in it. The Bible is clear: God says not to have sex outside of the sanctity of Biblical Marriage. And God does not say things idly…

Jesus said that to lust is as the sin of adultery because it engages your mind in what you really want to do. God judges the heart. He knows every thought, word and deed. And He will judge every idle word you have spoken whether it was good or evil; every fleeting, and lingering, thought. Jesus also said He would judge those who are His for their every deed. And lust is not only a destructive sin personally but it injures others as well. Not only have you sinned against God but you have sinned against your future spouse and your future children.

We all know the results of this sin unchecked. We see it every day in the newspapers in the divorces over adultery announced, nasty custody battles reported, children and women abused and people imprisoned; all over lust left unchecked, undisciplined.

I have heard, and have said myself, that God just wants to be a 'buzz kill'. 'If it's fun it must be sin," is a popular sentiment among those still lost in their deceptions. But God has made the right way to engage one another in His Standards set forth in the Bible. We need only embrace His will to see our freedom in His love for us.

But wait! Did I say "deceptions"? Yes. The lost are deceived; handicapped by their illusions. Jesus said, while suffering on the Cross, "Father forgive them; they don't know what they are doing." The lost are deceived. So it is your job to tell them the truth. But they will not listen if you are living a lie.

So my second warning is to you who are not one of the "handicapped" any more: Do not go into their sin; you are able to temper your flesh in Christ.
Their lust may look nice sometimes as "they" (those still lost) still get to do what your flesh would very much like still to do. But that place is harmful and will still hurt everyone involved. Remember Jimmy Swaggart and Ted Haggard? Christians can fall to the lusts of the flesh, as I believe Jimmy did, but Ted's example shows how lust makes fools of men playing a plastic Jesus game. Those who are lost cannot control their own flesh and it will eventually show.

It is a common problem among professing Christianity to fall to the temptations of lust. I see this as the #1 tool of the enemy of Christ to try and trip up your testimony, your faith and your relationships, Pride being a close second to Lust and its nefarious cousin. And, if their word can be believed, there are many Christians who fail to heed the signs and avoid these pitfalls of lust. It's not that you cannot overcome but you think you are still unable to resist, when in fact you have the Spirit of God Himself with which to resist any temptation, if you are Christ's. God gives Christians the strength as they trust Jesus is right and obey Him in denying a place for lust in themselves (you know, sometimes the wisest course of action is to run).
It was one of the most freeing inspirations I've ever had when I understood I was no longer subject to my fleshly desires, in Jesus. When I was born again I was freed, and that freedom was indeed freeing. I could now say no and mean it by not obeying my fleshly desires. All temptation is like suitcases in your hands: let go of them and they fall away. Sure, you have to "give up" lust a lot sometimes, but persistence is the key: it gets easier with practice. Gove no place to temptation and it will not become a lust.

All through Bible the signs say clearly "handicapped only: only those who are lost do those things!" If you are Christ's you will not continue in sin. If you have fallen to temptation and lusted then recognize what you have done, STOP doing it, and turn again to Jesus for forgiveness. He is faithful to forgive you if you repent (the stopping and turning part). Your job is not to condemn yourself but to obey; those who disobey are condemned already.

So, if you find yourself continually fighting the same battles over and over again consider you may not be who you think you are. Work out your salvation and see if you are indeed in the faith. For those who are Christ's do not willfully continue in sin.

Jesus came to set you free from your sin's hold on you in every way. And the greatest characteristic of sin is deception through lust. The Apostle Paul explained how to win this battle when he wrote, "Now therefore you are no longer obligated to fulfill the lusts of the flesh." If you are Christ's you know the Truth and are no longer deceived. Walk in that freedom and remain clean, and then seek to rescue others who are still handicapped in their deceptions, enslaved to the lusts of their flesh, bound in their sin.

Set the captive free.

You can do that!

Seek the Lost while you still can…

By Patrick Burwell Click here for bio and archived articles