Step #2  Of the course of sin.  Once lust is conceived it brings forth sin.

In the previous post we learned that when we are tempted, we are draw away by our own desires.  All Satan does is to present to us a well chosen lure to arouse in us a desire to fulfill the lust of the flesh.  Once this has happened, step 2 starts to go into effect. 

The Scripture teaches us that we are to take every thought into captivity and bring it into the obedience of Christ.  There is a common misconception by many who love the Lord Jesus.  We, often times are ashamed of the thoughts that come to us and feel like we have sinned against the Lord for the thoughts we have.  Well, it is my opinion that, we all have to think about the choice of whether to act on the impulse of that temptation that comes to us, or we can choose to resist that temptation.  The sin in the thought life comes when we choose to dwell on the thoughts.  I heard a pastor explain it this way:  (Many of you guys can relate)  Let's say you are riding through your neighborhood and you see a beautiful woman sunbathing in her front yard.  It catches your attention, and you say to yourself, "Wow! Look at that she is fine!" as you almost run off the road and strain your neck all at the same time!  I don't feel that is sin.  What  is sin, is taking another trip around the block to feed the spirit of lust within you.  So in this case what does this seemingly innocent temptation lead to?  For one, if this person was to make a place for the Devil in his heart by succumbing to this temptation sin has now been committed!  Every sin starts with a small compromise!  Do you think the person addicted to nicotine wanted to end up an addict?  Do you think the alcoholic wanted to become an alcoholic, or the pervert wanted to end up in jail for rape?  Of course not!  It started with a little compromise.  One cigarette, one drink, one porno magazine and it led to two, and then to three and then to four and then to 5 and so on and so forth.  The Bible gives us a great example of this in the life of Lot.  Do you remember Lot?  He was the nephew of Abraham that eventually had to separate from Abraham because his tribe had grown to rival Abraham's.  When they split up and decided to part ways the Bible says that Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom.  In other words Lot had a desire to be in Sodom and therefore he eventually yielded to that temptation and wound up in Sodom and would have perished there if it were not for the prayers of his uncle Abraham!  So many of us will pitch our tent towards what will kill eventually destroy us.  We deceive ourselves into to thinking that we are strong enough to handle the pressure when it comes our way so we allow ourselves to be subjected to it.  Not realizing, that once this lust is conceived in us (the desire) it will not stop until it is satisfied. 

So we end up acting on this impulse, this drive, this force that wants us to give in to fulfill this desire inside of us!  This of course leads to sin.  Sin is so dangerous to the life of the Christian.  Sin, separates us from fellowship with God.  Sin is subtle in that often times we won't even feel the effects of our sin immediately.  We always reap later than we sow.  So, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we got away with it.  That it didn't hurt us.  This is exactly what the Devil wants you to think!  He wants you think, "No harm, no foul."  So the next time leads to the next time until you find yourself so bound up in the cords of sin that there is no way to escape without supernatural intervention!  One thing that I have learned about sin from personal experience is that sin will always make you stray further than you want to stray.  Sin will always make you stay longer than you really want to stay.  Sin will always make you pay more than what you want to pay!  Sin is a terrible master.  It will make you it's slave in a heartbeat, and what seemed fun at first will soon turn into your worst nightmare!  Talk to any person who's life has been marred by sin, and they will tell you, that they never intended for it to get out of control and for it to be like this.  I am telling you, that once you open the door and let sin into your life, there will be hell to pay.   The course of sin goes like this:  You see it, you want it, you have to  have it, you take it, you enjoy it, you love it, you make it part of you, and  then it takes control of you.  The Holy Spirit just gave me a good illustration of this.  Did you watch Spider Man 3?  I forget, the specifics, but there was a black life-form that attached to Spider Man that turned him evil.  It started out innocent enough, but eventually he found himself surrendering more and more to the dark side and he liked it, until it got out of control!  It is the same way with our own personal lives, that sin seems good and fun for a season, but it soon turns into a trap and a nightmare that seems to be too powerful to overcome!  I am telling you for your own spiritual well-being don't do it!  Don't give into the temptation!  It is not worth it!  It will capture you and make you it's slave!