{"id":24109,"date":"2025-02-02T04:36:21","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T04:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/?p=24109"},"modified":"2025-02-02T04:36:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-02T04:36:21","slug":"abstain-from-fleshly-lusts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/2025\/02\/abstain-from-fleshly-lusts\/","title":{"rendered":"Abstain From Fleshly Lusts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.\u201d\u20141 Pet. 2:11<\/strong><\/p>\n

The soul of every disciple of Jesus is most dearly beloved by the holy Trinity. It is a precious jewel in the eyes of the loving Father, the redeeming Son, and the sanctifying Spirit; who all unite to make it happy. But it hath a world of enemies. Yea, it is at present in the closest and nearest relation to one of its greatest foes, the flesh; the lusts and desires of which are at continual war against the peace, comfort, and welfare of the soul. Therefore, oh Christian, thy best friend sounds an alarm of love, and gives thee a kind warning. \u2018Abstain from fleshly lusts.’ He knows what great hurt compliance with and indulgence in them will do thee; thou wilt surely smart and be sorely grieved for it. Destroy thee, they shall not; but distress thee, like the prevailings of a bitter enemy, they will. Consider, beloved brethren, we are strangers and pilgrims, sojourning and passing through a strange land and foreign country. Our clothing is, Christ and his righteousness; our food, Christ and his fulness; our staff, Christ and his promises; our rule, the word of Christ; our guide, the Spirit of Christ; the place whither we are bound, is heaven, a better country, our Father\u2019s house, the inheritance of our friends and brethren.<\/p>\n

Settle this in your minds. Meditate daily on your calling, your hope, your heaven, where your treasure is. Where should your affections and delight be? Not on earth, this is not your rest, it is polluted; not in the flesh, this is to be denied, its motions abstained from, its lusts and affections crucified daily. Know the flesh as thine enemy, treat it as such, keep it under; in it \u2018dwells no good thing.\u2019 Its lustings and desires cannot but be evil continually\u2014they will never cease to oppose the spirit, the life and liberty of thy soul; they are ever at war against the peace, consolation, and joy, which is in Christ Jesus. Daily victory is joyful triumph. Therefore ever consider the need of following this advice: \u2018Put on the whole armour of God.\u2019 Eph. 6:11. Feeling foes within, and being at war against them, is a sure evidence of a good soldier of Jesus Christ. \u2018Fight the good fight of faith.\u2019<\/p>\n

This life\u2019s a dream, an empty show;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the bright world to which I go,<\/p>\n

Hath joys substantial and sincere:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When shall I wake and find me there?<\/p>\n

Oh glorious hour, oh blest abode!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I shall be near and like my God,<\/p>\n

And flesh and sin no more control\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The sacred pleasures of my soul.<\/p>\n

My flesh shall slumber in His ground\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Till the last trumpet’s joyful sound.<\/p>\n

Then burst the chains with sweet surprise,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And in my Saviour’s lmage rise.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The soul of every disciple of Jesus is most dearly beloved by the holy Trinity. It is a precious jewel in the eyes of the loving Father, the redeeming Son, and the sanctifying Spirit; who all unite to make it happy. But it hath a world of enemies. Yea, it is at present in the closest and nearest relation to one of its greatest foes, the flesh; the lusts and desires of which are at continual war against the peace, comfort, and welfare of the soul. Therefore, oh Christian, thy best friend sounds an alarm of love, and gives thee a kind warning. \u2018Abstain from fleshly lusts.’ He knows what great hurt compliance with and indulgence in them will do thee; thou wilt surely smart and be sorely grieved for it. Destroy thee, they shall not; but distress thee, like the prevailings of a bitter enemy, they will. Consider, beloved brethren, we are strangers and pilgrims, sojourning and passing through a strange land and foreign country. Our clothing is, Christ and his righteousness; our food, Christ and his fulness; our staff, Christ and his promises; our rule, the word of Christ; our guide, the Spirit of Christ; the place whither we are bound, is heaven, a better country, our Father\u2019s house, the inheritance of our friends and brethren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":325,"featured_media":20656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1571],"tags":[1197],"class_list":["post-24109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-william-mason","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24109"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24110,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24109\/revisions\/24110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}