“Don’t touch. Don’t taste. Don’t handle”. We hear these three “rules” often when learning how to fight—and overcome—lust.
The problem is, mere rule-keeping does not itself get to the heart of lust. This is one of the great lessons Paul teaches in Scripture. Merely knowing the law only aggravates our lusts (Romans 7:7-12), and following rigid ascetic regulations—don’t touch, don’t taste, don’t handle—is “of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:20-23).
If the “law” itself is not able to turn our hearts away from temptation, then how exactly do we fight against a spirit of lust? And how can we finally overcome it?
Editor’s Note: Are you a teenager struggling with lust? Before reading this post, I encourage you to check out this article we wrote especially for teens, How to Overcome Lust: 4 Tips for Teens.
How the Bible Teaches Us to Fight Lust
In 2 Timothy 2:22, Paul offers some of the best, most concise bits of Biblical advice on how to overcome lust: “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
Commit it to memory. Chew on it daily. Let your mind marinate in it, for in it lies three biblical strategies for fighting lust.
See related: What is Lust in the Bible?
1. Run From Lust
“So flee youthful passions”
“Passions” refer to our cravings, our longings, and our desires. More specifically, the passage speaks of “youthful passions.” These fleshly lusts are said to “wage war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11). On the surface, these cravings are anchored in the members of our body (Romans 6:12), but as we look deeper, we find they stem from our sinful hearts (Romans 7:7). Ultimately, these passions are forms of idolatry (Colossians 3:5), revolving our lives and desires around created things rather than the Creator.
See related: For singles: How to Handle Strong Sex Drive in a God-Honoring Way
We must run from these things. Every Christian, even though he or she is indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, still lives in a mortal body surrounded by worldly amusements. These youthful lusts stubbornly cling to our heels. As we see these passions stirred in us, we must habitually flee from them.
- This might mean mentally fleeing: bouncing our thoughts away from lustful imaginations.
- This might mean visually fleeing: bouncing our eyes away from lustful images.
- This might mean physically fleeing: walking (or running) away from tempting situations.
See related: Overcoming Temptation: Bible Verses and Principles to Help You Resist Sin
2. Run to Christ
“. . . pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace”
It is not enough to flee from youthful lusts. We must run toward a new passion. We are to “pursue,” that is, eagerly and swiftly run toward Christlikeness.
Christ promises His people a heart of:
- Righteousness (real integrity, a passion for justice, and a life pleasing to God)
- Faith (strong and welcome conviction and trust in God)
- Love (benevolent affection toward God and others)
- Peace (tranquility in the heart and harmony with God and others)
We are to run hard after these things each day knowing these character qualities are how we were created to live. We pursue these things knowing it is our destiny to live this way. A billion years from now, when sin is a distant memory, we will be living lives of love, peace, and righteousness in the kingdom of God. Having this hope we purify ourselves, just as He is pure (1 John 3:3).
3. Run With Godly Friends
“. . . along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
We must not only run from lust and toward God’s vision for our lives, but we must also run with our brothers and sisters with the same vision. We must all find companions for this stretch of the road, those who share our faith and convictions, those in the common struggle for holiness.
These friends should be those who “call on the Lord,” an expression for those who are saved (Acts 22:16; Romans 10:13). These are other men and women who have also cried out to God for the forgiveness of their sins from a “pure” (genuine) heart.
Running with others involves a certain level of intentionality. It is not enough to simply know others around us are on the same journey because they profess the Christian faith. We must have real running companions, those who actually help us flee youthful passions and pursue a Christlike heart.
James 5:16 and Hebrews 10:24-25 offer four key building blocks that give structure to how Christian accountability should look. These building blocks are: meeting together, confession of sin, prayer, and encouragement.
Meeting together is the foundation. This includes all the basic methods of communication and conversation: meeting for coffee, talking on the phone, texting, writing emails, or anything that involves a meeting of minds. The central pillar in the room is confession of sin: getting honest with God and one another about what we are doing that we shouldn’t do or not doing what we should. The outer walls that support and protect this relationship are prayer and encouragement.
Why Can’t I Just Stop Lusting?
People ask me all the time, “Why can’t I just stop lusting?” I share my response to these people in this video below, which happens to include references to 2 Timothy 2:22. We believe so strongly that this verse contains the best strategy for how to overcome lust and quit porn that we actually used it as the foundation for a 40-day challenge called Overcome Porn. This challenge walks you through these three strategies and equips you with some of our best resources to put porn in your past for good. So watch this video, and give Overcome Porn: The 40-Day Challenge a try today.
Fighting against lust isn’t easy, but it’s also not something that you need to do alone. Through prayer, Scripture, accountability, and a heartfelt desire to flee from lustful passions, you can resist temptation and overcome lust.
We’d love to hear from you. What has God taught you about breaking free from lust? Comment below!
Thank god for this..really helped clear things up
I really tnk God 4 dis forum of believing christians. I also v bin struggling with lusts since I gave my life 2 christ. I lead a reckless life b4 I genuinly surrendered 2 God,bt since den it has bin hitches here nd dere on ma journey 2 righteousness. Bt smetin’as bin appenin 2 me of late. Unlike b4,no relatnshp I try 2 go in2, wrks .its either she leaves or I do,whicheva way,it jst appens without any reasons. I nid an advice on what is really appenin.
Are you looking for perfection
I thank God so much for this forum. I have really been struggling these past two weeks with lust. I have been practicing abstinece for some yrs and its been the fight of my life. Im just glad that I can come here and see that I am not the only one struggling to be a christian and do right. This has strengthened me more than I was.
We should start the day with prayer together you think.
I know brothers and sister that we fall and fall over and over again but never give up never let this lustful wall block you from Christ, cause if you keep fighting sooner or later that wall will break and you’ll see the light of Christ on the other side you can get through it just keep at it and never ever fully give up!. “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes”- proverbs 24:16
If you keep busy my brothers and sisters you won’t have time to lust even though there will be times when it will come back so that’s why you have to take peter’s words inconsideration “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”- 1 peter 5:8
Bless you all your comment’s give me a refreshment to continue in my battle against lust and sin!
You are not alone.did you know that nearly 1000000 million people come to Christ every month and that the world’s population of 7000000000is equal to all the world’s .toall the world population. Sense Moses.more people are coming to Jesus than ever before. but that not much out if you7 billion. But it is impressive
Please my beloved ones i need your help.of a truth,am a Christian but two thorns that have been tormenting my life,which are:masturbation and pornographic pictures.please my fellow Christians,how can i practically go out of it?a solution.
If you want the urge to go away. It won’t if you want to do right control your heart and thoughts by stopping what your eyes see.ps.the bible says nothing about masturbation good or bad but it does say what he created was good.find a wife a help mate so you don’t burn with lust.so get looking be guided by faith and you church.
Please consider reading no fap dot org website which has a wealth of information on abstaining from masturbation and pornography.
Thanks for this. THE WORD of GOD is also an important instrument that can be used
Thank you for this. Shared it w a friend who is dealing w lust.
Its actually a humility on God’s choosing to dwell inside a created being like us. Most atimes we do no know that God dwells inside of us. If only we know, we will live to please Him having personal consciousness that we are carrying the king of kings. May God help us. Amen
My boyfriend and I have been struggling with this lately. We’re both in love with God and plan on getting married, but the temptation to push the boundaries is so forceful sometimes I feel like crying. So we’ve been praying together and talking to an older couple, and I think this strategy is really clear and helpful to keep in mind.
Great! I hope that kind of mentorship is helpful to you!
Stop beating yourself up look to the future the possibilities are promising.