sex is not the problem

After the two blockbusting and bestselling I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl, Joshua writes about sexual purity in a lust-saturated world. Sex is not the problem, but lust is! He shows the readers how our sinful nature leads us to fall. He shows the readers how lust deceives us.

John Piper explains lust with a simple equation: "Lust is a sexual desire minus honour and holiness." When we lust, we take this good thing - sexual desire - and remove from it honour toward fellow humans and reverence for God. Lust is an idolatrous and ultimately insatiable desire that rejects God's rule and seeks satisfaction apart from Him. God says, " You shall not covet" in Exodus 20:17. But lust tells us that what we don't have is exactly what we need. Lust covets the forbidden. Lust grasps for, with our eyes, hearts, imaginations, or bodies, what God has said no to.


The temptation to lust is strong and most of the time we are actually lusting but our heart deceives us. Men think that lust is only a struggle that only men face. That is the greatest misconception. The truth is that women fall into the sin of lusting too. In general, it seems that men and women are tempted by lust in two unique ways: men are tempted by the pleasure lust offers, while women are tempted by the power lust promises.

Is masturbation a trivial issue that we need to stop worrying about so much? Or is it a big deal? Because Scripture doesn't specifically name the act of masturbation, a heated debate has erupted among Christians, and there is an endless array of opinions on the issue. One Christian book will says it's wrong, another that it's perfectly fine. One expert will say it's healthy, another that it's destructive. There are Christians who claim that they can masturbation without lusting. They say they think nonsexual thoughts and do it merely for release. Joshua sees that it's not his place to judge the hearts of those people. What he has seen is that lust was always present in a significant way either leading up to or during the act. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Even if it were possible to masturbate without lust, Joshua thinks that a lifestyle of masturbation is based on a wrong understanding of God's plan for sex. Masturbation is built on a self-centered view of sex.

This is a great book for everyone, regardless whether you are battling with lust or not. It helps and reminds us a lot of petty little things which can lead us to lust.

John Piper who is the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis cum a famous writer comments, "For your joy and Christ's honour, I commend this book to you. It is realistic, practical, and hope-giving." Check it out!