Lust is the evil brewing within a man which leads to sin. All sin ends in corruption; for sin is a dysfunction, unnatural, taking the natural use of a thing and corrupting it and perverting it.
For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. [1 John 2:16]
God has created all things for our benefit and for our good; but man has corrupted it out of the context of its intended use into another shape, another form which is ungodly. Even man’s own-self has become corrupted because of lust; as the apostle says,
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. (…) Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. [Romas 1:24-32]
God has made man upright, but we have all turned to our own devices. No corruption can inherit the kingdom of God; for that which has been rendered useless is not useful anymore, even to the Father. And all such uselessness, awaits to be burned.
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. [1 Corinthians 15:50]
However, He has opened up a way of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we would be born again of the Spirit of God, through His incorruptible and eternal Word, by which we can only inherit an incorruptible kingdom, the kingdom of God, which is beyond all sin and decay, where no moth can destroy nor thief can break in and steal.
By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. [2 Peter 1:4]
By believing, we escape the corruption of this world, and believing in the Son of God. Know for certain: salvation is the salvaging from the corrupted and useless things of this world to being renewed in the spirit of our mind, being made useful once again unto God unto eternal life.
Know also this: coveting is the same as lust; and it doesn't always pertain to sexuality. And all coveting is certainly sin:
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” [Exodus 20:18]
This is the first command which pertains to one’s thoughts; for the same Lord who made the inside, made the outside as well.
When we believed (we who have put our faith in Christ), our consciences were purged from all filth and moral defilement; and through our baptism, we have been united in Christ’s death, which is made effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we are descendants of David when we maintain a pure heart before God, as he received the testimony from God: “A man after My own heart”. So God sees man’s heart, and does not see as man sees, looking at the flesh of a man. Therefore, we neglect not faith and a pure conscience.
Even the thought of lust is sin in the law of God; how much more when the act of disobedience is produced from it? Wasn’t the first sin produced from lust? As it says,
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. [Genesis 3:6]
When lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. [James 1:15]
So we see in the beginning, before sin, lust is there. But in the time of Adam, there was no commandment against lust given, only a commandment against eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But in the law of God, lust comes to light as being sinful; as Paul says,
If it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” [Romans 7:7]
So lust was not imputed against Adam in the beginning; but his one transgression against the one law was; for sin can only ever be imputed where there is law.
And likewise, we who have believed have been grafted into the law of faith, which is to believe in the Son. Know for sure: the law of faith is not many laws, but one law. “For whatsoever is not from faith is sin.” [Romans 14:23] And in regard to many works, the apostle says,
Not of works, lest any man should boast. [Ephesians 2:9]
Indeed, not of works, which is more than one, but of one work. As the Lord says,
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.
And if it is by faith, then it is credited as grace. If it is obtained by works, it’s no longer grace, but a due payment. The one who trusts and believes enters into grace through the Son; whoever does not, enters in through another way; for “No one comes to the Father except through Me.“ [John 14:6] So we who walk by faith, not by sight, have escaped the lusts of this world; for all lust has to do with the eyes, and faith is not sight; therefore the eyes are blinded to lust while walking in faith since faith is without sight.
To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. [Titus 1:15]
And our consciences have been purified by Christ through faith. Through faith, there is love; through lust, there is sin; one pertains to the eyes, and the other not. The Father has restored to us one law, as it was in the beginning, to walk in; and we ought not to fall into the transgression of Adam, disobeying even the one command, having a sinful and unbelieving heart.
Therefore persevere: walk in faith and love always as fruit that you know Him. Know this for certain: where there is faith, there is rest. And we who come to God through faith enter into His rest. Know this: we can sit and meditate, praying in the Spirit, doing the work of faith, and be justified apart from works, as it was for the Israelites, who, on the Sabbath day, did no work and were blameless in the sight of the Law. However, there remains six other days to do work. So, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.“ [Philippians 2:12]