What characteristics of lust makes it a sin?

sin doesn't exist

I'm from God's home

darkness isn't within earth

wat u call sin is no more my friend

u'll see what I mean in the future....it's only ur perspective & ur belief & definition of others that u carry that make u feel heavy & when u let it go u will feel lighter & more of who u are at heart <3

trust & listen to ur heart=intuition more okay

ur innate nature of true love and light is within u

God is within ur heart

"What is lust? It is a sin because God said it's a sin, I'm not questioning that."

You should question that. First of all, for something to be wrong, there has to be a reason. Not just because some god's arbitrary whim.

Second, if you're talking about the Bible, that's not what it actually says. In Matthew 5, the word that is translated as "lust" means "desire with intent". And in the context of the verse, Jesus is saying, "if you'd cheat on your spouse if you could get away with it, then that's as bad as actually cheating on them." He's not saying anything about sexual arousal or fantasy or masturbation. He's talking about being willing to cheat on your spouse. And I'd agree, if someone is willing to cheat on their spouse, then they should seek couples counseling, just like if they'd cheated. But masturbating isn't cheating. Being aroused isn't cheating. Looking isn't cheating.

Paul has a *lot* of sexual hang-ups that are not shared by every author in the Bible. Some of them are worse, like the insecure men who wrote some of the laws in the Hebrew Bible. For them, being cuckholded was the worst crime and they treated women like property. There is a mention of masturbation in the Hebrew Bible, it's treated the same way as a wet dream (which a guy will have if he doesn't have sex or masturbate). It says they guy has to wash up and wait outside camp until sunset. In the same passage, it says when a woman menstruates, she has to wash up and wait outside camp for a week. Menstruating isn't wrong, so neither is masturbation according to the Bible. There's even a passage where God instructs Moses how to force abortions+sterilizations on women suspected of infidelity. Oh, and instructions that a rape victim has to marry her rapist (who has to buy her from her father) if she's unmarried. If she's married and was raped in town, she's executed. Now tell me, is being raped a 'sin'?

I said not every author had the same sexual hang-ups as Paul, and there's some that aren't barbaric at all. Like in Song of Songs, the man and woman have sex before they're married, and their intimacy is celebrated, not condemned.

In summary, I don't think you should worry about if something is pious or not. You should ask yourself if it is moral, and those aren't the same thing. Piety has to do with 'sin'. Morality means asking, "would this harm and/or help anyone, how much, and in what ways?" That should always trump whether or not something is on an arbitrary checklist of 'thou shalts and shalt nots'.

Lust covers more things than just uncontrolled sexual desire

“lust of the eyes” is found in 1 John 2:15-17: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” What is this “lust of the eyes”?

Simply put, the lust of the eyes is the desire to possess what we see or to have those things which have visual appeal. This coveting of money, possessions, or other physical things is not from God, but from the world around us. John emphasizes that these physical things do not last; they will pass away.

Lust is the eagerness to possess or consume upon ones selfish desires, and always refers to sin by the Word of God. Resisting temptation is the only time when temptation is not sin, otherwise temptation is always connected to sin. Sin is the voluntary departure from the morality prescribed by God (not men). Scripture concludes that we are tempted to sin when we are attracted of our own (lusts) eagerness to possess or consume, and then flattered; then when the (lust) eagerness to possess or consume has (conceived) invented or imagined the idea thereof, this is when it brings forth sin (the voluntary departure from the morality prescribed by God; and then sin when it is finished, brings forth dead result (dead works).

Matthew 5:28 -

"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. "

Galatians 5:16

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. "

Colossians 3:5

"Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. "

1 John 2:16

"For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. "

2 Timothy 2:22

"So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. "

The point of all of this? If your heart is pure lust won't be a problem. Lust is telling you that there is a problem.

Lust is not a sin because of sexual attraction. Lust is a sin because it involves seeking control and POWER over the other individual, or objects, or people, etc.

Lust seeks to POSSESS, not to share a mutual love for one another.

When a man looks at a woman "lustfully" he wants to exert his will onto her, ignoring hers.

That is certainly sinful, in any sense of the concept of "sin."

lust refers to extreme desire for things that are forbidden

forbidden is the key word

Adam lusted after the forbidden fruit and just see the trouble it caused

Jam 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

Jam 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Jam 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Jam 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

Hbr 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Lexicon Results Strong's G1939 - epithymia ἐπιθυμία

Transliteration

epithymia

Pronunciation

e-pē-thü-mē'-ä (Key)

Part of Speech

feminine noun

Root Word (Etymology)

From ἐπιθυμέω (G1937)

TDNT Reference

3:168,339

Vines

View Entry

Outline of Biblical Usage

desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust

http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm...

The word in Koine greek meant more of "covet" than "lust" in the verse in Mathew about it.

it meant more "Desire with intent to take and/or steal away" and it was said after "Has already committed adultery in his heart." when actually the word translated to adultery means specifically a man sleeping with another man's wife, while the word translated to "woman" is plenty of times and justifiably so translated to "married woman" as it is simply a nuance of the word.

Also the early Greek church fathers who actually knew how to read this stuff correctly had the same outlook on the verse.

So what it really says is "Whosoever looketh upon another man's wife with desire AND intent to take her has already slept with another man's wife in his heart."

But alas, most Christians don't care about linguistics and would rather ignore it and go by their English words instead...

Lust is a passionate desire that is too concentrated. And of course, yes, lust can be about ANYTHING besides God. The opposite of lust is gratitude, contentedness, patience, peace, etc. (which answers your question about WHY it's a sin as well...)

The enactment of the desires embodied in it.

Thought alone is no sin, but lust can lead to hurtful actions.

james 1 gives the formula for lust. sidroth.org