Sexual Immorality and the Christian
"My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel. Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you've learned. For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edge sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. For she cares nothing about the path of life. She staggers down the crooked path and doesn't realize it." - Proverbs 5:1-6
As I am writing this, I am witnessing from my balcony several prostitutes soliciting themselves out on the streets with no regard of who might be around.. Unfortunately, in the part of the world where I currently am, the laws concerning this are not enforced and is therefore culturally acceptable and prevalent. With every seeking customer that comes by, I hope and pray that the individuals just part ways; sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. It is quite alarming how this kind of sin runs rampant here and police do not get involved.
Sexual sin, regardless of the kind, is a spiritual bondage. For the unbeliever, from a spiritual point of view, it doesn't make much difference since he/she is dead in their sins anyway. For the Christian, however, God gives us many warnings concerning this kind of sin. The Apostle Paul singles it out when he says,
"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." -1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Paul names sexual immorality as a work of the flesh (Gal. 5:19) and that the Christian must abstain from it, controlling his/her body in holiness and honor and not as those who are unbelievers (1 Thess. 4:3-5). Jesus warns us that one who practices sin is a slave to sin. The good news is that Jesus Christ came to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) and set them free from their sins (John 8:36).
1. Christian, if you are entangled in the sin of sexual immorality, I admonish you to turn to God, repent, and cry out for His mercy today.
2. Although you cannot "out sin" God's grace, He will not forever allow you to defile yourself and pollute His temple but will deal with the matter according to His own will (1 Cor. 6:19-20; Heb. 12:3-11; 1 John 5:16).
3. Although you cannot lose salvation because of this sin, you can certainly lose the joy of salvation and feel like you're not saved at all. Indeed, a persistent unrepentant heart may reveal that you were never saved to begin with.
4. Don't keep your sin a secret but rather ask a mature Christian to be your accountability partner whom God can use to help you overcome and steer clear of this sin.
5. With your own effort, it's impossible to overcome; with God, all things are possible (Matt. 19:26).
6. Nothing (not even your own sin) can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:38-39).
As I am writing this, I am witnessing from my balcony several prostitutes soliciting themselves out on the streets with no regard of who might be around.. Unfortunately, in the part of the world where I currently am, the laws concerning this are not enforced and is therefore culturally acceptable and prevalent. With every seeking customer that comes by, I hope and pray that the individuals just part ways; sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. It is quite alarming how this kind of sin runs rampant here and police do not get involved.
Sexual sin, regardless of the kind, is a spiritual bondage. For the unbeliever, from a spiritual point of view, it doesn't make much difference since he/she is dead in their sins anyway. For the Christian, however, God gives us many warnings concerning this kind of sin. The Apostle Paul singles it out when he says,
"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." -1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Paul names sexual immorality as a work of the flesh (Gal. 5:19) and that the Christian must abstain from it, controlling his/her body in holiness and honor and not as those who are unbelievers (1 Thess. 4:3-5). Jesus warns us that one who practices sin is a slave to sin. The good news is that Jesus Christ came to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) and set them free from their sins (John 8:36).
1. Christian, if you are entangled in the sin of sexual immorality, I admonish you to turn to God, repent, and cry out for His mercy today.
2. Although you cannot "out sin" God's grace, He will not forever allow you to defile yourself and pollute His temple but will deal with the matter according to His own will (1 Cor. 6:19-20; Heb. 12:3-11; 1 John 5:16).
3. Although you cannot lose salvation because of this sin, you can certainly lose the joy of salvation and feel like you're not saved at all. Indeed, a persistent unrepentant heart may reveal that you were never saved to begin with.
4. Don't keep your sin a secret but rather ask a mature Christian to be your accountability partner whom God can use to help you overcome and steer clear of this sin.
5. With your own effort, it's impossible to overcome; with God, all things are possible (Matt. 19:26).
6. Nothing (not even your own sin) can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:38-39).
Comments
Post a Comment
Feel free to comment!