Username of writer: ArticleProf
INTRODUCTION
Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
President Howard W. Hunter said; Tenderness and respect—never selfishness—must be the guiding principles in the intimate relationship between husband and wife.
Courtney Tanner said on Oct. 1, 2018,
Having sex before marriage, they warn, is “a serious sin.” Wearing modest clothing is the “foundation stone” of abstinence. Members should control their thoughts and avoid pornography to maintain their “moral cleanliness.” Those single and dating should not participate in “passionate kissing” or lying on top of another person, with or without clothes.
“Please, never say: ‘Who does it hurt? Why not a little freedom? I can transgress now and repent later.’ Please don’t be so foolish and so cruel,” apostle Jeffrey R. Holland said in an October 1998 talk on “personal purity.” “… You run the terrible risk of such spiritual, psychic damage that you may undermine both your longing for physical intimacy and your ability to give wholehearted devotion to a later, truer love.”
Pursuing Sexual Purity as Believers – Username of writer: ArticleProf
As believers and staunch followers of Jesus Christ, sexual purity should be an instruction that we should always obey without fail. That is because sexual purity makes us pure and holy before God. And as the Bible reminds us that “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8), we see that there is a great promise to those who are careful enough to maintain their sexual purity.
Purity is a word that means being free from impurity or immorality. Hence, if we claim to be sexually pure, we should ensure that we are unmixed, clean, and sincere as long as this subject is concerned.
According to 2nd Timothy 2:22, the Bible teaches us that we should “flee from our youthful passions but pursue righteousness from a pure heart,” meaning that we should not be lukewarm types of Christians. That Bible verse implies that we should not be mixed in any way such that today we are in the church, and the next minute we indulge in the pleasures of this world. As believers, we are in the world, but of course, not of the world, and even though we live in a highly sexualized culture, we should desist from following the patterns of this world. Even though we live in a crooked and perverted generation, we should be set apart by the word of God as believers. Sexual purity means avoiding fornication and adultery and avoiding other sexual sins such as lust of the flesh and pornography. Even if a young man or woman abstains from sex but still keeps looking lustfully at the opposite gender, he or she is far from being sexually pure. Sexual purity cannot be synonymous with virginity since one may be a virgin but still sexually impure through lust. Purity is more than physical, meaning that it is both emotional and mental. In contrast, virginity, which many believers mistake as purity, is just physical and does not necessarily imply that one is pure.
According to Genesis 2:24, the Bible says that “… A man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife where the two shall become one flesh”.
This scripture tells us that sexuality is excellent and blessed by God, but it shall only be exercised within the context of marriage. Sex can be enjoyed but only between one man and one woman after marriage. That means that indulging in sex before marriage is a sin, and also, a married person having sex with another person who is not their wife or husband is a sin. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:4-6, we are to avoid sexual impurity by all means, for if we sin against our brothers through this manner, then God will act as the judge, and sexual impurity will result in consequences. One significant consequence of sexual impurity is lack of Devine favor which ultimately affects our lives negatively as believers. Andy Stanley, in his book, The New Rules for Love, Sex and Dating, says that “Sex is both wonderful and powerful.” The powerful part means that we should always respect it, and the wonderful part means that it is okay to pursue it but only in the marriage context.
When I got saved at the age of 23, I had difficulty changing from my sinful nature. I was indulging in many sins, and fornication was a great challenge for me to stop.
The lust of my flesh was making me backslide and then keep on confessing and repenting. I felt wasted and weighed down by my shortcomings since, deep down, I always wanted to serve God with sincerity. Like many people out there, I struggled with sexual sin even a few months after being saved. God is good because I ultimately overcame this sin, and from there, I started serving God with a sincere heart. I managed that through the help of a brother in my local church who always wanted to know my progress. His name was Dan, and he always motivated me, primarily through the significant transformation that the word of God had on him.
Dan was one brother I could single out as a Christian who was not only the hearer of God’s word but also a committed doer. He was a sincere Christians with fruits that were visible to anyone, including non-believers. While other people were struggling with different nature of sins, Dan seemed to be that perfect believer. He had no emotional issues such as anger, impatience, and hatred, and most importantly, he had managed very well to keep sexual sin at bay. For that reason, Dan was in an excellent position to help me overcome my struggles with sin. I became interested to know how he managed to observe sexual purity.
I learned that he was a habitual reader and meditator of God’s word that brought about a transformation in his life. Besides, he always kept away anything that would tempt him to sexual sin. His rule was one, “I will start dating when ready for marriage,” and therefore, he had no girlfriend at that time. He also avoided secular music and movies because he always believed that we are a product of what we constantly consume. He challenged me with Bible verses that helped me to change. An example of such verses is 1 Corinthians 6:11, which reminded me that I was washed, sanctified, and justified when I got saved. Therefore I had no choice but to forget my old sinful nature and embrace the new life with dedication.
The story given in Proverbs 7:6-23 of a young man who is lured into sin by an adulterous woman teaches us that we should flee from all things that might tempt us into sexual impurity as believers. We should always be in the right place, at the right time, and with the right mind free of lustful passions.
As believers, we should feed our hearts with the word of God at all times and avoid certain TV shows, videos, movies, and pictures. Besides, suppose the temptation is so strong. In that case, we should also try to remind ourselves of what the sexual sin might lead us into in various dimensions such as physically, spiritually, and relationally. For instance, when we remind ourselves that the sexual sin might make us contract STDs, grieve the Lord, or even destroy our relationships with other people, we will surely succeed in overcoming the sin if we continue to become closer to Christ.
Additional Words Below Added By; Timothy Thompson
It’s about getting rid of the things that keep us from having a relationship with our father in heaven so that we may be free from all sin. It is also showing love and respect towards the ones we love and our father in heaven. May God be with you.
Don’t be fooled; we all have things that we need to overcome; please don’t let Satan whisper the words to you; that it is not possible, for all things are possible with Jesus Christ. If anything keeps us from praying, we should find out what it is and get rid of it. Our relationship with Jesus Christ should be number one. That is how we can be free from our sins and weaknesses. Yes, it takes time; the best time to start is now.
God be with you; have a blessed day! 🙂
Originally posted 2021-06-25 16:20:39.
