ABSTAIN FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 09, 2024.

SUBJECT: ABSTAIN FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY! 

Memory verse: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality.” (First Thessalonians 4 vs 3.)

READ: First Corinthians 6 vs 15 - 20:

6:15: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? Certainly not!

6:16:  Or do you not know that he who is joined to an harlot is one body with her? For “the two” He says, “ shall become one flesh.”

6:17: But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

6:18: Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

6:19: Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

6:20: For you were bought at a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

INTIMATION:

Sexual immorality is a temptation that is always before us. Sexual immorality of any kind is extremely dangerous; It destroys family life, it eats away at one’s ability to love, it degrades human beings and turns them into objects, it can lead to disease, it can result in unwanted children, it is against God’s laws. In our fallen world, sex outside marriage is treated as a normal, even desirable part of life, while marriage is often shown as confining and joyless. People that are suspected to be pure are even being looked down on by others with the notion that they don’t belong. 

But God does not forbid sexual sin just to be difficult. He knows its power to destroy us physically and spiritually. No one should underestimate the power of sexual immorality. It has devastated countless lives and destroyed families, churches, communities, and even nations. God wants to protect us from damaging ourselves and others, and so He offers to fill us—our loneliness, our desires—with Himself.

When we become Christians the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. Therefore, we no longer own our bodies; we have been “bought at a price.” Christ’s death freed us from sin but also obligates us to His service. If you live in a building owned by someone else, you try not to violate the building’s rules. Because your body belongs to God, you must not violate His standards for living.

Sexual temptations are difficult to withstand because they appeal to the normal and natural desires that God has given us. Marriage provides God’s way to satisfy these natural sexual desires and to strengthen the partners against temptation. Married couples have the responsibility to care for each other, therefore, husbands and wives should not withhold themselves sexually from one another but should fulfill each other’s needs and desires. 

God created sex to be a beautiful and essential ingredient of marriage, but sexual sin—sex outside the marriage relationship—always hurts someone. It hurts God because it shows that we prefer following our own desires instead of the leading of the Holy Spirit. It hurts others because it violates the commitment so necessary to a relationship. It often brings disease to our bodies. And it deeply affects our personality, which responds to anguish when we harm ourselves physically and spiritually. The partners lose their ability to fulfill commitments, to feel sexual desire, to trust, and to be entirely open with another person.

However, issues arise when there are inherent problems between spouses or with either of the spouse. There are issues of health, weakness as a result of age, faded or fading love for the other, or lack of love, unwholesome attitudes that result in dwindling or lack of intimacy in marriage, and so on. Such things pushes the dissatisfied spouse into temptation of sexual immorality, and at that point is difficult to resist.

Temptation happens to everyone, so don’t feel you have been singled out; others have resisted temptation, and so can you; any temptation can be resisted because God will show you a way out. God will aid you in resisting temptations by helping you  (1) recognize those people and situations that give you trouble. (2) run from anything you know is wrong, (3) choose to do only what is right, (4) pray for God’s help, and (5) seek friends who love God and can offer help when you are tempted. Running from a tempting situation is your first step on the way to victory. 

To avoid temptation and your desire for love and sexual pleasure: (1) You must decide what kind of a person you will love before passion takes over. Determine whether a person’s character and faith in God are as desirable as his or her physical appearance. (2) Because most of the time you spend with your spouse will not involve sexual intimacy, your companion’s personality, temperament, and commitment to solve problems must be as gratifying as his or her kisses. (3) Be patient. Time and observation often reveal what is beneath the pleasant appearance and attentive touch. This is the undeniable reasons for courtship before marriage. When you rush into marriage it becomes difficult to resist temptations when your desires in your partner are unattainable. 

It is God’s will for you to be holy. But how can you go about doing that? The Bible teaches that holiness is not a state of being that you must manufacture on your own with hard work and good deeds and constant fear of failure. Instead, being made holy (sanctified) occurs in the process of living the Christian life. If you have accepted Christ’s sacrifice on your behalf, then you are considered holy and complete in God’s eyes. Yet you must continue to learn and grow during your time on earth. The Holy Spirit works in you, conforming you to the image of Christ (Romans 8 vs 29). 

Prayer: Abba Father, by my strength I cannot prevail over temptations. But by Your strength I can do all things. Give me the grace to resist Satan’s temptations with sexual pleasures, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!