Flee Sexual Immorality
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
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.
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?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in
your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
We are exhorted to run away from sexual immorality! Why? Simply
because no other sin affects the body as this one does.
When we commit a sexual sin, it is against our own bodies. And each
body of ours is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit that God has
given us. The
Holy Spirit lives now within us! Our own bodies do not belong to us
anymore. God has bought us with a great price. So we must honor God
with our bodies by not defiling them through committing sexual sins.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-6
3 For this is the will of God,
your sanctification:
that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel
in sanctification and honor,
5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in
this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also
forewarned you and testified.
The will of God is that we are to be holy as He is holy. We must
stay away from all sexual immorality. Each of us must learn how to
control our own bodies, and live in holiness and honor before the
Lord!
We should not have lustful passions like the people in the world who
do not know God and His ways. We have also been solemnly warned not
to harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his
wife, for the Lord will avenge all such sins.
Revelation 22:14-15
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may
have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates
into the city.
15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and
sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever
loves and practices a lie.
What is sexual immorality? Who are sexually immoral?
Below are some of the sexual sins listed in the Bible:
- Fornication (Deuteronomy 22:20-21)
- Adultery (Exodus 20:14)
- Polygamy (1 Timothy 3:2)
- Incest (Leviticus 18:6-17)
- Rape (Genesis 34:1-31)
- Homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13)
- Bestiality (Exodus 22:19; Lev. 20:15-16)
- Prostitution (Leviticus 19:29, 21:9).
- Orgies (Isaiah 57:7-8; Hosea 4:12-14)
Today, many Christians tend to place homosexuality as the number one
sin or the only sin! But it is only one of the sexual sins. Some Christians are against homosexuality but
they are secretly doing it. Some churches are against homosexuality
but they will condone members who commit adultery or have multiple
sex partners!
The politicians in the West had used this to be the key issue to
raise money for their campaigns, and to win votes. The rightists are
against the LGBTQ movements, and the leftists are for them! Books,
conferences, marches, campaigns, talks and teachings are flooding
the whole society from kindergartens to colleges, and from offices
to factories! Too much focus is upon this one issue, bypassing all
the rest!
Some Protestant and evangelical Christians
think that they can change and reorientate the sexuality of others by
super powerful prayers, and by conversion therapy. Conversion
therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of trying to change an
individual's sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to
heterosexual using psychological, physical, or spiritual
interventions.
(Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_therapy)
Since 1976, many people have attended the conferences and seminars,
and received powerful prayers and conversion therapies! But over the
years, their cures have failed to produce lasting results! And many
of the leaders who initiated the ex-gay movement are now coming out
of their closets, and admitting that they are still gay.
(Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_International)
Whether heterosexuals or homosexuals,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life can be
explained in this illustration.
When we see a beautiful flower on the roadside, we can admire it. We
do not need to pluck it off, and bring it home. We do not need to
stare at it for hours. We do not have to think about the flower
night and day! And we also must know that the flower will lose its
attractions, and fade away someday!
Whether heterosexuals or homosexuals, there are a few things in life
that are strictly private. But now they are widely discussed and
promoted in the open! The acts are described vividly in great
details, and without any shames.
Genesis 9:20-27
20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.
21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became
uncovered in his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his
father, and told his two brothers outside.
23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their
shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of
their father. Their faces were turned away, and
they did not see their father’s nakedness.
24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had
done to him.
25 Then he said:
“Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren.”
26 And he said:
“Blessed be the LORD,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
27 May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.”
Ham saw that his father was naked. He went outside and told
his brothers what he saw. But Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it
over their shoulders, and backed into the tent to cover their
father. As they did so, they looked the other way so they would not
see him naked. They knew it was strictly private!
Today, some people openly discuss about their private parts. Some even
take photos, and show them to others! They openly share how to
enlarge their organs or breasts, and how to use steroids to improve
muscles to look sexy or physically desirable in order to tempt or
seduce others! There are lots of social media, publications and
products supporting promiscuous and lustful behaviors as there are
profits and money to be made!
Our world has changed but our God remains the same! He is our
Creator, and He knows everything that is inside us.
God knows that women will have their monthly or menstrual periods.
Leviticus 15:19-24
19 ‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge
from her body is blood, she shall be set apart
seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening.
20 Everything that she lies on
during her impurity shall be unclean; also
everything that she sits on shall be unclean.
21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in
water, and be unclean until evening.
22 And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his
clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.
23 If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when
he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening.
24 And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity
is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on
which he lies shall be unclean.
Though men do not get monthly periods as women, their bodies are
going through changes too. God knows that men who are healthy will
have regular emissions of semen in order to release the tensions
within!
Leviticus 15:16-17
16 ‘If any man has an emission of semen, then
he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean
until evening.
17 And any garment and any leather on which there is semen,
it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening.
God also knows that when a man and a woman, who have been united
in holy matrimony, have
sexual relations, there will be an emission of semen.
Leviticus 15:18
Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission
of semen, they shall bathe in water, and be unclean until
evening.
Whenever we do so, whether emitting semen by man or discharging
blood by woman, we must wash ourselves entirely with water. This is
necessary not only for our personal hygiene, but also to prevent
sickness to others as the body fluids may contain viruses, bacteria
and such! Everything that is dirty, including undergarments,
clothes, bedsheets, sofa seat covers and such, must be washed to be
clean!
How do those, who are still single, have an emission of semen? In our younger days, we were
taught to run miles and miles until we were completely exhausted and
tired. But in the night, the sexual tensions remained.
A man once shared that he had an autistic boy. When the boy grew
to be a teenager, he would occasionally pull down his own pants, running
naked in the home, and screaming non-stop! The father took him to
the bathroom. He masturbated himself in order to teach his son how
to do so. The boy learned and followed his dad, and was relieved of
his tensions!
The Bible has very few passages about masturbation. One famous
incident was Onan. He was slain by God not because he masturbated.
His death was a punishment for doing evil in the sight of the Lord.
He disobeyed an order from Judah his father, and was unwilling to
father a child by his widowed sister-in-law.
Genesis 38:8-10
8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and
marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.”
9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and
it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that
he emitted on the ground, lest he
should give an heir to his brother.
10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore
He killed him also.
Masturbation is a taboo subject in the Christian faith. The Bible
is not against emissions of semen or masturbation! But we must not
have lustful thoughts when we do so! This action is physical, and
does not have to be sexual involving other people, in thoughts or in
deeds! The women do not have lustful thoughts when they have their
monthly periods. They do not have other partners when they have
their normal menstruations!
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to
man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be
tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation
will also make the way of escape,
that you may be able to bear it.
Masturbation may be a way out so that we can endure temptations,
and relieve our inner tensions. It is a personal and private matter!
No other person is involved! Mutual masturbation is not right, so is
compressive masturbation.
Sexual sins, both heterosexual and homosexual, can be very addictive! Like drugs, alcohol, smoking,
gluttony and gambling, there is no end if we continue to indulge in
them! That is why people who have multiple sexual relationships and
partners continue to feel empty inside! They will never have enough!
Matthew 12:43-45
43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he
goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I
came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty,
swept, and put in order.
45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more
wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and
the last state of that man is worse than the first.
So shall it also be with this wicked
generation.”
Some people may request prayers to deliver them from their sexual
sins and bondages such as fornication, adultery, pornography,
homosexuality etc. After prayers of deliverance, the lustful thoughts may
leave for a while. But if their hearts are still empty, many more
evil and filthy thoughts will return, and flood their minds. And
they will be worse off than before.
Acts 13:52
And the disciples were filled with joy
and with the Holy Spirit.
That's why God gives us His Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit will dwell in us if we welcome Him joyfully, and if we do not reject
His ways and guidance. Thus we must be continually filled with the Holy Spirit!
We are not just sexual beings, we are also spiritual beings! We
should not let our sexual needs dominate our life, and decide how we
should live! We have many other things to do in life!
God has given us friends along the journey of faith. They can be of
the same sex as us, or of the opposite sex. Our friendships and
relationships do not have to be sexual in order to be complete!
Jonathan loved David. But their love was not sexual in nature! It
was a friendship that was truly divine, willing to lay down one's
life for a friend!
1 Samuel 20:17
Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him;
for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
Temptations do not happen only once. They will recur over and
over again! How did Jesus overcome temptations? By the Holy Spirit
(Luke 4:1-2) and by the Word of God (Luke 4:3-13).
Luke 4:1-2
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit,
returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit
into the wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil.
How do we keep our minds pure and holy before the Lord? How do we
have a clean heart? Only by His Spirit and His Word! By obeying God,
and submitting to Him continually day and night!
Psalm 51:10-11
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 119:9-11
9 How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
James 4:7
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he
will flee from you.
To prevent sexual immorality, we must avoid the filthy roads
that will lead us there.
Proverbs 6:20-35
20 My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.
21 Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you roam, they will lead you;
When you sleep, they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a harlot
A man is reduced to a crust of bread;
And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
27 Can a man take fire to his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one walk on hot coals,
And his feet not be seared?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.
30 People do not despise a thief
If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.
31 Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold;
He may have to give up all the substance of his house.
32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks
understanding;
He who does so destroys his own soul.
33 Wounds and dishonor he will get,
And his reproach will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is a husband’s fury;
Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will accept no recompense,
Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.
Therefore, we must obey the commandments of our Father in heaven!
We must take heed to all of His instructions and advices. We must
keep in mind everything He has told us.
Day and night, His Word will be our counsel, leading us to safety, and saving us
from harm. When we wake up in the morning, His instructions will
guide us into the new day. For His advice is a beam of light
directed into the dark corners of our minds, warning us of impending dangers,
and giving us a good and meaningful life.
His counsel will keep us far away from prostitutes with all their
flatteries and temptations, and also unfaithful wives of other men.
We must not lust after their beauty. We must not let their
promiscuous ways seduce us. For a prostitute will bring us to
poverty, and an adulteress may cost us our very life.
Can we hold fire against our chests and not be burned? Can we walk
on hot coals and not blister our feet? So it will happen to us if we
commit adultery with another’s wife. We shall not go unpunished for
this sin.
Excuses are possible for a thief if he steals when he is starving!
But when caught, he is fined seven times as much as he stole. This
may mean selling everything in his house to pay back all the fines.
But if we commit adultery, we are utterly foolish as we have destroyed
our own souls. Wounds and constant disgrace are ours to bear, for
the woman’s husband will be furious in his jealousy, and he will
have no mercy on us in his day of vengeance. There is nothing to pay
him off no matter how much we offer to please him.
Thus, it is better to abstain from sexual immortality than to yield
ourselves to its lusts! It is better not to play with fire than to
be burnt by it!
1 Thessalonians 4 :1-8
1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that
you should abound more and more, just as you received from us
how you ought to walk and to please God;
2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the
Lord Jesus.
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification:
that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in
sanctification and honor,
5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in
this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also
forewarned you and testified.
7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but
God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
Finally, we must learn how to live in order to please God. The
Lord desires us to be pure and holy, and be completely free from
sexual immorality. We should not live like the people in the world
for they do not know God.
The cure for unholiness is holiness, and the way out of all
sexual sins is through the process of sanctification! Not a one-time
encounter but a lifetime walk with God! Not man-made methods but
God-given solutions! When we have
the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us and filling us continually, there will be no
room for evil and lustful thoughts, feelings and behaviours. And we will bear the fruit of
the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is
no law.
God has not called us to live in immorality, but in holiness. If we
continue to live in our old and sinful lifestyles, we are rejecting
not man but God for He has given us His Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 1:16
because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
Written on 29 August 2021