Tag Archives: sexual sin

It is so human not to listen to God.

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Being Unrealistic

“The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor” (Proverbs 15:33, ESV).

I remember when Magic Johnson, the Los Angeles Laker star, announced he was HIV Positive. There was a great deal of discussion in the media on the subject of AIDS and its prevention.

“We must,” many film stars and experts said solemnly, “educate people about this subject.” Somehow their “education” always sounded like politically correct brain washing to me.

I was watching a talk show when the subject of abstinence versus, well, undertaking “protection” was discussed. The two speakers were emotional, the conversation heated.

One was a Christian, urging the wisdom of abstinence until marriage. The other quoted statistics demonstrating that young people in big bunches were engaging in multiple sex partners.

Then came the shocker. The second man declared, “Look at these statistics! Vast numbers of kids are having sex before marriage! You’ve got to be realistic!”

And I thought, “He’s hit the nail on the head, but not the way he thinks he has.” It is so human not to listen to God. We do everything we can to avoid heeding his call.

He warns us, commands us, he urges us to be sexually pure. But humans are so proud, so hard headed, so unrealistic that we won’t listen. The problem in our society is neither a lack of education, nor an excess of homophobia, but a lack of humility.

Wait till marriage. Stay true to your spouse. This is God’s way, and any alternatives are simply not realistic!

—by Stan Mitchell

Flee sexual immorality

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OFTEN A GIRL who grows up with little or no affection from her father is set up to be tempted to a greater degree sexually than a girl who receives the right kind of male affection at home…

A girl who did not get the love she needed at home may seek it somewhere else. With no conscience decision on her part, male affection may come to mean security to her. The initial feelings she experiences–even in a bad relationship–are so much better than the emptiness she felt before that she gives in over and over again to the sexual invitations of men she knows she should not associate with.

Telling a girl like this that premarital sex is wrong is like cutting off weeds at ground level. It may alter her behavior for a while, but when those feelings of emptiness and insecurity begin to surface again, she will be drawn to get her needs met the way she always has.

Anyone who has brought up in a home where there was a deficiency of parental love will experience a stronger pull toward certain sins than a person who enjoyed a warm, loving home life…

…Unfortunate circumstances in no way relieve people of the guilt or responsibility of their behavior, but if they can understand the connection between their childhood experiences and their present struggles, [they may] be able to deal with the root of their particular temptation.

As long as men and women seek to gain their sense of significance and self-worth from anything other than God, they will be set up for temptation. Certain people, places, or things will always have an inordinate ability to lure them into sin. Until they change their definition of significance and until they transfer their security to Someone who can give them real security, they will never experience lasting victory in their lives. Charles Stanley in Winning the War Within, 29-30

“Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 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? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:18-20; cf., 1 Thess. 4:1-8

Mike Benson

Same-sex marriages and related sins

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WHEN JOHN SAID, “It is not lawful (or “permitted”) for you to have your brother’s wife” (Mark 6:18), he surely made reference not to the laws of the land, but rather to the law of God…

Herod was sleeping with his brother’s wife, and the wedding ceremony failed to change the adulterous nature of their relationship.

Same-gender marriages, legalized for the first time in U.S. history on May 17, 2004, offer an unhappy illustration of this point. The Bible strongly denounces homosexuality. Moses’ law condemns the offender to death by stoning. The New Testament writer, Paul, calls the sin a perversion and warns that those guilty of it will miss the eternal kingdom (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). From God’s perspective, legalizing same-sex marriage has no cleansing effect on the perverted behavior. Married or not, two men or two women sleeping together will be under judgment.

The parallel is striking. Moses’ law condemns adulterers to death by stoning. The New Testament writer, Paul, warns that people guilty of this sin will be excluded from God’s eternal kingdom. If legalizing same-sex relationships fails to legitimize them in the sight of God, why would legalizing an adulterous relationship sanctify it?

Heather is in a terribly difficult situation. She loves Don and knows that terminating her relationship with him would be extremely painful for everyone involved, especially the children. How could a loving God expect her to do such a thing? Two vital truths demand attention here. First, God is not to blame for Heather’s predicament. Jesus clearly states that sexual immorality is the only legitimate reason for ending the sacred bond of marriage. Heather’s own sinful and disobedient choices have created the dilemma she now finds herself in.

Second, obeying God, though sometimes very difficult, is always ultimately best for the obedient person. According to Paul, “those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). “Crucified” suggests pain. Dying to self hurt, but the reward of living a pure, God-pleasing life more than compensates for any loss of worldly pleasure. David Wright, “The Samaritan’s Immoral Lifestyle,” Real Women–Real Problems, 134-135

“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5

–Mike Benson