Tag: sexual immorality
Sexual purity is not optional!
Scripture reading for November 17th: 1st Thessalonians 4, Psalm 80, Proverbs 13
1st Thessalonians 4: 3-8 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, Who gives His Holy Spirit.”
Paul, through the Holy Spirit, lays out God’s will for believers in the area of sexual conduct. The Holy Spirit living in believers brings a sensitivity to God’s will in this area of life. Before salvation, sexual desires motivate people to take whatever their flesh dictates. But sexual immorality defiles the one involved, the partner, families and children, the body of Christ and is an offense against God. Paul warns that God will avenge such sins, as He knows everything done in darkness. He calls His children to holiness and purity in the area of sexual conduct because He desires godly offspring. When we disregard God’s clear instructions, we will fall under conviction by the Holy Spirit. Confession and repentance, turning away from the sin, is not optional to restore our relationship with God. His is watching as are our family.
Psalm 80:1,3 “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You Who lead Joseph like a flock. You Who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. . . .Restore us, O God; let Your face shine, that we may be saved.”
Prayer: Father God, have mercy on our nation in this sin of sexual immorality. We confess that through the media, we have watched and listened to that which is impure and violated Your holy Word. We have taken lightly or disregarded Your clear instructions against adultery, fornication, homosexuality, and perversion of even our children. Restore us, O God, and let Your face shine on us, that we may be saved!
Proverbs 13:9 “The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.”
God is faithful–are you?
Scripture reading for August 14th: 1st Corinthians 10, Psalm 11, Proverbs 6
1st Corinthians 10: 8-13 “We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Writing to a church in an immoral and idolatrous culture in Corinth, Paul gave examples from Scripture that would be useful for avoiding temptations. God sees and knows each person. He is faithful to those who humbly put their trust in Him for help and mercy. Every temptation comes with a way of escape. Sexual immorality requires use of the feet to run away and resist. Twenty-three thousand Israelites died when they gave in instead of running away! Proverbs says the adulterer will not go unpunished and that sexual immorality will burn the garment of our flesh! It affects our body and soul. We must avoid pride and humbly use the means of escape provided by our Lord! God is watching us and is for us!
Psalm 11:4-5 “The Lord is in His holy temple the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes see, His eyelides test the children of man. The Lord tests the righteous, but His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your faithfulness to us in sending Your Son to live perfectly under Your law and offer His body for our sins. Help me remember each time I am tempted to use the way of escape You graciously provide. Protect me from sexual temptations, grumbling, and testing God by my attitudes. Use me to proclaim Your Name through a life of love and ability to resist temptations.
Proverbs 6:27-29 “Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.”
One Spirit with the Lord
Scripture reading for August 8th: 1st Corinthians 6, Psalm 7, Proverbs 2
1st Corinthians 6: 13-20 “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. Flee 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? Your are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Sexual immorality is defined in God’s Word as a very serious matter. Through the sexual union between a man and a woman, God partners with humans to bring forth children made in His image with eternal souls. Two people become one as they join their bodies and God amazingly is at work in creation of that eternal soul. This is why sexual immorality–any sex outside of a marriage covenant between a man and a woman, is wrong. If a person has repented of his sins and received grace through Jesus Christ, past sins are forgiven. Our bodies belong to the Lord and we are joined with Him in ‘one spirit’. It would be very wrong to commit sexual immorality, even using pornography. May it never be! Lord, help us to listen and obey!
Psalm 7:11-13 “God is a righteous Judge, and a God Who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet His sword; He has bent and readied His bow; He has prepared for him His deadly weapons, making His arrows fiery shafts.”
Prayer: Father God, help us as Your people and one in spirit with You, to understand the seriousness of our sexuality and Your plan to procreate through our bodies. Deliver us from the evil one and the temptations around us through our culture and old nature. Forgive us our sexual sins and empower us to live as Your Holy Temple, reflecting Your love to our family and world.
Proverbs 2:16-19 “So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death and her paths to the departed; none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.”
Avoid the trap of sexual sins
Scripture reading for June 13th: Ephesians 5, Psalm 117, Proverbs 24
Ephesians 5:1-5 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of God.”
Believers are called to be imitators of God, the Father, because they are His children! God is love and demonstrated that love through the giving of His Son, Jesus Christ for us, to free us from sin’s penalty and power. Because of this, we must live differently than the world. Sexual sins of fornication, adultery, and homosexuality are not at all proper for God’s people. Even the filthiness and crude joking about sexual matters are not allowed. Paul emphasized that those continuing in these sins will have no inheritance in God’s household or kingdom. Thanksgiving and righteous living are the path to blessing! God wants His children to be blessed and holy like Him!
Psalm 117: 1-2 “Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples! For great is His steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever! Praise the Lord!”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your steadfast love and the example of Jesus Christ to show us Your will and ways through Your Word. Lord I want to respect You and also those in authority in the government. Help me to discern how to do that when those in earthly authority rebel against Your commands. Have mercy on them, our land, and us Lord, for we have sinned greatly in sexual immorality and idolatry.
Proverbs 24: 21-22 “My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise, for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?”
Abstain from sexual immorality!
Scripture reading for June 20th: Proverbs 29-31, 1st Thessalonians 4
1st Thessalonians 4: 3-8 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, Who gives His Holy Spirit to you.”
Paul called believers to clearly know and follow the Lord’s will for them and their sexuality. They were to abstain from all forms of immorality as decreed in God’s Word. They were to control their bodies and live in holiness since the Holy Spirit lived in them and they were His temple. When a person engages in immorality, adultery, fornication, or homosexuality, they are doing wrong not only to their own souls, but to the one they are involved with. God promises to avenge this wrong. Paul told them about this and warned them solemnly. If they disregarded his warning, they were also disregarding God Himself! Beware!
1st Thessalonians 4:10-12 “. .for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with you hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”
Prayer: Father God, I desire to be holy as You are holy! Thank You for the Holy Spirit and Your Holy Word to lead me in Your way everlasting. Help me to never wrong others by sexual misconduct and to faithfully warn those who are engaged in that life-style that they may escape Your holy wrath. Help me to live quietly and walk properly before outsiders.
Proverbs 29:1 “He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.” Proverbs 29:3 “He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.”
No inheritance?
Scripture reading for May 28th: Ephesians 5
Key Scriptures: Ephesians 5:3-6 “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Immorality and idolatry go hand in hand in the world of the sinner but should have no part in the life of a follower of Christ Jesus. Paul wrote the believers in Ephesus a clear warning against continuing in past personal sins of immorality and in the culture of immorality in the land. Repentance means a change of mind, heart, and direction away from the culture of sinners to that of Christ. Immorality includes filthy talk and crude jokes. It includes watching lewd movies and pornography. It also includes homosexuality, adultery and fornication–any sex outside of marriage of a man and a woman. It includes incest and bestiality or coveting another’s body in lust. Beware, no one practicing such things will inherit the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus! Believers must reflect the light of truth in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:7-8 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, give me discernment and grace to avoid all the temptations of the culture of immorality and idolatry in my assigned mission field. Keep me from deceptive words and the allure of the flesh. Remind me often that I am light in the Lord to my family and church. Help me to use the limited time left in my life in wisdom and fruitfulness,
Ephesians 5:15 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Our body is a Holy Temple!
Scripture reading for September 1st: Isaiah 33-35, 1st Corinthians 6
Key Scriptures: 1st Corinthians 6:15,18-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!” , , ,”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? Your are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Corinth was a city known for it’s gross sexual immorality. Many church members had been saved out of that culture. Paul patiently explained that as believers, they were now part of Christ’s Body which was holy. By taking their bodies and joining them sexually with another person that was not their spouse, they were sinning against their own body and the Holy Spirit Who lived in them. God purchased us with the price of His own Son’s blood! Let His Glory shine through us in holiness! This is everlasting joy!
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, I welcome the Holy Spirit to my body! Thank You for redeeming me with the precious blood of Your body. Shine the light of Your holiness through me bringing glory to Your Name and everlasting joy!
Isaiah 35:10 “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads’ they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Dealing with gross sin among believers.
Scripture reading for August 31st: Isaiah 30-32, 1st Corinthians 5
Key Scriptures: 1st Corinthians 5:9-13 “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people–not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler–not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.””
There was gross immorality in the church at Corinth. Paul wrote to them concerning the handling of this problem. The world is full of sexual immorality but it should not be in the church. God’s Word is clear concerning this truth. Those who claim to be ‘brothers’ or ‘sisters’ and are living in immorality, idolatry, drunkenness, or other sins are not to be taken into the fellowship of the church unless they repent. Those inside the church must be disciplined by church leadership. God will take care of those outside.
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for clear instruction for Your church in dealing with gross immorality among those who call themselves believers. Help Your leaders to faithfully apply this instruction.
Isaiah 30:15 “For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling . . .”
Sexual purity is not optional!
Scripture reading for June 18th: Proverbs 29-31, 1st Thessalonians 4
Key Scriptures: 1st Thessalonians 4:3-8 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you.”
Paul solemnly warned the Thessalonians against sexual immorality. God’s Word is very clear about what He considers “immorality”. Adultery is sexual immorality in a marriage covenant when one partner steps out on another. Fornication is any sexual acts outside of a marriage relationship. Homosexuality is any sexual acts between those of the same sex. Bestiality is sexual misconduct with animals. Pornography is lusting for sexual contact through images or imagination. These acts “transgress and wrong” those involved and they must and will answer to God. We disregard God Himself when we claim to be a believer and still continue in sexual immorality. Be warned: God will avenge!
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, have mercy on our land and its people. We have transgressed against Your Holy Word and Spirit and each other in these sins of sexual immorality. Help me to control my own body and thoughts and solemnly warn this people about Your plan for our sanctification in Jesus Christ. turning away Your wrath.
Proverbs 29:1 “He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.”
Proverbs 29:8 “Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.”
Avoid deception!
Scripture reading for July 12th: 1st Corinthians 6, Psalm 139, Proverbs 15
Key Scriptures: 1st Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. and such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Paul warned the Corinthian believers against deception. Repentance was required for faith to operate and bring freedom. If someone was still practicing sexual immorality or idolatry or any visible or hidden sin, they would not inherit God’s kingdom. Those in Christ’s kingdom have turned away and allowed Christ to wash them and set them apart for God’s household.
Faith Confession: I am not deceived but joyfully receive God’s truth and am thankful that He washed me and set me apart for the Kingdom and filled me with His Holy Spirit. Help me to faithfully preach this truth today in a church world that has come under deception.
Proverbs 15:2-3 “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”