Taking Lightly What God Takes Seriously

Knowing that what I am about to write is counter-cultural, I suggest to you that it is one of the strongest tools in our arsenal both to protect ourselves and to give a witness to others.  I am also painfully aware that many that name themselves as followers of Jesus Christ seemingly take this matter lightly while God takes it very seriously.  It is the matter of sexual purity.

In 1 Thessalonians 4, God says, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.”

God’s calling for us as believers is to be holy, living our lives differently than the world around us.  Notice the verbs:  AVOID (to abstain from or distance ourselves from) sexual immorality; LEARN TO CONTROL or POSSESS our own bodies (this could mean focusing on our own spouse); not WRONG or STEP OVER A LINE with brothers and sisters; we are not CALLED to impurity; and REJECTION is against God.  God takes these things so seriously that He will be “an avenger” against anyone who commits such sins.  WOW.

Playing around with pornography is not a harmless endeavor. It objectifies people; violates your marriage commitment; and lures the user into deeper sin.  God speaks in the Bible about not denying relations in marriage except for prayer so we don’t set ourselves up for temptation. (1 Cor. 7:5)  Flirting with the opposite sex, especially a married person, is crossing the line of proper treatment of someone else’s spouse.  In essence it is like trying to steal the intimacy and emotional energies that belong to another.  

That is why the writer to the Hebrews also exhorted, Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Hebrews 13:4

The wording reflects any aberration of God’s design for sexuality. Our culture flagrantly celebrates sexual freedoms on all levels and chastises as judgmental anyone who suggests limits. This contributes to broken marriages and broken people. Our counter-cultural expression of purity and the celebration of monogamy and the wonders of married life sends a strong message about the glory of God and His designs for life that way it is meant to be.

Let’s send a message that helps others avoid the pain and us to experience God’s glory in wholesome and pure relationships.