Is Sexual Sin The Topmost In The Apostolic Sin List Exhorted By Apostles To Avoid?
Question : I have this question 'Is Sexual Sin The Topmost In The Apostolic Sin List Exhorted By Apostles To Avoid?' Does God wants us to totally avoid this kind of sins? Can we be victorious in our pursuit of holiness in this matter as the values of the world around us doesn't even seem to bother these days about it being evil and even doesn't want to call these as sin itself? Is there any list that can be made regarding sexual sins, if possible please do describe it. Thanks in advance.
Answer :Today the world has gone so depraved in its moral values around us that it calls evil as good and good as evil, light as darkness and darkness as light, sweet as bitter and bitter as sweet. God says that their life will be sorrowful and terrible because of them allowing such thinking in their heart that does not fear God because of being influenced by the lawlessness of the world that they have willingly embraced in this end of the age (Isa 5:20).
The Lord doesn't want any of His children to be in bondage to all sins that He hates because it destroys them in one way or the other (Rom 6:12, 16, 23). Willful sinning that is unconfessed always cuts the fellowship aspect of His Presence with His children because God's holiness doesn't allow Him to relate to any atmosphere of sin until it is confessed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:9, 7). Yes the Lord wants all of us His children to avoid sexual sins as it is in the topmost list of sins that God has revealed through His apostles.
Speaking to all the people around the world who were non-Jews, the apostles instructed them all from the result of apostolic council and discussion in which they all together with the Holy Spirit came to a conclusion to write certain principles as commandments for the non-Jews to keep, among which sexual sins stands one among their top priority list (Acts 15:28-29).
This apostolic edict agrees with the Old Testament seriousness about sexual sins that God hated and wanted His people to avoid,
1) First we see in the story of Noah where the first curse that was pronounced by Noah the man of God, was for something related to nakedness which was dealt lewdly by younger son Ham with out respect to his father (Gen 9:22-25).
2) God clearly gave two chapters which are 18 and 20 in the Book of Leviticus dealing with sexual sins that are prohibited by Him, and the severe resulting punishment of physical death in cases of committing adultery, lesbianism, gayism, animal molesters and fornication shows how serious God considered these sins before Him.
3) God also gave clear instruction through Moses to make linen trousers to cover the nakedness of the priests from Aaron's family line who will minister before Him and also He has instructed not to build steps for these High Priests to climb up to the altar of sacrifice so that their nakedness may not be exposed to other on-lookers who have come to worship Him, which was not the case with Canaanite worship of their god who were the surrounding peoples and nations around Israel. (Ex. 28:41-43; 20:26). Exposed genitalia or nakedness were common in Canaanite demonic worship.
4) When Moses returned from the mountain, Aaron had lost control of the people as they worshiped a golden calf, "unrestrained" (Ex. 32:25), which means they had begun to have orgies, play and dance committing adultery and fornication for their shame among their enemies. This was considered so serious a offense in the sight of God that Moses by a prophetic decree commanded those who were involved in it to be killed by their own brothers which Levi obeyed when they readily had sword to fight their enemies, and as a result three thousand men of the people fell dead and later the Lord also plagued to kill some 24000 people when they were lured by Women of Moab and started to commit harlotry with them (Ex. 32:27-28, 35; Num 25:1-9; 1 Cor 10:8). The verb translated 'play' suggests sex-play in Hebrew…and therefore we are probably to understand drunken orgies. The verb 'sahaq' signifies drunken, immoral orgies and sexual play. One Hebrew dictionary uses the phrase "conjugal caresses," as found in Genesis 26:8, 39:14 and 39:17. Less than two months before this, Israel heard the voice of God Himself thunder from heaven, audibly speaking the Ten Commandments to the nation. That dramatic experience, in and of itself, did not change their hearts. After that mighty move of God it seems that it is impossible to fall in to such godless things, but sadly Israel as a nation fell so low: O for in the Christian experience today how often it is the same when we do not allow the Lord to change our hearts by depending on His grace and humbling ourselves for our evil heart that is within us (James 4:6, 10).
Apostle Paul has clearly said that like the Israelites of old, we can all be born again and Spirit baptized child of God, but God will not be pleased with us if we choose to walk a fleshly life instead of living a spiritual life of faith in God, all of us who will walk in our fleshly way under the impulse of the evil heart of doubt will have sickness, confusion and even death in the wilderness of this world (1 Cor 10:1-5; 1 Cor 11:27-32). Then he continues to warn the Church saying, let us not become idolators to lust after the things of the flesh in sexual immorality, and like the Israelites be cursed to fall in the wilderness of the world and die in it because of the curse of God towards us instead of a blessing from Him to prosper as we live bodily in this earth (1 Cor 10:6-11; Heb 6:4-8).
In nearly all the apostolic epistles and letters written by the apostles to the Church, sexual sin is singled out and even is listed first in nearly all of it.
(i) Romans 1:24, 6:19 – Uncleanness is singled out.
(ii) 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Sexual sins listed first.
(iii) Galatians 5:19-21 – Sexual sins listed first.
(iv) Ephesians 4:19 – Lewdness and uncleanness singled out.
(v) Ephesians 5:3 – Fornication and uncleanness singled out; let it not once be named among you.
(vi) Colossians 3:5 – Fornication and uncleanness listed first.
(vii) 1 Thessalonians 4:3 – Sexual immorality singled out in our walk of sanctification.
(viii) 1 Peter 4:3 – Lewdness listed first from our past life.
Among the words that are described in the above verses, there are at least four primary sexual sins that the Scripture speaks of: they are adultery, fornication, uncleanness and lewdness.
(1) Adultery — As used in the Bible, adultery generally refers to voluntary sexual intercourse by a married person with one of the opposite sex other than one’s mate, or, during the time that the Mosaic Law was in effect, such intercourse by any man with a married or a betrothed woman. The Hebrew root meaning “commit adultery” is 'na·´aph´', while its Greek counterpart is 'moi·kheu´o'. (Eze 16:32; Mt 5:32).
(2) Fornication — In the Bible the Greek definition of the word "fornication" means to commit illicit sexual intercourse (1 Corinthians 6:18-20; 1 Corinthians 7:1-2). The Greek words "pornea" is often translated "fornication". It is the voluntary sexual intercourse by any unmarried person with either married or unmarried person.
(3) Uncleanness — The Greek word for "uncleanness" is akatharsia, which occurs 10 times (Matthew 23:27; Romans 1:24; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 12:21, etc.). This word 'akatharsia' (often translated "uncleanness") are key terms used to refer to sexual sins in the Christian Scriptures of the New Testament. This word akatharsia, as a noun, and akathartos, an adjective, appears in Romans 1:24, 2 Corinthians 12:21, and Galatians 5:19. It is typically translated "uncleanness" in the King James Version. This mainly points to the sin of homosexuality and lesbianism.
(4) Lewdness — The Greek word for “Lasciviousness” is “Asalgeia.” According to Thayer's Dictionary, the term "Asalgeia" means, "Unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence, wanton (acts or) manners, as filthy words, indecent bodily movements, unchaste handling of males and females, etc." Vine’s Dictionary tells us that "Aselgeia" denotes, "Excess, licentiousness, absence of restraint, indecency, wantonness." The Revel Bible Dictionary defines "lasciviousness" as "wanton, licentious.... It means unrestrained greed, or an "animal-like" indulgence in any passionate desire. Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines "Lasciviousness" as the "KJV word for licentiousness. In turn, it defines "Licentiousness" as "undisciplined and unrestrained behavior, especially a flagrant disregard of sexual restraints. The Greek word translated as licentiousness means "outrageous conduct," showing that licentious behavior goes beyond sin to include a disregard for what is right." Thus 'Lewdness' is a disposition or settled tendency to evil, the innate corruption of unregenerate man. In other words it is unashamed indecency, unbridled lust, unrestrained depravity and insolent defiance of public opinion, sinning in broad daylight with arrogance and contempt. The word therefore doesn’t just refer to immorality, but immorality gone wild; immorality gone arrogant; immorality gone public. It is a spirit of sin that comes out of the closet and becomes public and proud-- and unrestrained.
Here in Galatians 5:19-21 apostle Paul gives all of the above sexual sins in one of the main and comprehensive Scripture list of the sins of the flesh by saying, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
I believe that the fourth one deals with the matter of the heart, so a believer who tends to avoid this type of sin of Lewdness will face a tough resistance in their flesh because of the kind of influence we have from the world. But in our end time generation the New Testament standard that Jesus has set for us is the challenge to keep our heart clean than just to avoid physical and external sins of the body and be satisfied with it as though we have attained holiness already. External sexual restraint keeps our body safe from defilement and keeps our earthly life blessed. But only internal holiness of the heart is what pleases the Lord so much and keeps our spiritual life blessed by acquiring heavenly treasures with God, so Jesus said, " 27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old,‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell." (Matt 5:27-30). In other words, Jesus is telling all humans to deal with sexual sins of the heart as serious as they will deal with hell fire because all internal sins of thought if unconfessed and unrepented will one day lead to unrestrained external sin which will bring death. So in God's eyes the sexual sins we do in our heart internally is as serious as the sin of adultery that is committed externally.
Since Jesus is one who live within the born-again believer's spirit, it is unthinkable to involve Him with immorality of the flesh which is more than a external biological experience but instead a very communion of life with evil (1 Cor 6:15-18), because any sexual activity starts with spiritual or to say accurately in soulish lusts and ends in physical fulfillment [i.e. the mind lusts and the body responds with masturbation or some other stimulation]; thus the strong admonition not to let the sin of fornication and all uncleanness "even be named among you" (Eph. 5:3). Sexual immorality has far-reaching effects than just social implications, it does have great spiritual significance to the extent it will decide whether you will receive eternal crown by mastering over it or lose it by your temporal pleasure seeking mindset that God hates (1 Cor 6:20; 9:24-27). God has reserved sexual enjoyment to be used within marriage and also procreate and give birth to eternal spirits (1 Cor 7:5-6). God's law of marriage never restricts you, but instead liberates you within your sphere to protect you from messing up with some in procreation that is not yours to proceed (Prov 5:16-18, TLB). Sex outside of marriage destroys the complete spiritual life, the soul and the body of the trespassing initiator (Prov 22:14; 6:32; 7:23, 26-27). Sex within marriage is a satisfying one if it is given a proper place of enjoyment and intimacy with one another. When sex is done even within marriage with lewdness in one's mind, it becomes like a routine to satisfy one's lust rather than to express one's love towards the other spouse. God wants His unconditional love to be expressed between the husband and wife, and that is the reason apostle Paul compares the relationship between a husband and wife to that of the relationship between the Lord Jesus and His Church (Eph 5:23-25). Unconditional Love of God expressed within marriage will always deeply satisfy us in this life and will train us for the next life to come through our every day experience with it (1 Cor 13).
Here is the Scripture that reveals so much about how people get misled in to destruction by their fleshly reasoning to justify their acts of sexual sin by saying things like, "Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power" (1 Cor. 6:13-14). In the the Church of Corinth this was the way some believers tried to justify their lifestyle by saying, 'God created stomach for eating food and we eat food for the stomach, in the same way they reasoned we have genitalia for doing sex, sex we do anytime anyplace with anybody and enjoy it because God has given us genitilia. This above type of reasoning to justify oneself of their sexual immorality even applies to our end time 21st century Church also as we see people like this, with the same type of thinking and reasoning around us. Apostle Paul affirms God's truth by saying in response, "Whether you destroy your body by overeating or by unrestrained sexual activity, God will equally destroy both the stomach and gentilia which is used for sin and the person who commits it." Then Paul says that the when the whole body is kept away from sexual immorality in holiness for the Lord to live in it, the Lord Himself will separate Himself to live in it in His power and glory just as if the Lord Himself has custom designed Himself to live for the body (Heb 10:5-9). Then Paul says that the Lord God our Father in heaven who raised up Jesus our Lord from death by His resurrection power of the Spirit will also raise us up from our fleshly weakness of falling and failing in our thoughts and actions of sexual immorality by His power to overcome it.
One of America's greatest evangelist of all time, Charles G. Finney said, "Worldly desires, appetites, and feelings prevent true Christianity—the human will is, in a sense, enslaved by fleshly and worldly desires. It is therefore necessary for God to awaken people to a sense of guilt and danger and thus produce an opposite excitement or feeling and desire. This counter-feeling breaks the power of worldly desire and leaves the will free to obey God."
Many in the Church have compromised to deal with internal sins of the heart, and preachers are not bold enough to deal with it in their preaching just because many of them are themselves struggling in this area. But just because a person struggles, if he compromises to preach the full truth of the gospel, then the Church as a whole becomes weak and powerless due to the wrong doctrines of the Preachers and Teachers of the word of God who will be judged by God with a stricter judgment because of it (1 Tim 4:15-16; James 3:1; 2 Pet 2:12-13; 2 Tim 3:6-9). The preacher and the teacher of the word of God should immerse Himself in the Word of God and prayer to really preach what He practices, otherwise it is impossible to deliver good doctrines of overcoming faith (Acts 6:4). The meditation of the word of God will keep us away form sin or sin will keep us away from the meditation of the word of God (Psa 119:9, 11; 37:31). I'm also aware that in seeking to turn someone from the error of their ways, the preachers and teachers of the word of God must do so in gentleness and humility (Gal. 6:1; 2 Tim. 2:25), or else some day because of their pride God will let them fall before everyone so that with high price and a bad name before people as Christ's ambassador who have failed miserably they will learn the hard way to stand in humility before God and others, and also once fallen when in leadership it causes a great dent to His glorious Holy Name. It is better to learn what it means to be humble and gentle in heart towards others with like weakness like us who are struggling with sins of sexual immorality before God than later before men in shame (Heb 5:3; James 5:17).
Prayer in our heart towards God done always in all circumstances with a thankful heart will keep our heart empowered enough to overcome the evil power of sin that tries to overcome us (1 Thess 5:16-18; Matt 26:41; Rom 7:15-25). If you let Jesus rule over your spirit, soul and body, He will rule over the sin that tries to rule over you (Gen 4:7). You may not have what it takes to overcome the sin of the heart, but Jesus has already proved to be a champion over it forever. Let go of yourself and let Jesus take control of your every emotion, mind and will within your soul area of your life. All will be well with you in your spiritual life as you walk with Jesus' help in your day to day life, and God will be very pleased with you to bless you with a supernatural life on earth as it is in heaven. He will also give you a exalted place in the life to come so that you might be able to display the crown of glory to all the universe which longs for the sons of God to be revealed (Rom 8:19; 1 Cor 9:24-25; James 1:12).
Have you been struggling in the area of the fourth sexual sin which is of the heart? Do not worry, the Lord is a mighty man of war who will fight along with you to make your body as a habitation for Himself if you willingly co-operate with Him in His war against sins of sexual immorality and He will prevail over all sins and destroy the enemies who tempt us with sexual immorality as our champion (Isa 42:13; Exo 15:3; Jer 20:11).
Get on with God in your spiritual life and throw away your mask of a double life by saying to God this prayer with me, "O dear Lord Jesus, I do not want to be a hypocrite and two faced person in this world anymore. You have bought me with a price of your very life and therefore I belong to you and want to glorify you before My heavenly Father by overcoming all sexual immorality that you hate (1 Cor 6:20). You have said that you gave yourself for my sins, that You might deliver me from this present evil age that abounds full of sexual immorality. Help me to overcome the lust of the eyes that start spiritually to control me and move in to the lust of the flesh to end in it physically, after which the pride of life starts to swell up in my heart to make me think that such sin is not serious at all when it is serious before you. I understand that the Love of My Heavenly Father is not present in all of these above sins, so therefore help me to keep myself in your Love by hating the world system of thinking that the devil sets loose within me many times to tempt me to move away from it (1 John 2:15-17; Jude 21; John 15:10). You have promised me that sin shall not have any dominion in my life because you will provide me with your overcoming grace to defeat all sexual immorality and therefore I submit my spirit, soul and body in to your loving hands, I pray sanctify me completely and preserve me blameless at your coming according to your promise, in Jesus wonderful name I pray (Rom 6:14; 2 Thess 5:23-24). Amen! Praise the Lord!"
Much Blessings....
Answer :Today the world has gone so depraved in its moral values around us that it calls evil as good and good as evil, light as darkness and darkness as light, sweet as bitter and bitter as sweet. God says that their life will be sorrowful and terrible because of them allowing such thinking in their heart that does not fear God because of being influenced by the lawlessness of the world that they have willingly embraced in this end of the age (Isa 5:20).
The Lord doesn't want any of His children to be in bondage to all sins that He hates because it destroys them in one way or the other (Rom 6:12, 16, 23). Willful sinning that is unconfessed always cuts the fellowship aspect of His Presence with His children because God's holiness doesn't allow Him to relate to any atmosphere of sin until it is confessed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:9, 7). Yes the Lord wants all of us His children to avoid sexual sins as it is in the topmost list of sins that God has revealed through His apostles.
Speaking to all the people around the world who were non-Jews, the apostles instructed them all from the result of apostolic council and discussion in which they all together with the Holy Spirit came to a conclusion to write certain principles as commandments for the non-Jews to keep, among which sexual sins stands one among their top priority list (Acts 15:28-29).
This apostolic edict agrees with the Old Testament seriousness about sexual sins that God hated and wanted His people to avoid,
1) First we see in the story of Noah where the first curse that was pronounced by Noah the man of God, was for something related to nakedness which was dealt lewdly by younger son Ham with out respect to his father (Gen 9:22-25).
2) God clearly gave two chapters which are 18 and 20 in the Book of Leviticus dealing with sexual sins that are prohibited by Him, and the severe resulting punishment of physical death in cases of committing adultery, lesbianism, gayism, animal molesters and fornication shows how serious God considered these sins before Him.
3) God also gave clear instruction through Moses to make linen trousers to cover the nakedness of the priests from Aaron's family line who will minister before Him and also He has instructed not to build steps for these High Priests to climb up to the altar of sacrifice so that their nakedness may not be exposed to other on-lookers who have come to worship Him, which was not the case with Canaanite worship of their god who were the surrounding peoples and nations around Israel. (Ex. 28:41-43; 20:26). Exposed genitalia or nakedness were common in Canaanite demonic worship.
4) When Moses returned from the mountain, Aaron had lost control of the people as they worshiped a golden calf, "unrestrained" (Ex. 32:25), which means they had begun to have orgies, play and dance committing adultery and fornication for their shame among their enemies. This was considered so serious a offense in the sight of God that Moses by a prophetic decree commanded those who were involved in it to be killed by their own brothers which Levi obeyed when they readily had sword to fight their enemies, and as a result three thousand men of the people fell dead and later the Lord also plagued to kill some 24000 people when they were lured by Women of Moab and started to commit harlotry with them (Ex. 32:27-28, 35; Num 25:1-9; 1 Cor 10:8). The verb translated 'play' suggests sex-play in Hebrew…and therefore we are probably to understand drunken orgies. The verb 'sahaq' signifies drunken, immoral orgies and sexual play. One Hebrew dictionary uses the phrase "conjugal caresses," as found in Genesis 26:8, 39:14 and 39:17. Less than two months before this, Israel heard the voice of God Himself thunder from heaven, audibly speaking the Ten Commandments to the nation. That dramatic experience, in and of itself, did not change their hearts. After that mighty move of God it seems that it is impossible to fall in to such godless things, but sadly Israel as a nation fell so low: O for in the Christian experience today how often it is the same when we do not allow the Lord to change our hearts by depending on His grace and humbling ourselves for our evil heart that is within us (James 4:6, 10).
Apostle Paul has clearly said that like the Israelites of old, we can all be born again and Spirit baptized child of God, but God will not be pleased with us if we choose to walk a fleshly life instead of living a spiritual life of faith in God, all of us who will walk in our fleshly way under the impulse of the evil heart of doubt will have sickness, confusion and even death in the wilderness of this world (1 Cor 10:1-5; 1 Cor 11:27-32). Then he continues to warn the Church saying, let us not become idolators to lust after the things of the flesh in sexual immorality, and like the Israelites be cursed to fall in the wilderness of the world and die in it because of the curse of God towards us instead of a blessing from Him to prosper as we live bodily in this earth (1 Cor 10:6-11; Heb 6:4-8).
In nearly all the apostolic epistles and letters written by the apostles to the Church, sexual sin is singled out and even is listed first in nearly all of it.
(i) Romans 1:24, 6:19 – Uncleanness is singled out.
(ii) 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Sexual sins listed first.
(iii) Galatians 5:19-21 – Sexual sins listed first.
(iv) Ephesians 4:19 – Lewdness and uncleanness singled out.
(v) Ephesians 5:3 – Fornication and uncleanness singled out; let it not once be named among you.
(vi) Colossians 3:5 – Fornication and uncleanness listed first.
(vii) 1 Thessalonians 4:3 – Sexual immorality singled out in our walk of sanctification.
(viii) 1 Peter 4:3 – Lewdness listed first from our past life.
Among the words that are described in the above verses, there are at least four primary sexual sins that the Scripture speaks of: they are adultery, fornication, uncleanness and lewdness.
(1) Adultery — As used in the Bible, adultery generally refers to voluntary sexual intercourse by a married person with one of the opposite sex other than one’s mate, or, during the time that the Mosaic Law was in effect, such intercourse by any man with a married or a betrothed woman. The Hebrew root meaning “commit adultery” is 'na·´aph´', while its Greek counterpart is 'moi·kheu´o'. (Eze 16:32; Mt 5:32).
(2) Fornication — In the Bible the Greek definition of the word "fornication" means to commit illicit sexual intercourse (1 Corinthians 6:18-20; 1 Corinthians 7:1-2). The Greek words "pornea" is often translated "fornication". It is the voluntary sexual intercourse by any unmarried person with either married or unmarried person.
(3) Uncleanness — The Greek word for "uncleanness" is akatharsia, which occurs 10 times (Matthew 23:27; Romans 1:24; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 12:21, etc.). This word 'akatharsia' (often translated "uncleanness") are key terms used to refer to sexual sins in the Christian Scriptures of the New Testament. This word akatharsia, as a noun, and akathartos, an adjective, appears in Romans 1:24, 2 Corinthians 12:21, and Galatians 5:19. It is typically translated "uncleanness" in the King James Version. This mainly points to the sin of homosexuality and lesbianism.
(4) Lewdness — The Greek word for “Lasciviousness” is “Asalgeia.” According to Thayer's Dictionary, the term "Asalgeia" means, "Unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence, wanton (acts or) manners, as filthy words, indecent bodily movements, unchaste handling of males and females, etc." Vine’s Dictionary tells us that "Aselgeia" denotes, "Excess, licentiousness, absence of restraint, indecency, wantonness." The Revel Bible Dictionary defines "lasciviousness" as "wanton, licentious.... It means unrestrained greed, or an "animal-like" indulgence in any passionate desire. Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines "Lasciviousness" as the "KJV word for licentiousness. In turn, it defines "Licentiousness" as "undisciplined and unrestrained behavior, especially a flagrant disregard of sexual restraints. The Greek word translated as licentiousness means "outrageous conduct," showing that licentious behavior goes beyond sin to include a disregard for what is right." Thus 'Lewdness' is a disposition or settled tendency to evil, the innate corruption of unregenerate man. In other words it is unashamed indecency, unbridled lust, unrestrained depravity and insolent defiance of public opinion, sinning in broad daylight with arrogance and contempt. The word therefore doesn’t just refer to immorality, but immorality gone wild; immorality gone arrogant; immorality gone public. It is a spirit of sin that comes out of the closet and becomes public and proud-- and unrestrained.
Here in Galatians 5:19-21 apostle Paul gives all of the above sexual sins in one of the main and comprehensive Scripture list of the sins of the flesh by saying, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
I believe that the fourth one deals with the matter of the heart, so a believer who tends to avoid this type of sin of Lewdness will face a tough resistance in their flesh because of the kind of influence we have from the world. But in our end time generation the New Testament standard that Jesus has set for us is the challenge to keep our heart clean than just to avoid physical and external sins of the body and be satisfied with it as though we have attained holiness already. External sexual restraint keeps our body safe from defilement and keeps our earthly life blessed. But only internal holiness of the heart is what pleases the Lord so much and keeps our spiritual life blessed by acquiring heavenly treasures with God, so Jesus said, " 27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old,‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell." (Matt 5:27-30). In other words, Jesus is telling all humans to deal with sexual sins of the heart as serious as they will deal with hell fire because all internal sins of thought if unconfessed and unrepented will one day lead to unrestrained external sin which will bring death. So in God's eyes the sexual sins we do in our heart internally is as serious as the sin of adultery that is committed externally.
Since Jesus is one who live within the born-again believer's spirit, it is unthinkable to involve Him with immorality of the flesh which is more than a external biological experience but instead a very communion of life with evil (1 Cor 6:15-18), because any sexual activity starts with spiritual or to say accurately in soulish lusts and ends in physical fulfillment [i.e. the mind lusts and the body responds with masturbation or some other stimulation]; thus the strong admonition not to let the sin of fornication and all uncleanness "even be named among you" (Eph. 5:3). Sexual immorality has far-reaching effects than just social implications, it does have great spiritual significance to the extent it will decide whether you will receive eternal crown by mastering over it or lose it by your temporal pleasure seeking mindset that God hates (1 Cor 6:20; 9:24-27). God has reserved sexual enjoyment to be used within marriage and also procreate and give birth to eternal spirits (1 Cor 7:5-6). God's law of marriage never restricts you, but instead liberates you within your sphere to protect you from messing up with some in procreation that is not yours to proceed (Prov 5:16-18, TLB). Sex outside of marriage destroys the complete spiritual life, the soul and the body of the trespassing initiator (Prov 22:14; 6:32; 7:23, 26-27). Sex within marriage is a satisfying one if it is given a proper place of enjoyment and intimacy with one another. When sex is done even within marriage with lewdness in one's mind, it becomes like a routine to satisfy one's lust rather than to express one's love towards the other spouse. God wants His unconditional love to be expressed between the husband and wife, and that is the reason apostle Paul compares the relationship between a husband and wife to that of the relationship between the Lord Jesus and His Church (Eph 5:23-25). Unconditional Love of God expressed within marriage will always deeply satisfy us in this life and will train us for the next life to come through our every day experience with it (1 Cor 13).
Here is the Scripture that reveals so much about how people get misled in to destruction by their fleshly reasoning to justify their acts of sexual sin by saying things like, "Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power" (1 Cor. 6:13-14). In the the Church of Corinth this was the way some believers tried to justify their lifestyle by saying, 'God created stomach for eating food and we eat food for the stomach, in the same way they reasoned we have genitalia for doing sex, sex we do anytime anyplace with anybody and enjoy it because God has given us genitilia. This above type of reasoning to justify oneself of their sexual immorality even applies to our end time 21st century Church also as we see people like this, with the same type of thinking and reasoning around us. Apostle Paul affirms God's truth by saying in response, "Whether you destroy your body by overeating or by unrestrained sexual activity, God will equally destroy both the stomach and gentilia which is used for sin and the person who commits it." Then Paul says that the when the whole body is kept away from sexual immorality in holiness for the Lord to live in it, the Lord Himself will separate Himself to live in it in His power and glory just as if the Lord Himself has custom designed Himself to live for the body (Heb 10:5-9). Then Paul says that the Lord God our Father in heaven who raised up Jesus our Lord from death by His resurrection power of the Spirit will also raise us up from our fleshly weakness of falling and failing in our thoughts and actions of sexual immorality by His power to overcome it.
One of America's greatest evangelist of all time, Charles G. Finney said, "Worldly desires, appetites, and feelings prevent true Christianity—the human will is, in a sense, enslaved by fleshly and worldly desires. It is therefore necessary for God to awaken people to a sense of guilt and danger and thus produce an opposite excitement or feeling and desire. This counter-feeling breaks the power of worldly desire and leaves the will free to obey God."
Many in the Church have compromised to deal with internal sins of the heart, and preachers are not bold enough to deal with it in their preaching just because many of them are themselves struggling in this area. But just because a person struggles, if he compromises to preach the full truth of the gospel, then the Church as a whole becomes weak and powerless due to the wrong doctrines of the Preachers and Teachers of the word of God who will be judged by God with a stricter judgment because of it (1 Tim 4:15-16; James 3:1; 2 Pet 2:12-13; 2 Tim 3:6-9). The preacher and the teacher of the word of God should immerse Himself in the Word of God and prayer to really preach what He practices, otherwise it is impossible to deliver good doctrines of overcoming faith (Acts 6:4). The meditation of the word of God will keep us away form sin or sin will keep us away from the meditation of the word of God (Psa 119:9, 11; 37:31). I'm also aware that in seeking to turn someone from the error of their ways, the preachers and teachers of the word of God must do so in gentleness and humility (Gal. 6:1; 2 Tim. 2:25), or else some day because of their pride God will let them fall before everyone so that with high price and a bad name before people as Christ's ambassador who have failed miserably they will learn the hard way to stand in humility before God and others, and also once fallen when in leadership it causes a great dent to His glorious Holy Name. It is better to learn what it means to be humble and gentle in heart towards others with like weakness like us who are struggling with sins of sexual immorality before God than later before men in shame (Heb 5:3; James 5:17).
Prayer in our heart towards God done always in all circumstances with a thankful heart will keep our heart empowered enough to overcome the evil power of sin that tries to overcome us (1 Thess 5:16-18; Matt 26:41; Rom 7:15-25). If you let Jesus rule over your spirit, soul and body, He will rule over the sin that tries to rule over you (Gen 4:7). You may not have what it takes to overcome the sin of the heart, but Jesus has already proved to be a champion over it forever. Let go of yourself and let Jesus take control of your every emotion, mind and will within your soul area of your life. All will be well with you in your spiritual life as you walk with Jesus' help in your day to day life, and God will be very pleased with you to bless you with a supernatural life on earth as it is in heaven. He will also give you a exalted place in the life to come so that you might be able to display the crown of glory to all the universe which longs for the sons of God to be revealed (Rom 8:19; 1 Cor 9:24-25; James 1:12).
Have you been struggling in the area of the fourth sexual sin which is of the heart? Do not worry, the Lord is a mighty man of war who will fight along with you to make your body as a habitation for Himself if you willingly co-operate with Him in His war against sins of sexual immorality and He will prevail over all sins and destroy the enemies who tempt us with sexual immorality as our champion (Isa 42:13; Exo 15:3; Jer 20:11).
Get on with God in your spiritual life and throw away your mask of a double life by saying to God this prayer with me, "O dear Lord Jesus, I do not want to be a hypocrite and two faced person in this world anymore. You have bought me with a price of your very life and therefore I belong to you and want to glorify you before My heavenly Father by overcoming all sexual immorality that you hate (1 Cor 6:20). You have said that you gave yourself for my sins, that You might deliver me from this present evil age that abounds full of sexual immorality. Help me to overcome the lust of the eyes that start spiritually to control me and move in to the lust of the flesh to end in it physically, after which the pride of life starts to swell up in my heart to make me think that such sin is not serious at all when it is serious before you. I understand that the Love of My Heavenly Father is not present in all of these above sins, so therefore help me to keep myself in your Love by hating the world system of thinking that the devil sets loose within me many times to tempt me to move away from it (1 John 2:15-17; Jude 21; John 15:10). You have promised me that sin shall not have any dominion in my life because you will provide me with your overcoming grace to defeat all sexual immorality and therefore I submit my spirit, soul and body in to your loving hands, I pray sanctify me completely and preserve me blameless at your coming according to your promise, in Jesus wonderful name I pray (Rom 6:14; 2 Thess 5:23-24). Amen! Praise the Lord!"
Much Blessings....
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment