What are Christian standards of sexual purity? Do you know, and if so, do you live by them? I am issuing a call to Christians to live sexually pure lives. We looked at the high standards of sexual purity, as set forth in Ephesians 5:3, where it says:
'But among you (children of God) there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.'
Sexual Purity Is for Our Benefit
The world would tell you that to live a sexually pure life is to miss out on all the fun, and furthermore, that it is impossible! Most people believe it's crazy to set the standards as no sex outside of marriage, and no participation in anything that even hints of sexual impurity.
You know, Satan is the father of liars, and he is the best liar ever, and believe me, he can present a lie to you that will make you think God is wrong. Today he lies to you in many ways�through your friends, your culture, your peers, the media, in words like, 'You don't really believe in abstinence, do you?' 'You can't really expect young people to go without sex until they're married, can you?'
You cannot contest what the Bible teaches about sexual purity. It is too clear and non-compromising. All you can do is choose to believe and obey or not. There is no need for you to pray about whether to have some sort of illicit sexual relationship, or whether to see a movie that portrays illicit sex, or watch a sitcom that makes a joke out of it. The Bible is clear on the right and wrong of it.
Let me assure you that there is nothing impossible about living a celibate life if you are single. Nor is it unreasonable to expect marriage partners to be faithful to each other all the days of their marriage. God's requirements for a pure lifestyle are not only possible, they are best. He sets these high standards of sexual purity to protect you from harm, from disgrace, from disease, from regret, from heartache and great pain. To choose to live by God's standards of sexual purity is to choose a life free from guilt, regret, rejection, and pain of all sorts. It is to choose true freedom, for truth sets you free, not free sex.
The Consequences of Sexual Immorality
When you sin sexually, you sin against your body, which houses the Holy Spirit of God, if you are truly born again. So, the most precious thing you forfeit is the glory that is due to God through your body.
Secondly, we forfeit that beautiful peace and fellowship that comes when our lives are pure before God. That freedom from guilt and a heavy conscience. We take ourselves back into bondage to sin.
Yes, God forgives us when we repent, but there are many who can testify that the memories and regrets somehow never go away. You always look back and wish it had never happened. Many marital problems come from infidelity before marriage. You are jeopardizing your future happiness through premarital sex.
It's a shame that 31 people have already viewed this thread and only 3 of us so far have responded.
Several years ago there was a study done in America concerning Pre-marital sex and Christians. The statistic showed that it is a growing epidemic. Perhaps that is why this subject is not very popular. Many Christians are not convicted in this area. They do not realize the danger of this sin like any sin as it can over time cause their hearts to be hardened to Jesus and that eventually can lead to Apostasy should they fall back into "UNbelief".
Heb 3:12-14
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of UNBELIEF,...... in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, IF we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; (KJV)
Rom 11:19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in."
20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. NKJV
1Cor 5:11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner��not even to eat with such a person.
Great post. I think brother Walter may have something there. We Americans are de-sensitized to things pertaining to sex. We are so used to seeing it at every turn (Whether we participate or not) that we don't even think about it any more. It really is a shame, how bad our nation has become.
May I say that my intentions of posting this is to convict people , not to judge them..
It wont do us any good (we already know that Christians are in bondage just as much as none Christians) , Our job is to spread the word ( as I tried to do) and then pray ,(intercede for them) that the Holy Spirit will convict . It is our job, the ones that do obey his law/commandments to pray for our bro and sisters , that they might receive that kind of honor for our Lord and themselves , to give up their flesh(die to self) and love him more then they do their flesh>
So we post for the hope of convicting someone and help them to learn how to honor themselves and therefore honoring our Lord and savior.
Yes my flesh would rather judge and tell them how wrong they are for not obeying, would good would that do? That would make me the same , a sinner...
But if I can post something that might plant a seed , the rest is not up to me.
We are hear to grow, to convict in love perhaps, by our loving words and help each other to become the love of Christ , only that love will bare fruit.
Today's Oswald Chambers covers it well:
February 12, 2010
Are You Listening to God?
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READ:
They said to Moses, �You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die� ` �Exodus 20:19
We don�t consciously and deliberately disobey God� we simply don�t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them� not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.
"You speak with us, . . . but let not God speak with us . . . ." We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don�t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God�s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, "Well, that�s only your own idea, even though I don�t deny that what you said is probably God�s truth."
Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, "Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?" This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.
Some of you have already messed up your lives because of sexual immorality. Some of you are living in sexual sin even now. Some of you are thinking about it, but you haven't yet acted on it. Some of you are still pure and innocent.
Wherever you are, you can start today to put God's principles into effect in your life and live a sexually pure life, if you want to. God is remarkable at taking our messes and making something good out of them.
Here are ten things you should do to insure that you are obeying God and living a sexually pure life:
1. If you are now having an illicit sexual relationship, break it off today. Not tomorrow; today. Don't talk about doing it; don't seek advice about doing it; don't hesitate. Just do it.
2. If you are in a relationship that is heading in that direction, break it off today. Same instructions. You cannot trust yourself.
3. If you are not in a relationship and you want to be someday, set some high standards of conduct for yourself. Put them in writing. Be explicit about what you will and won't do.
4. Avoid movies, TV shows, magazines and books that portray illicit sex. Turn off the television, walk out of the movie, don't allow that message to invade your mind.
5. Avoid any joking or coarse talk about sex. Walk away from it. Don't laugh at it.
6. Don't associate with people who have low standards of sexual purity. They will bring you down to their level rather than you bringing them up to yours.
7. Don't allow yourself to think about sex if you're single. If you're married, think about sex only with your partner. Anything else is sin.
8. If you are married, work at having the best sex life possible with your mate. Find your fulfillment in him or her.
9. Covenant with God to start where you are and from this day forward to live by his principles.
10. Pray everyday that God will give you the strength and power to do this.
This is not mission impossible. It is the doorway to freedom and joy and life. I urge you to take this seriously and live a life of sexual purity. You will save yourself so much pain and sorrow and heartache and grief. And you will please the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is my specific prayer and mission as I post this , that this post speaks to the people in here , who need our help to stay sexually pure. I am here for you to help and exhort.
this was a great post, thank you! i am one of those ppl who believes in this. and no, its not just about sex before marriage, its about living purely and not thinking in a sexually impure way. the Bible says that even to think an impure thought is to sin. i hate it when ppl say that being a christian is weak and boring, or even easy. first off, it is probably the hardest thting to be in the whole world! but its also the best thing you can be at the same time! God says that Christians will be persecuted for loving and preaching about God and thr Gospel, and we are practically everyday in this life, especially in these dark times liberal times. we are living in a society where "anything goes", where its now acceptable to do or say things that years ago wasnt even heard of! its quite sad. but God says to hold the shield of truth, to fight against evil with our spirits and to live as best we can in name. yes, we arent perfect, but that doesnt mean we should be like the world and give up the good fight. its always an uphill battle, but its sure worth the struggle in the end!
This is such a great post and more people to hear it and take it to heart. So many Christians take their responsibility to serve and live like Jesus so lightly. I say preach it sister! We are to live a sexually for lifestyle as followers of God not walk as close to the line of immorality as possible. I will go even as far as to say that is best not even to kiss until you are at the alter! A took that I would recommend to any Christan is "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris it is an excellent book!
I too am very frustrated by the lack of sexual morality is our society! Yes indeed, we must be as good as we can be, and encourage those around us to be so too. :-)
Peter, you seem to be equating "liberal" with "dark". Liberal, used merely as an english word, means generous, or tolerant, or favorable to progress or reform, or a political stance. These things can be either a good or bad thing. Certainly, to give liberally is a good thing. Reform, can certainly be a good thing. So can progress, surely it is a good thing that blacks and women can vote. I assume that you meant that in a political sense. But even then it has good points as well as bad. Now, I certainly agree that many of the things that the democratic party strives for are wrong, most obviously abortion, which is an abominable sin. But the conservative party is probably just as evil! One of the most horribly evil things happening in American government right now, that I can think of, is this issue about the "bush tax cuts". Did you know that the richest 2% of Americans, hold the majority of the countries' wealth? And did you further know that they actually get taxed less, for the amount of wealth that they have, than most Americans? Yet for some reason, the republicans are claiming that they should not have the same tax burden as everyone else. They say that the tax cuts should stay in place. Now, that in it's self is merely unfair. But, these same republicans also get mad and try to stop it when government money is used for things like.......helping the unemployed. So, according to these "conservatives", we should tax the super rich less than everybody else, and let the poor who cannot find work (or the money to bribe the greedy politicians), go homeless and hungry. Now that looks a lot like favoring the wealthy over the poor. Why it looks like giving the wealthy a gift with the money that should have been used to maybe keep a roof over families heads. It is atrocious! Especially from a Christian standpoint, which says that everyone is of worth in the eyes of God, yes, even those who are to poor to "lobby" (bribe), politicians! So do not blame the "liberals" for the nation's problems. Rather, blame pride, greed, and stupidity!
Joshua David, I fully agree with behaving in a pure way. It certainly is wrong to bestow kisses in a casual fashion! But, I do think that a good and pure way to say "yes", to a proposal might be a kiss!
walter4u... maybe there is not so much to respond to this. Or too much. I hesitated because I didnt want to spend so much time.
Joshua:
If "I kissed dating goodbye" was such a great book, what are you doing here as a member of a dating site? uh oh... :eat:
I am 36 now and still do not have a partner. Raised christian, I did not sleep with a woman yet. Am I sexually pure? Not at all. Too many thoughts. Sure, I will not hop into bed with the next woman. I am trained to say no to this.
But one thing is for sure. I will not be able to adjust my flesh. Thats not why Christ died - to improve my behaviour here. That is what most christians learnt to do though. Adjusting behaviour. Thats fighting the works of the flesh with the flesh. to become more holy... I will fail this way. No chance. There will always be the big old shortcoming. I will not reach the glory of God. Because my flesh is dead and totally unsuited to fit into the requirements of God. If it could, Christ would have died in vain (OT: Paul). Flesh is powerless. I am dead by heritage. My genes are fatal. It is not what I do that is my problem, it is what I am. And only Jesus could take care of this. So now, why should I try something that already showed that it didnt work at all? Why fighting the works of flesh with means of the flesh?! That is outrageous!
So what can I do? Bury the flesh. Call it the way it is: Dead. No longer existent, because of the Power of the resurrected Christ, the power of the new life in me, His gift. Yes, we dont get what we deserve - thats mercy. Yes, we get what we do not merit. That is grace. Whatever, it is all Christ. I am capable of nothing at all. I cannot do or change anything! I am not faithful. Jesus is faithful forever. His faithfulness is independent, sovereign.
And that is one of the most important responsibilities in my sexual life: To be the image of my saviour, of my god in this, to witness this divine faithfulness to my partner, in good times as in bad. I think that this is the most important thing about "sexual purity". God wants us to help each other, to remind us of HIS faithfulness. How can we do this? We have to know who we were - sinners - and what we are now - children of god - because he showed us mercy, he showed us grace, and above all, because he loves us THE WAY WE ARE RIGHT NOW! That is why we should be faithful to our partners. Because we know Jesus now, because he changed us, we are now fit to mirror the incredible Glory of our saviour. To be faithful is a way to live the gospel for that person we love most: our Partner - in every day life.
As true children of God, we still struggle with sin. But there is a universe in between children of god struggling with sin and on the other hand sinners desperately and evenly futile trying to adjust their flesh.
We are talking about identity here. Who am I? Sinner or saint? Do I "try to become more holy" or AM I holy as the Christ is holy?
1Pe 1:13-15 KJV Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
loins of your mind -> not the flesh! Not adjusting behaviour. There is no power in that. Rethinking, reminding us, that is the way. Thinking this new identity.
hope for the grace -> call upon the grace in Jesus! It is justice that sets us free!
revelation -> we know the Anointed one! We know God now, we are in Relationship with the Father! (No sin is in the presence of God. No flesh can stand there)
so be holy -> again, it is the renewal of our thinking, of our mind. not "become holy", it is: Be (!) holy! There is no process in that. It is done. It is the faithfulness of Jesus, highly worth to be represented through us who tasted, by the way, as I think ;)
In adjusting my behaviour I do not change my inner self. No, never. But my identity, that, what I am, will influence my behaviour with divine impact. Christ in me, the hope of glory! (Col 1,27)
I talked about three things: 1. About me not being a sinner, trying to become more holy, no. I am a saint, struggling with sin sometimes, accepted as I am. Thank you, my eternally faithful Jesus! The growing trust in your loyalty will change my works and is what I thrust into the face of the father of lie, Satan, who tries to tell me that I am such a miserable wretch, sinner, loser. His head is already crushed by the lamb on the throne. 2. About the powerful way to deal with sexual temptation - adjusting our mind, our identity in Christ. And 2. about the importance of reflecting the faithfulness of our saviour in our most intimate relationships.
Let's roll! :)
There is a gorgeous song, saying it all: Before the throne of god above...
