Sexual
immorality is the one sin that causes more misery than all other
sins combined. Although sexual misconduct is prohibited by man's law and
God's Law, it is the number one cause of divorce, dysfunctional
families, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, perversion,
pronography, sex trafficking, and depravity.
Love
and Lust are both four letter words that begin with "L". Love leads to
heaven, Lust leads to hell. Love is a choice that only wants the best
for yourself and the one you love. Lust is a selfish emotion that always leads to unhappiness and destructive behavior.
The Bible describes a
framework for sexual conduct that centers on abstinence from sexual
immorality, including incest, adultery, and homosexuality, while
promoting sex within marriage as a way to strengthen the marital bond
and provide peace and connection. The Old Testament, particularly in Leviticus 18, lists specific forbidden practices, such as relations with certain relatives, the neighbor's wife, and during menstruation. The
New Testament reiterates the call for believers to flee sexual
immorality and live in a way that honors God with their bodies.
In
the New Testament, the apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth
about sexual conduct. Although God gave man the power of choice, not all
choices are helpful. God always gives us a choice. We can choose to believe the Truth of the Bible, or we can choose the lies of the Adversary.
All
things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things
are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 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.
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 harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
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 6.12-20
Sexual immorality drives people from the presence of God. It's a sin that is rampant in society, and the Church. Dealing with sexual immorality in the Church is covered in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5
Peter lays out it for people with ungodly behavior. ~ 2 Peter 2:4-11
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.
Solomon warned against "strange women" (foreign/immoral women) as a seductress or adulteress who uses flattery to lead men away from God's moral and spiritual path. Despite his legendary wisdom, Solomon's massive harem ultimately led to his spiritual and political decline. 1 Kings 11:3 states that Solomon actually had 700 wives of royal birth (princesses) and 300 concubines (mistress in modern context). These foreign women brought their own religious practices to Jerusalem. Over time, they "turned his heart away" from God, leading him to build altars for pagan deities like Ashtoreth and Molech, which fractured the spiritual unity of Israel and eventually caused the kingdom to split after his death.
You have this personal warning from the wisest man who ever lived. How
well will you listen? Your relationships, reputation, and life will be ruined if
you allow immoral sex a place in your life. Men must control their lust and respect women, not use them. Men and women must avoid pornography, sex scenes in movies, lurid advertisements, men/women at the gym, the office, even in your church. Men, marry a
wife, love her and build a happy family with her alone. ~ Proverbs 5:15-20. Women keep your marriage bed pure. ~ Hebrews 13:4
There are two types of Christians - Overcomers and Non-Overcomers ~ Revelation 21:7
Overcomers are professional assassins of their
own carnality. An overcomer asks himself three questions every day.
1. Is what I am doing now building Christ-like character?
2. Is what I am doing now producing the fruit of the Spirit?
3. Is what I am doing now helping me overcome the carnal mind?
What
if you asked yourself these questions several times a day? Write these
questions on 3x5 cards or on the back of business cards. Carry one with
you at all times. Post one on your desk at work. Affix one to a
conspicuous spot inside your car. And place another one on the mirror
you use most at home. Read these questions several times a day. Focus on
becoming the person the LORD chose you to be.
Before you know it,
you'll find yourself actually headed in the direction you want to go. Quitters never win and
winners never quit! The cowardly, unbelieving, sexual immoral shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
Revelation 21:8
Jesus said, "Follow Me,"not
join some Church or try to find the right path on your own. Jesus was
born as a human being, was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. Jesus paid
the price for mankind's sins once and for all, suffered and died, and
rose from the dead. Jesus
KNOWS exactly how you think, feel, and act. He's been there, done that.
Jesus is the only person qualified to give you advice. Listen to Him! No
Church has a franchise on God or a monopoly on the truth. The Church
Jesus built is not an earthly organization, it's a Body of Believers
seeking first the Kingdom of God, and you don't join... the Lord adds
you to the Church fellowship. ~ Acts 2:47.
You Are
Cordially Invited to Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group
The
purpose of Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group is to get people to
think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong.
Over the years, as Renew Your Strength has continued to
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have
recognized that some of the things we once held as true, in fact, are
not; and therefore we will not “cast in stone” a statement of our
beliefs. We reserve the right to be wrong and to repent of such error
when we discover it.
To
learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true
meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's
Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you.
