Sexual Purity
"Flee from immorality." - 1 Corinthians 6:18a
When we accept Jesus Christ, He cleanses us of the impure lives we have led. But then we must look to continue to keep ourselves clean and deal with our sexuality in the manner God designed. Here are six things we can do to help live a life of purity.
1. Confess your struggle with sexual thoughts and temptations.
2. Trust Christ as Savior and Lord. More than anything else, He saves you from sin and forgives you of sin. Ask Him to guide you in all you do.
3. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Call out and ask God to fill you daily. We can't live the Christian life in our own strength, but God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit, working with the Word of God, gives us that inner "want to" to be pleasing to God.
4. Remember the basics of staying close to God. Have a daily quiet time with Him, pouring your heart out to Him, thanking Him, and listening to Him through His word. Practice weekly worship and Bible study with other believers. Be willing to trust and obey His Word. Be a good witness through your deeds and words. These are the things the Holy Spirit uses to shape the character of purity in us.
5. Restrict what you view. Lust is fueled by porn and sensuality.
6. Put sex in its proper context. See sex as a wonderful gift of God to be enjoyed in the context of committed love—in marriage alone—between a man and a woman. Otherwise, we are outside the bounds of God's plan and live lives of impurity.
We will always fight impurity because we have a sin nature. But through the power of Jesus Christ, we can think pure thoughts and live lives of sexual purity.
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4 Comments
I wanted to expand on this as in it appalls me when I see women marrying in white dresses for purity, spending lots of money on one day at the altar in purity, when in fact they are not, they have been sexually active with that partner and it seems everyone thinks that sex out of wedlock is justified if you have a "steady" boyfriend or you are "engaged", "betrothed"...NOT SO...no where in the Bible does God say "if you have a steady or a fiancee' or fiance' its ok to have sex. You either marry or you do not have sex. PERIOD! Let 's be real...now we know that the world does not work this way..but these are the facts. - Yendor
I have five grown children, and five young grandchildren. I am pretty certain that none of my children were virgins when they married. I know that I wasn't. The world today makes this a very difficult thing to achieve. Don't get me wrong; I believe that God's way is the right way and that this is a sinful thing. However, it is a great reality for our families and our church. We all have things for which we seek forgiveness, and I suspect that many, if not most, Christians have this one on "their resume". So Yendor; yes we need to GET REAL. Unfortunately, REAL involves both helping young people stay pure, but also helping them to understand that their sins can be washed away.....they can be forgiven.....they can move on to have happy, healthy, faithful Christian marriages. God's love and grace available by and through our Lord's ultimate sacrifice is available to all who will confess their sins, seek his forgiveness and turn their lives over to Him. - Grant
Yendor, Isn't the white wedding gown a man created tradition? Does the Bible require that only virgins wear white for the wedding ceremony? Yes, it is a nice thought that it could be the reward they get for waiting but I think in reality it never has worked this way. Probably some who were pregnant have even worn white. What color do you think the non-virgins should wear? I am just glad to see a couple honoring God by choosing to marry and be in the bounds of His best way to live. Perhaps the white dress could be celebrated as an indication of commitment to a future life of purity as sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus. - Janice
Yes it is better if virgins will remain that way until they marry but it doesn't allways happen that way. I know everyone has their own opinion about what the sin might be concerning the bride and groom and the white dress but lets look at what the Bible says.. 1Cor 7:36 But if any man think he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry. Again I say it would be better if they wait, but it seems there are two kinds of daters today, the caught and the uncaught. Society does put a lot of pressure on people today, sex is on the pages of most magazines, tv shows and movies. This is not to say it is okay but after awhile a body gets to where it just gives in. If a person wants to be as Paul then they need to follow his advice. Have a great day - Jerry