SEXUAL PURITY

Sexual Purity: Subject Matter Is Off-Base to Me One of the two subjects I don't care to bring up in an open or group session is "sex."
There are more than enough of sexual themes on radio and television to fill up my mind than I want...or need.
Some questions that need to be addressed, however:

1. Why is it such an attractive and desired subject amongst the human race?
2. Why does it seem to get more people in trouble than any other subject or topic?
3. Why is it such a subject that gets people's attention than most any other topic in the world?
4. Do you feel that it is a subject that God wants us to talk about. One of the two subjects I don't care to bring up in an open or group session is "sex."
   There are more than enough of sexual themes on radio and television to fill up my mind than I want...or need.
   Some questions that need to be addressed, however:
   1. Why is it such an attractive and desired subject amongst the human race?
   2. Why does it seem to get more people in trouble than any other subject or topic?
   3. Why is it such a subject that gets people's attention than most any other topic in the world?
   4. Do you feel that it is a subject that God wants us to talk about...and why?
   5. Can sex be a positive influence in the lives of Christians?
   these questions can be answered by reading the Word, asking God to help us answer the hard questions, and yielding to the Holy Spirit as he presents the alternatives to yielding to sexual temptations.
   
   Sex has been a temptation factor amongst the human race since the first human looked beyond the borders God placed within us? I call it moving "boundary stones."
   
   

   Incidentally, the other subject that I don't care to bring up in an open or group session besides "Sex" is the "death of a loved one".

   This is just me. I deal with those issues in a private way...alone with the Lord.

   Please Note: I am not advising others to handle the two issues the way I handle it.

   People are different (praise God) and have other means of dealing with issues in life.

   HOWEVER, HOW YOU AND I HANDLE THE MAJOR ISSUES IN LIFE
   MUST BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WORD OF GOD.
   
   "SEXUAL PURITY" is an area one must deal with as he or she lives in this fallen world.
   
   According to the Word of God, sexuality that conforms to His moral commandments is pure and good.
   
   Sex can be pure, positive, protective and a provision for emotional and physical stress relief; an attribute given by God...a God approved pleasure for man and woman (husband and wife in marriage).
   
   Trust and Lust are two words that rhyme, but are far apart as to meaning and the way human beings act and react...They are words that collide with each other.
   
   The Old Testament and New Testament have "border lines" in which man should not cross.
   Leviticus 18, strong words that I feel should be read by all, but not studied in a group setting.
   Matthew 5:27-30, impure thoughts are "out of bounds" (all of us are tempted, but we don't have to go to the next level which is sin). 1 Corinthians 5-7, dos, don'ts, and approved bounds of sexuality.
   Ephesians 5:3-12, sexual immorality listed as sin...a disobedient act that will bring heartache, pain, and even the road to debauchery. (Read)

   The secular world...the fallen world has perverted sex...and morality is often seen as a matter of one's personal definition and preference.

   THE WORD "INTOLERANT" NOW CATEGORIZES CHRISTIANS AS OUT OF THE ORDINARY...AND BIGOTS.

   "COMPROMISE" AND "TOLERATE" ARE TWO WORDS THAT ARE IN THE CHURCHES' VOCABULARY NOW.

   "We have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them."
   NO: "We have to know when to hold them (our tongues) and know when to tell them."

   In God's plan of "multiplying and replenishing the earth", was He thinking that this gift and good pleasure would ever be the cause for so much devastation and destruction on earth (His creation)?

   Let's reexamine and reevaluate the temptation that Satan presented Eve in the Garden of Eden:

   Did Satan offer Eve something new...or something that was different than what she had experienced earlier?
   Man (the human being) has within him/her a desire to experience something good for something better...even if what he has is the best!
   What keeps this desire "on hold" or "within the boundaries of God's laws and moral restraints?"

   • The desire to obey God's Word,
   • The principle of not corrupting the marriage vows (not going past the boundary lines),
   • The desire of being the man or woman God wants us to be,
   • Respect for Jesus's act of love,
   • The fear of God!

   Failing to remain sexually pure is a sin.
   Do you consider this failure of not remaining sexually pure to be evil?

   Enticing, seducing, and tempting someone to sin is evil. Is giving into the seduction evil?

   God's Plan for Sexuality: Genesis 2:18-25,
   God created humanity unique to the rest of creation.

   God created man and woman with the intention of seeing them enjoy a relationship that unites them socially, emotionally, spiritually, and PHYSICALLY.

   Marriage has a very clear and distinct definition in God's eyes.
   • It is exclusive, enduring until death, and consisting of one man and one woman united as one flesh.
   • God places a high value on the unique intimacy of marriage.
     1. Violating the physical, sexual aspect of this relationship constitutes a grievous sin (Exodus 20:14).
     2. Sexual expression is intended solely for the marriage relationship.
        Very important: To stray from this standard is to violate God's standard of purity.
   
   
   Scripture is clear: "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you....For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or is covetous...has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God" (Ephesians 5:3, 5).
   
   Here are some ways of the NEW ORDER...THE NEW WAY OF THINKING SINCE THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION OF THE 60'S AND 70'S:
   The Devil's Toolbox has some very intriguing concepts:
   • Cohabitation isn't really a problem
   • Divorce isn't nearly as harmful as once thought
   • Promiscuity presents no clear and present danger to the family unit
   • Same-sex attraction is perfectly normal
   • Pornography is a "fact of life."
   
   
   However, here are the REAL FACTS IN AMERICA:
   • In certain segments of American culture, more than 70% of children are born to single parents and remain in single-parent households.
   • Nationally, more than one in four children today live in households with only one parent.
   • Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce...and couples who cohabitate before marriage are even more likely to split.
   • Studies show that the proliferation of pornography available on the Internet has likely contributed to the declining marriage rate.

   The truth: Our laws, our weak structure permitting government handouts with very few strings attached, and our "tolerant" culture has bred a generation of weak and dependent children and adults.
   

   Society has bred a "sleeping giant" that destroys lives and eventually will corrupt and crumble the country we love so much.

   What can we do to turn this generation around...and bring this nation back to a stable family unit committed to the truth and precepts of the Bible?
   1. Revival that Changes hearts (thoughts and actions)
   2. Repentance (genuine; counteroffensive actions) where our children and our children's children see a commitment to God's Word by parents.
   3. Return to wholesome living and a Godly foundation based on the truth of God's Word.
   4. Reward those who stand for truth (vote for Godly candidates);
   5. Remind ourselves that things change when there are praying people who are willing to activate their prayers by "being doers of the Word and not hearers only."
   There is still time to repent. That is why Jesus is delaying His return, "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
   
   The Summary:
   Prepare your heart to shun evil. Preserve your marriage by living a wholesome life with your spouse; remembering foremost your God and your family as you live life fulfilling the Biblical principles.