When Sexual Sin Stalks You
We live in a society that has become a cesspool of sexual filth. But sexual immorality is not only pervasive in our culture, it is present in the church. If anger has slain its thousands among believers, then sexual sin has slain its tens of thousands. Tragically, it has likely devoured many of you at one time or another, whether through physical immorality or viewing pornographic material.
Sexual immorality is no longer a shameful act only done in secret, accessible only to those who pursue it. It is now something that is openly honored, performed in broad daylight, and is pursuing us. We are regularly bombarded through radio, television, movies, websites, magazines, billboards, and social media with sexually explicit content, which would have been considered criminally obscene in years past.
What should you do when sexual sin stalks you?
RUN FROM Sexual Immorality
There are only a handful of sins concerning which believers are specifically told, “Run from this!” Sexual sin is one. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, the Apostle Paul says “Flee from sexual immorality.” When immorality approaches: Run. For. Your. LIFE!
If there was a report of an inextinguishable wildfire blazing toward your home, you wouldn’t hang around to see how close it could get to you or your home without destroying you. You don’t play around with something that dangerous and powerful. It will consume you. You don’t even try to fight it. As soon as you see it, you turn around and run from it as quickly as you can, and you get as far away from it as possible. You get out of there fast because your life depends on it!
Believers should have a “zero-tolerance policy” when it comes to sexual immorality in our lives, and that includes our thought lives. Don’t put yourself in settings or situations that will foolishly expose you to sexual temptation and sin. When you need to, x-out that website, look away from an immodestly dressed person, swipe away a photo or video on social media, or get off certain platforms entirely. When you must, scroll down past the online advertisement, avoid stores and checkout lines with certain magazines, turn off an electronic device (or maybe get rid of it). When you have to, stop a conversation, end a relationship or friendship, turn off a movie or song, change your workspace (or your job), switch classes, take a different route, and keep away from particular locations. Do whatever it takes to stay far away from immorality.
RUN TO Christ
But don’t just run from sexual immorality. Run to Christ.
Run to Christ for superior satisfaction. “One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet” (Proverbs 27:7). The most effective way to guard yourself from the shallow sweetness of sexual sin is to glut yourself in the deep satisfaction that comes from close, unbroken intimacy with Jesus. So strengthen your enjoyment of Christ through prayerfully reading and meditating on him in the word, and by spending time with believers who will help you feast on him.
Run to Christ when you are tempted with sexual immorality. Cry out to him for grace to strengthen you. Put on the armor of God and fight for your purity (Ephesians 6:10-18)! Trust in his promises of a lasting and wholesome joy that is far greater than the fleeting pleasures of sexual sin. Like a former slave who has received his manumission papers, believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection have set you free from sin (Romans 6:1-14). Believe that your body now belongs to Christ and is the temple of his Holy Spirit who lives inside of you. Don’t rebel against your Lord who loved you and bought you. Don’t defile his holy dwelling place.
Run to Christ when you commit sexual immorality. You will be tempted to run from him, weighed down with guilt and the peculiar shame that accompanies this kind of sin. Resist that and remember that Christ laid down his life for you and paid the full price to redeem you from all of your sins, including sexual ones. Rest in his death for you and trust that the Father loves and accepts you in Jesus. Let that reality increase your love for him and strengthen your resolve to turn from sexual sin, and to put it to death by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Run to Christ’s people for help in the fight against sexual immorality. Do not try to deal with it in secret on your own. Don’t let your pride convince you that this sin is so shameful that you should hide it from other members of Christ’s body. And don’t believe the lie that that you will be able to stop sexual sin without the help of fellow believers.
There are some forms of fungi that not only survive, but thrive, in darkness. But if they are exposed to sunlight, it will destroy them. Bring the fungus of sexual immorality out of the dark and into the light of the Son to eradicate it. Be humbly honest and wisely acknowledge your struggle. Confess your failures to a mature believer or small group of close believers of the same sex. Let them gently restore you to purity of body and mind through prayer, accountability, and the truths of the gospel.
For additional help in your fight against sexual immorality, see Daryl Wingerd, Delivered by Desire: The Encouraging Truth About Christians and Sexual Purity. This book is available on Kindle or as a hard copy at www.ccwtoday.org.
