And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. -1 Corinthians 6:11
The passage above is Paul's finishing touches on his statement that "the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God." He lists some of those unrighteous acts; idolatry, adultery, sexual immorality, homosexuality, drunkenness, greed, swindling others, reviling authority and thievery. It's a list as long as your arm of those acts that human nature tells us are against common decency. That law is written on our hearts, even the hearts of unbelievers. Although many today would deny that, it remains a biblical fact, and our society’s frantic attempts to justify its actions prove the point. It’s not just perverts and thugs hiding out in back alleys who go for this kind of stuff; we show it on almost every sitcom/podcast/movie in America and laugh our heads off. It's the new normal. Tolerance is king, and when you can't beat ‘em, you join ‘em.
But here's the tragedy—these “arts” do not show the end results. They do not show men and women trapped by pornography or addictions to drugs and alcohol destroying their lives and their marriages and denigrating human beings (mostly women) in the process. They do not show the outcomes for so many who involve themselves in the new cult of sexual freedom and autonomy that results in one in four teenagers in America fighting a sexually transmitted disease. The "freedom" that is offered is a trap disguised as liberty, and although we may convince ourselves that we are the exception to the rule, that we can control the sin, that thinking always proves spiritually fatal in the end. A little peek here, a quick phone call there, maybe just enough to spice things up a bit, and then we find that we cannot stop. It's no longer a game; it's a compulsion. Naturally, for so many, guilt sets in, and we convince ourselves that we are the immoral ones that God will never allow into the kingdom, and the gig is up. We either fight the long battle back to purity and sanity, or we find ourselves slipping away, giving in to something that is so easy and so natural, until we really don't care anymore that there is a great God who can and will heal us of our unfaithfulness and immorality.
I said in last week’s Jym Shorts article that the two great weapons that sexual immorality holds are secrecy and anonymity. The same holds true for most sinful behaviors. Break the silence and you go a very long way toward breaking the death grip the lifestyle holds on you. Once the secret is out you have someone in your corner to pray with you, encourage you, and remind you that God offers far greater promises than this world can ever offer, and he delivers in a way this world never can. You begin to fight fire with fire, holding fast to the permanent promises of God over the fleeting pleasures of the world. You remind yourself, daily if you must, that "you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." You begin to find your hope and pleasure in God and not in licentiousness, substances that cause you to lose control (when used inappropriately and in excess), and the lusts of your flesh.
How do you start? By taking the most important step. You confess your sin to God. Then you find a trusted brother or sister and you confess to them and ask them to hold you accountable. You set up safeguards in your life. You get rid of your home computer or your TV (yes, it is possible) if you have to. You get rid of your memberships to clubs, social media accounts and streaming services if you are subtly using them to fuel your behaviors. You do what you have to do to regain control of your life, and you submit it back to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Then you live in the freedom that only God can offer. The first step is so hard that many never take it, but one cannot sidestep the first step. As Christian found in “Pilgrim’s Progress,” the way onto the path is through the wicket gate, not over the fence.
Do you need additional help? Please call or email me or one of our other pastor/elders. We are ready to help. We either have, or will find, the resources to help you, and you will have one other person praying for you. Not ready to do that? Find a trusted friend and begin the process there. Begin it you must, or the sin will simply hide, and then fester, and then break out. Be killing sin, friends, or it will be killing you (nod to John Owen for this quote).
Sin, my friends, is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it (Genesis 4:7). In almost every case, you will not master it on your own. Turn to Christ, then turn to his church.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym