Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." (I Corinthians 6:18)
Don't ever run away, it proves you're a coward. Stand up like a man. That's the philosophy most of us were raised with, and it is the approach we take to overcoming temptation. To run from a dog encourages him to attack you, but to run from an impending explosion is the only intelligent choice. An old soldier told his son how to be truly brave. "Size up the enemy, decide what the best solution is, and act accordingly." That might include running.
With the dog, convincing him that you will fight, but are not agressive is the best choice. Sizing up the explosion, on the other hand, tells you that the best solution is to be far enough away. Fornication is like the explosion, If you are there, you will be hurt. There is no way to convince it not to hurt you. Many were saying that drugs were beneficial during the 60's, even though all of them are known poisons. Ingesting them weakens your health, and excessive use is usually fatal. To use them is deliberately allowing them to have that effect on our body.
Fornication refers to promiscuous sexual activity, never to the physical relationship between husband and wife. It does refer to all sexual activity outside marriage, and the particular form used here refers especially to prostitution, either as prostitute, or client.
There is an old saying that when you sleep with someone, you sleep with everyone they have slept with. You are, by having sex, exposing yourself to the possibility of contacting every sexually transmitted disease they may have come in contact with, as well as any other contagious disease. These can range from mononucleosis and herpes, to full blown AIDS. Since the symptoms of most diseases take a while to develop, the carrier may not be aware that they have been infected, and some don't care. It is foolish to take that risk. Continued promiscuity almost guarantees that one or more will eventually occur.
The physical and emotional joining, on the other hand, will certainly occur with every sexual encounter. Initially, breaking that bonding is, according to Psychiatric studies, nearly as devastating as having an arm amputated. Each additional joining interfers with each of the others, weakening the ability to bond fully, thus preventing ever experiencing a fully satisfying relationship. This is irreversible and greatly reduces the possibility of a good marriage. You have literally sinned against yourself.
Promiscuity, like any other sin, can lead to loss of pleasure in normal sexual acts and into various perversions, including homosexuality, abuse, and masochism. Serial torture, rape amd murder are ultimate outcomes of such yielding to sin. Paul describes this in Ephesians 4:19. "Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." They become so desensitized that what is to others the extreme in pleasure or pain is meaningless to them. They have destroyed their own sense of pleasure.
There are a lot of books about dealing with sexual temptation. Several deal with it as battle for your mind. A great deal of emphasis is placed on controlling your mind, because Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." As James tells us, we are tempted when we let our lusts entice us to do sin. That lust, when allowed to continue, results in sin. Self control is about facing and standing up to the problem. The battle is already lost, if we depend on self control. Every dieter can tell how often they fell back when depending on self control.
Christ has already won the victory. We are no longer controled by sin. We have a new mind. It is not about self control. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Walking in the Spirit will prevent lust from enticing us. The lust will not concieve, and sin will not result. Attaining victory is actually quite easy. When the Holy Spirit is in control, it is automatic.
Nancy Reagans's "Just Say No" program was probably the most effective anti drug program ever used. Drug use declined steadily during the time the program was in place. Because it was "too simple to work", it was replaced with much more expensive and powerful programs. Drug use has mushroomed since the program was dropped.
Paul is instructing us to just say "NO" to fornication. We have the neccessary power. Flee. Unlike the dog, it won't chase you down. Run to Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to take over. Instead of you controlling your mind, let him control it. Fornication will no longer be a temptation.
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