Fleeing From Sexual Immorality
It is indicated for us in John 14:6 responding to the apostle Thomas, that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
Jesus is not saying that he knows the way, that he knows the truth and that he knows how to have life.
Rather, Jesus is indicating that he IS the way, that he IS the truth and that he IS the life.
In addition, Jesus is not saying that he is A way, A truth and A life. Jesus is saying that he is THE way, THE truth and THE life. Meaning that he is the one and only way.
It is important to note here that the early Church was referred to as “The Way.” When Paul was on trial before Governor Felix, he said in Acts 24:14, “However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect.”
There are many people that know about God, but don’t KNOW God on a personal level.
Likewise, there are many people that know about Jesus, but choose not to follow Jesus.
When Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount, which is provided for us in Chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of Matthew, he said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
The ways of the world and of the enemy – SATAN – is the wide gate and the broad road that leads to destruction. Jesus Christ, however, is the small gate and the narrow road that leads to life.
Read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 – “Sexual Immorality.”
Let’s focus in on a few verses, specifically verses 18-20.
Verse 18 indicates, “Flee from sexual immorality.”
The word flee means, “To take flight. To run away quickly. To Shun.
God is telling us here that we should run away immediately, from anything or anyone that is sexually immoral, to the extent that is within our power and means. In addition, that means that we must abstain from any sexually immoral thoughts, words and especially any sexually immoral actions.
Verse 19 indicates that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. That means that whatever we do with our body, we are subjecting the Holy Spirit of God to as well whenever we do it!
Verse 19-20 also indicates, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
This means that our bodies do NOT belong to us.
This means that our bodies have been purchased by God.
This means that your worth to God was so great, that He was willing to pour out the blood from and sacrifice the body of His Son Jesus to claim us as his own.
This means that we do NOT have the right to do whatever we want with our bodies, whenever we want to do it.
This means that we must honor God with our bodies.
Brothers I want you to know that regardless of what you have done in the past, regardless of the way that you once were, regardless of the darkness in which you use to live your life. That God says that even while you were a sinner you were worth the price of the sacrifice of my Son.
Ephesians 5:8 indicates, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 indicates, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were.” And that is what some of us were. But listen it goes on, continuing in verse 11, “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.”
Also, 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come.”
Listen carefully, God is telling us this so that the enemy, Satan, will not be able to confuse us about our identity and who we are in Christ.
I want to encourage you to start thinking of yourself as a Saint. I want to encourage you to remember that you have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. I am challenging you to start acting like, to start thinking like and to start talking like a saint – because that is what you are if you are in Christ Jesus.
A saint can be defined as one separated from the world and consecrated to God; one holy by profession and by covenant; a believer in Christ.
Therefore if you are a believer in and clothed with Christ you are a saint. If that applies to you I want you to say with me I am a Saint. Let’s say it together, “I am a Saint.”
Brothers, I submit to you that most of the time, we know when we are not honoring God with our bodies. I say that NOT knowing is NOT the issue. The problem is that we choose to satisfy the sinful desires of our flesh, rather than yielding to the Holy Spirit that is trying to convict us to do the right thing.
So then, the question becomes, “How do we take the commandment to honor God with our bodies, and convert it into the reality of how we live our lives?”
I want to give you some very practical steps and actions to take in order to make this real.
You must remove any and all ungodly, sexually immoral and/or sexually explicit materials and types of media from your life. That means no more magazines, pictures, cartoons, anything along these lines - PERIOD.
You must eliminate any and all people, associations, and/or relationships that provided or provide any form of encouragement in or with sexually immoral behavior.
You must commit yourself to the daily reading of God’s word. The amount is not as important, in the beginning, as the commitment to the action.
You must commit yourself to a pattern of having daily prayer and communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Remember to PUSH – Pray Until Something Happens!
You must commit yourself to have fellowship with other believers, as often as possible.
Recruit prayer warriors, people that will pray for you on an on-going basis. And be very specific with your struggles, and what they should be praying for in assisting you.
Recruit accountability partners, people that you promise to confess sexually immoral sins to. In addition, these are people that you give the authority to ask you at any time, if you are staying pure and holy. It is you who wants them to question you, to keep you accountable. In addition, these people should also be agreeing to be accessible, to the greatest possible extent, for you to call in times of temptation, to help you from falling into temptation.
You must learn to recognize and flee from any situation or circumstance that would or could lead you into temptation.
You must commit yourself to live a life of holiness. 1 Peter 1:15-16 indicates, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. For it is written be holy because I am holy.”
Become an effective witness for Christ.
Seek to serve God and people in need.
1 John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
James 4:7-8: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
I hope and pray that I never forget what God has done for me in providing my deliverance; and that I am always willing to share the transforming power of Christ with people wherever and whenever I can.
I hope and pray that I will always focus on what I am now in Christ; rather than what I was when I was in darkness. That is my hope and my prayer for all of you as well.
Finally, in closing, I encourage you to look towards the future and to identify with what you can be in Christ, walking with Him in the light, rather than identifying with what you were and how you acted when you were in the darkness.
