The Snare Of Sexual Sins

Intro: I think I have mentioned before, I have a chipmunk living in my house. He’s a very sly little animal. He’s very cute to look at, and no one would ever want to hurt such a little animal. Yet, he’s also very destructive. He’s made a home up under my vinyl siding and is chewing away at the insulation of the house. I have set several traps for him, but he seems to be avoiding my traps. I know once I catch him, I can kill him. But I won’t be able to do anything to him until I can catch him in one of my traps.

In the same way, Satan comes to us as an angel of light. He is very appealing in his tactics. Often temptation comes to us in things that seem very desirable to us. We want to give in. But we know also that yielding to temptation will do great damage to us. If Satan can catch us in one of his traps, he would quickly destroy us. We need to be wise and avoid the snares of Satan. This morning we want to talk about a snare that Satan has used time after time to be the downfall of many strong Christian leaders.

Think with me about some of the great men of God: David, the man after God’s own heart. Solomon, the wisest man alive in his day. Samson, a great judge of Israel. Judah, the son of Isaac. Joseph, the man who could interpret dreams. All these men faced the snare of sexual sins.

Think in our own day, and the list goes on: Jim Baker, Jimmy Swaggart, author and teacher Gordon McDonald, Christian singer Michael English, I’m sure you could name many more. One of Satan’s greatest snares in our society today is the snare of sexual sins.

We need to realize we are in a battle in the sexual arena!

I. Understanding the real battleground.

When the Revolutionary war occurred, the British had a lot of troops here in the colonies. After the Boston Tea Party and the Declaration of Independence, there began to be several skirmishes between British troops and American militia forces. Now, the British found in a typical British way. The all had on their Bright red jackets, they all lined up in a row, and the all marched to a drummer as they went from place to place. Now the Americans dressed in coonskin caps and deer hide jackets, they hid behind trees, and came and went silently. The British were used to fighting “courteous” battles, they weren’t used to the bush fighting of the colonists.

We need to understand how the devil attacks us. Let’s realize that sexual temptation is not a problem of our flesh, but a battle for the mind. Men and women do not go out and have sexual relationships with others, leaving their spouses and families behind, just on the basis of physical pleasure. Sexual sins come about because Satan has already won the real battle, the battle of the mind.

This morning let’s realize that the real battle of sexual sins is a battle that takes place in our minds. In Deut. 5:21 we see in the 10 commandments, God tells us "You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." The problem comes from the desire of our hearts. Prov. 6:25 - Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. The battle is not a physical one, but a mental one. Jesus knew this when he clarified the commandment about adultery. He was faced with many hypocrites who justified themselves on what they did or did not do. Jesus stated But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. The sexual sin was a sin of the mind, a sin of the heart.

Where do the problems arise? We desire what we see for ourselves. Actually in our society the greater problem is that we desire what we imagine. Fantasy is one of the greatest problems we face in the area of sexual sins. Remember what the bible tells us in proverbs: "Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!" We crave our secret sins. We have a society where we are given airbrushed pictures that have been retouched to take all perfections out of the models’ looks. We fantasize about wanting the perfect looking partner. Or we fantasize about someone who loves us deeply. We read romance novels and we wish we had someone who loved us sacrificially, who loved to be with us, meet our needs, and devote themselves to us. We fantasize, and reject the truth. And our fantasies lead us farther and farther away from reality. We justify ourselves saying that fantasy won’t hurt us. But we deny the truth that living in fantasy is denying reality: Satan is winning the war for our minds.