Of the many issues raised and many things said on the topic of Sexual Purity over the Easter weekend conference, one thing that underlied everything else was the central role the word of God plays in living sexually pure lives.
The enemy would have us believe that it is nigh impossible to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of our calling (which is to Holiness – 1 Thessalonians 4:3) in this day and age where sex seems rampant and common place. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus exposed him (the enemy) for who He truly is – a murderer from the beginning, one who always hated truth because there is no truth in him, a lying character and the source (father) of all lies – John 8:44. As the late Catherine Booth, wife of the founder of the Salvation Army, General William Booth once remarked of the devil, “I knew him of old as a liar”. We too should keep a constant awareness of the lying nature of our enemy and not give ear to his lies but to the voice of truth that states ….the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
Tit 2:11 — Tit 2:12
The grace of God has been revealed to empower godly and self-controlled living in “the present age”, here and now. The conference demonstrated the importance of continually tapping into the grace of God that has been purposefully revealed with the objective of instructing us in godly living having empowered us to reject ungodliness and sinful desires. In as much as we have believed in and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, the onus is upon us to do likewise and actively embrace this grace He embodied. You see, one cannot accept the Son of God and yet, in practice, reject this grace which He brought with Him. So embrace this grace by tapping into and accessing it regularly.
And one of the major avenues of tapping into and accessing that grace in order to live sexually pure lives is by regularly engaging with God’s word. Listen to how the psalmist puts it: How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. (Psalms 119:9)
It is undoubtedly sexual purity the psalmist has in mind here as it has to do with a young man whose age naturally inclines him or who by virtue of his age is prone to sexual sin. So even in this period of a person’s life where the natural predisposition to sexual sin seems to be intense, it is perfectly possible for the young man (or woman) to live pure lives by guarding their lives according to God’s word.
Further proof of this truth – if any is required – is found in the personal testimony and experience of the psalmist who shares the secret of his victory over sin in Psalms 119:11 – I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
It is in taking in and storing God’s word in our hearts that we build an impregnable fortress against sin in our lives. So make sure you plan to do that as a matter of lifestyle. You must plan and make the time to regularly engage with God through His word and there access the grace required for righteous living. Therein lies your victory. Otherwise, if you don’t plan for it and factor it into your daily life, you will find that the common adage of “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” will, unfortunately, apply to you.
In conclusion, we have to take care not to dismiss this subject as irrelevant or unimportant to God – it is of utmost importance to Him, His desire is for us to be sanctified (Thessalonians 4:3) and live holy and sexually pure lives, to honour Him with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20). Furthermore, we must understand and accept that holy living is indeed possible in this present day and age as attested by scripture but by His powerful grace alone. We are not to undermine the power of God’s grace to keep us pure and holy in this present evil age based on our own personal experiences only. Keep in mind that the fact that we may not have discovered the power of grace personally, in our own lives, does not in any way deny its power.
Finally, if you are struggling with sexual sin in your life, do not despair or hold back but seek help from godly and mature christian men and women to whom you know you can confess your sins (James 5:16) and share your struggles with without being judged in order to find healing and ongoing victory by voluntarily putting yourself in an accountable relationship. Never throw in the towel when it comes to your struggles with sexual immorality in your life however prevalent it may be in mainstream society recalling always that …he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
grace unbound 