Understanding Sexual Sin: ChoicesSample

CHOOSING TO MOVE BEYOND

Some visitors to the Grand Canyon think it’s fun to see how close they can get to the edge of the cliff without falling over. That’s not the way to confront sexual sin. The Bible tells us that those who struggle with temptation need to make a decisive resolution. They have to make up their minds to turn and run as far and as fast as they can in the other direction.

Just exactly how does one “flee” from sexual sins like adultery, promiscuity, active lust, or addiction to pornography? The answer is simple: pursue purity. Remember that your standard, whether it be negative or positive, determines your attitudes and behavior. If you want to avoid sin, turn away from your negative standard – the attractiveness of sin – and transform it into a positive goal – the achievement of holiness. Here are five steps to get you moving in that direction:

1) Go public with your problem. Sexual sin of all varieties fosters a lifestyle of secrets and deception. If you’re to have any hope of escaping enslavement to this kind of sin, you will have to begin with full disclosure. Admit that your fascination with infidelity or pornography is wrong and confess it to God and people you trust. If you confess your sins, God will forgive and cleanse you (1 John 1:9, 10). Immediate family can become a source of encouragement and accountability. “Going public” means telling several others about your problem so that they can come alongside you and become involved in finding a solution.

2) Become proactive. Don’t adopt a victim mentality. Access God’s power by praying and asking Him to raise you up out of the pit of sexual temptation and sin. But also be prepared to do the hard work required to establish new patterns of thought and behavior. Take the medicine that promotes well-being in the life of the Christian: time in God’s Word and prayer, fellowship in a local church, and involvement in ministry.

3) Run. The apostle Paul implores the believers in Corinth to “flee from immorality.” He also instructs young Timothy to flee youthful desires (2 Timothy 6:18). This advice runs counter to the common belief that maturity is associated with being able to resist greater temptation. Paul suggests that mature people know when to run.

4) Get serious about living the Bible. The apostle Peter asserts that a person who is actively adding goodness (moral excellence), knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love to his life will “never fall” (2 Peter 1:5-11). Start working on these objectives and you won’t have time or occasion to get involved with sexual sin.

5) Stay actively involved in the pursuit of purity. This is Paul’s point in 2 Timothy 2:20, 21. We have the choice of being a “vessel” for either noble or ignoble purposes. Impurity is only a permanent state and pattern if we choose to make it so. The process of moving from one state to the other involves obedience to the truth. When we begin obeying as much of the truth as we know and understand, we engage the power of the Holy Spirit and God begins leading us from one degree of holiness to the next.

For more help, visit Focus on the Family’s website, or call the ministry’s Counseling Department for a free consultation at 855-771-HELP (4357).