Love at First Sex? Finding Purity in a Sex-Crazed WorldSample

Throw it From You (Winds & Water)

“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you;” Pretty drastic measures from Jesus in Matthew 5:29. Or is it?

Here, Jesus is preaching about the commandment to not commit adultery. Jesus says that if we even look with lust on someone, then we have already committed adultery with them in our hearts. Jesus is always pointing to the heart issue.

Our physical actions are easy to point out and call out as sin. Yet, it’s the heart issues that are tricky. We might be the only one that knows, other than God. Heart issues are tricky because they're so easy to hide. We can even hide them from those who know us best. But you can never hide it from God. He is all-knowing. He sees you.

This shouldn’t be a scary thing. This should be the thing that makes it easier to confess to God. If He already knows about the sin in our hearts, then why wait to confess it? He is mighty to forgive when we ask for forgiveness. He wants to forgive us. He sent His only Son so that we could come and ask forgiveness. This is the most beautiful and loving act ever known! Once we realize the sin in our hearts, we should confess immediately.

After confession, then what do we do? Do we keep returning to the same things that enticed us into this lustful thought pattern? Do we keep filling our minds with sinful actions that we watch in movies? Do we listen to perverted comedians and laugh with them? Do I return to my sex-addict boyfriend and expect that we won’t have sex? No! We throw it far from us!

Jesus said “it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” So which is more drastic? Ripping your eye out or sending your whole body to hell? Whatever sin we’re holding onto is dragging us into hell. Let it go.

When I repented of my sexual sins and asked God for help, He answered. He put the idea in my mind to leave my boyfriend. It was the only way. I had to throw it far from me. Guard your heart and your mind. We can continue filling our minds with horrible things, and letting our hearts become sinful, or we can guard them and preserve purity.

In Mark 7:20 Jesus said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. From within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these things proceed from within and defile the man.”

Things that make us impure first start in our mind and heart. How should we fight back these evil thoughts?

Paul has the right idea in Philippians 4:8. He says to dwell on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, and excellent. Does that mean we can do it all on our own just by focusing our thoughts? From my experience, no. We must have the help of the Holy Spirit. When my thoughts start to go down the rabbit hole, and I feel myself spiraling out of control, I stop and pray. “Jesus pull me out of the hole! Help me to focus on things that are lovely, pure, and true!” I’ve always had much better outcomes when I pray and ask God for help, because it’s very difficult. Rerouting our brains to a new way of living and thinking is hard! Sanctification is a continual process until the day we meet Jesus face to face. He will keep refining and purifying us, but we’ve got to stay in prayer!

I’m including the story of Jesus calming the storm on the sea from Luke 8:22. The disciples cried out “Master, master we are perishing!” They thought they were drowning. I see our downward spiral of thoughts similarly. I know I’m drowning in them at times and that’s when I cry out to Jesus. Even the winds and water obey Him. This gives me hope for the wrangling of my thoughts.

I leave you with these thoughts from Peter. Be mentally prepared, disciplined in spirit, and fix your hope on the grace brought by Jesus. Don’t be conformed to your former lusts. You shall be holy because He is holy. (1 Peter 1:13-16) We can prepare our minds and spirits, but must lean heavily on the hope of the grace we have in Jesus! Don’t give up! Our path to purity is ongoing. Seek His face and He will guide you.