When addressing this subject, we need to make sure we have a correct understanding of the battle and the end goal. So I wanted to make sure a couple of points were clear before directly answering the question.
Put Your Lust to Death, Don't Just Manage It
1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
Colossians 3:5
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
The name of this post is the exact content of a text message I received from a student. The first thing you need to do is not view it as simply "managing" a problem. You need to view it as a going to war with sin. You're going head to head against something which is so wicked that the only way for that act to be forgiven was for God to live as a man and die on a cross.
We don't need to manage our sin; we need to destroy it. If you don't kill it, it will kill you.
Then the question becomes, "How do I put my lustful desires to death?"
Sex Drive Comes From God, Lust Comes From Sin
We need to make sure that we're clear that the goal isn't to kill your sexual desires. You have sexual desires because God made you that way. You have lustful desires because you're a sinner giving into worldly desires.
Romans 12:2 (New International Version)
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
The goal is for you to pursue righteousness and purity. That means you think about sex and sexuality biblically and with marriage in mind. The opposite of struggling with lust isn't turn into a celebate monk. The opposite is viewing and acting on your sexual desires the way God intended.
At the Bible college I attend, I met multiple people with completely perverse views of sexuality. These weren't people who were addicted to porn or had weird fetishes. These were people with no sexual desire at all. My wife knew a girl who said she had no interest in sex at all, and claimed she wanted to get married to have a live in best friend who she could cuddle with. After a few years they might have sex. That's a completely perverse and unbiblical view of sex which will destroy her marriage if she actually attempts it once married.
Don't kill your sex drive. Have your mind renewed by God so that you view sexuality the way He does.
0 comments:
Post a Comment