The devil has done a great job at convincing Christians that there is nothing wrong with the things on TV, movies, billboards, magazines, and the internet. In today’s society we have become desensitized to many sexual sins. I’m not saying we are completely oblivious to it. We are all familiar with the more talked about and more publicized sexual sins like rape, molestation, prostitution, and sex trafficking. However, there are other times where sexual sin is so hidden and intertwined into our lives that we become completely oblivious to it… or the devil lies to us and says… there is nothing wrong with it… everyone is doing it… it’s not like you’re committing murder. Here’s the problem with that type of thinking… sin is sin. The bible is very clear on what God considers sin.
Matthew 5:28-29 “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your WHOLE BODY to be thrown into hell.”
In a recent blog titled “Screw the taboo! Let’s talk about sex” Daina Norusis a fellow World Race teammate said, “I hate to break it to you, but it’s in our culture; it’s in our media. It’s in your home; it’s on this Race. It’s in what we choose to accept; it’s in what we deem as “normal.” It’s not something we can escape but it is something we can stand up and say “no!” to. It may be encompassing this world we live in but that doesn’t mean we can’t fight.”
I was a person who believed the devils lies for a very long time. I would justify my lusts of the eye by saying to myself… at least I’m not sleeping around like everyone else. Here’s the problem with that type of thinking… I am not God! One day I will stand before God on judgment day. God does not compare us with other people… He will judge us according to what is written in scripture.
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For WIDE is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and MANY enter through it. But SMALL is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a FEW find it.”
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the WILL of my Father who is in heaven. MANY will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I NEVER knew you. Away from me you evildoers!'”
I don’t know about you, but these verses put the fear of God in me. I do not want to sound legalistic (and I definitely do NOT want to minimize what Jesus did for us), but our church body needs a wake up call!
Matthew 7:26-27 “But EVERYONE who hears these words of mine and DOES NOT put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
I believe these scriptures are saying that many Christians will TRY to enter the kingdom of heaven, but FEW will make it. Our lives on earth represent the journey and the entrance represents heaven. God’s will for our lives is a narrow two lane highway leading to heaven. However we are human and there will be times when we stray from the road, but God’s grace allows us to repent and turn back to Him through the blood of Jesus Christ. On judgment day when we reach the gate, I believe God will ask us if we believe Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins. Yet He will say to many Christians… away from Me! I do not know you!
You see God calls us to be different. We can’t earn our way to heaven, but as Christians our lives should reflect a life of love, like Jesus. We should never have to say we are Christians. Others should know we are different by our love and how we live in the world, but are not of the world. The very things that ANGER and DISGUST God should be the same things that anger and disgust us as Christians. In other words we should want to turn off the TV when inappropriate shows and movies come on, we should want to turn away from provocative billboards and magazines, we should be disgusted and outraged with pornography on the internet.
Galatians 5:16-18 “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you WILL NOT gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”
Galatians 5:19-21 “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this WILL NOT inherit the kingdom of God.”
A fellow World Race teammate Birkleigh Foreman recently wrote a blog about all of the sexual sin that exists in the church. She was pretty fired up when she wrote it. The title of the blog is called “Sin in the Camp” and you can read the entire blog by clicking here. In her blog she says, “I’m sick of watching other men, a lot older than me preach about purity and honoring women. I want to see it in my generation! I want to see men stepping up and hating the way women are being treated and be a voice for men to REPENT! The women can’t be the only ones speaking out. The men must say, I will not tolerate this in MY GARDEN! I want to see my brothers fighting for freedom in a radical, desperate way saying I will no longer allow my sisters to not have a voice… I want to see a boldness among the body that hates sin! I hate the way the enemy has distorted beauty and sex. I hate the way he’s used it to RUIN families. I hate that our temples have been defiled and God hates it more! These are things that break God’s heart, that cause Him to weep because He died to eradicate sin, shame and guilt. Its like we’re walking around the prison with the key to escape and we don’t even use it. It must stop here, we must be willing to approach the throne of grace with confidence!”
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
As a church body we are called to be different from the world. Therefore we MUST standup and fight! No longer will I choose to do nothing or say nothing! No longer will I stand back as if it is someone else’s problem. I CANNOT and WILL NOT allow the devil to deceive me or my fellow brothers and sisters any longer!
Ephesians 6:11-17 “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the DEVIL’S SCHEMES. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the BELT of truth buckled around your waist, with the BREASTPLATE of righteousness in place, and with your FEET fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the SHIELD of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the HELMET of salvation and the SWORD of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The following video is the best sermon I’ve EVER heard on this subject. It comes from a missionary named Paul Washer. Here is a link to his speech at a youth conference a few years ago. The video will challenge you, shake you, break you, anger you, and inspire you to go to war and put on the full armor of God!
