OVERCOMING SEXUAL IMMORALITY-BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE #PART 1

Sexual immorality is not pleasant issue to dealt with. Victims of sexual immorality, professional and accidental, in one way or the other, have desired to come out of such a mess. One may be tempted to ask how can this be achieved..? Whose responsibility should this be..? The following are the proposed approach to solving this generational challenge, which has brought untold hardship to individuals and their spouses, children, friends, social groups, clans and nations.

As a Christian, I am of the full conviction that the Bible, the written word of God, has the answer for those who are struggling with sexual immorality. The impact of the Bible, however, on any individuals life will depend on his personal faith in it. Aside the word of God and the individual attitude towards it, societal groups such as religious bodies, clubs, etc have diverse roles to play. Government, communities in which we live, parents, traditional leaders such as chiefs, kings and queens as well as educational institutions also have diverse roles to play.

The Biblical Perspective

In every sphere of life, one cannot do without Christ Jesus. The author of the book Hebrews states, "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted"
(Heb. 2:18)
This informs us that the master Jesus is ready to come to the rescue of anyone confronted with sexual immorality and is willing to let go of such sin.

God's will:
It is very paramount to know the perfect will of God the Father in respect of victims of sexual immorality. The Apostle Paul in his presentation to the church at Thessalonica declared, "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality, that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honourable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God, and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you"

In summary, God calls for your sanctification, which demands that you avoid sexual immorality, control your own body, and let it be holy and honourable.
How do you achieve this...?

The starting point:

It has been said that's thousand-mile journey begins with a step. I also trust that to deal with such a daunting challenge as sexual immorality, one has to begin from somewhere. What then is the starting point or the first step in this problem - solving direction...?

Acknowledgement, Confession and Repentance:

The Apostle John drew attention saying, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives"
(1 John 1:9-10)
It behooves on the victim of sexual immorality to acknowledge first and foremost that the act he is involved in is a sin before God.

Joseph was granted a hundred percent scholarship to have sex with his Master's wife and thus commit adultery. He appreciated that woman was his master's wife. Also, by committing such an act, he would be sinning against God. Therefore he questioned, "*How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against GOD..? *" Beloved, are you being tempted to commit sexual immorality or have you fallen victim to it..? Act wisely as Joseph by acknowledging that it is a sinful act where you have fallen prey to it,be honest, confess and respect of it, just as King David did. Repentance calls for renouncing and purposing not to get involved any longer. A sure sign of repentance is why one is afraid to fall back into his old sins, lest God judge him with even greater slavery. Be mindful of your thoughts and the places you go.

The Challenge Of Possession

As one comes to his realisation and point of decision, one has to be mindful of the challenge Apostle Paul once put across, "*I know that nothing good lives in me, that is,in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do, no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: when I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body waging war against the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am..! Who will rescue me from this body of death..? Thanks be to God -through Jesus Christ our Lord...! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
(Rom. 7:18-25)

The battle between evil and good, each seeking to take absolute control over your life would actually begin. However, as Paul rightly observed and declared. Victory is on hand through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore watch out, be ur steedfast and stand firm when such times rear their heads. James disclosed that, "*when tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me for GOD cannot be tempted by evil, not does he tempt anyone but each one is tempted when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
(James 1:13-14)
Identify the particular evil desire that tempts you and commit it to the Lord's care.

To the Corinthian brethren Apostle Paul counselled, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. Bit when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it".
(1 Cor. 10:13)
Because of God's faithfulness, love and abundant grace, he provides a way out in times of temptation. "That way" is Jesus Christ. Don't miss him in such trying moments but seek and run to him for deliverance. Your failure to identify the way will land you into enslavement to sin and finally spiritual death. It would be too late to do anything about such situations.
One passage of Scripture I have appreciated very much and which I think, is worthy of meditation is :"* Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey it's evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to GOD, as those who have been body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace*"
(Romans 6:12-14)

The Body - Eye, Mind and Heart

The Body:
To control the body, all the parts that have been accused of being related to temptations and sexual sins have to be summoned before the Holy Spirit and our Lord Jesus Christ. Concerning the body in its totality, Jesus submitted that, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak"
(Mark 14:38)
Paul also disclosed that, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do"
(Romans 7:15)
These submissions of Jesus Christ and Apostle Paul, are ample evidence that the body is weak and therefore,vulnerable to temptations and their consequences.

The Eye:
In respect of the eyes, Jesus disclosed, "You have heard that it was said, 'Don't commit adultery'. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart"
(Matt.5:27-28)
The eye collaborates with the mind to cause adultery in the heart, Jesus suggested that, "If your right eye causes you to sin,gougr 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"
(Matt. 5:29)
To deal with the eyes, the counsel of the righteous job is worthy of consideration:"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl"
(Job 31:1)
King David also prayed,"Turn my eyes away from worthless things, preserve my life according to your word"
(PS. 119:37)

In respect of pornographic materials,one has to avoid looking at them. Also, avoid compromising situations, unacceptable closeness, and all situations that would endanger your life. One has to be mindful of indiscriminate TV watching and vulgar entertainment.
Joseph had to run away from the wife of potiphar because the message was clearly communicated to him and the picture was clearly laid bare before him. Why do you keep feeding your eyes with pictures and other physical attractions,which could landypu into sexual sin..? The earlier you heed to the admonition of the Apostle Paul, the better. "Flee from sexual immorality. All sins a man commits are outside his body,but he who sins sexually sins against his own body"
(1 Cor. 6:18, 2Tim. 2:22)

The Mind
To deal with the mind and set it on course for righteousness and holy christian living, Paul drew attention, saying, "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace"
(Rom. 8:5-6)
You are therefore requested to set yet mind on what the spirit desires and yield your mind to be controlled by the Spirit.

Another aspect of the mind that is to be looked at is the fact of

1. Being forgiven your sexual sins and
2. Being condemned because of your sins

Your attention has been drawn to the fact that in as much as you confess your sins, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive your sins. Secondly, the Scripture has stated that, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death"
(Romans 8:1-2)
You have been forgiven and there is no condemnation against you. You have been justified by his resurrection from the dead.

The Heart:
It is very expedient for us to know the state of the heart just as the scriptures have presented it, in respect of evil.
"The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become,and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time"
(Gen. 6:5)
Also, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cute. Who can understand it...?
(Jer. 17:9)

Conclusion
An issue which is related to self - control is the call to resist the devil: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you*"
(James 4:7)

This has to do with every aspect of the body