Fornication - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) October 18, 2024
Talking about sëx is uncomfortable but the reality is that as long as there have been human beings on this planet, sëx has existed. You should thank God for it because, without sëx, you would not be alive. That is unless you are like Jesus who was the product of immaculate conception.
Sex was mostly reserved for the confines of marriage, meaning it was an act that only a husband and wife engaged in with each other. And according to the Bible, that is how God wants it. The New Testament, which was given to the writers by the Holy Spirit, teaches that fornicators (those who have sëx before they marry) will not get to heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9). Those who have sëx with someone other than their spouse - adulterers - share the same fate.
Nowadays, however, the unmarried are encouraged to engage in sexµal acts long before marriage and to do so with multiple partners over time. Nonetheless, just because something is common does not mean that it meets the approval of the Lord or agrees with His word. And as a self-proclaimed believer, you are called to obey the word of God. Doing so displays your trust in Him and shows that you love Jesus who said in John 14:15 - If you love me, keep my commands.
For those who gave their lives to Christ but have fornicated, the Lord is gracious and will erase that sin from your life. God does not want anyone to perish in hell (2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, through genuine repentance, forgiveness is received. And by not repeating the sin, forgiveness and its resulting redemption are preserved. When this happens, the promise of 1 John 1:7 is fulfilled - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Christians are thus continuously cleansed from sin when they walk in the light through righteous living and having fellowship - relationship - with their fellow believers.
If any have not repented for fornication, consider this message an alarm set to wake you up from this 'slumber'. Hear its ring and break free from the consequences of fornication by repenting and prayerfully creating a plan to not return like a dog to its vomit as described in 2 Peter 2:22. Plus, fornicators are placed on the same level as the wicked in 1 Corinthians 6:9. God has made it clear that he despises and punishes every wicked person (Psalm 101:3).
Being locked out of heaven is not the only problem fornication creates. It leads individuals into relationships they should not be in. Those relationships result in unnecessary grief and heartbreak. These cause a person's soul to fracture. They then seek out people and things to fill the missing parts of them that were lost when they had sëx with someone else. And the cycle continues making things worse.
Do not think that masturbation or the consumption of pornographic material is any better than the act of fornication. Hebrews 13:4 - Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers (NRSV). Honoring one's marital bed begins before marriage, in my opinion. The future marriage is kept unblemished by avoiding masturbation, pornography, sex hotlines, steamy movies/music/books/content, and other things that trigger the desire to participate in immoral sexµal activity. Where these things have happened or are happening, repenting and stopping the sin are crucial. Submitting to God's help makes both possible.
The Bible teaches people to guard their hearts (Proverbs 4:23). It also warns that human bodies belong to God and should not be used for unholy things. 1 Corinthians 6:13 - ... The body, however, is not meant for sexµal immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Furthermore, we are told in 1 Corinthians 6:18 - Flee from sexµal immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexµally, sins against their own body. Imagine how such a sin impacts the Holy Spirit living within each born-again Christian. His presence would be stifled in the face of repeated and unrepented sin because He represents the Lord who cannot abide the unholy, which is what sexµal immorality is.
God gives everyone the choice to live by His commands or not. People must choose whether to give Him what He wants or do what satan wants, which is for human beings to disregard God's ways and go to hell. May all who gave their lives to Christ make choices they won't need to repent for later. I pray they will "[f]lee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22). I pray they will steer clear of anything that seems evil and could lead to wicked behavior or thoughts, not waiting to confirm its evil nature (1 Thessalonians 5:22). I pray they will discipline their bodies and minds so they are not disqualified from the prize of eternity because of something so fleeting as immoral 'pleasures' (1 Corinthians 9:27). After all, the blessings of God await the righteous here on earth as in heaven.
The good Lord will help us all.
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