“But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for [nor even think about gratifying] the flesh in regard to its improper desires” (Rom. 13:14 Amplified Bible).

Regarding this principle, Dr. Charles Stanley observed, “We know we should avoid a certain place, but we go there anyway. We recognize a personal weakness for a particular activity, but we tempt ourselves anyway. How often do we fall into sin because we plan for it?”

And The Spirit Filled Life Study Bible adds, “The way to moral excellence is twofold (v. 14). Positively, we must put on the Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to His lordship, accepting His moral standards, living in constant fellowship with Him, and depending upon His strength. Negatively, we are to make no provision for the flesh, doing nothing to foster its sensual desires and appetites (see Gal. 5:16–25).”

In our Lord’s model prayer, the phrase preceding “Deliver us from evil” is “Lead us not into temptation.”

Pure Desire Ministry provides a free document with practical suggestions on the role of filters and accountability in protecting our Spirit-filled walk: Accountability User’s App Guide doc

They recommend:
Filtering

Using Google Chrome’s free SafeSearch:
https://www.google.com/safesearch

and/or Using Cisco’s free OpenDNS:
https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/

Accountability

https://www.covenanteyes.com/

https://accountable2you.com/

https://everaccountable.com/

May we heed the counsel of 2 Timothy 2:22: “Run from anything that gives you the evil thoughts that young men often have, but stay close to anything that makes you want to do right. Have faith and love, and enjoy the companionship of those who love the Lord and have pure hearts.” (Living Bible paraphrase)

Gary Thomas is an author with the Center for Evangelical Spirituality. In his book, Pure Pleasure, he has a chapter entitled “Dangerous Pleasures.”

He introduces the chapter with this quote by A. J. Russell: “A man cannot be happy in a life of vice so long as he is conscious of moral scruples; conversely, he cannot be happy in a life of virtue so long as he compromises with vice.”

The chapter addresses pleasures such as sex, money, alcohol and food. Note Thomas’ observation:

“Sex, a potent force, needs to be contained and held accountable. It carries the potential to do great good—hold a family together, renew bonds of loyalty, create refreshing memories of intimacy, provide relief from the routines of life, create a brand new life—and the potential to bring great harm… Because pleasure motivates us, it possesses tremendous force. Such power must be held accountable, lest it become an evil tyrant. [For example] Money in the hands of a satisfied, God-honoring soul can do tremendous good. Money in the hands of a spiritually sick person can become a ferocious force of evil.” [1]

Thomas goes on to help us navigate life’s pleasures successfully. “Rather than absolutely denying us pleasure, God gives us the ability to enjoy dangerous pleasures within appropriate boundaries. David Powlison provides a helpful list of when such pleasures verge on becoming dangerous threats”

• All that gets obsessive (I’m always thinking about it)
• All that gets impulsive (Just do it)
• All that gets compulsive (I can’t help doing it)
• All that gets cancerous (expanding out of control, devouring)
• All that gets mutant (unstable, restless, bizarre, and inhuman, dehumanizing) [2]

The city of Corinth in Ancient Greece was infamous for abusing dangerous pleasures. In his first epistle to the church there, the apostle Paul gives several corrective guidelines, responding to some of their culturally permissive slogans.

“‘All things are lawful for me’, but all things are not helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me’, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Cor. 6:12)

“Therefore, if food [or any other behavior] makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble” (1 Cor. 8:13).

“‘All things are lawful for me’, but not all things are helpful; ‘all things are lawful for me’, but not all things edify” (1 Cor. 10:23).

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

Therefore, the answer to our prayer “deliver us from evil online” includes the wisdom to avoid legalism on the one hand, and license on the other. May we apply these insights to our attitude and behaviors concerning sex, money, alcohol and food by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians. 5:17,18).

Gary Thomas gives this summary: “to truly enjoy potentially dangerous pleasures without becoming their slave, we need to submit to a God greater than our pleasure.”

J.B.W.

______________

[1] Gary Thomas, Pure Pleasure, (Zondervan, 2009), 149.

[2] David Powlison, “Innocent Pleasures”, Journal of Biblical Counseling 23 (Fall 2005), 25.

[3] Gary Thomas, Pure Pleasure, 150.

We have mentioned this important video documentary resource, Somebody’s Daughter, in a previous post. It has this intro:

“Pornography is one of the most difficult moral challenges of our time. What was once considered obscene is now a multi-billion dollar industry increasingly becoming the norm within mainstream culture. Because of the internet with its accessibility, anonymity, and affordability, pornography addictions have risen to epidemic levels, destroying intimacy, marriages and families, while distorting our definition of sex and sexuality. Watch as three men and a husband and wife share their intensely personal struggle of how pornography crept in and ravaged their lives. From abuser to victim, its introduction seemed harmless but proved to be an infectious destroyer. Somebody’s Daughter, confronts the darkness and lies of this alluring vice with compelling honesty and hope.”

Michael John Cusick has published a six session small group study guide that can be used with the DVD edition.  Visit MusicForTheSoul.org for these materials.

Now Redeem TV (a donor-supported, ad-free streaming service) provides this movie in their online video collection. Just sign up for a free account at www.RedeemTV.com 

Proverbs chapter 30 features counsel from someone named Agur: “The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance.” Prov. 30:1

This chapter gives some vivid warnings and illustrations that are relevant to freedom from sexual immorality. Here are relevant wisdom statements with added commentary.

Consider the value of God’s Word:
“Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.” Prov. 30:5

A warning to not change God’s standards based on personal preference or the changing opinions of culture:
“Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.” Prov. 30:6

A warning about a society that accepts sin as normal and excusable:
“There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.” 30:12

A illustration from nature:
“The leech has two daughters— Give and Give!” 30:15a
Likewise, sexual immorality leeches a person’s resources: money, time, testimony, family, spiritual vitality…

A wisdom list
“There are three things that are never satisfied,
Four never say, ‘Enough!’:
The grave,
The barren womb,
The earth that is not satisfied with water—
And the fire never says, ‘Enough!’” 30:15b,16

The idiom, “three things…, four” indicate that this list is suggestive and can be added to. Sexual immorality also never says “enough”.  But the believer in Christ, in light of these biblical wisdom statements, can and should pronounce “enough”!

A warning about the seductress
“This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, ‘I have done no wickedness.’” 30:20

Her conscience is seared; she assumes that whatever the body desires is OK. Animals may function according to nature (though, since the fall of Genesis 3, that also can be harmful and contrary to the Creator’s original design).
But people are made in God’s image (Gen. 1:26, 27) though this image has been damaged by sin.  This likeness to God includes living by the standards of His design law and morality. Conscience is a witness to our accountability, but one’s conscience can be ignored; the adulteress (and adulterer) turns a deaf ear to it.

The wisdom of God is developed further in the New Testament. Through a personal relationship with God we can experience true wisdom, applying truth to life. “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:30,31).

-J.B.W.

Corinth in Ancient Greece was infamous for sexual immorality. So the early church needed to be warned to turn away from this seductive, socially acceptable sin. Western culture today has descended into a similar climate of immorality. So God’s directive for morality and dignity is still applicable.

“Run away from sexual immorality [in any form, whether thought or behavior, whether visual or written]. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the one who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Amplified Bible

Dr. Charles Stanley observed that Proverbs warns us to stay away from the immoral person: “Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house” (Prov. 5:8). “God’s Word tells us to ‘flee sexual immorality’ (1 Cor. 6:18), not to test our spiritual maturity by seeing how close we can get to it without falling into it. If you know something tempts you, stay away from it.”

Dr. Tony Evans counsels, “Sexual sin is unique because by joining to someone other than one’s spouse, a person enters into an illegitimate one-flesh union (see 1 Cor. 6:16) and sins against his own body. This, in fact, is why people experience emotional, psychological, and spiritual scars as a result of sexual sin.”

Living according to God’s design delivers us from sin’s harmful consequences psychological and physically. Dr. Warren Wiersbe summarizes the implications of this passage in 1 Corinthians:  “As you review this section, you will see that sexual sins affect the entire personality. They affect the emotions, leading to slavery (v. 12b). It is frightening to see how sensuality can get a hold on a person and defile his entire life, enslaving him to habits that destroy. It also affects a person physically (v. 18). The fornicator and adulterer, as well as the homosexual, may forget their sins, but their sins will not forget them.”

If you are believer in Christ, your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit. Let’s heed the timeless admonition: “honor and glorify God with your body.”

-JBW

“Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].” Romans 8:6 (Amplified Bible)

Neil Anderson observed: “The moment you are tempted to get your need met in the world instead of in Christ, you are at the threshold of a decision. If you don’t immediately choose to take that thought “captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5), you will begin to consider it as an option. And if you begin to mull it over in your mind, immediately your emotions will be affected and the likelihood of yielding to that temptation is increased…

“For example, a man sees a pornographic picture and is tempted toward lust. He has the opportunity to respond by saying something like, ‘My relationship with sin has ended. I choose to take this thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I’m not going to look at it or think about it.’ And he separates himself from the picture immediately and escapes the lust.

But if he hesitates at the threshold, stares at the picture, and begins to fantasize about it, he will trigger an emotional landslide producing a physical response which will be difficult to stop. He must capture the tempting thought in the threshold or it will probably capture him.” [1]

The booklet, A Study of the Mind, also teaches the relevance of this principle–that victory over temptation is gained at the threshold of the mind, not in the mind.” [2]

The author of At The Altar of Sexual Idolatry confirms this wisdom in his testimony: “I overcame temptation because I refused to allow myself to dwell on sexual thoughts. When a fantasy entered my mind, I would make the conscious decision not to entertain it. The person who affords himself the luxury of savoring a fantasy is setting himself up for a huge fall. The time to deal with temptation is when it first appears. The longer the thought lingers, the more difficult it is to resist.” [3]

By the enablement of the Holy Spirit we can be renewed in the spirit of our mind (Eph. 4:23).

[1] Daily in Christ, 3/26. Emphasis added

[2] Preston Gillham and Anabel Gillham, A Study of the Mind (ebook) https://www.lifetime.org/store/a-study-of-the-mind-ebooklet

[3] Steve Gallagher, At the Altar is Sexual Idolatry, p. 95

JBW

The famous Hebrew Leader, Samson, is a tragic example of contrasts. “And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines” (Judges 15:20). Although famous for his supernatural physical strength, he was morally weak as seen in his sexual immorality. Samson was dedicated to God with a Nazirite vow and heroically defeated the enemy Philistines, yet he broke his vows and lost his testimony, power and ultimately, his life.

• “Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. So he went up and told his father and mother, saying…“Get her for me, for she pleases me well…”
• Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there…
• Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah… (Judges 14:1-3; 16:1,4).

Herbert Lockyer observed,

Samson stands out as a man of striking contrasts. He had a kind of Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde being.

I. He was separated as a Nazarite (Judg. 13:5), yet tampered with evil associations (Judg. 14:1-3).

II. He was occasionally Spirit-possessed (Judg. 13:25; 15:14), yet yielded to carnal appetites (Judg. 16:1-4).

III. He appeared childish in some of his plans (Judg. 15:4), yet was courageous in battle (Judg. 15:1-4).

IV. He was mighty in physical strength (Judg. 16:3, 9, 13, 14), yet weak in resisting temptation (Judg. 16:15-17).

V. He had a noble beginning but a sad end (Judg. 16:30).
– All The Men of the Bible.

Let us pray for the Spirit-filled life, free from habitual sin (Ephesians. 5:18). But our prayers need to be more than half-hearted and doubtful: “People who ‘worry their prayers’ are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open” (James 1:8, The Message).

But the Same Spirit who have Samson physical power when he was in step with God will give us moral power to be sexually temperate. “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh… Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” Gal. 5:1-24)

JBW

Recently Dr. Mark Denison gave a webinar for National Coalition of Ministries to Men. He and his wife, Beth, lead There’s Still Hope, a ministry of recovery and restoration. Mark’s books include:

• 90-Day Recovery Guide for Sex and Porn Addiction
• Life Recovery Plan: A 52-Week Guide to Keep Your Recovery on Track
• 365 Days to Sexual Integrity
• Jesus and the 12 Steps
• Couples Recovery Guide

For more information about their 1 to 1 counseling, small groups and resources, visit www.theresstillhope.org

Here is their introductory testimony:

“Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior]. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” Romans 8:1,2 Amplified Bible

“A believer may know that he is positionally free, and yet have to mourn the fact that his experience is that of a wretched captive. The freedom is so entirely in Christ Jesus, and the maintenance of the living union with Him is so distinctly and entirely the work of divine power, that it is only as we see that the Spirit dwells within us for this very purpose, and know how to accept and yield to His working it, that we can really stand in the liberty with which Christ has made us free.” -Andrew Murray

“There is no strength or power in ourselves against the law of sin which is in our members. The Father has left us as much dependent upon the Lord Jesus’ work for our deliverance from the power of sin as for our forgiveness! It is wholly because we died with Him on the Cross, both to sin and to the whole legal principle, that sin’s power for those in the Lord Jesus, is broken.” -William R. Newell

For a further explanation on how the law of aerodynamics illustrates this, see the article at GraceNotebook.com

King David resolved,

“I will behave wisely in a perfect way.
Oh, when will You come to me?
I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will not know wickedness.” Psalm 101:2-4 NKJV

When David went astray from this resolve (the adultery episode of 2 Samuel ch. 11), –although he was forgiven (Psalm 51)–there were devastating consequences.

Charles Stanley observes, “How many wrong relationships begin with just a harmless glance? How many thefts start with an envious gaze? How many addictive habits take hold from prolonged exposure to the wrong thing? If we wish to avoid doing evil, we must stay far away from any situation, attitude, or habit that could cause us to stumble.”

The Abide Study Bible recommends, “Pray. Ask God to evaluate you today: your eyes, your heart, your words, and your thoughts. Confess any wicked ways and thank Him for His forgiveness. Ask the Lord to help you live wisely and walk in His perfect way.”

A mentee recently applied this principle by implementing this filter on his computer: https://cleanbrowsing.org/
“CleanBrowsing is a content filtering platform. We block access to online porn and malicious sites.”  The $59.00 a year subscription for families covers up to 25 devices.

“Let us conduct ourselves properly and honorably as in the [light of] day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and irresponsibility, not in quarreling and jealousy.  But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for [nor even think about gratifying] the flesh in regard to its improper desires.” Romans 13:13,14 Amplified Bible