It is also helpful to consider what happens when we disobey God. When we use HIS good gift of sexuality for the wrong purposes, what happens? What are the consequences? The Word of God is expressly clear on that point in Galatians 6:7 - "BE NOT DECEIVED, GOD IS NOT MOCKED: FOR WHATSOEVER A MAN SOWETH, THAT SHALL HE REAP."
The girl who violates God's commands concerning sex feels used and cheated. She realizes too late that she has "lost" a most precious possession - her VIRGINITY. "LOST", however, is not really the word because she gave it away cheaply. Virginity is a gift God gave her. It is not really her's, but God's, and she is just the steward of it. She is responsible to God for its care. She can give her virginity away only once. She can never get it back. She will never be able to give this precious gift to her God-given husband at the proper time.
Today's society says very little about the "pricelessness of virginity". To the contrary, television, movies, and romance novels make a woman's virginity so cheap. They sacrifice it on the altar of "fun". While I am convinced that most girls do cherish their virginity, I know they face many and great temptations to give it away. Some of them don't want to be considered "odd". Others want to have the feeling married women have after intercourse. Many think they can use sex to get "love". Many give in to their boyfriend's pleas because they do not want to lose his "love". In every case, however, it is selfishness that has made them violate God's will, and the consequences are irreversible.
The young man also "loses" something when he goes too far before marriage. He also gives away a priceless gift, and he does so cheaply. The loss of innocence through sexual impurity is as real for the boy as it is for the girl. He may deceive himself into believing that the gratification of the moment will make that loss worthwhile but he too will find, to his grief that it does not.
GOD WILL NOT BE MOCKED!!!
All sexual activities before marriage are symbolic of the entering into the Holy of Holies in a degrading and profane manner, violating the will of God. The only reason for rushing so badly into this holy and beautiful mystery is THE SELFISHNESS OF PRIDE. Some people claim that they have the "right" to premarital sex because they are engaged to be married. They believe that their expressions of love make it right for them to violate God's law and will. Do consider the reasons for going contrary to God's command. EVERY ONE OF THEM IS WRONG: Self-gratification, the desire to be loved, the fear of what the partner may think. Can such motives and actions be defended before AN OPEN BIBLE?? It is God's will that sex be ONLY IN MARRIAGE and it is only HE Who unites them in marriage using the Church and the State for this purpose. A couple is not married merely on the basis of their commitment to each other.
The command of our God is, of course, sufficient reason to refrain from premarital sex. There is however this added consideration that not all couples who are engaged end up in marriage. Should they call off their engagement after engaging in sexual intercourse, they can be sure that if they do marry again, the pleasure of the marriage bed will not be unaffected by the memory of what went on before the marriage. Sin may deceive us into thinking we can get away with it BUT AGAIN, GOD IS NOT MOCKED.
Premarital sex always causes scars! Sin leaves scars. And the Scars will have an effect on the one who bears them later on. In the passion of the moment one does not think about the implications and consequences which extend far beyond that moment. You do not want to think about the consequences but SIN ALWAYS LEAVES A SEARING CUT WHICH ALWAYS LEAVES A SCAR. You cannot violate the commandment of God concerning something so wonderful and not be hurt by it. Sexual relationships many years later between the husband and with the wife you love so dearly are going to be affected by the illicit and immoral sexual activities that took place before the marriage. There is almost the blame game when things do not go on as they ought to during times of intimacy. One spouse usually blames the other of not "performing" like they used to before the marriage. They judge each other, blame each other and are plagued in their conscience by the acts that preceded the marriage.
When will we realize that God will not be mocked? We will reap what we sow! Sin leaves a scar, but there can be healing from the wounds which sin causes though there will always be a scar. Those scars will only be removed when we receive our resurrection bodies. Please consider the scars you will inflict on yourself and on the one you love before you rush into intimacy before God permits it.
GOD'S ANSWER TO PREMARITAL
He Who created sexual desires and Who redeemed them from being only powerful lusts of the flesh is also gracious in providing us a way of escape from the GUILT AND TYRANNY OF LUST. There is hope for those who have already violated God's pure gift of virginity. There is hope for those who desire to maintain the gift of purity which God gave them. There is hope for those who feel that the power of sex is out of control in their lives. This comforting hope of Divine healing is not for all. It is only for those with heartfelt sorrow and for those with an earnest desire to do God's will.
First, God's healing is the power of His sovereign grace to remove the guilt of sin. Grace is the power which delivers from the filth of our sinful flesh. We may not be able to get our virginity back (even as we cannot remove a hole after pulling out the nail), but we can still receive God's gracious forgiveness. Immorality is not sin which cannot be forgiven. Sexual sins are to be treated as all other sins and temptations - they are to be confessed, repented of, and forsaken. The prayer for God's forgiveness and for God's grace to walk in holiness must be lifted up to him. Then there would be the assurance of His gracious forgiveness. When He forgives, He does so completely. The sin is gone forever, never again to be brought against the one who sinned. As ugly as the sin is, forgiveness is more beautiful, and grace makes us beautiful before God.
We cannot retrieve our virginity once it's gone but we can certainly regain a chaste status as well as our purity before God. When God forgives, then He gives us a perfect righteousness. It's as though we had never sinned. It is as if we only did everything right. Therefore we hide ourselves under the wings of the righteous and holiness which Jesus earned for us. Then we may be sure that we stand before God pure, white robes, and we are called "HOLY UNTO THE LORD". Virginity is a precious gift, but an even more is the gift of forgiveness for the offender, for the person who loses it through premarital sex.
Secondly, the Spirit of Christ brings with complete forgiveness and righteousness, the healing power of deliverance from sin's power. The Spirit of Christ also imparts the gift of self-control called "temperance" in Galatians 5:23.
Sexual energies and desires, no matter how strong, are controllable. As powerful as they may be, they can be controlled, for the Power that is in us is greater than the power that is against us. The Bible teaches us that we are not helpless before these lusts. It is Christ, Who has been given power over heaven and earth, that strengthens us (Phil. 4:13). It is the divine Spirit Whose fruit is self-control. We can therefore break with sinful self-indulgence.
We are called not simply to maintain but also to develop Spirit-led self-control. Jesus spoke of those who were eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake (Matthew 19:12). He spoke of self-control and self-denial to the glory of God. He commanded that any man who would follow Him had to practice self-denial (Matthew 16:24) just like He did. Jesus supreme act of self-denial is what brought about salvation for sinners.
There are sins against which believers are commanded to stand and fight BUT the only way the Bible says we are to fight sexual sin and temptations is to FLEE from it (1 Cor. 6:18). Consider how Joseph fled from Potiphar's wife. This temptation is the kind that must not be faced head-on. Will-power and resolutions do not stand a chance before this particular temptation. It is too strong. To think that we can be "brave" and stand up to this sin will make us fools because God in His Wisdom commanded the apostle Paul to instruct us to flee from that sin. The only way to be faithful to God with regards to this sin IS TO FLEE FROM IT. The admonition to "flee" fornication has the clear implication that we must not over-estimate our self-control or our spirituality. This is why we are admonished to "make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Rom 13:14).
To control sexual desires, we must realize the importance of avoiding situations where we know we will be tempted by the wiles of the devil. To control sexual desires, one needs more wisdom than Solomon had, for Solomon often fell prey to this temptation.
One way to prevent making provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts is to "be alone with others, and never all alone." Date along with others. Also, stay away from every form of pornography. It's not "harmless".
Another way to fight the temptation of this sin is by making a commitment to be pure, to remain pure throughout the dating period. The two lovers must agree before dating to remain pure till marriage when they will become one flesh. This means that they must draw the lines as to how far they must go when it comes to the things they must and must not do. They need to draw the line before they date because of how powerful the Bible describes physical attraction. We cannot have a developing romantic love without having an increasing desire for consummation. We would be unwise to deny this fact that it is abnormal to become more and more intimate mentally and emotionally and not want to be physically and sexually intimate. An unmarried couple plays with fire if they keep getting very close to each other and are not ready to marry. They need to draw the line before they date because wavering at the beginning often results in falling in the end.
Shalom Family!!!
01-02-2012
Copyright © Sarah Worldchanger Dominique
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