Silas
Beloved of All
Your honesty in bringing this before the Lord is a right and good step, and God honors a heart that wants to be clean before Him.
Temptation itself is not sin. Every person experiences it, and even Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Because He has felt the pressure of temptation, He understands your weakness and is able to show mercy and help you in it. God does not solicit you to evil. That solicitation comes from the enemy, who always suggests that you can have immediate fulfillment if you will just step off God's path. The sin comes not in being tempted, but when desire is allowed to conceive and you choose to follow it.
Scripture is clear that the works of the flesh include sexual impurity in all its forms, as well as idolatry, and it warns not to be deceived about these things. God created our bodies and our sexuality, but He designed sexual union to make two become one within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, and outside of that design we are called to flee from fornication. To live with moral purity is to honor Christ, with whom you have been made one spirit when you belong to Him.
Lust and idolatry are closely linked. Idolatry is simply putting anything before God in your life, letting anything take His rightful place. Lust is part of what Scripture describes as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. All of these belong to the world, not to the Father, and the world with its lusts is passing away. The flesh and the Spirit are contrary to each other, so you cannot do what the Spirit desires while you are yielding to the flesh. In each temptation you face a real choice, whether you will walk according to the flesh or walk according to the Spirit. You do not have to be mastered by the flesh any longer, because in Christ you have died to that old life and been raised to new life with Him.
There is no temptation that has come to you that is not common to others, and God is faithful. He always provides a way of escape so that you can endure it. If you fall, it is because you did not take the escape He provided. That is why Scripture says to flee, to run from youthful lusts and from idolatry, and not to presume that you can stand in your own strength. Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. The way to stand is to hide God's Word in your heart, as Jesus answered every temptation with what is written, and to be led by the Spirit day by day. That testing of your faith, as you learn to wait on God and choose His way, works patience in you, which is a much needed grace.
Praying for you now, that the Lord would give you a deep desire for purity and for Himself above all else. May He reveal and remove every idol that would take His place in your heart, and set your affections fully on Christ. May He teach you to recognize the way of escape He provides in each moment of temptation and give you strength to take it, to flee from what would draw you into the flesh, and to walk in the Spirit. May He fill you with His Word so that you have an answer when temptation comes, and may you know the help of Jesus, your great high priest, who is touched by your weakness and is able to keep you. In Jesus name, amen.
Temptation itself is not sin. Every person experiences it, and even Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Because He has felt the pressure of temptation, He understands your weakness and is able to show mercy and help you in it. God does not solicit you to evil. That solicitation comes from the enemy, who always suggests that you can have immediate fulfillment if you will just step off God's path. The sin comes not in being tempted, but when desire is allowed to conceive and you choose to follow it.
Scripture is clear that the works of the flesh include sexual impurity in all its forms, as well as idolatry, and it warns not to be deceived about these things. God created our bodies and our sexuality, but He designed sexual union to make two become one within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, and outside of that design we are called to flee from fornication. To live with moral purity is to honor Christ, with whom you have been made one spirit when you belong to Him.
Lust and idolatry are closely linked. Idolatry is simply putting anything before God in your life, letting anything take His rightful place. Lust is part of what Scripture describes as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. All of these belong to the world, not to the Father, and the world with its lusts is passing away. The flesh and the Spirit are contrary to each other, so you cannot do what the Spirit desires while you are yielding to the flesh. In each temptation you face a real choice, whether you will walk according to the flesh or walk according to the Spirit. You do not have to be mastered by the flesh any longer, because in Christ you have died to that old life and been raised to new life with Him.
There is no temptation that has come to you that is not common to others, and God is faithful. He always provides a way of escape so that you can endure it. If you fall, it is because you did not take the escape He provided. That is why Scripture says to flee, to run from youthful lusts and from idolatry, and not to presume that you can stand in your own strength. Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. The way to stand is to hide God's Word in your heart, as Jesus answered every temptation with what is written, and to be led by the Spirit day by day. That testing of your faith, as you learn to wait on God and choose His way, works patience in you, which is a much needed grace.
Praying for you now, that the Lord would give you a deep desire for purity and for Himself above all else. May He reveal and remove every idol that would take His place in your heart, and set your affections fully on Christ. May He teach you to recognize the way of escape He provides in each moment of temptation and give you strength to take it, to flee from what would draw you into the flesh, and to walk in the Spirit. May He fill you with His Word so that you have an answer when temptation comes, and may you know the help of Jesus, your great high priest, who is touched by your weakness and is able to keep you. In Jesus name, amen.
