To Him Who Overcomes…
Sexual sin is one of the most pervasive sins in our modern-day society. Our media, our marketplace, and many aspects of our culture constantly bombard us with thoughts and images designed to arouse the things in people that God has reserved for marriage. Advertisements on news sites, social media, magazines and billboards are filled with sensual images intended to lure us towards them. On top of that, children are being taught in elementary school that all types of sexual expression outside of marriage is acceptable and normal. My prayer is that God would give all Christian men and women the understanding and grace needed to make the right choices in this crucial area of life, and equip them to be able to protect themselves and their families from this bombardment and to continue in sexual purity.
For some people it helps to know that being sexually pure is in their best interests. God truly does give us these commands for our own good. People should understand that there is a huge blessing for those who follow the commands of God in this area. God has also given us plenty of examples in the Bible of what happened when people ignored these commands. Someone once told me that God is the one who thought up the idea to give man a sex drive and then to bring Eve along, but he never intended us to use that special thing outside of his original plans of marriage.
But how do we overcome? I would have to say that one of the most powerful things that was ever revealed to me about this topic is found in Revelation 2:20, “Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.” The really powerful thing about this verse is that there is a promise connected to it found in Revelation 2:26, “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.”
The passage is ultimately talking about power over the nations when Jesus comes back. What I want you to consider is that there is a spiritual principle attached to “overcoming” the sexual immorality spoken of in verse 20. I believe there is a connection to where Jezebel was leading his servants into sexual immorality and the “power” that would be given to those who overcome. I believe we end up getting some measure of power in other aspects of our Christian walk as we overcome sexual sins based on that principle. I understood this because I remembered time periods in my life where I was having victory over sexual sin and lust.
It was those times when I had the most power over many things in my life to include my relationships with others, victory in my thought life, the ability to be at peace even with my enemies, just to name a few. It was during those times that I was given many opportunities to minister to people in meaningful ways, and those were the times that I saw the most fruit in my life. Conversely, I remembered times when I gave up that purity and how it devastated my relationship with God. I remembered how it affected my attitudes towards others.
It affected my anger, my work ethics, and my judgment in other areas of life. It affected my correctableness, teachableness, my humility, and my love towards others. I had effectively lost the “power” I had over many things as a result. Does anyone remember the story about how Samson lost his strength?
I believe that God had allowed me to see this connection because I had been pleading with him about how this world is so permeated with immorality and how I wanted something from him to offset the balance. I believe there is an implied promise that is related to the very principle that Jesus was addressing there. If this were true, then I wanted to keep digging to see what else I could find.
The Greek word used for power in that text is “exousia” and it means: power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases, leave or permission, physical and mental power, the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises, the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege), the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed, of authority to manage domestic affairs. I know from experience that many of those things defined here suffered greatly when I was a slave to sexual sin.
Conversely, when I was free from that sin those areas of authority always grew more and more powerful. For me, this is an awesome promise to know and rely upon, because I have seen it at work in my life and in the life of others. To know that if we follow this simple principle, we have a promise that is there to empower us the whole way. WOW.
One might argue that is a promise for the millennium. While I do believe the ultimate fulfillment will come about when Jesus returns, I also believe if we follow spiritual principles given to us, we can expect comparable blessings and rewards for them in this life. The very things that we do in this life will build the foundation for how we spend eternity. If overcoming certain things has a reward attached to the end sometimes there is a reward now because the cause and effect principle for obedience is still there. We are building our character with every decision we make, with every word we speak, with every thought we entertain.
This is because there are spiritual principles attached to every action we choose. You can choose whether you believe that or not. I have seen it play out in my life in some very rewarding ways and it has been the anchor that got me out of that lifestyle of bad choices. It has put my feet into a spacious place. Why wouldn’t God bless you with a taste of the ultimate reward as we continue in obedience?
Stumbling Blocks To Overcoming
I have to first mention that there is a very clear connection between anger, murder, and sexual sin. In Matthew Chapter 5 Jesus talked about adultery right after he talked about anger and murder. I believe there is a reason for this. People typically do not get super happy with their spouse and then decide to commit adultery. It usually starts with getting angry or offended at something. If anger can lead to murder and adultery it will also lead to all kinds of other sins and dysfunctions in life. There is usually a trail of devastation that follows the person who is constantly angry at things. I heard one minister say that anger was like a slide that would take him down to the deepest depths of sin. He said his anger was the danger sign to let him know he was headed the wrong direction.
There are biblical examples that demonstrate the connection between anger, murder and sexual sin. King David had Uriah killed because he was committing adultery with Bathsheba. John the Baptist was beheaded, at least in part, because he rebuked Herod for being married to his brother’s wife. It was said that Herodias nursed a grudge against John for this, and she is the one who had her daughter ask for John’s head. Furthermore, her daughter was actually dancing in front of King Herod and others at the time of this incident. Somehow, I do not think that she was doing a little ballerina dance.
I have seen one scholar interpret the dance to have been a lewd type of leaping dance. Either way, what does this say to men who go to watch erotic dancing? Think about what had to happen for a King to order a prophet of God to be executed and his head brought in on a platter and handed to this girl’s mother. Imagine the powerful deception that had to be going on for them to think this was acceptable. Just because Herod was sad about it still did not give him the power to refuse to do such a wicked thing.
Something made it to where he was willing to commit such a horrible act even when the people held John to be a prophet. In my opinion there had to be serious spiritual powers behind something of that magnitude. I believe spiritual wickedness in high places still uses sexual sin to manipulate God’s people into doing things outside of God’s will as I will show more of later.
Does anyone reading this know of someone that ended up imprisoned because he was in an immoral relationship with a woman or because of a prostitute? The Bible gives us the very famous example of Samson. Nothing could stand before Samson, not man or beast. He was endowed with supernatural strength that was evident to all around him. He was very smart and crafty when dealing with the enemy. One time he tied torches between the tails of 300 foxes in order to burn down the enemy’s corn, vineyards and olives. Pretty clever idea I would say. But what was the end of Samson’s life like?
Samson spent his final days imprisoned by the Philistines because he had allowed his power to be compromised by his immoral relationship with a harlot named Delilah. Once his strength was compromised, he tried to go out as he had done before, but his strength was gone from him. It says his eyes were put out, that he was bound, and he ended up grinding in the prison house. That sure is a terrible way to end the life of a man of God who was extremely powerful against the enemy’s kingdom. Things like this are written as examples to teach us. Why do you think his eyes were put out?
It is not a new thing for sexual immorality to be used to cripple God’s people. Another example is Balaam and Balak. In Revelation 2:14 it says, “But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold to the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto Idols , and to commit fornication.” The history behind this is that Balak was trying to get Balaam to curse the Israelites (Num 22:6). Balaam did not end up cursing God’s people, he had to bless them. Apparently, Balaam taught Balak that God’s people would bring the curse on themselves if he could entice them to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication they would bring the curse upon themselves. The point is that the enemy still uses this tactic to cripple God’s people and to imprison them spiritually in places with their spiritual eyes put out.
Are We Our Brother’s Keeper?
There also is an accountability factor that Paul demonstrates in 1 Corinthians 5. Here Paul is talking about a man who was with his father’s wife. He rebuked the whole fellowship saying that type of thing is not even done among the Gentiles. In the passage Paul tells them to expel the wicked person who did that from the fellowship, to hand him over to Satan. He said that instead of mourning this deed they were even “puffed up” about it. Paul even said that he had already judged the one who did it, without even being there. Nowadays people would use the universal defense of just saying, “why are you judging”.
People use similar statements about judging as if they were some type of get out of jail free card when they are being reproved for their sin. How many of us are willing to take a stance similar to the one Paul did with a brother or sister who is in sexual sin? It was so serious that Paul said in the same passage not to even eat with such a person. The bottom line is that this paints a story that by not dealing with the sin in others it affected them all. It also shows us that this is one of those types of sins that cannot be ignored in brothers or sisters we are in fellowship with because a little leaven will leaven the whole lump.
He goes on to admonish them in I Cor 5:8, “Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Could the leaven of malice he was talking about be connected to the sexual sin he was addressing in this chapter? The analogy of the leaven is showing us that sins in others will affect everyone connected to them.
A Deadly Trap
“The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
He who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there.”
Proverbs 22:14.
And I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
Whose hands are fetters.
He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.
Ecclesiastes 7:26
I went to hear Jim Bakker speak after he was released from prison. I heard him explain how it was when he got caught up in adultery with the woman was when everything came crashing down in his life. I personally believe she was the trap that snared him because of all the other sins that he had going on that he was not able to be corrected on.
There is a place in Proverbs 5:3-11 where it is talking about the lips of an immoral woman being smooth, but how in the end she is sharper than a 2-edged knife. It talks about how you will end up giving your honor to others, how aliens will have your wealth, how his flesh and body is consumed in the end while he is in mourning (Paraphrased.) The point I want to make is that immediately after that in Proverbs 5:12-13 he is talking about hating instruction and despising correction. About not obeying the voice of his teachers nor inclining his ear to those instructing him. I believe that sometimes when a person just plain rejects correction, instruction, and true teaching of any kind he is positioning himself to fall into the traps described in Proverbs 22:14 and Ecclesiastes 7:26.
The Bible also says in Proverbs 10:17, “He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, But he who refuses correction goes astray.” Whether they reject correction out of pride, anger, greed or other desires is not so much the issue. The real issue is that God was sending correction to spare that individual from bringing dishonor to his name and from all the calamities that were coming because of his choices. From my experience with it this happens mainly because a person’s pride has elevated him above those he is rejecting the correction from. And since, “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6.) They end up having God oppose them instead of receiving the grace needed to stand.
I believe that God is faithful enough to bring his children the correction needed to get them on the right track. I believe he did that with Jim Bakker and the many other men of God who were held out to public disgrace prior to their fall. It is usually when they reject correction on other things that they ended up in more serious troubles and even scandals. I have seen it happen in my life and in others to be certain. The teaching about fornication is not something most real Christians argue about, because the scripture is pretty clear on it. But they typically have a pattern of rejecting correction in many other areas because of their pride, and this makes it very difficult to receive the grace to stand. It’s like the verse in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.”
The point is that many of us can think of some very serious consequences that came about in our lives while we were in an immoral relationship. Maybe the relationship put us at the wrong place at the wrong time for something bad to happen. Maybe we were influenced to do something that we would not ordinarily have done that brought consequence. Or maybe it was something that came out of one of the countless circumstances surrounding us while we were in that sin that caused bad consequences. The bottom line is there are always consequences for this type of sin. Pro 6:27-28, “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?”
I have taken a long look back at times when I fell into this sexual sin and I can say that I always had the grace to resist temptation as long as I was walking in humility. The times when I was teachable, correctable, and walking in love I was always able to overcome. I can say with absolute certainty the exact opposite happened when I stubbornly refused to be corrected, when I was being led by pride, vainglorious things, or when I was being led by selfish motives. I have seen the pattern happen so many times that I am certain these principles are a factor.
One of my problems was that I was wise in my own eyes and my pride had me elevated above those God sent to teach me. I always perceived what I “felt” they were doing wrong. Whether they were really doing something wrong or not didn’t matter. What mattered is that God had sent them to correct me on something because he loved me and was trying to help me change for the better but I would miss it because of my own pride and selfish thinking. In my experience pride is a main reason we refuse correction. Although there are other desires that can get in the way, pride is usually what keeps us from seeing the truth about those things and ends up being the tipping point. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10
Escaping Lust
The Bible says in 2 Peter 1:2-4, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
That verse is what lets me know that one of the reasons God gives us promises is so that we can be partakers of his divine nature and escape the corruption in the world through lust.” One problem many Christians have is they really do not want to live a godly life. They think it is too “pious” and they do not want to identify with Jesus in that way. The real question we need to ask ourselves is if we are living for ourselves or for the one who died for us. “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” 2 Corinthians 5:15.
When we talk about overcoming things in the ultimate sense of the word it should be noted that there are many factors that go into any one thing. I have touched on a few important principles here. If a person is not fully committed to the Lord Jesus Christ for the right reasons many important things can be missed. The reality is that through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit we can partake of a life that is not controlled by these types of destructive sins. God is able to give us the grace needed to stand while we learn how to follow him in every area of our lives as we stay humble, correctable, and teachable.
Remember this, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13, and “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16. Finally let us consider Jesus, who overcame the world. “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:5).