It's All Around
Lust, Pornography, Adultery, Sensuality, Fornication... It’s all around. T.V. shows are based around it, there are parades to celebrate it, and websites make billions of dollars from mankind’s insatiable appetite for it. It seems to be the fabric of our every day lives. It feels so... natural. However, the Bible paints a different picture. Imagine a father setting aside a $100 bill to give to his son the following day for his birthday. Now imagine if that son snuck into his father’s wallet and stole that money the night before. He took something meant for good and turned it into something evil. That’s exactly what this world does with sex. Sex is a beautiful blessing given by God within the confines of a faithful marriage. We are like that child, having stolen such a blessing and made it evil with all of our pornography, lust, and adultery. How serious is this sin in God’s eyes? VERY serious. Take a look: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthinas 6:9-10) Jesus even took it a step further and said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) Sexual sin is SO serious, that even looking with lust is considered the same as committing adultery.
Big Problems
Lust isn’t your only problem. Telling even one lie makes you a liar and guilty of punishment. Stealing one thing (even if it’s small), makes you a thief in God’s eyes. Using God’s name as a curse word is called “blasphemy,” and the Bible warns: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7). Like the rest of us, you’ve committed a lifetime of sins that you will have to answer for on the Day of Judgment. What will you say in your defense on that day?
Perfection
God is perfectly holy and perfectly just. How can such a God forgive guilty sinners without violating His own holiness? God sent His Son, Jesus Christ (fully God and fully man) to live the sinless life that none of us could. Jesus offered himself as a perfect sacrifice for sins on the Cross. He died and took the wrath of the Father upon Himself. He rose from the dead on the third day, showing that the penalty was fully paid. Now God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30) and trust in what Jesus did for the forgiveness of sins. When you trust in Jesus, all of your sins will be forgiven because Jesus paid for them all. Like a judge stepping down from the bench to pay a criminal’s fine for him, Jesus paid our fine.
What Should You Do?
Believe it or not, cleaning up your life and no longer looking at pornography or having sex outside of marriage WILL NOT help you. What you need is a new heart. One that desires to please God and follow him. One that will love him more than the endless desire for lust. Cry out to God to give you a new heart, confessing your sins. Stop trusting in your own “good” works to save you; they will never cover your sin. Only Jesus’ perfect, sinless sacrifice can cover it. When God changes your heart, you will desire to please him, and will begin to be victorious over the battle of sin.
Already a Christian?
Do you already claim to be a Christian? The Bible commands you to examine yourself to see if this is true. Look at the affections of your heart and compare them to Scripture (Read the book of 1 John). If your life is dominated by sexual lusts then be afraid because the Bible says a genuine Christian will be different.
