Never to the unfruitful works of darkness

The Bible warns us not to believe it when the world tells us that "sex outside of marriage is okay as long as you are practicing safe sex," or that "same-sex unions are normal and they should have the same status as male/female marriages." God's Word warns us not to fall for these man-made standards of living.

In Ephesians 5:6, it says, "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them."

And that verse goes on to say: "For ye were sometime darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Ephesians 5:8-11).

If you truly have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you should not still be ruled by your flesh! Your motto should not be "if it feels good, do it." Instead, you should be doing all you can to avoid those people and things that will cause you to stumble and give in to sexual temptations.

The one thing that God desires most from us is our obedience. God wants us to glorify Him by the way we use our bodies. If you have truly been washed in Christ's blood, then you should no longer be living for yourself, but instead you should be living to glorify God.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reads, "What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

And Romans 13:12b-14, "Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying: but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."

These commands are important and we should live according to them because God commanded us to, and because we show our love to Christ by being obedient. In John 14:15 Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." And 1 John 2:3-5 reads, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. "

If you say that you are a follower of Christ, yet you are out in the world fornicating and carrying on like all of the lost people of the world, than just maybe you are fooling yourself and you are not really a child of God's!

Sexually transmitted diseases at their basic root are a judgment from God in the way that all disease is a function of the decay the people who dwell on the earth experience as a general consequence of it. Disease is a fact of the wrath of God He is allowing to be present in this age. Judgment aside, sexual diseases ARE a consequence of wanton sexual activity outside the biblical confines of marriage. There is a reason God set it up so that one man and one woman enjoy conjugal relations for a lifetime. Abandoning that opens a person up to sin, emotional decay, and physical disease. Remaining in a committed marriage with only one partner, or celibate if single, immeasurably decreases your chances of contracting such a disease.In addition, Romans 1:18-32 describes God's wrath against sexual sin and worse perversion.

So how does one avoid God's displeasure in sexual sin, particularly when the culture is so immoral? Even insurance advertisements use adultery and lasciviousness to sell product! Well, the bible says, "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)."

Barnes Notes explains,

    Flee fornication - A solemn command of God - as explicit as any that thundered from Mount Sinai. None can disregard it with impunity - none can violate it without being exposed to the awful vengeance of the Almighty. There is force and emphasis in the word "flee" φεύγατε pheugate. Man should escape from it; he should not stay to reason about it; to debate the matter; or even to contend with his propensities, and to try the strength of his virtue. There are some sins which a man can resist; some about which he can reason without danger of pollution. But this is a sin where a man is safe only when he flies.

The prophecies in the bible about the last days and the Tribulation indicate that disease will run rampant over the entire earth and kill a great many people. Death and Hades are given authority to kill a fourth of  of the earth's people by sword, famine, beasts, and disease. (Revelation 6:8). Jesus warned that in the last days there will be pestilences (Luke 21:11).

What If I Have Already Engaged In Sex Outside Of Marriage?

It is not too late to stop what you are doing and to recommit your life and body to God. The Bible tells us that no matter how bad we think we are or how much we have already sinned, God is able to forgive us and make us whole again if we only confess our sins to him and repent or turn from them. Here are just a few verses that show you God's willingness to forgive:

1 John 1:9 reads, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Isaiah 55:7, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

Proverbs 28:13, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."

All of these verses show that it is still not too late for you to make a fresh start with God. Won't you stop chasing your own lusts and start letting God lead you? The cheap thrills that you are gaining by living like the rest of this sinful world cannot compare to the beautiful, rich relationship that you can have if you obey God's Word and follow His standards for living.

Blessings

Raj Kosaraju