1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Talk about a currently unpopular teaching! The entire platform of the Democratic Party in the US is based on sexual immorality, from abortion to LGBTQ+ to you name it. And it’s not just the “progressives.” The whole reason for the declining birth rate around the world is that procreation has become an afterthought, with pleasure in the forefront. God gave us such a strong sex drive to help cement couples together, just as Christ and the Church, as Paul explained in Ephesians 5. A male high school student in England a few years ago made a statement that blew me out of the water, precisely because of who it came from. He said he wanted to save sex for marriage, because in his observation of his friends, sex was like super glue: once the bond was made, tearing it apart caused major damage. That was a level of wisdom seldom seen in people of any age, much less a teenager! God knows how He made us, so He gave us rules that would give the best results for us, not to hem us in but to bless us maximally. As John noted, His commands are not burdensome, if we look at them rightly. (1 John 5:3) The current state of affairs (pun not necessarily intended, but appropriate) is because the devil hates us and wants to tear us down any way he can. James’ instructions to submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:7) apply to every area of life, but certainly to this area. We are bombarded with the message of “If it feels good, do it,” and we must stand firm in Christ.

I’m certainly not immune or armor-clad in this area by nature, so I have to put on God’s armor by choice. (Ephesians 6) I have been very happily and actively married for almost 56 years now, and my wife and I are certainly bonded together! Even so, temptations arise, particularly with the proliferation of pornography on the Internet. Unwelcome but tempting images come up with distressing frequency. I too need to remember Paul’s admonition here and allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen me. As a pastor I deal with people who are not so strong spiritually. One man I know despises himself for the way he lives, even though he believes the facts about Jesus. He has already suffered assorted consequences, including medically, but he doesn’t believe he can break free and be cleansed. However, the Gospel is precisely what he needs. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, after listing various categories of people who, by their activities, had excluded themselves from God’s kingdom, “That is what some of you were.” (1 Corinthians 6:11) No one is beyond the reach of God’s grace, but we have to repent and believe to receive it. That must be my message, on every level. I had an OB/Gyn friend who was convinced he was headed for hell because he had performed abortions, even though he was never a Christian. I only pray that he cried out to the Jesus he had heard about from me, before he died in his 90s.

Father, there are many things about Your grace that I don’t understand. Help me indeed follow those wonderful words in Proverbs: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:6-7) May I be a pure vessel of Your grace, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!