Week of Monday September 15 – September 21
Called to Holiness – Man as Defender
"Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness." -- 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 ESV
The temptation to engage in sexual sin has always been with us, but it is painfully obvious that we are being bombarded with it on an unprecedented scale. If you open your phone and scroll through social media, chances are you will quickly encounter provocative images and suggestive videos. You don’t even need to search for it; it is everywhere.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there seems to have been an explosion of sexually charged content. According to a recent FOX News report:
Creating and selling content on OnlyFans – a website that allows adults to produce and post their own sexually explicit content in exchange for money from subscribers – has become a popular way for college students to earn extra income while in school. The platform has seen a sharp increase in traffic since the pandemic, with creators flocking to OnlyFans as a way to exchange virtual sex for money.
In 2019, OnlyFans featured approximately 350,000 creators from around the world. By 2023, that number had skyrocketed to over 4.1 million. Additionally, many dating apps have turned into platforms mainly for finding casual hookups. In short, our culture is filled with temptations to indulge in sexual sin.
Interestingly, the first-century culture in which Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church was not so different from today’s, aside from advances in technology. Instead of “digital content producers” on OnlyFans, there were pagan temples where prostitutes offered their services for a fee. Consequently, Paul urged Christ-followers to allow the Word of God to shape every area of their lives, including sexual purity.
Paul lists five incentives for practicing purity:
Paul sums it up this way: “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (verse 7).
God wants us to practice moral purity, resisting the sexual temptations and illicit influences present in this world. Satan specifically targets the hearts and minds of men with sexual temptations, not only because of our weakness in this arena, but also because pure-hearted men of God are particularly devastating to the strategies of hell. For the sake of our families and with the Spirit’s help, let us strive to become men who pursue holiness and protect our families against the perverse onslaught of sexual immorality.
Called to Holiness – Man as Defender
"Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness." -- 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 ESV
The temptation to engage in sexual sin has always been with us, but it is painfully obvious that we are being bombarded with it on an unprecedented scale. If you open your phone and scroll through social media, chances are you will quickly encounter provocative images and suggestive videos. You don’t even need to search for it; it is everywhere.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there seems to have been an explosion of sexually charged content. According to a recent FOX News report:
Creating and selling content on OnlyFans – a website that allows adults to produce and post their own sexually explicit content in exchange for money from subscribers – has become a popular way for college students to earn extra income while in school. The platform has seen a sharp increase in traffic since the pandemic, with creators flocking to OnlyFans as a way to exchange virtual sex for money.
In 2019, OnlyFans featured approximately 350,000 creators from around the world. By 2023, that number had skyrocketed to over 4.1 million. Additionally, many dating apps have turned into platforms mainly for finding casual hookups. In short, our culture is filled with temptations to indulge in sexual sin.
Interestingly, the first-century culture in which Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church was not so different from today’s, aside from advances in technology. Instead of “digital content producers” on OnlyFans, there were pagan temples where prostitutes offered their services for a fee. Consequently, Paul urged Christ-followers to allow the Word of God to shape every area of their lives, including sexual purity.
Paul lists five incentives for practicing purity:
- Pleasing God: “you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God” (verse 1)
- Doing God’s will: “this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality” (verse 3)
- Living with honor: “that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God” (verses 4-5)
- Loving fellow believers: “that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter” (verse 6a)
- Recognizing God’s vengeance: “the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you” (verse 6b)
Paul sums it up this way: “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (verse 7).
God wants us to practice moral purity, resisting the sexual temptations and illicit influences present in this world. Satan specifically targets the hearts and minds of men with sexual temptations, not only because of our weakness in this arena, but also because pure-hearted men of God are particularly devastating to the strategies of hell. For the sake of our families and with the Spirit’s help, let us strive to become men who pursue holiness and protect our families against the perverse onslaught of sexual immorality.
- In what ways can you daily seek to guard your heart and mind against impure thoughts and influences? Do you have a man in your life who can ask you hard questions and hold you accountable regarding sexual sin?
- How are you actively shielding those you love and lead from exposure to sexualized content and temptation? Have you considered developing a game plan as their Defender?
- Pray and ask the Lord to help you develop some practical steps to maintain your own moral purity and protect those in your charge against sexual immorality.