Living Within the Boundaries for Sex - Your Daily Forward Devotional

Living Within the Boundaries for Sex

April 24

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

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.

Reflect

How can we learn to control our own bodies?

Romans 12:2 is clear that as Christians, we are not meant to conform to the patterns of this world. And yet sadly, it is becoming more and more difficult to tell a Christian apart from the rest of the world. Even when considering sexuality.

These days, many churches have abandoned God’s teachings on sexual relationships and have begun to accept and even embrace sexual immorality. Now, they feel free to say that anything goes when it comes to sex. But is that what God said? Not at all.

We see God’s design for sex back in the very beginning. In Genesis 1:27-28, we see God create two genders—male and female. He gave them sex, not only as an expression of love, but also for the purpose of reproduction. And He blessed it. Within the context of marriage, we see sex celebrated as a beautiful thing throughout Scripture. But whenever sex is engaged in a way that is contrary to God’s design in Scripture, we see catastrophe.

Consider the patriarchs and the pain that was caused by polygamy. God designed for one man and one woman to be married. Whenever a man took multiple wives, hearts were broken and strife abounded. Consider Sodom and Gomorrah where homosexuality and sexual immorality reigned. God completely wiped those cities off the map. Consider David lusting after another man’s wife and committing adultery with her. It led to the death of their child and her husband, Uriah. Sex outside of God’s loving boundaries comes with consequences.

As Christians, we cannot claim to be ignorant about God’s will when it comes to sex. As today’s verse says, we should abstain from sexual immorality and know how to control our own bodies because we know God. We are all vulnerable to temptation, no doubt about it. But Paul said it is God’s will for us to be sanctified. In Christ, we have a Savior. And we also have His Holy Spirit, conforming us into the likeness of Christ. That means, the Holy Spirit is at work in us, making us holy as He is holy and pure as He is pure.

Friends, we are in Jesus Christ! With the power of His Holy Spirit, we can overcome temptations of all kinds. We are empowered to live self-controlled, holy, and honorable lives. Sexual sin does not need to have a hold on us. When we live within God’s design for sex, we experience it as the blessing it was meant to be. Let’s live as those who know God when it comes to our sex lives.

Pray

God, I ask You to help me overcome sexual temptation and abstain from sexual sin. I want to live a life that is holy and honoring to You. I know that sex is a beautiful blessing from You when engaged in only within your loving boundaries—between one husband and one wife. Amen. 

~ Pastor Nat Crawford

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