OVERCOMING SEXUALLY ORIENTED SIN

OVERCOMING SEXUALLY ORIENTED SIN
By Anthony Osei Boateng

INTRODUCTION

Sexually oriented sins entail a special collection of sins which thrive on the sexual drive of the Christian. These sins are special because they thrive on the sexual passion (which is very strong and can get out of control), which God has placed in man to be shared in marriage. Most Christians find it very difficult to overcome sexually oriented sins. These include fornication, adultery, pornography, masturbation and other sexual perversions.

HOW TO OVERCOME THEM

Sexually oriented sins come about when one's inherent sexual passion upon being triggered at the wrong time and for a wrong purpose goes ahead to commit the sexual sin. We can't ask God to take the passion away because He placed it in us for us to share it with our spouse. The devil however tries to trigger this passion God has given us at the wrong time and for a sinful purpose. Due to the strength of this passion and the fact that it is in us, the Bible admonishes us to "flee fornication" (1Cor. 6:18). Hence the more time you spend pondering whether or not to do it the stronger the passion becomes, increasing the possibility for one to fall into the sexually oriented sin.

The only way to avoid sexually oriented sin is to flee. Fleeing entails an accelerated creation of a gap between the Christian and the opportunity to commit the sexual sin or the avoidance of situations that would cause a Christian to commit a sexually oriented sin. The battlefield for overcoming sexually oriented sin is the mind. The Bible says that "be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2). For example, one can physically ignore an initial temptation to fornicate with a man or woman, but a continual thought of the features of the man or woman or imagining a sexual encounter with the person, may cause the person to eventually fornicate with the man or woman he or she initially ignored. Hence it is important to have a pure mind always. One's mind can make him or her fall easily into sexual sin when it is saturated with a lot of pornographic material.

Another powerful tool in overcoming sexually oriented sin is the Word of God (Bible). The devil can easily make a temptation to commit a sexually oriented sin look so unsinful. I wasn't surprised at all when a lady Sunday school teacher asked me if it was a sin for her to have sex with someone she wasn't married to. One wouldn't think twice about such sexually oriented sins if he or she is firmly grounded in the Word of God. Remember that when the devil tempted Jesus, he tried to make those sinful acts look so unsinful by quoting the Bible; hence we should be firmly grounded in the Bible, as Christians.

Finally a useful tool in overcoming sexually oriented sin is prayer. God can cut down one's temptations to fall into sexually oriented sins if he or she asks. The Bible says "and lead us not into temptation" (Mat. 6:13). The Bible also admonishes us to ask, and it shall be given unto us (Mat. 7:7). Hence if we ask God for the strength to overcome sexually oriented sins especially, when confronted with such a situation, God will be faithful, and He'll grant us the strength to overcome it. I can testify to this so many times. MAY GOD GIVE YOU THE STRENGTH TO OVERCOME SEXUALLY ORIENTED SINS AMEN.

Anthony Osei Boateng is a Bible Study teacher at Living Hope Baptist Church in Ghana. He has written several Christian articles and helped in the preparation of Bible study materials for various Christian organisations. He is actively involved in e-evangelism. (e-mail: tonybd264@gmail.com)

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compiled by Jeremy