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1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and
testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He
therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto
us his holy Spirit" (KJV)
Private agencies in US are said to be the top most sellers in the world, of Pornography with an estimated several billions in expenditure and income under numerous titles and with several millions in income from web sites that contain adult pornographic material. A considerable percentage of youth from Christians believe that watching pornography is not sin. The youth start as casual watching or casual reading and then get addicted to this sin, which brings ruin in their lives. A sister in Christ, giving her testimony once, in the midst of believes candidly said that she was an addict of this sin and also stated that for many adults it starts as fantasy, and a casual watch that ends up in breaking relations with married partner because the more they watch the more they find their life partner is less efficient than the porn-star. An addict to this sin keeps searching for a person better than her life-partner outside her marriage but finally never finds one. It brings psychological disappointment in one's life when one relentlesly seeks another person in one's life to be the one like that of his/her favorite star, whom she watched on the television screen or computer screen.
The basic message pornography conveys
is that:
- human beings are subservient and are inherently slaves to sexual urges, especially outside the marriage
- females are made to satisfy the sexual needs of men under any circumstances, be it the result of rape or voluntary submission.
- outside marriage relationship with men is better inasmuch as it gives complacency and satisfaction from several men or women
- fornication and adultery are not a matter of serious concern inasmuch as sexual relationships can be had at any time with any one
- legally married life-partner is less potent than the porn-star
- there are no negative consequences
whatever way the sexual relationships are developed
The Holy Bible on the other hand is
just against the pornography and sexual relationships with any one other than
the married partner. The basic message the Bible teaches is:
- that marriage is honorable than all -
Hebrews 13:4 "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but
whoremongers and adulterers God will judge"
- to rejoice with your wife of your youth- Genesis 1:28 "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth"
- Genesis 2:24 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh".
- 1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
- 1 Corinthians 7:3 "Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband"
1 Thessalonians 4th Chapter Vs.3-7 deal with the God's command for us to be holy, a condition in heart and mind that needs to be acquired every one by his/her own voluntary actions and not wait for God's intervention to forcibly make a person holy.
We are sanctified unto God (1 Thess. 4:3) that we should abstain from
fornication and therefore, it is the will of God that we should be holy unto
him. These verses do not mean God makes a person holy by force, but it brings home the point that the effort must emanate from the person, who desires to be delivered from
the bondage of sin, especially from pornography. While making an allegorical
expression of the body as the vessel that is fragile, feeble and frail,
Apostle Paul writes that our soul is lodged in this body. Another
allegorical expression of vessel is found in 1 Peter 3:7 "Likewise, ye
husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the
wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of
life; that your prayers be not hindered"; nevertheless in 1 Thessalonians
4th Chapter he was basically giving directions to the whole church.
Apostle Paul also writes in:
- 1 Corinthians 3:16 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"
- 1 Corinthians 6:19 "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?"
It is worth pondering on few verses from the
wisest man ever lived on this earth.
Proverbs 7:6-23 "For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life". (KJV)
Bible says a man shall leave his father and
mother and cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24) It needs a serious consideration when the Bible says
that they shall become one flesh, how negligently a person becomes one flesh with harlot outside his marriage. In fact Proverbs whole chapter 7 deals with the cunning devices of Satan expressed through an harlot, whose words appear to be sweet and enchanting that any ordinary man of simple faith
would make a mistake or two, and fall in to this kind of sin. It needs strong determination and commitment on the part of a born-again Christian not to sin any more, but to follow Christ and to live for him.
Proverbs 7:26-27 "For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death". These verses warn us very seriously that harlots have wounded man and they do not hesitate to wound
us physically and spiritually if we fall in to their traps laid with cunning and sweet words.
Can we ask God to stop us visiting porn sites? We can pray certainly seeking God's help in avoiding sinning and visiting porn sites, but the ultimate decision is left to us. It is therefore futile an attempt to blame God saying that the temptations are beyond our control and we yield to them because we are just human beings. The Bible is very clear about the temptations. God does not tempt any body and when a person is faced with a temptation God indeed provides a way to escape from that temptation; nevertheless it is man's inner desire to commit sin to have an artificial pleasure,
which might last for few moments that he blames on God and does commit sin. (1 Corinthians 10:13 "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" KJV).
Dear friend,
Confess your sins to God and accept Jesus
Christ as your personal savior and acknowledge that he is your Lord. Jesus is the way the truth and the life.
What does it mean to be born-again? John
3:3-5 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. when a sinner confesses his/her sins to Jesus Christ he is
faithful and just to forgive us from all our sins and make us pure and holy. Holy Spirit comes in to our heart and dwells in our heart immediately we repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is not right on our part to allow any sin come in to our hearts and any lustful thoughts come in to our hearts inasmuch as Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts and our bodies are called, 'temple of God'. As our bodies are known as 'temple of God' and Holy Sprit dwells in our bodies we are not of our own but are of God. (1 Corinthians 6:19 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?). Therefore, we should lead a life that is pleasing to God and when we lead a life pleasing to God we will not think of leading a life pleasing to Satan and his ways.
1 Corinthians 6:13 "Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body".
Today is the day of salvation. Please confess your sins to Jesus Christ and be blessed. Receive Salvation and eternal life. Jesus is the Way, the truth, and the life. If you confess your sins to Jesus, and express faith in your heart that he died for you sins and rose from the dead, accept Him as your personal savior, and acknowledge with your mouth that he is your Lord, you will also be received in to Paradise immediately after your days on this earth.
God bless you,
Leslie M. John |
