One of my dear friends was being challenged during a conversation regarding her views on being single. She is a believer in Christ and was speaking about the temptations involved with remaining abstinent from sex. It was interesting that some of the other single people had never heard of a vow of abstinence. Some thought it was admirable, others commented that they thought it was a ridiculous notion in today’s environment. One person remarked, “I’ve never known anyone who would wait until marriage to have sex. I think it is an old-fashioned way of thinking and just a tactic to keep people from enjoying life. I think God wants us to enjoy life, and I don’t believe He cares whether two people are having sex or not.”
If a person has never considered themselves a spiritual being and has never given much thought to the reality of their true identities, abstinence from sex may seem like a farfetched idea. But if you have experienced repeated heartbreak and setbacks in relationships, it is a very good idea to question why it keeps happening. In the modern era, particularly with recent technological and intellectual advances, we can see clearly that being inquisitive about how stuff works can cause progression, expansion, and transformation; it can do so in ways that exceed our imaginations. The spiritual realm is no different.
When it comes to God’s wisdom, you and I are not definitive authorities; He is. Sadly, humility is a virtue that most people don’t have, but it is absolutely critical when it comes to the things of God. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:4 that whoever humbles themselves as a child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. The heart must be one of seeking God for wisdom about the things we don’t understand, instead of assuming or thinking we know the answers. James 1:5(NIV) tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Humility demands that we ask Heavenly Father for understanding when it comes to His instructions and guidance in any area of life.
Our Heavenly Father loves us far more than any of us can ever know. He demonstrated His love for us by sending His only begotten Son to the earth to save us and give us eternal life. God wanted us to be saved from a life of sin, so that we could be His kids; and as His kids, He wants us to be around a really, really, really long time. You and I couldn’t do this for ourselves. God created us, gave us free-will, and then He made a way for us to enjoy His gifts through Christ. This is what Jesus meant when he said in John 14:6(NLT), “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Most people do not choose the way of Christ. They try to choose their own way, and typically it’s a way or a path that only serves their own personal agendas. They find out pretty quickly that this doesn’t work out the way they expect.
God commands us to walk by the Spirit, not by the flesh. Culture tells us the exact opposite. Culture and society tell us to do whatever feels good to the flesh—to do whatever we think will make our bodies feel good and bring us pleasure. Often these are the practices that corrupt the soul, because they take us on a path that denies holiness and denies our true spiritual nature. Our true spiritual nature is the nature and mind of Christ. In Romans 12:1, Heavenly Father pleads with us through the Apostle Paul to present our bodies to Him, and to let them be a living and holy sacrifice, because a living and holy sacrifice is the only kind God will find to be acceptable. It is in truth dying to those things of the flesh, so that we can live in the purest and truest way of Christ; for Jesus Christ is life!
1Thessalonians 4:3(NLT) tells us, “God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.” God created intimacy for marriage because it joins the two people into one functioning unit in His sight. If we’re joining ourselves with multiple partners, it is very easy to see how the soul can become fragmented. It’s a way of betraying our own bodies. Joining ourselves with individuals intimately can introduce demonic influences, and these demons can wreak havoc on our lives. Heavenly Father doesn’t want this, and He tells us to abstain so that He can preserve and protect us until the right person for our destinies comes along. We will do ourselves a tremendous good if we let the Father keep us safe.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
“A Vow of Abstinence” written for Crazynlove.com ©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!