Short Take #2: The Scope of Sexual Temptation

Here is another short take from The Christian Worldview with David Wheaton. Let's get now to the scope of sexual temptation so we know how to overcome it. How broad is this temptation? Well, the first point is that it's everywhere. Temptation to sexual immorality is right on the phone you hold in your hand. It's on the websites you visit.

Even the Christian websites you visit, you'll see pictures of, sensual pictures of men or women on the most innocuous websites are there on television, in the commercials, in movies, on billboards. It's in magazines that you pass by in the grocery store. It's in your workplace. It's in the flirtatious atmosphere in a workplace or in a college campus, in restaurants.

It's in sports. It's everywhere, and that's only a fraction of the places it is. As a matter of fact, it's one of the three big temptations I think. There's lots of temptations to sin in life, but I think the temptation to sexual immorality is one of the big three.

We read this verse previously in the program from 1 John 2. It says, For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. And I think that first one, the lust of the flesh, is one that includes our physical desires. Sexual immorality, I think, is categorized in that particular lust of the flesh. It's one of the most powerful drives, powerful desires that we as humans have, along with greed and power, which is summarized in the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. So this is a huge temptation that has been around forever.

This is nothing new. So not only is it everywhere, but secondly, it's destructive. Like all sin, rejecting God's Word on this one leads to severe consequences. And I put a couple bullet points down here that just some of the consequences—there are more than these, this isn't an exhaustive list—but there's physical, relational, vocational, and spiritual consequences of rejecting God and His Word when it comes to sexual purity. Physical consequences like sexually transmitted diseases, HIV-AIDS, of course, from homosexuality. There's physical abuse and rape, and sometimes people choose to have abortions after being involved in sexual immorality. Relationally, it ruins marriages and other relationships.

Vocations. People lose their jobs over this, whether it's leaders or CEOs or media people or politicians. From the greatest among us to the most unknown among us, destructive nature of sexual immorality is very rampant. Spiritually, the most important aspect of this, it is destructive spiritually. It destroys the potential of even the strongest Christians.

And you see this in Scripture, whether it's King David, Solomon, it really destroyed him spiritually toward the end of his life. And ultimately, if we persist in sexual immorality in an unrepentant manner and don't turn to Christ in repentance and faith and salvation, there's ultimately judgment of God, as it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. It says, Do you not know, Paul writes to the Corinthians, that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Now, who are these unrighteous? It says, Do not be deceived, neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate, transgender type, nor homosexuals, those first five there have to deal with sexual immorality, nor thieves nor the covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor swindlers.

None of those people will inherit the kingdom of God. So there's ultimately, we can talk about the physical, relational, vocational consequences of sexual giving in to sexual temptation, but ultimately, the greatest, most destructive aspect of it is the spiritual judgment that comes from God for rejecting him, disobeying him, refusing his standard for sexual purity. So not only is it everywhere, not only is it destructive, but it's also addictive.

It's like a drug or alcohol. It's like the flesh can never be satisfied. You hear about pornography, and there's just never enough. There's always got to be more, and there's always got to be harder forms of pornography to keep us coming back. There's the emotional, there's the temporary gratification that comes with sexual immorality, yet without the lasting fulfillment. So there's an addictive nature to it that our mind and our bodies want to keep coming back to have it fulfilled just one more time. And one more thing to mention about it is it's lurking. Not only is it everywhere, but it's closer than we think. We're never very far away from going down wrong roads that lead to the sin of sexual immorality. This has been a short take from The Christian Worldview with David Wheaton. To find out more about The Christian Worldview, order resources, make a donation, become a monthly partner or contact us at thechristianworldview.org. You can also call us at toll-free 1-888-646-2233 or write to us at Box 401, Excelsior, Minnesota 55331. That's Box 401, Excelsior, Minnesota 55331.