Single & Married Ladies – Getting Close!

 

Hi Ladies,

Now let’s move into the Big Question that may enter your mind when you become attracted to a member of the opposite sex.  If he’s saved, you’re saved, and you’re in love, what’s wrong with showing your love by “making love”?   Why is God in the Scriptures so against this activity?  I Thessalonians 4:3 is only one of many cautions there: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality.”   This instruction is straight from the Lord, but our culture and the temptations of the heart can override head knowledge.

Father Himself has given us sensuality and physical desires but has denied the opportunity to fulfill them except within the boundaries of matrimony.   But His instructions are always for our best interest, and the restrictions on intimacy are for our good. There will come a proper time for sexual activity but getting to a physical relationship is designed to be the culmination of God’s process, not its beginning.

The issue of sex outside of marriage is not a dilemma of freedom of choice, and its roots run far deeper than a mere physical act.   So, let’s examine the underlying factors involved in ignoring the Lord’s prohibition against premarital intimacy.  Why this isn’t just about what you do with your body, and how, as a single Believer, it can affect the fulfillment of your Vision for marriage…

Snares of the Enemy

We began this topic last week, but let’s delve much deeper.  Our Father has created order within His universe, and since we’re His very special creation, He has created a very special order for us as well.  When we follow His directives, our lives have the capacity for excellence – spiritually, emotionally and materially.  But when we refuse to follow His processes, we will fail to achieve our full potential.

In the Lord’s proper alignment, with everything in its correct position, we function as tripartite (three-part) beings – Spirit, Soul and Body, and we are a small-scale reflection of the Triune (three-part) Godhead.

The primary aspect of our being is spiritual, which corresponds to God, the Father Creator.  Next is our soul, the invisible, interior psychological aspect of human life, which equates with Holy Spirit.  Then there’s the body, or physical aspect of life, which is expressed by Jesus Christ, the physical member of the Trinity.

These are the basic forces of our life, and in proper balance, the least of the three is the physical.  When we experience salvation, we automatically crave right-standing in God’s order, but over time, His designations can become reversed.  We begin to think of ourselves as Body, Soul and Spirit, and in this upside-down positioning, our senses, our sensual nature, becomes the strongest factor.  It drives the other two forces, just as it did before we experienced salvation.

Since these three aspects determine our motivation, when the physical nature regains headship, so does our sensuality.  This is not merely the physicality of sexual activity.  We can surrender to our senses in any area of our lives.  Expressions of an uncontrolled sensual nature can involve our dealings with money, choices of food or drink, entertainment, reading material, friendships, and so on.  Our physical person with her likes, dislikes and desires becomes dominant.

If we settle in and become comfortable with the dominion of the physical in our life, instead of fighting it and allowing our spiritual self to retain control, we will become satisfied with that status quo.  We may be vaguely aware that our sin nature is regaining control, but our resistance weakens.  We become double-minded and confused, and as James 1:8 warns “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”  In such a state, with our sensual nature dominant and our senses out of balance, we become vulnerable to snares and devices set out by the enemy.

But before we evaluate the direct consequences of engaging in premarital sexual activity, there are other quieter sensually based traps that we may fall prey to.  And as Believers, we must be wary of our vulnerability to these seducing attitudes and situations.

More next week… Joy and Shalom!

Jo Lynne Pool