The God of Our Loves
By Jill Briscoe
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:5
Our sexual appetites need to be under control. We do well to make our God the God of our loves. Eros must be mastered by agape in obedience to the law of the Lord. We cannot go around sleeping with whom we will and expect God to smile. The place for the full expression of the Christian’s sexuality is within the boundaries of marriage – which are designed to nurture love to full maturity.
The Bible teaches us that fornication (sex before marriage) is sin. Adultery (extramarital sex) is also sin. Jesus, face-to-face with a woman taken in the very act of adultery, forgave her, but said, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Once you have been face-to-face with Jesus, your sexuality must be subject to His commands.
The sexual act speaks of a commitment to a forever relationship with another human being and therein lies its wonder and enjoyment. How then can casual sex be part of a Christian lifestyle? For the couple who follows Christ, there is “A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing.” We are not to withhold our bodies from our mates, using our sexuality as a weapon, but rather are to use our bodies to bless (see 1 Cor. 7:3-5).
There are times; however, that God calls some of His children to a ministry that entails considerable separation for the kingdom’s sake. Such has been our case. I would testify to the fact that as we have “fasted” in this area, God has given special grace for this special calling. But then He is a special God!
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