Are you a slave to impurity?
Are you a slave to impurity?
As much as we might wish that God would place a protective canopy around us after he saves us in order to protect us from temptation, our experience confirms that he doesn’t. He does, however, give us the indwelling Holy Spirit. By seeking to follow the commands of Scripture through dependence upon the Holy Spirit we can triumph over temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).
We get ourselves into trouble whenever we offer our body parts as slaves to impurity. This is the way Paul puts it in Romans 6:19. I take it that he means it’s always a bad idea to look at, listen to, place our hands on, walk towards, or even to think about sinful things. As a young boy I learned a song in Sunday School which goes, in part, like this:
O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see
The song continues in the following verses to mention what the ears, hands, feet, and mouth need to be careful of. I feel confident Paul would have loved that simple song.
Granted, the world makes it difficult for us to avoid offering our body parts as slaves to impurity. Perhaps the greatest challenges to purity today come through our eyes. Televisions, computers, and smartphones stand ready continually to bombard us with images that entice us to offer ourselves as slaves to impurity. We cannot defeat these allurements apart from a serious commitment to holiness. We must have a passion to please God which exceeds our passion to gratify the desires of the flesh. If we do not, we will succumb to the temptation time and time again. Such a commitment requires discipline.
At the end of 1 Corinthians 9 Paul turns to the athletic metaphors of running and boxing to express the kind of dogged determination and self-discipline holy living requires: “24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we receive an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV) The Greek term translated “discipline” in verse 27 refers to a kind of strict, self-imposed discipline that will not shy away from harsh treatment of the body in order to achieve the desired objective. Clearly Paul means he is willing to take whatever steps necessary to keep his body under control. He literally does not want to offer any of his body parts as slaves to impurity.
In the week ahead determine to monitor more closely what you allow your eyes to see. Run everything through the filter of Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8 ESV) Discard whatever does not measure up. It is impure. As a Christian you have no obligation to what is impure. Your allegiance is to God. You are his slave now (Romans 6:22). Consequently, “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” (Romans 6:13 ESV)