The Importance of Sexual Purity

Once a month, we hold a men's event at NWC promoting biblical manhood. Last month, Dr. Tim Tomlinson spoke to men about the importance of theology in the life of every man (and every human for that matter).

This month, Dr. Irv Woolf spoke to men about sexual purity. He began by asking the question, "What master's you?", and we went on to look at 1 Cor. 6:12. Paul writes, " 'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful for me,' but I will not be mastered by anything." Dr. Woolf made the point that although God has given us much in His grace, we still have a moral responsibility to uphold. For example, eating is lawful, but gluttony is not. Drinking alcohol is not necessarily sinful, but drunkenness is. Sex is good in the covenant of marriage, but is sin outside of marriage.

Under this context, Dr. Woolf mentioned how most men get stuck in a sin pattern that cannot end apart from a divine work of the Spirit. This pattern is extremely destructive, and unfortunately, very common. 65% of evangelicals admitted in an anonymous survey to looking at pornography every month. Perhaps a more disturbing statistic revealed that 35% of evangelical pastors admitted to the same sin. Despite these discouraging statistics, we do have a savior. Jesus Christ died to save people from the bonds of sin, and so, through Christ's victory over sin, there is victory available to us as well. Dr. Woolf did make it clear, however, that there is no quick fix. In fact, he mentioned that one will not be free from sexual immorality until they have the deep conviction that "I would rather die than continue in this sin!"

He went on to mention 5 crutches that prevent men from coming to this conclusion:

1. "It's no big deal." This minimizes a monumental lie from Satan. The Bible makes sexual sin a very big deal (1 Cor. 6:12-20, Eph. 5:3) and we ought to as well.
2. "I'm not hurting anyone but myself." This is also an outright lie. One caught in sexual sin affects their wife/girlfriend, women they are lusting after, and first and foremost, God
(Psalm 51).
3. "I can quit any time I want." Clearly, sin is still in driver's seat here. These comments reveal the bondage of those addicted to porn, etc.
4. "Everybody does it. It's just normal for guys." This is also false. Research suggests that 15% of evangelical men are sexually pure. What is more, this crutch implicitly accuses the Bible of making false commands. Eph. 5:3 states, "But among you, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality."
5. "You don't understand, I have a stronger sex drive than other men." Again, this is a lie. The very fact that this is a common "crutch" shows that many guys have believed this. And so, it's illogical for anyone to make the claim that their sex drive is stronger than any other man. I think a better claim is that God gave men strong sex drives. Thus, we should not distort God's plan for sex in marriage by using this lie as a pretext to sin.

In the end, sexual immorality is as prevalent as it has ever been, and the availability of sinful material does not make the struggle for purity any easier. As men, we must begin by recognizing the wickedness of distorting God's plan for sex, and press on with the conviction that "I would rather die than continue in this sin!" God is gracious, and when one continues in this conviction and in the power of the Holy Spirit through Christ's death and ressurrection, victory is possible.

Dr. Woolf leads the National Coalition for Purity, and starts purity boot camp for men on January 17th, 2009 at River Valley Church in Apple Valley, MN. For more information, shoot me an email at zbtarter@yahoo.com

Zach