Fornication is a very sensitive and highly debatable topic among youths openly or secretly. Avoiding fornication or sexual immorality could be difficult in this age but the benefit of doing so outweighs that of wallowing in sexual sin.
The consequences of fornication can’t be overemphasized; unwanted pregnancy, STDs, HIV/AIDs, abortion, distrust in relationship and, most importantly dishonor to God and self. The Bible on many occasions warns us about the dangers of fornication and this article will help you know how to avoid fornication.
Whether you want to lay the right foundation for your marriage or you want to keep your marriage bed undefiled this article will be very helpful.
Know Who You Are
You’re the image of God and created to manifest His glory on earth. You’re perfectly and wonderfully made by God, capable of loving and loved in return for just who you are. Having a very healthy understanding of your worth will keep you from using sex to prove your value to anyone.
People with low self-worth are extremely vulnerable. Fornication and low self-worth go together. Moreover, when you learn to appreciate your individual worth you can more easily restrain your passions.
The more you respect yourself the less you need to use sex as a means to affection. Feelings of healthy self-worth allow you to be patient and discriminating while progressing towards a long-time relationship.
Accept It Is Wrong
If God is Your Lord then His word must be the final authority over your life. You must be one who studies and believes the written Word of God in the Bible. In addition, seeks to obey Him in all your ways. The way of God is the unpopular way in this world and you must determine to follow this path come what may.
Because if God said fornication is wrong then it is wrong. This truth should be settled in your heart. God does not approve of fornication because His will is for you to abstain from it, 1Thessalonians 4:3. The immoral can not inherit the kingdom of God, 1Corinthians 6:9.
“Shun immorality and all sexual looseness (flee from impurity in thought, word or deed). Any other sin which a man commits is one outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body” (1Corinthians 6:18, Amp). There are many other scriptures in the Bible that clearly shows that God hates fornication.
Your body is precious and a great value, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” 1 Corinthians 619-20
Be Wise
The Bibles counsels us to be as wise as serpent and harmless as a dove. Avoid sex charged environment, novel, magazines, music or movie that fuel sexual urge. Fornication starts from the mind before the actual act when your heart is over charged with erotic desires.
Make it inconvenient for you to have pre-marital or extra-marital sex. You should visit and meet opposite sex friends or spend time together in places where it will be impossible for you to commit fornication. Visits to each other’s house, or even friend’s houses where you could be left alone can pose a serious threat. Equally ensure your dressing does not provoke sexual feelings. It is your sole responsibility to preserve and protect yourself from danger don’t leave it at the mercy of the devil.
Set Boundaries
Know your limit and avoid closeness that could lead to fornication. “That each one of you should know how to possess (control, manage) his own body in consecration (purity, separated from things profane) and honor” 1Thessalonians 4:4. Beware touches, kissing and even inappropriate hugging. When you start playing and touching each other, you increase the chances of arousing your sexual feelings. Taking this path will weaken your defense to the point where you can no longer resist the urge to have sex.
Think of the Negative Consequences
Both males and females get hurt in sexual immorality but it is the female who may hurt the worst through pregnancy, abortion, and the emotional trauma that follows. For a man sex could be a physical release for urgent sexual feelings, but for a woman, it is a deeply emotional experience.
Thinking of the consequences of fornication can build godly fear in you. And outside the physical consequences, there are eternal consequences. God is not happy with the ungodly every day and they can’t inherit the kingdom of God. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind” 1 Corinthians 6:9.
Fervent in Pray
Pray without ceasing and it’s in praying we renew our strength. Through praying you receive wisdom and power to over come all. Prayer will cause you to be filled more with power and God’s Spirit. To be prayerless is to be powerless and an easy prey for the devil.
If you pray and leave the other steps undone then you are setting yourself up for a big fall. Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation…
Flee for Your Life
If it happens you come face to face with the temptation to commit fornication, instead of negotiating with the enemy of destiny and soul, you should do one very important thing God recommends: FLEE! Don’t just run, fly away without hesitation. Choose to behave like Joseph, for he abstained from fornication in obedience to God and, at the end God honored and blessed him.
Every obedience is for the good of man. When God said we should abstain from sin, sexual immorality it is for your own good and benefits.
