Spiritual Help for Sexual Sins Gal 5:22 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
We have been preaching a short series on help for sexual sins. Today’s topic is spiritual help for sexual sins. The nature of these sins is that they are rooted in spiritual problems. That’s why you need scriptural help for them, supernatural help for them and spiritual help for them. Spiritual help for sexual sins, as you might imagine, comes from the Holy Spirit. From the Holy Spirit you derive Spiritual Love.
What most of us call “love” is usually not love and it is certainly not spiritual. We use the word “love” as a substitute for many other words that more specifically describe our affections for others. We substitute the word love for lust, infatuation, physical attraction, emotional bonding and so forth. These affections draw us very powerfully into relationships. But just because these affections are powerful, feel good and feel right, doesn’t mean that they are beneficial or right or good or acceptable. They could even be the vile affections of Rom 1:26.
When you become sexually involved with or attracted to someone to whom you are not married, either of the same sex or of the opposite sex, God is not in it. And no amount of justification is ever going to bring God into it. You were not led into that relationship by the Spirit of God and his spiritual love is not going to be available to you in it. Therefore, when you find that you have affections for someone outside of God’s provisions and natural order, be sure that these affections are not of God and, therefore, they are not godly love. God is OBVIOUSLY not in relationships involving sexual sins [Heb 13:4]!!
Carnal love, if you can even call it love, is selfish and self-gratifying. Oftentimes, carnal love is sought to alleviate loneliness, a lack of contentment or burning lust. You get drawn away by your lust [Jas 1:14]. So, you get into a relationship hoping to find contentment and companionship. However, contentment results from satisfaction with the Lord and HIS provisions for your life 1 Tim 6:6-8, Heb 13:5, Phil 4:11-13. Paul said that he learned how to be content; contentment didn’t come to him automatically with salvation. So don’t get into relationships to find contentment. Learn to be content in your relationship with God and THEN you will have contentment in the relationship that God finds for you. See Prov 19:14.
Spiritual sins must be addressed with spiritual remedies. A major aspect of true love is that it is spiritual. Notice in Jn 15:13, it’s sacrificial; in Gal 5:22 and Rom 5:5, it’s from the Holy Spirit; and in Eph 5:25, it’s patterned after the love that Jesus Christ has for his church. Spiritual love is sacrificial and giving as in Jn 3:16; 2 Cor 8:8; and 2 Cor 9:7. Spiritual love comes from the Spirit of God through the fruit of the Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit and the Spirit will shed abroad his love in your heart and bring with it all of the other spiritual qualities of his fruit. When you have his fruit you can live a godly life with godly power. You can do all things through Christ when HE strengthens you [Phil 4:13]. And you cannot live the godly life he has for you without his power.
Conclusion: The way to get spiritual help for sexual sins is to find contentment in the Lord and to be filled with the Spirit where the love of God is fruitful in your life and shed abroad in your heart. Then you will have love and your love will abound because love is something you give, not something you get.