A recent news report came out about a male teacher at a Christian school who had a six month long sexual relationship with a 15 year old female student. Those who posted comments about the story were very critical of the 50 year old teacher saying that he should have known better than to have such a relationship. Yet, as experience teaches us, just knowing what is the right thing to do does not guarantee that we will always resist temptations. We may be aware of or give mental ascent to the truths that the Bible teaches us to follow, but it is only the truth that we consistently apply in our lives that keep us from falling into sin as we are reminded us in James 1:25, “But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.” It is like being in a canoe on a river. If we are not actively seeking and applying Biblical truth in our lives each day then the current of popular culture will cause us to drift down the stream of conformity to the world. But when we use the pattle of the disciplined application of God’s way of doing things then we are able change our direction and travel up stream to the destination and the destiny that God has in mind for us.

God is our source for staying pure in an impure world. His word clearly defines the boundaries that when crossed will take us into sin and sin’s consequences. By respecting and maintaining the boundaries that God has set we can insure that we do not fall under the mastery of sin. So what does God’s word say about saying sexual pure? It tells us that:

• Sexual immorality keeps us from receiving the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9)
• It is God’s will that we abstain from sexual immorality (1Thessalonians 4:3)
• We should flee from youthful lusts (2Timothy 2:22)
• God will judge fornicators and adulterers (Hebrews 3:4, Revelation 22:15)

What then is a practical method that will help us remain sexually pure? It is simply to keep our relationships with anyone other than our spouse public. Stay transparent. That means no secret relationships. And no secret meetings with the opposite sex, no secret phone calls, text or e-mail messages and no secret gifts.

The sexual relationship in marriage is a blessing that God has given humanity to create a live long bond between a man and a woman and a stable family where children can be nurtured and raised to be responsible adults. Yet the misuse of sex can cause much pain for ourselves and others. It can even keep us from reaching our destiny as in the example of a young Christian lady we became acquainted with here in Argentina. She believed that God had called her to be a missionary. Yet as time passed she became involved in a romance with a man who was not a believer and soon they were living together. Later we heard that she had a baby. What happened to her dream to become a missionary? Will it ever happen? It is not likely; she is on a different path now. Let us not make the same mistake. Let us find the destiny that God has in mind for us by staying pure.