We’re not going to dance around the subject with this one, men of God. Purity is hard. But here’s the good news: It’s not impossible.
You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you — and, yep, that includes maintaining your purity. The thing about it is that the church often drives home the ideal that women are to remain pure. But why are we getting off the hook? Are we not held to the same standard, according to Scripture?
Speaking of the Good Word, here are five verses to help you maintain your purity (when it seems like everybody and their momma tempting you otherwise).
1. Tame the beast — God gave you a sex drive, but He also gave you power to control it. Declare: I will not let me body control me, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, I will control my body.
1 Corinthians 9:27: “But I discipline my body and bring it under my subjection, so that the day that I preach, I myself am not disqualified.”
2. Cut the crap — Your calling, destiny, and purity is way too valuable to destroy by falling into temptation. Declare: I will place a high value on my purity by eliminating those opportunities (on my phone, computer, television, etc.) and by choosing to renew my mind. I will meditate on God’s idea of sexuality and beauty.
Romans 12:2: “Don’t be conformed to the ways of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind to God’s ways.”
3. Put a face before the porn — Whether you are a husband now or still have yet to become one, you must choose to put your (future or present) spouse before a temporary, sexual satisfaction. Declare: God, keep my heart fixed on the prize and to give me a revelation of how I can love my wife well by guarding my sexuality. What I do now sows into the future of my marriage.
Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love and cherish your wives just like Jesus loves and cherishes the Church.”
4. Defend the red zone — At all costs, defend your physical, emotional and spiritual red zones. Declare: In turn, I will defend HER (a future or present wife’s) red zones by putting up physical, emotional and spiritual boundaries until I have been committed to her with a covenant.
1 Corinthians 7:36-37: “If a man thinks that he is treating his woman-to-be improperly and will inevitably give in to his passion, let him marry her… it’s not a sin. But if he has decided not to marry or there is no urgency and he can CONTROL his passions, he does well in this.”
5. Join the brotherhood — Recognize that God instituted us — the church — as “the body” and that you cannot do this alone. Declare: I have surrounded myself with brothers who are fighting this fight with me and keep me accountable in my endeavors to guard my sexual purity. I know that God has FORGIVEN my sins, but to walk in HEALING and FREEDOM, I must expose my secrets to the light. There, they have no power.
James 5:16: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
You got this, man of God. And we promise, the wait is worth it.
