How to Overcome Sexual Sin

Does the Bible Say that We Should Overcome Sin?

Galatians 5:16 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Revelation 2:7 ESV

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

How to Overcome Sexual Sin:

Galatians 5:16 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

We cannot and will not defeat sin, if we are not walking by God’s Spirit. If anyone could obey God without the Holy Spirit, then Jesus came for nothing.

Although you must rely on the Holy Spirit for your strength against the temptations, you must also take charge yourself and put your faith into practice by doing practical things to avoid these temptations.

Lust:

Matthew 5:28 ESV

28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Here Jesus completely condemns anyone of us to lust. He says it is the same sin as committing adultery.

Jesus then goes on and explains to us how we should go about overcoming it:

Matthew 5:29–30 ESV

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Here Jesus says that we should do whatever we have to do in order to keep from doing this sin.

Earlier we mentioned that it is important that we lean on God’s Spirit to overcome these sins, and it is equally important that we take whatever steps we have to take to make sure we are not faced with these temptations.

When you and me are faced with the temptation that is when we are at our weakest moment, because that is when our emotions begin going crazy. But if we don’t even allow ourselves to be in those tempting situations in the first place then we more than likely will not have to face that battle.

Be advised: Lust is just as much a sin as any other sin, and as a Christian God expects you to seek Him diligently about removing sin in your life.

Fornication

1 Corinthians 6:9 NLT

9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,

1 Corinthians 7:2 NLT

2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

These verses are clear that fornication aka sexual immorality is a sin and that it should be avoided at all costs.

To avoid this you should not be dating anyone with this intention. And you yourself should not have this intention.

Sex is for marriage. Period. The Bible is very clear on that.

The Effects of Sexual Sin

Believe it or not, when you commit sexual sin, you are damaging your relationship with God, yourself, and others:

With God:

Isaiah 59:2 ESV

2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

This passage tells us that when we sin, it can damage our relationship with God. In this text it mentions that in the OT the ones who were sinning (Israel) damaged their relationship with God, that He was no longer listening to their prayers.

With yourself:

1 Corinthians 6:18 ESV

18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

This verse mentions how when we commit sexual sin, it directly affects our own bodies. Sexual sin is the only sin that the Bible mentions that this happens.

This passage also explains to us a easy remedy to avoid sexual sin: Run from it! Like it is a disease, run!

With others:

Matthew 5:28 ESV

28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Adultery is cheating on your wife or girlfriend. Therefore, when jesus compared the sin of Lust to adultery He also implied that the affects of adultery are the same as the affects of Lust.

How do you think it feels to have someone cheat on you? That is how sexual sin affects others, it tears them apart.

In regards to fornication, the act of fornication unites you with the other woman and the two of you then become one flesh. This uniting was only supposed to be intended for marriage, but when it happens outside of marriage the people who are involved are damaged internally. This is because they do not have the convenant that is supposed to be tied to the act of sex. The covenant was meant to protect the hearts of both of them.