One Flesh
Besides dealing with the entrapment of sin, there is one other issue that makes the repentance process complete for sexual sins. In 1 Cor. 6:15-18 the apostle Paul wrote: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with Him. 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 puts sexual sins in a category by themselves. I’m not sure that I fully understand why that is the case, but I do know this; Only God can speak and bring something out of nothing. We can be creative by stacking the bricks and smearing the paint, but we are not the Creator. However, God does permit us to join Him in one act of creation and that is procreation to which He has provided strict guidelines. Sex is permissible only between a man and a woman in the context of marriage.
What happens if two people have sex outside of marriage? They become one flesh. Some call it a “soul tie,” or they have bonded. A nice Christian lady dates a man and they have sexual relations. He treats her poorly, and her best friends are advising her to get rid of the bum. Her parents are deeply worried that they may run off and get married. Why doesn’t she leave him? Because they have bonded in a very unhealthy way spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Some will summon the courage to leave, and then go running back again to a sick relationship. That doesn’t always happen, but it does all too frequently and it seems more likely to happen if it is her “first love.”
In the Steps to Freedom in Christ, we have enquirers pray and ask the Lord to reveal every sexual use of their bodies as instruments of unrighteousness. For each one that God reveals they pray: “Lord Jesus, I renounce having sex with [name the person]. I ask You to break that sinful bond with [person], spiritually, physically, and emotionally.” And the Lord does, because Jesus came to set these captives free.
Dr. Neil
For Spanish, see http://www.ficmm.org/blog
