Sexual immorality is rampant all over the world. Our African village is no different. When those inside our church fall to this sin, we counsel them with a spirit of love by urging them to follow these ten “R’s”.
This always takes time and patience. Teaching through a list like this may take hours or even days. But the repentance of a sinning brother is worth this kind of investment.
- Remember. God’s will is that you stay far away from sexual immorality (1Th. 4:3). Don’t forget that God has created you for the purpose of imitating the holy life of Christ (Mt. 5:48).
- Request. Ask God to forgive your sin (1Jn. 1:9), to give you a pure heart (Ps. 51:10), to protect you from the sin of fornication (Gn. 20:6; 1Chr. 4:10; Ps. 141:9) and to help you persevere (1Jn. 2:19).
- Responsibility. Place the blame on yourself for your sin (Ps. 51:1-4). Do not fault the world or church for suspecting the genuineness of your Christian profession while you are living in immorality (Eph. 5:3; 1Co. 6:9-10).
- Run. Stay far away from the temptation, not just the sin (Ex. 13:17-18). The best way to avoid fornication is to avoid tempting situations (Dt. 25:13-15; Pr. 5:8; 7:8). Flee fornication! (Gn. 39:12; 1Co. 6:18).
- Read. Diligently study and meditate upon God’s Word. It is powerful enough to keep His people from sin (Ps. 119-11; Pr. 7:2-3).
- Reflect. Guard your thought life by thinking upon pure things (Phil. 4:8). Rid yourself of any objects that hinders this (Dt. 25:13). Meditate upon what Jesus did on the cross to forgive you of such sins (Rm. 5:8).
- Relate. Be around believers as often as you possibly can (Hb. 10:25).
- Respect. Treat younger women as sisters and older women as mothers (1Tm. 5:2). Avoid doing things with a person of the opposite sex that you would not do with your sister or brother.
- Resolve. Get married when you are young (Pr. 5:18) to avoid youthful sins (1Co. 7:2), provided are emotionally and financially prepared (1Tm. 5:8) and the person is a Christian (2Co. 6:14; 1Co. 7:31). If not, break off the relationship.
- Repent. Mourn over your fornication (2Co. 12:21). Recognize that this sin breaks God’s law (Gn. 39:9; Ex. 20:14), the church covenant and is worthy of church expulsion should you not repent in word and action (1Co. 5).
Recently I spoke with a military chaplain who has a transgender soldier in his unit who identifies as a woman. The serviceman has gone through the hormonal and surgical procedures. Should the chaplain use the male or female name? What is the loving thing to do?
Satan has many strategies for making sin palatable. One tactic is the use of language. If he can make wickedness a part of everyday parlance or if he can edit out certain vocabulary with confining baggage and replace it with more appetizing terminology, half the battle is won.
Between Two Cultures 