Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
The Importance of Sexual Purity
The heart of a woman can be easily influenced, and easily broken. And if it is broken too many times, it can become bitter, cynical or even hardened. For this reason, God established boundaries when it comes to issues like sexual promiscuity. This is a tough subject for most women to talk about, but it is one that cannot be ignored by Christian women. God has called women, both married and unmarried, to be pure. And the consequences of disobeying God’s commands can be devastating.
Many people have discussed the importance of sexual purity from a clinical point of view. They throw out statistics of teen pregnancies, STDs, annual abortions and other medical data. Certainly, there are natural consequences that can happen as a result of sexual immorality. And yes, they can be useful in deterring sexual sins. But it is likely that the most devastating effects are internal rather than external. These kinds of consequences can change a woman, leaving painful and damaging scars that only the cross of Jesus can erase.
When a woman gives herself to a man, something happens. A part of her soul bonds with him, causing the two to become one. This does not happen during the marriage vows, but rather during the sexual union between a man and a woman. God designed it that way. When this union takes place within a covenant marriage, it is a beautiful thing. Both the husband and the wife experience mutual trust and fulfilment. But when this union takes place outside of the boundaries of a covenant marriage, emotional, mental and spiritual damage often occur.
In an illicit relationship, there is no true, God-ordained commitment. Therefore, there is no real security. When that kind of relationship falls apart, the woman often ends up the bigger loser. She cannot escape the connection without disconnecting a part of herself. For a woman who has experienced this kind of loss multiple times, she eventually loses herself. This is not how God intended for women to live their lives.
For this reason, a woman should protect her purity at all costs. The commitment to purity is not just to escape an unwanted pregnancy or an STD. It’s to keep a woman’s heart safe. It’s to keep her mind and spirit intact. Pure thoughts and actions won’t grieve the Holy Spirit and will ensure that a woman maintains a close and interactive relationship with Jesus Christ. Her connection with God should be her lifeline and the source of all the true love and security that she needs.
Day after day, the world lives, breathes and moves in self-gratification and self-sufficiency. Whatever people see, they want. Whatever they want, they take. Whatever they have, they want more. Whatever they can’t have, they lie, cheat and steal to get. Worldly people are led by pride, selfishness and the need to take care of number one. Worst of all, they seek to satisfy themselves with little to no thought of others around them. For women who are in the world, this kind of behaviour still applies. It manifests in more subtle ways but is dangerous nevertheless.
Some women can be drama queens and manipulators. Some are known as emotional basket cases. Others are attention seekers and gossipers. They either lie or cry to get their way. They know how to play a good victim. They know how to seduce, and they know how to nicely stab someone in the back. None of these is good qualities. In fact, most people will agree that these kinds of behaviours are sinful and should be avoided. But unfortunately, all of these behaviours can be found even among Christian women. And every one of them begins in the heart.
Whatever is in the heart will eventually find its way out. That is why Scripture is clear when it comes to sins of the heart: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) The wise and practical King Solomon spoke the secret to staying out of trouble: If the heart is pure, the life will show it. To just merely change the actions does not cause the heart to become pure. The change must first begin in the heart, and the actions will follow.
To change her heart, every Christian woman must allow the Holy Spirit to expose the weakened and sinful areas of her life. Then she needs to repent of them and learn to overcome them with the truth from God’s Word. This is often a lifelong process of change, but the fruit can be seen almost immediately. Over time, she will develop a pure heart and spirit, one that lives for God alone.
God has called Christians, including women, to live a life worthy of their calling. There is no place for selfishness among Christian women, just like there is no place for lies or back-stabbing. Instead, women are to let their gentle and quiet spirit spill out from within, so that every part of their life may be a testimony of the work of Jesus Christ.
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