WEDNESDAY March 4, 2020
Abstinence
It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
1 Corinthians 7:1-2
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His listeners about the sanctity of marriage (Matthew 5:31-32). Paul also taught believers about marriage by giving guidelines about marriage. He first addressed those who were single. They should abstain from sexual relations. If they wanted to keep pure and avoid falling into sexual immorality, Paul’s advice was simple––get married.
However, Paul’s advice does not mean that a single man or woman should go out looking for someone to marry. Think about it. Where does God’s plan come into view for your life? If you are single, pray about marriage and who you are to marry. Wait on God for His best. Many single people have an idea of what they want in a spouse. A young man may decide he wants to marry a beautiful girl with all the right dimensions, and a young woman wants a tall, dark, handsome man.
Honestly, marriage is much more than just the outer appearance of a person. What about the heart? What is their character like? Single people need to be more concerned that they are in the perfect will of God; otherwise, they will find marriage to be a great disappointment. It is important to marry the right person. Seriously, if you do not nail your passions to the cross––denying yourself––you can make a bad decision. Marriage can be a blessing––heaven on earth––or it can be hell on earth!
God’s grace can keep you abstaining from sin, but, if you begin sinning, oh, how one sin draws on another! One sin is the decoy or magnet for another sin, and draws it on; and one cannot tell, when he begins to descend this slippery slide, how quickly and how far he may go!”
~C.H. Spurgeon~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!