June 5, 2022
Joseph
Next year I will have officially been holding Men’s Conferences for close to a decade. I’ve been attending them even longer. As far as I can remember, I have never been to a men’s event that did not talk about sexual purity.
I understand why. Whether sex outside of marriage, adultery, pornography, or any other sexual sin, a commitment to Biblical sexuality is a struggle for many guys. Yet, the Bible is clear that part of being a ride or die, man of God, is maintaining a radical commitment to Biblical purity.
One man who sets the standard for this is Joseph.
Most of us have heard the story.
Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son. He’s a little spoiled, and his brothers all hate him for it. Their hatred is so extreme that they sell him to an Egyptian caravan and tell their father he died. That’s some pretty intense hatred!
But God still had plans for Joseph, and when he got to Egypt, he was sold to a high-ranking government official named Potiphar. Because he was blessed by God and a really hard worker, Joseph rose through the ranks until he was in charge of everything in Potiphar's house.
While Joseph was going about his life faithfully doing his duty, sexual temptation came his way. The Bible tells us that Joseph was a stud (ok, it doesn't say it exactly that way, but it’s what is implied), and he caught the eye of Potiphar’s wife. Being used to getting everything she wanted, she propositioned him over and over again.
When Joseph declined her offer, she went so far as to set a trap where they would be alone together. If he accepted, no one would know. This time she took her proposition further than ever before, making it almost impossible for him to say “no.”
Yet, Joseph maintained Biblical purity. Genesis 39:9 give us his motivation: “How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” (NLT)
Joseph refused Potiphar’s wife’s invitation because he was ride or die for His God. Even though God let him be sold into slavery, even though the temptation was tremendous, Joseph held fast in His commitment to living by God’s ways.
Today, he challenges all of us to follow his example when faced with sexual temptation. While most of us don’t have beautiful women throwing themselves at us every day, we live in a world where sexual temptation is prevalent. It’s easy to believe the lie that sexual sin is normal for men, that no one will ever find out, and even if they do, everyone else is doing it, too.
Some men even believe that God is ok with their sexual sin. Progressive Christianity teaches that all forms of sexuality are beautiful and acceptable in God's eyes. However, this is not true. In the New Testament, 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, “God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.” (NLT)
Like Joseph, we need to choose whether we want to be holy men of God or be men who entertain and participate in sexual sin. You can’t have it both ways.
One of the practical ways that we can choose to be ride or die men of
God is to choose to stay away from all sexual sin. We need to do whatever it takes to live pure and holy lives before God.
We need to understand that God takes sex seriously. He designed it to be between one man and one woman who are married to each other. Like Joseph, we need to run away from all other sexual opportunities simply because we don’t want to sin against God.
Today’s Scripture:
Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:18-20, NLT)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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