| “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you” (Ephesians 5:3). |
| Although we do not like to talk so much about these things to young people, yet we all live today in a world that is full of sexual immorality. It starts affecting children and young people at a very tender age, and has become a most serious problem. The sins that are common in the world around us have always been the ones that crept in among and affected God’s people, and so even Christians are affected by this tendency. |
| We are warned about such things in Scripture, in the strongest possible terms, and our verse today is one of these warnings. Sad to say, in the heathen world such things were very common, and taken very lightly. But when they heard the gospel and were saved, God called them to give up this lifestyle, and practice self-control. When I was growing up, these things were almost never talked about among children, and even in high school the subject was mentioned only very occasionally. But now it is commonly spoken about everywhere, and we are all affected by it. |
| Sexual activity should be reserved for marriage, and any tendency toward immorality should be stopped right away in our lives. We notice in our verse that there are stages through which such things develop. First of all, there is covetousness, then uncleanness, and finally fornication. If we judge the covetousness that starts in our hearts and minds (wanting a physical relationship that needs to wait for marriage), then we will not progress to uncleanness and fornication. Let us all be aware of how serious this problem is, and not fall into this wrong way of thinking. |
| The sad thing about all this is that unwise and sinful decisions made in our tender years can have consequences that may affect our entire lives. I have known those who engaged in this kind of behavior who never fully recovered from it. They may have been true Christians and been restored to the Lord, but the scars from what they did never went away. Let us take the warnings of God’s Word seriously and avoid all this trouble in our lives. |
