{"id":4483,"date":"2019-02-28T08:51:14","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4483"},"modified":"2019-02-28T08:51:14","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:51:14","slug":"pure-in-attitude-and-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/pure-in-attitude-and-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Pure in Attitude and Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part eight of an eleven-part series on \u201cHabits of Highly Successful People\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Habit #7 \u2013 A Successful Person Remains Pure in Both Attitudes and Actions<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Kevin Riggs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Radio personality Paul Harvey\u00a0tells the story of how Eskimos kill wolves. The account is\u00a0grisly, yet if offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sinful lusts . . . the sin at the heart of the Seventh Commandment:<\/p>\n

First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with\u00a0animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he\u00a0adds another layer of blood, and another, until\u00a0the blade is completely concealed by frozen\u00a0blood. Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the\u00a0ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows\u00a0his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and\u00a0discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh\u00a0frozen blood.<\/p>\n

He begins to lick foster, more and more vigorously,\u00a0lopping the blade until the keen edge is\u00a0bore. Feverishly, now, harder and harder the\u00a0wolf licks the blade in the arctic night So great\u00a0becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does\u00a0not notice fie razor-sharp sting of the naked\u00a0blade on his own longue, nor does he recognize\u00a0the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being\u00a0satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous\u00a0appetite just craves more\u2014until the down finds\u00a0him dead in the snow. (Quoted from Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching From Leadership Journal, <\/em>ed. Craig Brian Larson.\u00a0 Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993, 146.)<\/p>\n

No one sets out to destroy lives\u00a0through adultery but it happens. Immorality\u00a0starts slowly until the appetite\u00a0for more overpowers the will\u00a0to say no. More than once I have had\u00a0people say to me, “l didn’t mean for\u00a0it to happen. We just let ourselves get\u00a0out of control.”<\/p>\n

The Seventh Commandment <\/strong><\/p>\n

Commandment Seven states, “Thou\u00a0shalt not commit adultery.” No explanations\u00a0and no excuses\u2014just plain,\u00a0simple and straightforward. The word\u00a0“adultery” is a specific word referring\u00a0to sexual intercourse between one\u00a0man and another man’s wife. The prohibition is not against sex itself, but\u00a0against the misuse of sex. The absolute\u00a0truth behind this Commandment is\u00a0that any type of sexual activity outside\u00a0of, or in addition to, a covenant marriage\u00a0relationship is sin.<\/p>\n

Jesus said, \u201cYe have heard that it was\u00a0said by them of old time, Thou shalt not\u00a0commit adultery: But I say unto you,\u00a0That whosoever looketh on a woman to\u00a0lust after her hath committed adultery\u00a0with her already in his heart.\u201d Adultery\u00a0is as much an attitude of the heart as it is\u00a0an action of the body.<\/p>\n

Adultery starts in the mind, continues\u00a0through flirtation and ends in the bedroom.\u00a0The person who says, “We didn’t\u00a0mean for it to happen,” committed adultery\u00a0long before the physical act.<\/p>\n

The Big Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

The question is: Why does God reserve\u00a0sex for marriage only? <\/em>The answer\u00a0goes beyond, “Because God\u00a0said so.” God has at least two reasons\u00a0why He reserved sex for marriage.<\/p>\n

Protection. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Once I realize that God loves me,\u00a0wants what is best for me and doesn’t\u00a0want to see any harm come my way,\u00a0I realize all His commands are for my\u00a0benefit. How does the Seventh Commandment protect\u00a0me?<\/p>\n

First, it protects me from defying\u00a0God. God created sex; it was His\u00a0idea. God commanded Adam and\u00a0Eve to have children; He knew what\u00a0they would have to do to procreate\u00a0and He called that act “good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, since God created\u00a0sex, He has the right to place it within\u00a0boundaries. God says that within\u00a0marriage sex is beautiful, but outside\u00a0of marriage it is a sin.<\/p>\n

Second, God also wants to protect\u00a0me from defiling myself. Immorality\u00a0is no worse than any other sin, but no\u00a0other sin affects me like immorality.\u00a0All sin destroys, but immorality has\u00a0the potential to create life. Furthermore,\u00a0the root cause of many people’s\u00a0emotional problems can be\u00a0traced to an abuse or misuse of sex.\u00a0God knows this and wants to protect\u00a0me from harming myself.<\/p>\n

Third, God wants to protect me\u00a0from destroying my family, the end\u00a0result of adultery.<\/p>\n

Provision. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Somehow the union between\u00a0husband and wife is symbolic of a\u00a0believer’s union with Jesus Christ.\u00a0Marriage was designed to teach me\u00a0about God. Satan knows this; he also\u00a0knows if he can harm the marriage\u00a0relationship, he harms my understanding\u00a0of God.<\/p>\n

For example: Through faith I became\u00a0one with Christ. Through the\u00a0marriage act I became one with my\u00a0wife. The latter is an illustration of the\u00a0former. If I misuse the oneness of\u00a0sex, I harm my ability to understand\u00a0what it means to be one with Christ.\u00a0Marriage is sacred; the oneness of\u00a0the marriage relationship is holy.<\/p>\n

Sex is more than physical; it is\u00a0emotional and spiritual as well. Within\u00a0marriage the sexual act draws two\u00a0people together, outside of marriage it\u00a0pulls two people apart. In the Old Testament,\u00a0God used two different words\u00a0to describe this truth. One word referred\u00a0to sex within marriage, the other\u00a0for sex outside marriage.<\/p>\n

Within marriage the word used was\u00a0yadah<\/em>. The root meaning is “to know,”\u00a0“to experience,” “to understand” or “to\u00a0commit oneself to another.” In Genesis\u00a04:1 the Bible reads, “And Adam knew<\/em>Eve his wife; and she conceived.” By\u00a0using the word yadah<\/em>, God was saying\u00a0that within marriage there is an intimacy\u2014a knowledge, an experience, an\u00a0understanding and a commitment of\u00a0one another\u2014that cannot be achieved\u00a0outside marriage.<\/p>\n

Outside marriage, the word used\u00a0was shacab<\/em>, meaning, “to lie with.”\u00a0There is no sense of intimacy or closeness\u00a0in shacab<\/em>. Shacab<\/em>is a cold, unfeeling\u00a0word, nothing more than physical\u00a0contact. By using these two words,\u00a0God was saying the result of sex within\u00a0marriage is one thing\u2014intimacy; while\u00a0the result of sex outside of marriage is\u00a0another thing\u2014loneliness.<\/p>\n

God desires to provide me with\u00a0the most loving, intimate, exciting relationship in life. He provides that relationship\u00a0through marriage where\u00a0both partners are committed to God\u00a0and to each other. In that relationship,\u00a0not only do I grow closer to my\u00a0wife, I also grow closer to God.<\/p>\n

Habit #7 <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Seventh Commandment is\u00a0straightforward, “Thou shalt not\u00a0commit adultery.” \u00a0The seventh\u00a0habit is a combination of the Commandment\u00a0and the teaching of Jesus.\u00a0 \u00a0The seventh habit states: A\u00a0highly successful person remains\u00a0pure in attitudes and actions<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If I desire to be successful, I must\u00a0commit myself to obeying God’s\u00a0Word when it comes to my sexuality.\u00a0I must make the choice to remain\u00a0abstinent outside marriage and faithful\u00a0within marriage. If I desire to be\u00a0successful, I must understand sex to\u00a0be both a spiritual and physical act. I\u00a0must guard my thought life, and I\u00a0must be careful what I watch, read or\u00a0listen to. If I desire to be successful, I\u00a0will remain pure and I will hold\u00a0God’s standard of morality high.<\/p>\n

There are few sites more beautiful than the Mississippi River. Every time I\u00a0cross the bridge in Memphis from Tennessee\u00a0into Arkansas, I marvel at the\u00a0power and majesty of that fiver. For centuries it has been the lifeblood of commerce\u00a0and transportation in mid-America.\u00a0Most of the time this mighty river\u00a0flows peacefully and calmly, within its\u00a0banks, towards the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n

Periodically, however, the river rises,\u00a0causing severe flooding. At times\u00a0the Mississippi runs wild, overflowing\u00a0its banks, destroying farms,\u00a0homes, lives. Within its banks the river\u00a0has tremendous benefits. Outside\u00a0its banks it is extremely dangerous.<\/p>\n

God’s gift of sex is like that river.\u00a0When it is kept within the banks of\u00a0marriage it is holy, beautiful, wonderful.\u00a0When we let it flood and overflow\u00a0its banks, it becomes ugly, perverse\u00a0and dangerous. God loves me\u00a0and wants what is best for me. He\u00a0had good reasons to command,\u00a0“Thou shalt not commit adultery,”\u00a0and a highly successful person will\u00a0obey that command.<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact<\/em>magazine, August 2002.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part eight of an eleven-part series on \u201cHabits of Highly Successful People\u201d Habit #7 \u2013 A Successful Person Remains Pure in Both Attitudes and Actions By Kevin Riggs Radio personality Paul Harvey\u00a0tells the story of how Eskimos kill wolves. The account is\u00a0grisly, yet if offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sinful lusts . . . the sin at the heart of the Seventh Commandment: First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with\u00a0animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he\u00a0adds another layer of blood, and another, until\u00a0the blade is completely concealed by frozen\u00a0blood. Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the\u00a0ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows\u00a0his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and\u00a0discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh\u00a0frozen blood. He begins to lick foster, more and more vigorously,\u00a0lopping the blade until the keen edge is\u00a0bore. Feverishly, now, harder and harder the\u00a0wolf licks the blade in the arctic night So great\u00a0becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does\u00a0not notice fie razor-sharp sting of the naked\u00a0blade on his own longue, nor does he recognize\u00a0the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being\u00a0satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous\u00a0appetite just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4483"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4484,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4483\/revisions\/4484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}