The real truth about sex and sexual satisfaction is difficult to see or understand outside of marriage. Many young people say to me: "Why all these negatives in the Bible concerning sex before marriage? Isn't sex a beautiful thing?" I say to them: God doesn't give His prohibitions because sex is a bad thing; they are there to protect us from doing the good and beautiful thing in the wrong context. Within marriage, sexual activity is the doing of the right thing in the right place. It is only when you are within marriage that you begin to see the point and purpose of all those do's and don'ts. Christians are people, or should be people, who take God on trust. There's not much point in confessing to be a follower of Christ if you don't believe what He tells you in His Word and change it to suit your convenience. Passion has always been a problem, but wisdom and passion must be properly related. You must become acquainted with the principle of deferred pleasure which is one of the first evidences that you are becoming a mature person. An infant desires immediate gratification and will cry and howl until he gets what he wants. When he grows older, and becomes more mature, then the desire for gratification is brought under control. The concept of deferred satisfaction is a vital one for every young person to get hold of, for without it there can be no real maturity. You must learn to deny yourself now in order to experience the right thing in the right way in the future.

Prayer:

Father, You will have to take me by the hand lest I be lost in the jungle of immediate satisfaction. If I get off the track here, I will find myself in a jungle that gets more and more tangled every moment. Help me and hold me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For Further Study

2 Pet. 3:1-14; Psa. 24:3-4; Matt. 5:8
1. What are we to make every effort to do?
2. Who can enter into the holy place?