Alarming Cautions on Sexual Immorality

Yesterday, as I was having my personal devotional study time on the book of Revelation, particularly pondering over the words spoken to the church in Thyatira, I observed alarming cautions on sexual immorality, thereby observing my own heart in light of the Holy Spirit.

The church in Thyatira is one of the seven churches in Asia to whom John discloses the revelation of Jesus Christ. Unlike the church in Ephesus that lost its first love, this church excelled in love and faith. In fact, their latter works exceeded the first (Rev. 2:19).

However, there was something terrible that was happening in the church. The Lord says, “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (Rev. 2:20). 

Sexual Immorality in Church

In the church of Thyatira, there were people who were lured into sexual immorality by an immoral woman. Now these people were not unbelievers. The Lord says “…seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality…” These were God’s children, servants of God, believers and followers of Christ Jesus. Such things shouldn’t be existent in the church of the Living God, but sadly, they are there.

We may assume that church is a community where people walk in the light, growing in love and holiness and reflecting Christ to the world. But this is not always so. Not all people in the church are devoted to grow in the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

There are people in the church whose secret lives are not much different from the world. What we find in the world may also be found in the church. What is publicly entertained in the world may secretly be practiced in the church.

Just like the church in Thyatira, how many believers in the church today are seduced into sexual immorality! It is stunning to see people in the church having premarital sex and adulterous relationships. It is awful to notice so many people in the church, both young and adults, given to secret watching of pornography. It is grievous to know people in the church having secret emotional adulterous affairs and immersing in immoral sexual fantasies.

Don’t we realize that people in our churches are losing the fear of God? The fear of God is lost when people immerse themselves into the pleasures of sin.   

Goodness of God

Despite the moral weaknesses and sexual immorality that were there in the church of Thyatira, God was immensely gracious and kind towards them. The Lord says, “I gave her time to repent” (Rev. 2:21). The Lord gave the immoral woman the opportunity to repent. Not only to her, I believe, the opportunity to repent was also given to those who were seduced by her into sexual immorality.

Considering the holiness and the righteous indignation of God, the Lord should wipe off the people who commit sexual immorality. Nevertheless, the Scripture says, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Ps. 103:8).

How many people would be wiped off in the church if the Lord would have to pour out His wrath on those who live in sexual immorality! Just as the Lord gave time for people in the church in Thyatira to repent, the Lord is giving our people time too to repent of sexual immorality. He is restraining His wrath and pouring out His mercy upon us.

O, if we are living in sexual immorality—be it premarital sex, adulterous affair, watching pornography or drowning in immoral sexual fantasies—when the Lord is patient with us, let us repent of our sin and turn to Him for forgiveness and transformation.   

Discipline of God

The goodness and kindness of God is shown with a purpose. God's patience is manifested not to entertain sin but to turn from sin with repentance. It is written, “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Rom. 2:4b).

There are people who boast about the mercy of God in their lives and yet continue to indulge in immorality. If we refuse the mercy of God by rejecting the time given to us to repent of sexual immorality, the Lord is not always kind to us; we may have to face His severe discipline.

When the Lord had given time to the immoral woman in the church in Thyatira to repent, she refused to repent (Rev. 2:21). As a result, the Lord had to punish and discipline her. There are three alarming cautions the Lord gives to her. These cautions should awaken the fear of God in our hearts to repent of our sexual immoral acts and to walk solemnly in sexual purity.

First, “Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed” (Rev. 2:22). When people don’t repent of their sexual immoral acts and continue to live in sin, the Lord may have to strike them with sickness. The pleasures of sin they have enjoyed turns into physical agony. Who enjoys to commit sin when the body is stricken with sickness and pain!

Second, “those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works” (Rev. 2:22). There are great troubles in store for those who have given themselves to the pleasures of sin. Life will be a curse when we live in deliberate disobedience to God’s word. Let us not allow sin to blind our eyes of future destruction by making us to just focus on immediate pleasures.

Third, “I will strike her children dead” (Rev. 2:23). These children may not necessarily be the physical children of the immoral woman in the church in Thyatira. These could be those who have completely accepted her teaching and immoral lifestyle and yet live in the church (I don’t suppose these are genuine children of God, for although believers may sin, they don't devote themselves to sinful lifestyle). The Lord says that He will utterly slay them. What a terrible judgment! What profit it is to engage in sexual immorality and eventually be slain by the Lord!

We don’t know how many are physically sick in our churches because of their stubbornness to repent of their sexual immoral acts. We are not aware how many are in great troubles in their life because of their secret living in sexual immorality. And we don’t know how many are slain by the Lord because of their immoral lifestyle which they didn’t repent in the time that the Lord had given to them. Surprisingly, these judgments are coming upon those in the church who may be living a secret immoral lifestyle. 

Final Words

My dear brothers and sisters, sex is God’s great gift to us. I thank God for it many times. However, God has ordained sex to be enjoyed only within the context of marriage. If we try to enjoy it beyond this context, we invoke curse upon our lives. 

Are you engaged in premarital sex? Are you given to any adulterous relationship, breaking your faithful covenant with your spouse? Are you secretly watching pornography and indulging in lustful fantasies?

Let us consider the great mercy of God who is giving time to us to repent of our sexual immoral acts. If we don’t consider the mercy of God, at least fear of the consequences of sexual immorality. Before we face such physical sickness and agony, before we face such great troubles, before we are stricken to death by the Lord, is it not good for us to repent of our sin and turn to the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness?

We may say, “I know there are people who are living a sexual immoral life but they are fine.” They are fine because the Lord is patient and still giving them time to repent. But if they continue to refuse to repent, troubles comes upon them suddenly and throw them into great miseries. Here is a caution from Proverb 29:1, “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed-- without remedy.”

O, sexual immorality leads to great adversities! It is filled with pleasures before with full of miseries behind it. It is a curse in disguise. So let’s repent, for the Lord Jesus laid His life on the cross to atone for our every sin. It is written, “If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Let's also commit ourselves to walk in sexual purity. It is written, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Pro. 28:13).

Before I close, let me share with you that there are great pleasures, pleasures evermore in the hands of God (Pro. 16:11). It is given to those who fear God and walk in His ways. These pleasures are infinitely better and lasting than the flickering momentary pleasures of sin. Let us embrace His godly pleasures and renounce sinful pleasures. Let us repent and walk in the ways God has laid before us, for His glory and for our welfare.

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