We tend to live as if our physical bodies belong to us. For the true follower of Jesus Christ, this is never true. Like the silver in Jean Valjean’s life, a price has been paid for us.
Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost . . . and that you are not your own? You have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19,20.
Not being your own is doubly so for those married. According to God, your spouse has access rights to your physical body. Your body isn’t yours because Jesus bought it at the cross and, it isn’t yours because it belongs to your spouse. As God said, “The two will become one flesh.”
Question – Do you ever withhold physical intimacy from your spouse? Withholding yourself from your spouse is a sin in and of itself, but the Word also says doing so will lead to more sin.
Anyone who ignores his/her spouse’s needs for physical touch and sexual intimacy is walking in sin.
Put so starkly, this may sound harsh but the Bible isn’t an ice-cream shop where Christians can pick and choose what flavor (verse) they like best. So, what does the Bible say, specifically?
If men and women do not get married and remain physically intimate on a regular basis, they are setting themselves up for sin. If they withhold themselves from each other, they are setting up their spouse for sin.
“. . . to avoid engaging in illicit sex of any kind, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. The husband should ensure his wife’s sexual needs are met and the wife should make sure her husband’s sexual needs are met. The wife does not have power (exclusive authority/the right to deny her husband) over her own body and neither does the husband. And, don’t defraud each other (withhold sex from each other), unless you both agree for a time so you can fast and pray about a particular issue. Then, be sure to commence having sex so Satan doesn’t have an opportunity to tempt you to have sex with someone else.” In 1 Corinthians 7:2-5 (MLJV)
We will all stand before God, one day, to give an account of our lives. Some will have to answer the question, “Why did you withhold physical touch and intimacy from the wife/husband I gave you?”
In a happy, fulfilling, God-honoring marriage, you won’t find two perfect people. But, you will find two people who seek to be obedient to God’s instructions for marriage.
Are you a married Christian? Then glorify God in your body by not withholding what God says is rightfully your spouse’s.
For the men: You don’t have a porn problem. You have a sin problem.
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