Friday, October 10, 2008
-
Sexual Tempation: Does Jesus Understand What We're Going Through?
Temptations: those situations where we know it's wrong and inwardly we still want to do it anyway, so we have to make a choice- to do right or wrong.
As I have said before, I usually do the right thing, even in my rebellious stages, I don't think I strayed too drastically. It was one of my so called "good" characteristics -until God revealed to me not too long ago that it makes me judgemental and less compassionate toward those who "fail".
Also, in lieu of this enlightenment, I've also realized that I'm not as perfect as I would have hoped. Seeing as I have rededicated my life to Christ earlier this year and I have written about the importance of not compromising before, I believe it's important for all of you to know that I have been on both sides of the good girl/bad girl fence.
I, as well as others, have a whole laundry list of sins that need to be dealt with eventually -gossiping, being mean to people on occasion, a bad word here and there, impatience, to name a few -but the biggie for a lot of us is the issue of sexual integrity.
I held on to the belief for quite some time that I needed to wait until I got married to have sex; but needless to say, I have fallen by the wayside throughout the years. Although I have had extended periods of abstinence, I am always tempted to fall into the same bad habits.
At the time I thought my abstinence was an attempt to regain self preservation and purity -now I wonder if it was forced due to a lack of companionship. In the past, when I fell into my "sin traps" I gave up and stopped trying to serve God because it seemed to be useless -I seemed to be destined to live in damnation.
When I rededicated my life to God in January, I also received the privilege of getting to know Him in a new way. Unlike the vengeful, wrathful God who I learned about in my youth, I'm realizing that God is also merciful. True mercy is compassion even when we don't deserve it.
At the same time, I know that it is important to live a life that's pleasing to Him as well -so while I know He doesn't hate me and isn't about to strike me down, I also know that He would be disappointed in me if I continuously allowed myself to be tempted in this manner.
Most preachers/teachers say that Jesus is able to understand our temptations because He, himself, was tempted -but I haven't seen any references of Jesus being tempted by sexual impurity. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Do you think Jesus ever struggled with sexual impurity? How do you fight sexual temptations?
-
recommend
- recs 2
- give stars
- votes 1
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Post a Comment
- Back to revelife's Revelife Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in revelife's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
Comments (35)
Scripture does say He was tempted in all points BUT without sin of ANY sorts...
it makes me wonder like say a cute Jewish girl passes by teen Jesus as He's working on a planing a bench for His door neighbor as Joseph asks Jesus for the hammer...
"Jesus, could you pass me the hammer please?"
"Yes dad, um, who is she? Wait, forget it, I know... it's just wow, she is cute..."
then in the back of His mind it's like, "Wow, I did good... the fact that she grew up nice, I did pretty good with her... unbelievable that the Father was able to do that... and here I am witness the marvel of the creative genius that the Father and I did with it..."
it just makes me wonder because He faced temptation but never went through with it to the point of actually sinning... gotta think about what teen Jesus and young adult Jesus and even late 20's Jesus went through yet being the Son He did nothing to even remotely sin...
The Bible quite plainly says that Jesus had been tempted in every way known to man. That said, we can also assume as much because Jesus was both wholely man and wholely God. He wasn't just partly one or the other. If that is the case, think about it very simply. Do you know any male that has reached the age of 33 without being sexually tempted? Even in Biblical times, people were tempted sexually. So, yes, in answer to your first question, Jesus WAS tempted.
Secondly, you asked how we deal with sexual temptations. I can't speak for everyone out in xangaland (obviously), but personally, the best way I had found (I'm married now, so.....) was to avoid any situation that would cause undue temptation. It is possible. Especially if the men that you date hold the same values and standards that you do. In that case, they will be striving for purity just as much as you are. Does that make sense?
I understand all you are going through. We all go through the same. many dont mention but we do. We are human, it takes God to keep us. We cant keep ourselves
"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."
The writer of Hebrews doesn't specifically say Jesus suffered every temptation that we experience. Perhaps it means he experienced the temptations as we experience them.
At any rate, the point is that Jesus was tempted and overcame it. Is sexual temptation any worse than the temptation to steal? Is the temptation to lie to your parents any greater than the temptation to harbor unforgivness?
It doesn't matter what Jesus was tempted with. What matters is how He dealt with it. As a human, He had to apply the same mechanisms to deal with the temptation that we do. Meditate on God's love for you, and the desire to do anything that would displease him will shrink in comparison.
Even if the desire is not there (I do the very thing I don't want to do), even the thoughts of it will disappear, with constant meditation on God's perfect love, and the sacrifice he made so we wouldn't have to walk back into our chains that He died to break.
Can you bear to break His heart by picking up those broken chains, welding them back together and stepping back into them?
My take on it, anyway.
it's not like Jesus was in a plastic bubble! He was just as human as the rest of us. He saw attractive members of the opposite gender just as often as we do, and you can bet His flesh was screaming at Him just like ours does. he was obviously tempted. he was over the age of thirty when he died...that should tell you something about how much he experienced. i'm only fifteen, and i'm tempted with lust every day. you know? think about it.
Why would you describe sex as inpurities? Sexual temptation is a biological reality and it doesn't mean that you should jump the first person you see, but there isn't anything wrong with healthy sexuality.
i actually read that a little differently.
when the Bible says "points" I'm not sure it means every single sin. It's not practically possible for one human body (divine or otherwise) to experience every sin possible.
take for one, infidelity and adultery. Jesus, not being married, did not share in the temptation to cheat on his wife. He did not have the temptation to not apologize to someone after having punched him in the face. He did, however, deal with the temptation to break his connection from God (similar to adultery) and the temptation to use his divinity to his own means.
in my view, "all points" is an indication of level of temptation. He dealt with small levels of temptation (my temptation, let's say, to not brush my hair: it's not a huge issue for me) and with huge levels (things that can effectively strain my relationship with God.)
Christ, however, dealt with all points, and beyond. There is no human being who has not succumbed to temptation. Thus, there was always a point at which they have lost. A point at which the battle became too thick, too sudden, or too unexpected. Christ, however, remained steady under the constant increasing pressure by the devil. His temptation to maintain humility and dignity surpasses all of ours.
This is the righteousness which is ours. The promise that His robes cover ours. To me, this makes much more sense. It doesn't lessen His power to any degree; in fact, it helps me to understand Him and the agony that his purity had to face in such an impure world.
@SandraDeeDees@xanga - I think she was referring to sex before marriage as being a sin. Sex in marriage is what God created.
It makes me wonder if Jesus was sexually tempted by any males in his life time.... @_@ I know in the bible it says he was tempted in every way known to man....thats a whole whole lot of temptation to go through without doing anything about it.... I wonder if he masturbated or if that was also a temptation for him that he left alone!! I almost wish I knew these things.... okay ya I really kinda do want to know these things....rag!
X-x
As what others have said, the Bible CLEARLY states that while Jesus was tempted in every way, he did not sin.
And from a 'common sense' stand point...He died at 33 and was never married. OF COURSE he was tempted in that area of His life.
This is one question which I always ask Jesus in my prayers!
"Do you really understand what I'm going through now?"
Every human being goes through the hormone-driven period called teenagehood, where the opposite sex suddenly looks different. Even if Jesus did not sin by giving in to lust in the mind, then what about the inevitable wet dreams that every mature male gets?
Yet most of the time when I ask that question, the Spirit reminds me of:
"How can a young man keep his ways pure? By living according to your Word. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against You." - Psalm 119:9,11
Obviously that was what Jesus did. The fact that he could quote Scripture off the top of His head to counter the Devil during the temptation is evidence of that.
But then... surely there has got to be more than that?
Temptations are natural... haha @ peter griffin :p...
Sin opens us up to more sin. Jesus was not tempted on certain levels or in certain areas that some people are tempted in because He never gave any place to the devil in the first place.
Was He tempted to lust after a woman? Certainly. Was He ever tempted to commit fornication with a woman. I don't think so, since the temptation to commit the act with your body is only the next step after committing it with your mind.
So yes, God understands how we are tempted; what leads to temptation. . . the question is, do we?
I don't see how Jesus could have been sexually tempted and not sinned. If Jesus even thought something about a woman, it would have been sin: "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." So... can someone explain to me how Jesus was tempted without actually being lustful. Can you be tempted to be lustful and decide not to before you even think anything? I don't know about you, but I'm not tempted to be tempted to be lustful. Plus, it just seems odd somehow to picture God being capable of sexual temptation, whether in a human body or not. It starts to get into the weirdness of the Da Vinci Code and Jesus-babies.
I agree with those who point out that Jesus was tempted in every way but did not sin. So I imagine he did, especially considering he was human as we are.
What do I fight sexual temptations? Prayer! The Catholic tradition has many amazing saints to pray, especially Mary, and the stories of their lives can provide a lot of inspiration and guidance. St. Gemma Galgani in particular was inspiring for me, especially as I prepared to take my vow of perpetual chastity.
As I study for the priesthood, more and more I see the Church as my bride, in a sense, and I see my sexuality as a gift I make to Jesus Christ through his Church, devoting my whole life and being to it as I would my wife were I to marry. It is difficult at times, but then I remind myself that my sexuality is no longer mine, having vowed it to God through Christ and his Church, and I want that gift to be as constant and pure as I can make it. He has accepted my gift and has blessed me with so much grace to help keep me strong in the battle against sexual temptation. My mind is the current battlefield, but even this battle is slowly being won by Christ.
I also find that a good habit of prayer, coupled with keeping up on one's sleep, helps to maintain a mind strong against tempting thoughts and a body that is rested and not yearning for anything. Good luck; it's a tough battle but well worth fighting!
I am not a Christian myself, and I have a few doubts about God and Jesus. But I believe that if they are real, then they would understand everything that we go through. God made us in his own image after all.
Also, just because it doesn't say it in the Bible, doesn't mean that Jesus was never tempted by a woman or never had intercourse. Does the Bible ever talk about Jesus taking a leak? I don't think so. But I'm pretty sure he did.
@ogre_friend@xanga - The bible also talk about us taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of God.
Maybe Jesus learned to do this very early on and so never strayed into lustful thoughts because he took this admonishment seriously and looked after his head and his heart.
Just a thought.
x
@LightningRichy@xanga - The bible does say in 2 Corinthians 5 that.....
20We are therefore Christ's
[a]ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We
implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin
for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Thus... he had no sin!
x
Think about that moment when Mary Magdaline came in to Jesus and washed His feet with expensive perfume. Since she was (past tense) a forgiven prostitute, I'm quite sure the odds are she was also quite beautiful. Long flowing hair that she used for drying off her Master's feet. Can you even imagine what an experience that must have been for Jesus? Talk about temptation!
Yet Jesus did not sin. He loved her so much, He died and rose from the dead for her. We either believe what the scripture says, or we don't.
I believe...........
@jensa07@xanga - good perspective...
Jesus may not have been tempted in all situations, but knowing he's the son of God, he just knows & understands each temptation anyways. I mean, think about it. He's Jesus Christ! He would know any situation, any temptation without having to experience it. Jesus was tempted many times, but he knew he can't fall into that; & he never did fall into it.
I believe even if you have fell into sexual sin, you can renew yourself. I mean, my sister, for example; she was fully abstinent. She committed herself to God, & declared she'll be abstinent. But temptation came along her way, and she slept with her boyfriend. It was a shame to her so much, she knows that what she did was wrong. She renewed herself to God again, & still wears the Purity Ring - even though she has done it, she can still start off new. The Purity Ring is just a symbol & reminder for her to stay abstinent & in the path of God. She put the past behind her & I'm pretty sure she wouldn't do that again. God forgives us of anything & everything. Just pray!
Jesus understands everything we're going through; he died for ALL our sins. He would know what sins he's dying for! (: Hahha.
There's decades worth of Jesus's life that we know very little to nothing about. Does that mean he vanished from the face of the earth or lived in a cave doing and thinking nothing the whole time? No, it just means that no one thought his life was worth writing down and preserving throughout the ages until the period of time shortly after his death and resurrection.
Jesus was human, so therefore he had to deal with hormones. Who knows maybe he even got teased for having a beard first or last. Also, i think its totally reasonable Jesus could have looked at women and thought "wow she sure is cute" without lusting, there's a line between lust and admiration of beauty.
So...how do you know God doesn't hate you?
@SandraDeeDees@xanga - musterion99 is right; i was referring to sex outside of marriage