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Intention

To understand that repentance is to rearrange your entire way of thinking, feeling, and acting, so that we turn from what is wrong to that which brings life.

Scripture

“Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”

– Ephesians 4:28

Reflection

There is a way to be set free from the power of sin. That way is through the power of repentance.

The Apostle Paul gives us a brilliant depiction of repentance in Ephesians 4:28. Here, we learn that saying ‘no’ to sin is just the beginning. Yes, we start there – but repentance brings more.

With God’s help, we also need to change our thinking, values, and actions to come to the godly alternative to sin: e.g. we stop stealing, change, and become fruitful and generous – the exact opposite of stealing.

This change brings life to the sinner, but it also flows out to those around. Repentance is a life-giving transformation! The outworking of repentance is the transformation of both the individual and, ultimately, society.

Let’s now look at the core issue of godly sexual purity.

God created us with sexual desires, and we need to deal with them regardless of who we are attracted to. I’m attracted to women, and if a pretty girl walks into the room, I will notice. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it becomes an issue if my mind/actions take things further. Then, it becomes lust or worse.

Let’s take a broader look at human sexuality as God intended and created. The ideal is a marriage of one man and one woman, committed for life, with a satisfying relationship, including sexual intimacy (Genesis 2:24; Hebrews 13:4).

Since the homosexual agenda is so big today, I will address that head-on. Being same-sex (or otherwise) attracted or not is not the real issue. The real issue is aligning your fleshly desires with God’s truth. This is regardless of who you feel you are attracted to. It’s the same transformational process Paul gave in Ephesians 4:28.

A person may struggle with same-sex attraction, but this doesn’t mean God endorses that desire. Similarly, a person may struggle with anger against someone else. But that doesn’t mean our feelings of anger and actions of hatred against another are right. Every desire, and action that follows from it, must be evaluated in the light of God’s Word. Only God has the authority to determine what is right and wrong.

The bottom line is that we have a choice about what we do with every desire.

The Bible doesn’t discuss same-sex feelings. But it does discuss homosexual acts. There are only a handful of passages that mention same-gender sexual relationships – and all of them are negative (e.g. Romans 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10). Based on the depiction of repentance in Ephesians 4:28, it is not sufficient to stop practising homosexuality, but necessary to come to godly sexuality.

Why does there seem to be such focus on this sin and not so much on other sins? Because it is being blatantly thrown in society’s face and being imposed on the Church.

But all sin has the same consequences – eternal separation from God (Revelation 21:8). Hence calling for repentance, in God’s grace, is the primary loving thing we can do. We do not celebrate, accept, or endorse the sinful life choices of LGBT+ people or anyone in sexual sin. We love the person but we don’t condone their choices.

Homosexual or transgender people, etc., are no different to any other of us sinners. We all need to turn from our sins and repent. I have seen homosexual people come to Christ, be transformed by repentance and by God’s grace flourish as happily married heterosexual people. I have also seen heterosexual people with pornography addictions go through the same transformation.

Repentance is a gift! It sets us free from all sin by its ongoing transformational power.

Video

Prayer

Father, I confess that I have sinned sexually before You. I confess this as sin against You and against my own body. I am sorry, Lord, for yielding my body as an instrument of sin. I humbly ask Your forgiveness, and I ask to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away this sin and make me as white as snow.

I repent of this sin, and I choose this day to follow Your ways in all areas of my life, especially sexually

I ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Author Bio

Kym lives with his wife Nel in Adelaide. Kym and Nel are active in local, national, and global ministries and have ministered in various nations including Kenya, Uganda, and Israel. Kym is also a board member of Rahab Ministries, an outreach to people within the sex industry and part of the Never Again is Now team. He has also worked with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Prayer Points and Purpose for October 2024

1. Revival and restoration of sexual integrity to renew the individual, revitalise marriages, restore families and protect children. Hebrews 13:4
2. Revival, repentance and reformation of Australia. 2 Chronicles 7:14
3. Revival, repentance and reformation of America. 2 Chronicles 7:14
4. The Lamb that was slain may receive a reward for His suffering. Revelation 5:12

We invite you to support this prayer campaign by ordering your FREE copy of Break Through: 15 Keys to Supernatural Breakthrough, a book on prayer written by Warwick Marsh. Reading this book will multiply the effectiveness of your prayers. You can make a donation to the Canberra Declaration to help pay it forward and bless someone else to receive a free copy of Break Through.

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View October 2024 Daily Devotionals: dailydeclaration.org.au/tag/sexual-integrity-2024

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