1 Thessalonians 4:3
“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:”
If you have ever driven on snowy or icy roads, you understand the importance of staying in control. It doesn’t take much to get out of control and to find yourself sliding along the ice towards a dangerous end. The key to staying in control is to drive under control. The key is not to be overconfident in your ability, but to be cautious and to obey the laws.
In the verse above, we see that part of the will of God is that a person abstains from fornication. This is just as much the will of God as it is His will for some to be preachers or to go soul-winning. The importance of knowing how to abstain from fornication is taught in verse 4 where we are told that the reason we should abstain fornication is so that we know how to possess our body in honor and sanctification.
According to verse 6, fornication is an act that defrauds another. You must realize that fornication is simply an act of a person or persons who are not in control of their bodies but are allowing lust to control them. Abstaining from fornication is and may be the ultimate act of self-control. It shows you how much control you have over your own body. If a person can control his physical desires, he can certainly abstain from fornication; but, if he can’t control his physical desires, he won’t be able to abstain. There are several things you can do to abstain from fornication.
First, realize that your body doesn’t belong to you. If you are saved, your body belongs to God. According to 1 Corinthians 6:19, “…your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost…” You have no right to do with your body what you want to do. You are to possess your body in such a manner that the Holy Ghost feels at home with every action you perform.
Second, realize that fornication is defrauding others. According to verse 6, you are defrauding your brother in Christ when you commit fornication. You may say, “But, the person I committed fornication with was in agreement.” That may be true, but that person is someone’s child. When you commit fornication, you are defrauding those parents of their child’s purity. In law, you go to jail when you commit a fraud. My friend, those parents gave their life to keep their child pure, and for you to abuse their trust and take their child’s purity is fraudulent. A good Christian is always very careful not to defraud others of something that is right.
Third, the best way to get control of your body is to abstain. The word “abstain” means to keep from. In other words, don’t place yourself in situations that you could commit fornication. It truly is very simple to keep yourself under control. If you are never alone, you will never find yourself tempted to commit fornication. If you never touch each other, you will find that staying pure and avoiding fornication is not a hard thing to do. You should avoid any situation that could cause you to be tempted to fornicate just like you would avoid a poisonous snake.
My friend, it is still right for young people to stay pure in this day of impurity. Your goal should be to walk down the aisle as a virgin. The only way you will do this is to get control of your body and abstain from any situation that could cause you to lose control.