Extreme Fidelity

The premise from which Joshua Harris gets the title for his book, Not Even a Hint comes from Ephesians 5:3;

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.

It is a high calling, particularly for men but also for women, to seek out total sexual purity in this sex-obsessed culture. We are drowned by sexually explicit imagery all around in advertising, humor, clothing choices, and even holiday celebrations. The last one is becoming more evident particularly with Halloween as sales for adult costumes are now exceeding costume sales for children, and the majority of these costumes are sexually provocative. So how do we live without a single hint? What is our motivation?

The answer I believe comes in the following verses, Ephesians 5:25-30;

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.

Consider it with this question; what motivation do I have for choosing not to be unfaithful to my wife. We might say because of our love for her, because of the pain it would cause. Or that it would be harmful toward the family, thinking of the children. Or simply that we just couldn’t live with the guilt incurred. But there is a much higher reason given in this text. Marriage is a picture of the Gospel. For us to have infidelity in marriage is to be an affront to Christ. I choose to be faithful to my wife because I do not want to trivialize the Gospel of Jesus Christ before the world.

Now consider this. Christ gave up every other desire for the sake of sanctifying his bride; the church. That is the call we are given. We are to give up every form of expression that is selfish in nature. In the realm of sexuality, it includes things such as pornography and masturbation. These acts are completely selfish in nature, seeking to gratify personal sexual desires rather than live selflessly for our bride. Our engagement in these acts deliberately attack the legitimacy of the Gospel picture being presented. Do we want to show our gratitude to God for the inexpressible gift he has given us? Then we must live in extreme fidelity.