We Are All the Duggars

CHAD BIRD, DANIEL EMERY PRICE  LIBERATE/CHARISMA NEWS



photo credit: Duggar Family Blog


Leo Tolstoy famously wrote, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” The problem is that I’ve yet to meet a family that fits into Tolstoy’s tidy categories of “happy” and “unhappy.” The reality is far messier. Put tears and laughter, love and betrayal, fights and hugs into a blender and out will come a family. Even in homes where the walls are decorated with portraits of grinning moms and dads and kids, there’s usually a closet door that’s kept shut. Last week we were reminded of that, when the media flung open that door in the Duggar family home. And the skeletons came spilling out.

Josh Duggar, now twenty seven, the oldest son in TLC’s hit show, “19 Kids and Counting,” sexually abused five underage girls—four of them his sisters—when he was in his early teens. On the family’s Facebook page, Josh, his wife, and his parents have acknowledged this, as well as described how they addressed the abuse a dozen years ago when it occurred. Josh, who had been a lobbyist in Washington D.C. for the Family Research Council, has since resigned his position. And TLC will not be airing any episodes of “19 Kids and Counting” for the foreseeable future.

What happened within this family is many things—tragic and abusive, shameful and selfish, destructive and deceptive. It is all manner of evil, no matter how you look it. But there is one thing that it is surely not: it is not surprising. Not in the least. The only ones stunned by this revelation of abuse are most likely those who assume that the Duggar family image on their reality show does, in fact, accurately reflect reality. But there is no reason why this family’s secret should be shocking, especially to the Christian. The Duggars are not the pristine, ideal family that their television show portrays them as being. They never have been, nor will they ever be. Nor is any family. They are parents, sons, and daughters who have a civil war raging within each of them. It just so happens that Josh’s particular battles, and the pain he inflicted upon others as a result, have taken center stage.

Consider these words: “I don’t understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” These are the words of Paul, the one we’ve dubbed Saint Paul. He frankly admits that he’s anything but a model of moral perfection. “I do the very thing I hate,” he admits. He’s got a civil war raging inside him, too. He’s fully sinful in himself and fully righteous in Jesus Christ, all at the same time. He is what the Reformers called simul justus et peccator (simultaneously saint and sinner). What Paul’s particular struggles were, what those things he hated were, he doesn’t say. He doesn’t have to. He’s simply upfront about his condition—the fallen, curved-in-on-itself human condition.

As it was with Paul, so it is with the Duggars, and so it is with every Christian: each of us lugs around an old corrupt nature that we won’t shed this side of the grave. Of course, that nature rears its ugly head in different ways with each person, sometimes in ways that must be addressed with spiritual as well as psychological help. With Josh, sadly, it was through sexual abuse; with others it’s through addictions and greed and hate and selfishness of every kind. But one thing is certain: not just Josh but all of us harbor our demons. And the sinful nature within us is daily clawing its way out to manifest itself in ways great and small, public and private. Only liars and fools pretend otherwise.

The sooner we as individual Christians, as Christian families, and as churches present ourselves to the world that way, the better. Believers face more than petty allurements, make more than “mistakes.” We fail and fall in mega ways.

Dear world, do you struggle with alcohol or drug abuse? So do we believers.
Dear world, has your family been wounded by infidelities? So have ours.
Dear world, have your children hurt each other through sexual abuse? Yes, ours too.

Dear world, do your families members commit crimes and end up in prison? Ours too.

Dear world, do you have a closet full of skeletons? So do we Christians.

The greatest witness that Christians can present to the world is not their own morality, their ideal family, or their dream marriage, but their weaknesses and sins and failures, all of which have been atoned for by the crucified and resurrected Jesus. Our witness is never, “Look at how well we’re doing at being good,” but always, “Look at the good Savior who died for our evils.”

Here’s what happens inside the closed doors of Christian families: sinners live together in very close proximity. And you know what that means. Husbands who are righteous in Christ, but sinful in themselves, do and say mean and hurtful things to their wives. Wives who are righteous in Christ, but sinful in themselves, do and say mean and hurtful things to their husbands. Christian children mess up big time, rebel, and yes, sometimes sexually abuse others. We do terrible things. Tempers flare, eyes lust, tongues yell. In other words, sinners act the way sinners are. We are no better than the world is. Nor should we claim to be. We are far from perfect. We are by nature sinful and unclean. And because of that, we return, again and again, to the blood Christ shed that atones for our sins—the same blood, dear world, that has atoned for yours as well.

Christians families do not live on the mountaintop of morality but at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. In his shadow is shelter from the burning sun of iniquity. Whatever repercussions Josh may experience from what he’s done, he will find at the foot of the cross a God who does not punish him, but says, “I love you. I have forgiven you. My blood has made you whiter than snow.” If this seems scandalous, then you’re beginning to understand the grace of Christ. Christ’s love is a scandalous gift. He didn’t die for the not-so-sinful portion of humanity. He was crucified for all. He died for sexual abusers, murderers, gossips, hatemongers, adulterers, pornographers, and you—whoever you are, whatever skeletons may be piled in your family closet.

But there’s still more that Jesus did. Christ took upon himself the shame that others inflict upon innocent victims. He lived and died and rose again for the girls that Josh abused. The battered wife, the rape victim, the child whose bedtime lullaby was the screams of a drunk father—these who have been physically, emotionally, and psychologically harmed by the evils of others, they too find peace and wholeness in the battle-torn, broken body of the Son of God. He didn’t just die to forgive us for the wrongs we do, but to provide us with healing from the wrongs others do to us. For in Christ, the Spirit puts us into communion with a restoring God. He gives us the peace that passes understanding. Not the evil that others have done to us, but the good Christ has done for us, is what defines who we are. We are God’s sons and daughters. We are adopted into the family of a Father whose greatest joy is loving and embracing us as the dearest things in all creation to him.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have said, “We pray that as people watch our lives they see that we are not a perfect family.” We would echo that prayer, and add to it. I would pray that as people watch their lives—and as they watch the life of my family as well—they would see families that boast only of their weaknesses, that do not deny their flaws, and that find peace and healing only in Jesus Christ.

We are all the Duggars. We are all dysfunctional sinners living in flawed families upheld by grace. There is only one who is perfect, the one who became our sin, that in him we might become the righteousness of God. And in his wounds, bleeding with love, all of us find healing.

Deliverance from Sexual Sins - Jim Croft

Deliverance from Sexual Sins 

- Adapted from sermon on Omega Man Internet Radio Show 11/19/13

Jim Croft

This article is designed to give Christians a biblical perspective about sexual practice and orientation. It is presented to answer questions that Christians frequently asks about sex practices. The word definitions offered can be verified by Strong’s Concordance; the footnotes and lexicon of Zodhiates’ KJV Study Bible; Dake’s Bible; and English language dictionaries. 

Please be forewarned that the explanations given require vividness beyond the comfort zones of routine Christian reading. As you read, it would be beneficial to keep a scriptural proverb and a spiritual principle in mind. The scriptural proverb: "I am not my own. The members of my body are for the Lord. I have been bought with a price: The precious blood of Jesus." 

The spiritual principle 

Without discipline, there cannot be any lasting enjoyment of life’s pleasures. 

Target Audience 

This piece is not intended to be overlaid on the unconverted of American society. It is not a demand that they see the matters at issue from a Christian perspective. Those who have not experienced the light of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ are not automatically predisposed to sense a need to distinguish right from wrong in regard to sexual activity and sexual orientation. 

There are believers who claim that our society’s preoccupation with sex and acceptance of aberrant sexual practice is a primary cause for national woes. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community are often named as a major focus of blame. The attitudes displayed by many toward those of homosexual orientation are un-Christian, unbiblical and un-American. 

 It is inappropriate to suggest that they should be barred from public employment based upon private sexual practice. The Bible admonishes Christians to be at peace with all men and to honor all people. (Heb 12:14; 1Pet 2:17) Cordial respect for people in the thoroughfares of life does not carry innuendo that every aspect of lifestyle is condoned. The Corinthian believers were guilty of grievous sexual sins. Nevertheless, the opening remarks of Paul’s first letter gave them credit for where credit was due. (1Cor 1:4-7) He made honorable mention of the many areas of spirituality where they excelled. (1Cor 1:5-7) 

Lesbians and Gays tend to have reputations for dedication to vocational excellence and to pleasing business clients. Christians called to exemplify the peace of God should be willing to honor LGBT people for the contributions they make to daily life without making an issue of their chosen sexual orientation. 

Some pulpits assert that the reason that there has not been widespread national revival is because of its decadence. This position does not have biblical support. It is a deception directly from Satan’s playbook. This can be seen by considering the evangelistic success of the First Century Church and by examining the writings of the Apostle Paul. 

The Gentile cultures of his day had been steeped in every form of deviate sexual practice for centuries. It was en vogue for the wealthy to have mistresses. Male and female temple prostitutes were available for idolatrous heterosexual and homosexual rituals. Pedophilia was a point of pride and bestiality was not uncommon. 

The intensity of their societal decadence far surpasses that of present American culture. Nevertheless, the cultural preoccupation with sex did not hinder evangelism. Churches had numerous people who had once been adulterers; promiscuous libertines; and those of (LGBT) orientation. Overall, the adversarial environment to which some Christians have contributed by not minding their own business has not enhanced the world’s view of the Body of Christ. (1Pet 4:15) 

Our Business & God's Business 

Even though Paul commended the Corinthians in his opening remarks, he later reprimanded them for the various forms of sexual immorality that were common among them. He made special emphasis about a man guilty of incest with his stepmother. Paul compared sexual sins to yeast that spoiled the purity of the loaf of Christian fellowship. He called for cleansing repentance from sexual sin’s yeast. (1Cor 5) 

Paul insisted that believers were not to keep company with professing Christians who persisted in sexual immorality. He specified that he was not speaking of the necessary interaction that believers must have with the unconverted in this life. Restrictions that broad would require removal from the planet. (1Cor 5:9- 10) The world’s attitude about what it means to be Christian would tend to be more favorable if believers would abide by New Testament principles. The Word does not commission Christians to judge and condemn the people of the world for any sins, sexual or otherwise. 

The apostle Paul stated emphatically that it was not his place or ours to condemn deviate behavior among the unconverted. (1Cor 5:9–13) We are, however, charged to gently approach fellow believers when we sense that they are snared by aberrant behavior. It is our business to judge ourselves to prevent God’s judgment from falling on any of us. It is God's business to convict the unconverted about the danger of judgment for sin, including sexual impropriety. (1Cor 5:9-13)

Perverse Sex Insults God’s Holiness 

After God created Adam and Eve, He commended His handiwork by saying it was very good. The goodness God spoke of included their capacity to enjoy sexual relations. The bond of physical intimacy between a husband and wife typifies the relational non-sexual intimacy that the redeemed are to have with the Godhead through the Holy Spirit. (Eph 5:30–32) 

Husbands and wives are one flesh. Those who are joined to the Lord are one in spirit and body with Him. Salvation’s mystical union unites believers with the Trinitarian oneness of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

Satan and his evil spirits have never been offered an intimate familial relationship with the Godhead. The devil and his minions, therefore, are insanely jealous of the quality of trust that sexual intimacy between married couples of the opposite sex represents in the eternal realm of the Spirit. Satan and evil spirits are incapable of attacking God directly. 

This is why demons throughout human history have concentrated so much effort on polluting sexual intimacy. The unholy and unnatural defilements that mankind invents at the urging of evil spirits are designed to insult God. 

Origins of Perversity 

Romans 1:18–32 outlines how sex perversions evolved. Subsequent to the fall of Adam, mankind began a downward spiral. The motivating factor was pride. It caused mankind to suppress the truth that God’s invisible attributes and the path to godliness can be clearly understood by observing creation. There are many facets of life that are designed to reflect God’s glory. 

The devil enticed humans to become preoccupied with self-centeredness that led to idolatry. His first subsequent step was the perversion of sex. According to the Bible, the natural sexual functions of men and women were exchanged for unclean acts that were unnatural. The progressions within the verses seem to indicate that women led the way in craving unclean sex acts that were against nature. 

We need to examine the implications of terms used in Rom 1:24-27. The basic meaning in Greek for “unclean” can be physical or moral, or can infer both simultaneously. The Old Testament was given to enlighten us about godly principles. This has relevance to what falls under the term, unclean.

God walked among the tents of the Israelites in the Wilderness and their camp was to be kept holy. When pressed to have bowel movements, which are routinely accompanied by urination, they were instructed to go out of the camp. The refuse was to be buried with a digging implement. The instruction’s purpose was to prevent God from seeing the uncleanness and removing his protective hand from his people. (Deut 23:12-14)

The concept that refuse and urine polluted the camp and was repulsive to God can have a message for Christians. It might be considered strong suggestion that oral and anal sex is unclean. Those acts bring the partner performing the act directly into contact with the residue of the fecal material or the urine residue of the recipient. Some might complain that they are under grace and not the Law. 

In the context of sex the apostle Paul disagrees. He said that the Law was specifically for those who committed unlawful acts that were against sound doctrine. Fornication and sodomy were in the list. (1Tim 1:8-10) Later in this article, you will see that sodomy’s definition includes oral and anal copulation. The word translated as “lusts” in Rom 1:24 is the longing for that which is forbidden. The definition for “against nature” in Rom 1:26, is “against germination.” 

Here is the gist of what is conveyed in Rom 1:24-27: Perhaps to avoid unwanted pregnancy and surely with ungodly craving, men and women engaged in forbidden immoral sex acts that were unnatural and physically unclean. Eventually, the sex acts expanded to use among same sex partners. In other words, the corruption of sexual relations began with heterosexuals and subsequently homosexuality evolved as a deeper unnatural corruption. 

By definition, activities designed to implant seed emitted from the reproductive organs of one sex into that of the opposite sex for fertilization are natural. Emissions with those of the same sex are unnatural. The same might be said of emissions into body cavities that do not lead directly to fertilization. 

This puts heterosexual oral and anal sex at question to the same extent as homosexual practice. Rebellion by committing unnatural sex acts led to other sins such as greed, deceit, strife, unforgiveness, and hatred for God. Mankind was permitted to go its own way. All the while the voice of conscience warned that those who sow such acts chance reaping self-inflicted judgments. (Rom 2:1-16) 

Further Definitions 

Newer translations of the Bible do not give the clarity of the KJV in relation to terminology related to sexual practice and compulsions. The definitions become more understandable by Greek Lexicon and English language dictionary searches. I will provide some definitions and will make remarks that you can weigh with your conscience to evaluate what might be applicable to you. 

Sexual immorality 

According to Webster’s Dictionary the word immoral is defined as not conforming to accepted patterns of what is considered right and wrong behavior in a culture. This is problematic for Christians because the societal understanding of what is acceptable sexual practice has changed over the past generation. Many converts that have come into our churches in recent decades have a concept of sexual morality that is far more permissive than that of previous generations. 

Much of what they practice and think is morally OK is actually sexual immorality. At this point newer translations of the Bible are not helpful. Sexual immorality is often used as a generic term that blurs the meaning of distinct objectionable sex acts. 

One of the words often blanketed is fornication. Throughout the Bible, fornication denotes most every unlawful sex act that is against sound doctrine. Its use in the KJV includes promiscuity among the unmarried, adultery and incest. (Matt 5:32; 1Cor 5:1, 6:9) 

In Heb 13:4, avoiding adultery and fornication are mentioned in relation to the sanctity of the marriage bed. This leads me to believe that fornication might also apply to some sex acts within marriage by which many are polluting the marriage bed without knowing it. 

Many relatively recent converts do not understand that the mindset they brought into the salvation about sexual morality might not meet authentic biblical standards. 

I once had a conversation with a minister who had a broad ministry with Christian singles. As he traveled from church to church, he frequently asked for a show of hands from those who were sexually active. He said the norm was well over 80%. 

Sodomite (1Cor 6:9 NKJV) – Sodomy defines the sexual practices of LGBT people and of many heterosexual teens, adult singles, and married couples. The dictionary definition of sodomy gives reason for concern. It is anal or oral copulation with a member of the same or opposite sex; and it is also copulation with animals. 

For the sake of decency, I cannot go into details about how the bestiality happens. However, it is not unusual for ER workers to be called upon to extract declawed rodents from the body cavities of homosexuals. 

Oral sex is extremely common in Christian circles. Girls as young as eleven are giving oral sex to lines of waiting boys. It is touted in some areas as “the new goodnight kiss.” 

Twenty years ago, I frequently ministered at the 3rd largest Pentecostal assembly in a faraway State. The music team of young singles trusted me as a spiritual confidant. They once asked if I thought it was OK for them to service one another to relieve stress. I asked what servicing meant. They said it was giving oral sex to team members of the opposite sex who were chosen at random. 

The answer that I gently gave them was nothing akin to what they had hoped. Anal sex is less common, but there are Christians who have no pang of conscience about engaging in it as a substitute for vaginal intercourse and as sexual foreplay. Like oral sex, it is at times employed with dating couples who plead monogamy as they intend to marry. 

Most would concede that marriage plans do not always work out. Even if they did, the concern of believers should be to do all things as unto the Lord. 

Harlotry

A harlot is a woman who sells a variety of sex acts. The Old Testament expands harlotry to “playing the harlot.” This was reference to young women having premarital sex. The penalty was death by stoning. (Deut 22:20-21) 

We can all be grateful that the death penalty does not apply under the New Covenant. But, we cannot assume that God has dismissed his objections to single women playing the harlot. And, for sure men are not given a free pass in the matter. 

This is made evident in 1Cor 6:15-20. Whether male or female the bodily parts of a Christian’s body are joined to the Lord. Entrance into the body of another and conversely being entered, whether vaginal, oral or anal; in affect unites the Lord and the two committing the sinful act together as one. 

Our temples of the Holy Spirit are not to be used to drag the Lord through sinful mires. 

Masturbation

There are Christians who say there are not any explicit admonitions in the Bible against masturbation. Jesus stated that any man, who looks on a woman with lust, has committed adultery in his heart. (Mt 5:28) 

During masturbation, normally speaking, another person is envisioned as a participant. Does it not stand to reason that the fantasies imagined while bringing about orgasmic release intensifies the sinfulness? Those who are lenient with themselves about masturbation risk giving invitation to depraved sex spirits.  

I once dealt with a seminary student who confessed addiction to necrophilia. He masturbated with dead fur-bearing animals. God set him free of that hideous demon. There are those who claim that masturbation can be enacted mechanically without thinking about another person. The Book of Jude speaks about those who are sensually minded and are not exhibiting the Spirit of God. A sensual person has excessive devotion to fulfilling bodily appetites. 

Jude compared the sensually minded to the people of Sodom who were only interested in self gratification. He stated that the wayward believers were acting like brute beast. (Jude 1:4, 7-8, 10, 16, 18-19) Beasts seek sexual release without reasoning about anything beyond the drive to fulfill a bestial urge. Can it possibly be righteous for a Christian to release an urge in a non-thinking manner that was intended to foreshadow eternal intimacy with God? I think not. 

We are new creations in Christ and we must not be reduced to acting like brute beasts. 

Homosexuality 

Most anyone who counsels churched people has encountered closet homosexuals and bisexuals. In the context of Christianity and the born-again experience, the argument about whether homosexuality is genetic or acquired is rendered moot. Even the rare instances in which a person is born with homosexual desires or tendencies do not provide a free pass to engage in a sodomistic homosexual lifestyle. 

It is just as ungodly to live out the tendency toward homosexuality as it would be to live out an inborn tendency to be a drunkard. 

Some complain that homosexuality is natural because some same sex animals ride one another sexually. They did not do so at creation. God referred to them as good and blessed them with the good ability to be fruitful in producing after like kind. (Gen 1:21-25) 

The fall of Adam corrupted the entirety of creation. For this reason creation groans, waiting for redemption from the ugly futilities of the fall of Adam (Rom 8:20-22) 

It is not life-threatening to say no to the forbidden behavior for the sake of Christ. One can go to heaven with unfulfilled sexual compulsions. No one can see God unless he or she has reckoned those unlawful passions as dead in the active pursuit of holiness. (Col 3:5; Heb 12:14) 

The claim of Satan’s propaganda machine is that that sexual abnormalities do not succumb to reparative therapy. That is not what the Bible teaches. In 1 Corinthians 6:9–13, there is a list of unrighteous individuals who will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards and revilers are mentioned specifically. 

The passage proclaims boldly, however, that these ones can be changed by salvation. I have added italics to verse eleven to emphasize that after being born again, those who previously sinned in that way were no longer ensnared in those sins: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” 

Without question, those who want to continue homosexuality after experiencing the new birth often exhibit a double standard. Let us imagine a professing Christian homosexual couple has one partner who is a thief and is given to abusive speech. It is highly probable that the law-abiding, verbally abused partner would press the offending partner to stop stealing and to control his tongue. Furthermore, he would expect him to succeed at doing so. 

Biblically, thievery and abusive speech appear in the same list as fornication and homosexuality. Remember the phrase that such were some of you in 1 Corinthians 6:11: Is there any biblical reason why it applies to thieves and revilers and not to homosexuals? There is no difference. Sin is sin. 

Christ within empowers believers to put all sinful inclinations into the past tense. 

Testimony 

There is a need for the churched to confess and to receive deliverance from homosexual temptation. When I was 9 years old, my father invited a member of our church to have Sunday lunch with us. While my parents were preparing the table, the man watched television with me.  He began to fondle my privates through my clothing. 

It was very frightening and after a few minutes I jumped up and ran to tell my father. He expelled the man from our home. However, the man continued attending our church and no one was warned about his predatory homosexual pedophilia. 

Several years later it was discovered that the church's minister of music was a ravenous bisexual. I never gave the incident another thought until after my salvation at age 24. I had no interests in homosexuality and in fact had no idea about what they did to one another. 

However, shortly after I accepted Christ I began to have weird compulsions and fears. At times, I wondered what it would be like to dress like a woman. This gave me the tormenting fear that I might be a latent homosexual. I never gave in to the compulsions nor did I ever experiment with what I feared. Where did this plague come from?

Fear trauma had gripped me as that man briefly fondled me at age 9. This gave entrance to evil spirits that fueled the compulsion and my unreasonable fears. The light of Christ and the rain of the Holy Spirit that came with my baptism in the Holy Spirit exposed the evil spirits and caused them to surface with fury. (Eph 5:8-14; Heb 6:7-8) 

I praise God that I had the Christian discipline to resist the cross dressing compulsion. I learned about deliverance from evil spirits. Through self- deliverance, I expelled the effeminate demon and the demon of the fear of latent homosexuality from myself. I have been completely free since that time. Through deliverance ministry, Satan’s plans to destroy my marriage and my ministry were spoiled. 

Marriage 

With married couples, the voice of God within is a trustworthy gauge to help discern what is appropriate and what is not. Certainly within the bonds of married love, there is room for variety in sexual positions and so forth. 

If, however, the “so forth” experimentation makes either partner uncomfortable, the uneasiness is likely justified. It is sinful to coerce a spouse to engage in a sexual activity that they cannot perform in good conscience. Anyone who continually ignores godly inhibitions is at risk of opening up to spirits of perversion. 

Further enticements for more intense types of experimentation are likely to follow. Astonishingly, for example, there are sophisticated people who are addicted to pain during sex. Two of the bizarre practices are choking and fisting. Both were surely spawned by demons. 

With choking, the female’s breath is cutoff when she signals nearing orgasm. This supposedly heightens intensity of orgasm. Fisting is used in masturbation. The operative partner puts direct finger pressure on a male recipient’s prostate to bring about excessive ejaculation. Or, the operative partner yanks on a male or female recipient’s lower bowel when told orgasm is beginning. 

It is not unusual for hospitalization to be requited for the severely injured. Satan’s objective is to inundate the marriage bed with activities that cause couples to cast aside all thoughts of holy union. In such instances, many would testify that any momentary gratification they might experience carries a heavy price tag of emptiness of soul the morning after. 

Motives 

I realize that this reading has provoked varying reactions. Some are relieved for clarity about practices about which they have had doubts. Others wish I would keep my opinions to myself. It would be appropriate for the latter to weigh their motives. 

All of the ways of a man are right in his own eyes, but God weighs the motives. (Prov 16:2) What is driving your resistance? Are you sure that the Holy Spirit within your conscience is giving you liberty to do whatever you like in sexual practice? Or, could it be that what you long for is actually your carnal mind warring against the truth in your spirit? (Rom 8:5-9; 1Pet 2:11; Gal 5:17) 

Believers are to set their affections on complying with God’s Spirit. We are to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive unto righteous behavior. Our bodies are to be considered dead to the fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affections and evil concupiscence that we once walked in that provoke the anger of God. (Col 3:1-7) 

Some practices and attitudes are physically filthy and morally defiling. The footnotes and lexicon of Zodhiates’ KJV Study Bible bring clarity to those found in the Col 3 passage. Zodhiates defines fornication as the sexual sins of the unmarried and married, including adultery, homosexuality, and incest. 

The Greek for inordinate affections is pathos epithumia. Pathos is to have a diseased condition of soul. Epithumia is the lusts that are spawned by a diseased soul. Evil concupiscence is a longing, especially for that which is forbidden or constitutionally bad, evil. Older translations of the Bible make reference to lasciviousness in 2Cor 12:21 and Gal 5:19. 

Biblically it means to stir-up lusts in others that cannot be legitimately fulfilled in holiness. Isa 3:16-25 gives a flaming indictment against the daughters of Zion who walked in haughty flirtatious. Christian women and men are of Zion and there are those who dress and behave in a sexually provocative manner to draw attention. (Heb 12:22) 

It must be remembered that the scriptures warn that those who do not repent shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. I do not know the full implications of inherit. I imagine that at best it means that such individuals will be granted entrance into heaven, but will not ever have right to wield authority in the eternal Kingdom. I shudder even to think about the far worse alternative consequence for rebellion. 

Christians are in a race to win God’s crown of approval at the Judgment Seat of Christ. We are to keep our bodies under subjection lest we reject conscience and make shipwreck of our faith. Those who do so risks shrinking back in shame at the Lord’s coming. 

We are to be able to face the Lord in full expectation of the highest afterlife rewards. (1Cor 9:24-27; 1Tim 1:19; 1Jn 2:28-30; Philip 3:13; 2Tim 4:6-8) 

Deliverance 

The first step toward liberation from all forms of sexual sins is to genuinely want deliverance. It is unproductive to submit to deliverance just to please parents or to comply with the wishes of a spouse or to ease momentary guilt pangs. The primary motive must be the Spirit-inspired conviction that the act at issue insults the holiness of God. 

All sins are primarily of the flesh and any can be exacerbated by evil spirits. For this reason, it is appropriate to employ deliverance as well as repenting of the particular sin when it has not previously responded to routine Christian discipline. Going after a possible demon can completely eradicate some problems and can lower the intensity of others so that you can effectively resist temptations. (Gal 5:19-21) 

You must be absolutely committed to the reality that the old carnal nature was crucified with Christ at Calvary. That entity is dead and was buried in the waters of baptism. With those factors established, the specific demon of perversity must be expelled. 

If you are seeking help in this area, treat that demon with utter hatred over the despicable acts it has compelled you to perform. Homosexuals who have flaunted gayness in spiteful arrogance should repent of glorying in that which is shameful. (1Cor 5:1–2, 6; Eph 5:11–12) 

When I minister to those given to sex perversions and to sex addicts, I ask them to lay their hands on their erogenous zones, one by one. As they do so, I command the particular evil spirit to leave each location in Jesus’ name. 

In addition, sex addicts I have counseled have described what I define as an erotic demonic energy resident in them. It causes their flesh to tingle with desire for erotic flesh on flesh contact internally as well as externally. I have them repeat the laying-on-of-hands procedure and ask them to personally command that demonic energy to leave them. They often report that they felt the energy draining from them. I have seen the siphoning sensation weaken some to the extent that they physically collapsed. Have confidence that the Lord has given you authority to minister self-deliverance. 

This article has covered some sensitive core issues. It is fitting to spend some time seeking God as to whether or not areas in your life need adjustment. I suggest that you remember this article’s introductory scriptural proverb and repeat it several times. "I am not my own. The members of my body are for the Lord. I have been bought with a price: The precious blood of Jesus." 

If you sense deliverance from evil spirits is needed, confess the introduction’s spiritual principle with this add on before ministering self-deliverance: “Without discipline, there cannot be any lasting enjoyment of life’s pleasures. I will exercise discipline in all bodily appetites. By the power of the blood of Jesus, I will keep my body under subjection to the Cross of Christ. I command every sexual demonic spirit to leave my mind and soul now. The power of the strips of Jesus now heals my soul of its pathos diseased condition. My soul is healthy in righteousness and no defiling lusts will spring from it again. In Jesus’ name Amen.”

Jim Croft