This book unravels the mystery of how a person can live in victory over the sins of fornication and adultery. It outlines a strategy for victory over these sins and equips the reader with the knowledge of the truth that is able to bring him into genuine freedom.
Author’s preface
I want us all to rejoice together that this book, that I have been preparing and meditating over for the last eight years, not just intellectually, but also spiritually, has been published. I think that both the world and the church have been waiting for a long time for a book like this to appear, a book, which deals with such a theme of great relevance for today. The question of fornication and adultery is so relevant, that it can no longer be simply put aside.
I can imagine how much the devil and all of hell must be trembling and raging realizing that yet another one of their secret strategies is being exposed. In these last days sex has become one of Satan’s most threatening weapons, through which he kills and destroys all those who are not on their guard, Christians and unbelievers alike.
Today sex is being glorified by the mass media and Hollywood film reels and for many people it has become an idol. This idol has to be destroyed, so that those who worship it can be set free. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the shedding of His holy blood have given us victory over this “Babylon the great”.
I encourage you to read this book very seriously. You shouldn’t just dip into it. You should study it and use it like “medicine”, so that you can learn how to fight with the weapons of truths presented in this book. For it is only by knowing the truth that a person can be set free. (John 8:32). It is through understanding these truths that I myself have been able to stand firm in my work as a minister of God, and have not become a victim.
I believe this book will save the lives of many potential victims and will strengthen you to stand firm and overcome temptation. I rejoice, knowing that after you would have read this book you will be able to say: “I will never fall!” The main thing is to know the spiritual principles that are able to make us stand in the face of any kind of temptation.
The Lord is our strength and might; He is also our hope and trust. If we know Him; His secrets and His principles, then we will indeed be more than conquerors.
I thank the Lord that you have this book in your hands and that you can now begin to celebrate your victory over the spirit of fornication, adultery and other sexual sins.
Welcome to a new life, a life where you can live sexually free!
In Christ’s love.
The precious power of holiness
In the preceding chapters we saw clearly that the devil doesn’t just attack worldly people with sexual sins, but also those who call themselves Christians. The reason why many Christians fall is actually quite simple. It may seem rather strange, but many of those who know about God, about his miracles and anointing, do not actually know God Himself. They have never come to know Him personally. They have never had a close relationship with God. Apostle Paul affirms this in his epistle to the believers in Corinth:
Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. (1 Corinthians 15:34)
The main quality of God
Not only in Apostle Paul’s time, but also today there are some Christians who do not know God personally. Regretfully, even among ministers of God, there are often many that know about God, but who do not have a personal knowledge of the Savior. Many Christians can quote the Bible very well and speak eloquently about faith, holiness and love… They learn facts, events and principles, and pass this knowledge on to others. But it’s only a few individuals who really know God. The truth of the matter is that only a person who has continual fellowship with God and knows Him is really a Christian.
The main quality of God is holiness. Today we, as Christians and ministers of God, have a desperate need for holiness. Nobody has the right to stand before God, unless he reflects His holiness. If we don’t have holiness, how can we talk about God and be His image? We have been called to be the messengers of God. He has to illumine us with His character and fill us with His breath, His love, His warmth and with His attitude to everything. We are to become His reflection, the reflection of His holiness.
If you are in harmony with God, then you will be in harmony with yourself; you will be in harmony with others, in harmony even with nature itself. When you are united with Him, you will automatically manifest His holiness in every area of your life. Sin, including fornication, will not be able to come near you, because you are continually learning to walk as Jesus Christ did. This is the secret of perfection. That’s why Jesus was able to say:
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
God’s strength and might are manifested in His holiness as it is made evident in people’s lives. His words become our words and His actions and our actions become identical. But this blissful state is not produced in one day. We have to reach out towards it and reach out to God and His holiness. Holiness is not a matter of what we do, but of who we are. Let the aim of your life be, to have God’s character. God has come into your life that, through you, as the representatives of Christ, as His messengers, He might reconcile the world to Himself. He wants to live in every Christian.
Holiness brings God glory, because He is holy. The glory of God cannot touch sin; the two are incompatible. That’s why when Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis Chapter 3), the glory of God, which until then had been their clothing, disappeared. As a result of that, Adam began to hide himself from God. All sinners run away from God, fornicators and adulterers inclusive, but those who know Him are filled with His holiness, and the glory of God abides with them continually. It is not by chance that Apostle Paul writes to the Romans:
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1)
As with every sin, sexual sin separates a person from grace, from that power which helps him to overcome many things. Declare war on sexual sin; make it your goal to be like Jesus Christ, and you will bring down the glory of God into this world. Then you will not have to be enslaved anymore, you will not have to struggle or strain yourself to get results. God Himself will reveal to you His thoughts, His heart, and His way. He will teach you how to become really strong, able to withstand any kind of offence or temptation. A deep desire for righteousness will fill you. You will be an untiring, undefeatable witness of the Gospel. His glory will be with you continually and you will always be emanating the grace of God.
Sin deprives a person of God’s glory and grace, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23). Sin is not compatible with the glory, beauty and holiness of God.
Value holiness. Value walking with God, who gives us His blessings.
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord… (Hebrews 12:14)
Seek peace with God and you will find holiness. Seek holiness, without which no one will see God. What sense is there in being a pastor of thousands or of millions of souls, and then for you yourself to miss to God? You must not allow the sin of fornication or adultery to reign in your life. You must not allow it to separate you from God’s holiness and His glory. Fornication or adultery is one of the strongest weapons that the devil has against the children of God and against His ministers. The devil often uses this means to hit out at those who are already on the road to success in their ministry for God.
We need to run to God and desire the knowledge of His glory and holiness. Christians are to be bearers of God’s glory and holiness. Then their actions will preach about God far more than their words.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness… (2 Peter 3:11)
No matter how successful you are in your life and ministry, the only power that will be able to keep you on top is the power of holiness. You can get to the top by different means, but in order to stay in that position you must have holiness. You can receive anointing, and anointing can exalt you. You may also heal people and become the pastor of a large church, but the only power that can keep you in that elevated position is the power of holiness at work through the knowledge of Him. To become great before men is not a big deal. The main thing is staying great. Holiness preserves us, when we become successful. Holiness keeps us at the top and helps us even further to achieve better heights.
Everything that you could possibly possess here on earth (power, influence, authority, a big church, or a powerful ministry), in the end will pass away. Everything temporal passes away. The only thing that will never cease to exist is love. God’s love is full of holiness and godliness. These are the qualities we need to reach out for and embrace in our earthly lives. These are the things we need to value more than any other desire.
The advantage of holiness
There is nothing more important in our walk with God than holiness and godliness. What benefit can we get from God’s holiness? Why is it so important to have holiness?
The first advantage of holiness. A holy life-style builds a bridge of trust between you and the people you are leading. You have to be transparent. Nobody will follow after ministers who do not live the way they tell others to live. Ministers like that have no authority, neither in the spiritual realm nor in the physical realm. Your holy life will open people’s hearts to you and they will be able to trust you. You will become worthy of their trust. People will be able to see God the Father at work in you and through you, accepting and comforting them.
The second advantage of holiness. Holiness is the best means of influencing people. People always do and imitate the things they see. The Bible confirms this:
…because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16
You can influence people more, if you live righteously and teach them to live the same way. God is holy and calls us to be holy too. If you are holy, then your followers will also be holy.
The third advantage of holiness. If you are a minister or pastor, then holiness will determine the level of your ministry. If your walk with God is on a high level, then naturally the level of your ministry or of your church will be high too. For no church can ever be on a higher level than her leader.
The fourth advantage of holiness. A holy way of life will give you a good reputation and respect before men.
The fifth advantage of holiness. Your holiness will keep your enemies silent. It will disarm them.
The sixth advantage of holiness. A life of holiness requires discipline, inward coherence and actual victory over your sins. We have already mentioned that a person’s greatest victory is when he has victory over himself. Only by knowing Jesus Christ can a person assume His holiness, which then raises him up to the great heights of God’s glory.
The struggle for holiness
The aim in life of every Christian is to see God. However the Bible tells us that no one will be able to see Him unless he has made peace with men and attained holiness.
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord… Hebrews 12:14
It is very important to understand this portion of Holy Scripture. Some people who attend church allow themselves the freedom to have a lover, to live together as a couple without being married, to watch erotic films or read pornographic magazines… They think nobody knows and they forget that there is Someone who knows absolutely everything about each one of us. They faithfully continue to practice their secret sins, not giving a thought about the consequences of the sins in their lives and the lives of their dependents. You can find among these people ministers of God, who have been called to be examples of the Christian life. They have forgotten, unfortunately, that their sins have long built a wall between them and God.
Nobody can come to God without holiness. Without God’s holiness it is impossible to become a citizen of heaven. Every Christian must understand that it is essential to strive for holiness. As long as we are living here on the earth, we have to fight to attain holiness, as holiness will not just come to us automatically. Of course, when we come to God in repentance and receive Jesus Christ into our heart, He covers us with His holiness and righteousness by grace. That’s why at the beginning the Christian life seems so easy. It seems as though sin has left us. But then as we grow spiritually, our life starts coming under attack from the devil. He is well informed about the inheritance of God that we have received. The devil knows how valuable salvation is and is angry that he has lost us forever. So he tries to make us ineffective, to divert us from the true pathway and separate us from the grace and holiness of God. His task is to ensnare us. If he puts a stumbling block in our way and we fail to stand firm in temptation, then he has won. We will be together with him in his camp. There won’t be any difference between us and him.
God is always just. It is possible for a sinner who has attended church and for a sinner who has lived in the world both to go to hell. But a person himself chooses his way to hell, by refusing to live in holiness. God gives every person who comes to him His own holiness as a gift. He sees us as holy in Jesus Christ. However, in order to preserve this position of righteousness and holiness and to be able to lead a holy life continually, we need to fight.
The world around and its system have been molded by the dictates of Satan to cause as many people as possible to sink into sin. Particularly seductive is the sin of fornication and adultery. As we have already mentioned in the foreword, the spirit of fornication has cast down many in these last days. But every Christian has the possibility to withstand the wiles of the devil. You have to make a firm decision to go through life hand in hand with Jesus Christ, allowing yourself to be filled with His holiness.
The life of a Christian is a continual battle. It’s a battle for holiness. How often it seems to many of us that some kind of sin has been finally conquered in our life, only to reemerge again after a short period of time!
If we want to be free from the sexual sin, then we have to fight for that freedom. If we slacken, then we will sink down in its mire. It is insidious, and for that reason dangerous. It tries to attack us from all sides; through our thoughts, our eyes, and our conversations… If you don’t want to live in fornication or commit adultery, you have to fight off those temptations. It is dangerous to think: “Oh! I’m already free of that!” The Christian life is a continual battle with continual victories. We have to fight for holiness and for a righteous way of life.
In modern churches a lot of people live immorally. One lives in fornication, while the other masturbates or commits any other perversion. Because they are afraid of condemnation, they hide their sin and in this way destroy themselves. You need to know that it is possible to get free from lust and fornication in your life, by making a conscious decision to conquer sin and uproot it.
We are born of God, so therefore we have to learn how to live in freedom. We must learn to be like God, to be holy and righteous, like Him. Jesus Christ defeated Satan and we are not subject to him either.
As a young man I liked many girls, but when I came to God, He delivered me from this distraction. I had a very strong desire to please God, whom I love more than my own life. That’s why I am prepared to fight to attain holiness. Do you think that I don’t have temptations? The devil is a great specialist in this area! But I stand and fight for my purity and holiness. I don’t allow myself to be robbed of this precious gift of God.
Very often Christians adopt a liberal attitude to sin, forgetting that one day they may simply not be able to repent. We need to be alert and be on our guard, if we are not going to be defiled by this world that we are living in.
How pleasant it is to live in freedom! Many Christians think that it is not possible and that they will never be able to live free of sin. It is not possible to be free from temptation, but to live free from sin is possible! Jesus Christ has given us the power so that we can overcome.
Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34
We cannot allow ourselves to live a filthy, disorder life, because in the spiritual realm it is not glamorous to sin .We pay a high price for sin. It brings dishonor, shame and destruction. Maybe it is not visible physically, but when a person sins, something inside him dies. God knows that sin is dangerous for our organism. If we live in fornication or in uncontrollable passion, our brain emits a poisonous substance that destroys our organism. Every sin begins as a thought. If a person desires to commit adultery with another woman or man, this adultery begins in his mind. Pictures of lust are projected into the mind, similar to a pornographic film, and certain chemical substances, which are like poison for the human metabolism, are released into his blood system and these circulate round his whole body. And as a result different health problems and sicknesses, which were not there until this person started sinning, start to appear. Sickness is a legitimate consequence of sin. Sin has an influence not only over a person’s body, but also on his soul and spirit.
Living above sin
Christians must fight consciously against sin. We are victors in Christ Jesus. His victory is confirmed by the fact that He Himself was able to live above sin. Consequently, each one of us can, like Christ, live above sin.
Righteousness exalts. Quiet peace enters a person’s soul, when he gets free from sin. He simply enjoys this freedom. His conscience doesn’t trouble him. He does not need to hide anything. He feels wonderful in himself and nothing can disturb his peace. The Bible says that we will be like Christ, if we hold steadfastly to holiness.
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end… Hebrew 3:14
We have already become partakers of Christ, but we will be saved to the end only if we hold his holiness steadfast to the end of our days.
God always abides with us, if we abide with Him. If immorality begins to knock at your door or take hold of you, you have to stand steadfast against it. Take books and cassettes, which will help you to identify sin, and lock yourself in your room or somewhere where you can be on your own, so that you can receive revelation and cleanse yourself. You need to sow the Word of God into your life. You have to fight until you are set free completely.
If any bad thought comes to me, then I withdraw myself and spend time with God until that thought has been uprooted. I try to sift every sin, even when it is only trying to penetrate my thoughts. I strive, like Jesus, to live above sin. I think that you too are filled with the same desire; and more than that, we Christians have good support materials. We have books, cassettes and most important of all, the Word of God which dispels any darkness.
A person’s life is made successful by all the good things that come from God, good attributes like humility, meekness, holiness, righteousness, the awe of God and respect for people. The righteous person who puts his trust in God lives a life in the miracle power of God. Even in the face of death, that person experiences deliverance.
God did not create man for sexual immorality. Man was created for holiness and only this can give him life. Analyze your life before God. Put yourself under God’s spot-light. Let Him burn out all uncleanness from your life with His holy fire. Allow Him to perform this operation in you. An operation is always painful, but afterwards it saves your life.
In the name of Jesus, I join you and pray together with you for release, freedom, victory, the power of the Spirit and for a free will. I affirm that the power is already there in you to conquer sin, to retain the victory and to walk on the high places of life!
In the name of Jesus Christ, Spirit of God, come down in your might! Strengthen the spirit, heart, character and will of your children! Cover them with your power and grace! Give them strong faith in you, in your holiness, in your victory and in your grace!
May the grace of God flow into your life, that you may always have strength to shine forth the purity and holiness of heaven!