"Sex, Lies and the Truth True Love Waits"
Report by: Ted Edwards
"It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." ~~~1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
One of the strongest pressures that teenagers face today is the pressure to have sex. It is never too early - or too late - to start preparing your child to resist the Sex Trap. In addition to the extremely active hormones in teenagers, sex-filled images and temptations are all around us. We see and hear about sex on the radio, TV, movies, on billboards, in magazines and on the Internet. Everywhere we turn in this world people seem to have a different opinion on sex and theyre all trying to tell us that theyre right. Our young people are bombarded with the confusing message that what was right or wrong years ago may not be that way anymore. The world says it depends upon what the norm for society is at the time and, at the very least, they should protect themselves and have "safe sex."
But as Christians, we are not to be conformed to the world. Since this is true, I believe we need to let our young people know that the truth about sex is found in Gods Word. We should teach our children godly principles about sex and abstinence before their minds become indoctrinated by what the world finds acceptable. The Bible says that sexual activity outside the bonds of marriage is sin. We need to take a proactive approach in teaching Gods clear guidelines to expose the safe-sex myth, counteract the negative peer pressure, and promote the truth -- premarital sex is both morally wrong and physically risky.
"True Love Waits"
three words that have taken our nation by storm as thousands of youth are standing up to declare that the "safe sex" message is not enough.
West-Ark Junior High Students
In the Fall of 2000, our Jr. & Sr. High Wednesday Night Bible Classes at West-Ark spent 10 weeks in a Bible Study series called "Sex, Lies and the Truth True Love Waits." In this class, the students were able to come face-to-face with the realities of unwanted pregnancies, STDs, and AIDS in a very practical way. We looked at and examined the risks and consequences of premarital sex both physically and emotionally.
West-Ark High School Students
The purpose of the study was to inspire, inform, and encourage teens to know that abstinence is not only the biblical thing to do ... it is also the right thing to do. The entire 10 weeks was designed to be a biblical character-building Bible study with an emphasis on sexual abstinence for youth. Some of the topics we studied include: Sex, Love and Marriage, The Best Defense is a Good Offense, Rewarding Relationships, Stop and Regain Control, The Truth about Life, Love and Sex, and Keys to a Lifelong Love.
The Wednesday night following the 10-week study (Oct. 25) we planned a "Virtue Ring" Ceremony in our FLC which provided a way for our congregation to affirm and encourage our youth to make a commitment to sexual abstinence until marriage. At this time, most of the parents of the kids who were in the class gave a "virtue ring" to their son or daughter to help remind them of their commitment. The teens made a commitment to remain sexually pure until the day they enter a biblical marriage relationship, and the parents supported their children in that commitment.
Heres the commitment that the Teens made:
"Believing that True Love Waits,
I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, to those I date, and my future children to be sexually pure from this day until the day I enter a biblical marriage relationship."
The TLW Commitment
phrase-by-phrase:
True Love for my God.
Obeying Gods commands is a pure way to show that you love Him.
- True Love for myself and my family.
Concern for yourself and your family can lead you to choose to avoid actions, which damage relationships, lead to guilt and emotional pain, and cause disease or even death.
- True Love for my friends.
Sex before marriage always hurts people. If you care about your friends, and especially about those you date, you can chose not to hurt them through sexual misconduct.
- True Love for my future mate.
You can make a commitment to that person even before you meet him or her, including a commitment to remain sexually pure until marriage.
- True Love for my future child.
You can begin now to love the child you will bring into the world. That love includes a desire to see that child born into a complete, permanent, and healthy family.
The decision a person makes to remain sexually pure is a life-long issue and we need to encourage each other with the truth in Gods Word. Hopefully, the class learned in a clear, relevant way from Scripture why God has said for us to remain sexually abstinent and that He has explicit standards for sexual purity.
But even if youve been involved in sexually immorality and today you are not a virgin
God can still use you. All of us fail God at times -- teens as well as adults. I am grateful that we serve a God of 2nd chances. He is always ready and willing to give us grace, mercy and forgiveness.
For those who have sinned sexually, I urge you to stop and regain control. You can have a secondary virginity. Not physically, but it is possible to give yourself back to God and remain pure from this day forward until the day you enter a biblical marriage relationship.
If you chose to listen and obey God
youll never go wrong.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Clicking on any picture below will link to a larger image of photos taken during
West-Ark's True Love Waits Commitment Service.
West-Ark Church of Christ
