Here, especially because of how we’ve been trained by our sexual-revolution-influenced culture, we tend to think that it’s mainly an issue of our bodies. We presume it’s bodily urges that lead to our bodily temptations. We find ourselves believing that it’s primarily because we’re fallen and our bodies are broken that we face sexual temptation.
Sexual temptation is not primarily about the body. It does concern our bodies: “The sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 7:18). Yet sexual temptation—whether it be to physically engage with another or to lust individually—is not primarily a bodily temptation.
Rather, sexual temptation and sexual sin are primarily about our hearts.
Some might say this is obvious, but I think it’s a helpful distinction to dwell on. For almost everyone acknowledges that sins such as pride, bitterness, gossip, slander, malice, unrighteous anger, and jealousy all stem from our hearts. We recognize that they are realities which begin in our hearts, and only then have outward effects. For example, being prone to unrighteous anger is primarily a heart issue, and only because of this do we then lash out in unkind words to our spouses.
But what about sexual sin? Here, especially because of how we’ve been trained by our sexual-revolution-influenced culture, we tend to think that it’s mainly an issue of our bodies. We presume it’s bodily urges that lead to our bodily temptations. We find ourselves believing that it’s primarily because we’re fallen and our bodies are broken that we face sexual temptation.
Jesus, however, wouldn’t agree with such logic. Sexual temptation and sin surely is bodily. But it’s not primarily so. Jesus twice pointed this out:
- “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:19)
- “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:20-23)
