Week 38:
Topic: Do not defile or Abuse Your Body – Part 1
Bible
Introduction
In the beginning, God looked at everything He had made and indeed it was very good, virtuous, and righteous Genesis 1: 31. In fact everything was good because God loves purity and morality. But Serpent used his craftiness to deceive Adam and Eve which resulted in the defilement of their bodies and disobedience to God Genesis 3: 1.
Before I proceed I will like to advise you not to fall for the deceit of the Serpent of Old, called the Devil and Satan who deceives the whole world by defiling or abusing your body Revelation 12: 9. Since the time that Adam and Eve fell because of their defilement, Almighty God has been looking for way to rectify the situation, in order to sanctify mankind and reconcile us to Himself. It is for this reason He sent His only begotten Son.
You Must Be Holy
It is the duty of every living soul to sanctify and dedicate themselves to the Lord. The Bible stated that “for I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with anything in this world” Leviticus 11: 44. It is a requirement that must be met before you can walk with God or inherit His heavenly Kingdom. Therefore anyone who desires to walk with God and enter His Glorious Home must not defile their bodies but purify and keep themselves holy.
The Earth Mourns And The World Languishes
Presently it is chaos, anarchy and injustice that are reigning in every part of the world. Corruption is at its highest level at every cadre of our societies because people have defiled themselves. The earth mourns and fades away. The world languishes and withers together with the haughty people of the world.
Earth is polluted by its own people, who have broken the law of God; they violated the sacred and eternal covenant He made with earthlings. Humans neither fear God nor sanctify themselves to the extent that the earth is defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance and broken the everlasting covenant.
The curse has devoured the earth and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are dying prematurely and mysteriously with few people left Isaiah 24: 4-6. Nowadays, people have defiled themselves by exalting the rulers/politicians and the celebrities/famous above God. Humans don’t have respect or regard for God and His laws. Some people even insult or dare God on daily basis instead of sanctifying themselves.
It is for these reasons that the earth dries up and she is in a deplorable condition. The land wastes away with its inhabitants, several catastrophes are happening around the globe and they were referred to as natural disasters.
The earth suffers for the sins of its people because they have twisted God’s instructions, violated His laws and have broken His eternal covenant.
Therefore, a curse ravages the earth, its people pay the price of their sacrilege. They dwindle away, dying one by one. The only way to escape these calamities is to purify your body and walk with God.
God Is Not Delighted in Wickeds’ Death
The love that God has for His creation is so great that he gave us a second chance called repentance. Anyone who has defiled his/her body now has another opportunity to sanctify their body and walk with God.
It is written that “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? Says the Lord God, and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” Ezekiel 18: 23. God is inviting with open arms everyone who is ready to abstain from defilement and keep their bodies holy. God can no longer bear the destruction of the work of His Hands; therefore seize this opportunity to correct your mistakes and reconcile with your creator.
You will be welcomed back into the fold of God with great joy, if you quit your sinful lifestyle that is defiling your body and return to Him. Jesus testified, when he said, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” Luke 15: 7, 10. If you stop defiling your body you may be the sinner whose repentance will fill heaven with more joy than ninety-nine just people who need no repentance.
The Undefiled
Though the world is corrupt, but there are some people who try their best to keep their bodies’ holy and pure at all times. It is not as if they are not sinners but they abstain from sins and put in their prime so that they will not defile their bodies. This group of people will walk with the Lord in white garment because they are worthy Revelation 3: 4. Do you belong to this category of people? If not, change today before the wrath of Him who can destroy the body and soul descends into your life because of your pollution Matthew 10: 28.
You Are Created for God’s Glory
Human
beings must never forget the reason why they were created by the Lord. The primary
reason is for them to do the work of their Heavenly Father and declare His
praise throughout the globe. “Thus says the Lord truly as I live, all the
earth shall be filled with my glory” Numbers
If you are among the people of the Lord and you are identified with Him. Then it is your responsibility not to defile yourself but do every possible thing that will make God to be glorified through You Isaiah 43: 7. Every soul that is called by the name of the Lord as Christians, priests, believers and apostles must not allow the name of the Lord to be blaspheme through them, but to be glorified at all times. They must keep their bodies holy in order to fulfill the purpose that made the Lord to create them and let their virtues win souls for the Lord.
Week 39:
Topic: Do not defile or Abuse Your Body – Part 2
Bible
We shall continue with the statutes of the Lord concerning keeping our bodies holy without any trace of defilement.
The Lord’s Commandments
Before we proceed, I want us to know that it is only those people who did not defile their bodies will live a fulfilled life, while those who defile or abuse their bodies may die prematurely and mysteriously. “You shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them” says the Lord Leviticus 18: 5. As a result, do not pollute your body or abuse it through the lustful things of this world, but keep the rule and laws of the Lord so that you will find life through them.
People must notice the difference: It is the desire of Almighty God that humans should be able to make distinction and recognize the difference between holy and unholy. It is important to let people distinguish that you did not defile your body through your action, reactions, and utterances Leviticus 10: 10. Wherever you are and in whatever you do, it is inevitable for people to know/notice the difference between you and the gentiles that have polluted their bodies. If people cannot differentiate between you and the gentiles, then it means you should check yourself and amend your ways.
Do not learn the way of the gentiles: Thus says the Lord “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the gentiles are dismay at them” Jeremiah 10: 2. Let your attitudes, dressing, and interactions be different from those of the gentiles, who have defiled and abused their bodies. Even if everyone in your community is involve in things that can defile their bodies, do not join them. Remember the warning “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice” Exodus 23: 2. The people may see you as an outcast who doesn’t get involved in what is in vogue/trend, while the heavens will see you as a special inheritance of God who refuses to defile himself/herself because of the vanity of this world. If you bow to their pressures and join them, then you are not special to the Lord anymore, but one of the crowds of disobedient people. The scripture says that “If you will indeed obey His voice and keep His covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Him above all people; for all the earth is Mine” says the Lord Exodus 19: 5.
Do not defile yourself with abominable tradition: Beware! Keep yourself holy and obey the instructions of the Lord. Do not defile yourself by committing the detestable practices demanded by your culture which were committed by your forefathers who lived in the land before you. Learn from their mistakes and do not defile yourself with any tradition that can pollute your body and make you unclean before your Creator Leviticus 18: 30. Abstain from any abominable custom that can defile you and cause you to miss the glorious home.
Do not harden your heart, but obey the commandments of the Lord that you have heard today. Do not think that no evil will befall you when you continue to sin and defile your body because you cannot continue in sin and pollution of your body, then expect the grace of God to multiply in your life Romans 6: 1. Therefore, obey the statutes of the Lord and do not defile yourself so that you will be justified in all your undertakings. Since it is not those who hear the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified Romans 2: 13. If you want prosperity and divine peace of God to reign in your life, then do not defile your body but hearken to the commandments that you have heard today and obey them.
Ways People Defile Their Bodies
There are several ways in which you can defile your body, if you are not vigilant and we will discuss them in details during our study.
Discipline Your Tongue And Mouth
The best thing that can happen to human beings is for them to control their mouth so that they will be able to live a trouble-free life. It is written that whoever guards his mouth and tongue will keep his soul from trouble Proverbs 21: 23. The tongue is a small part of our body that makes grand speeches. It is like a tiny spark that can set a great forest on fire. Among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, it has the ability to corrupt and defile your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire but hell will set it on fire James 3: 5-6. You need to control your tongue if you don’t want it to defile your body and set your life on fire.
Control your mouth and do not wander from house to house as talebearer or busybody. Do not tarnish other people’s image or assassinate other people’s character. All these behaviors are against the instructions of the Lord; they will defile your body and complicate your life Leviticus 19:16, Ecclesiastes 5: 6. For this reason, do not backbite others or blaspheme the name of the Lord. Do not let foul language or corrupt word come out of your mouth, but what is good for edification of faith, that it may impart grace to the hearers Ephesians 4: 29. Don’t use abusive language that can defile your entire body, but helpful words that will encourage others.
Do not take alcoholic drink: Flee from alcoholic drinks, stop smoking cigarette or cigar and cease taking narcotics. Apart from the health implications of taking all the aforementioned items, they are abominable to the Lord. They will defile your physical and spiritual body if care is not taken. God warned Aaron saying “do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations” Leviticus 10: 8-9. If alcoholic drink is good, don’t you think that God would have instructed Aaron and his children to always get drunk when coming to the tabernacle? Nevertheless because it is abomination, He directed them not to drink when coming into His presence lest they die. It is not limited to the priests, every Christian who doesn’t want to defile themselves must quit taking intoxicating drinks, smoking cigarette/cigar and narcotics which God consider as abomination.
Do not consume blood: You must not eat the blood in whatever form because the blood is the life; you must not eat the life with the meat. You must not eat the blood; but you must pour it on the earth like water Deuteronomy 12: 23-25. Do not defile your body and bring the wrath of the Lord upon yourself by eating blood. Since blood is the life, you cannot eat/take what doesn’t belong to you because all lives belong to God.
The
people who eat blood or mix blood of any animal with what they are eating
should desist from defiling their bodies so that the fury of the Lord will not
come upon them Leviticus
Week 40:
Topic: Do Not Defile Your Body – Part 3
Bible
The next topic is how Satan can use your heart to defile your body, therefore be very careful so that you will not fall into the trap of the Devil.
Keep Your Heart Pure
Jesus Christ has said “not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth defiles a man”. What He meant is that eating normal and acceptable food without washing your hand will not defile you, so do not distort His word in order to suit your purpose Matthew 15: 11-20. Since you know that whatever comes from your heart can defile you, it is time to sanctify your heart so that it will not defile your entire body.
Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives or brethren; whenever your neighbor does any wrong thing, you have to rebuke and correct them. Do not say I don’t care so that you will not be held guilty for their sin or share their guilt Leviticus 19: 17. Do not bear grudges in your heart against anyone or keep malice so that you will not defile yourself.
God’s eyes cannot condone evil, therefore do not think evil in your heart. Anytime you plan evil in your heart, it as if you have done it because if you have the time and chance there is possibility that you will certainly carry it out Matthew 5: 28. Keep your heart pure always or else Satan will use it pollute your life and body.
Dress Codes
There are certain dressing codes that are in conformity with the teachings of the scripture. It is only those codes that are acceptable to God. In the world today it is difficult to differentiate between man and woman because people are cross-dressing in ways that are defiling their body and life.
You must not cross-dress: “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord our God” Deuteronomy 22: 5. Those women who put on trousers/pants must stop, so also must men who wear earrings and braid/plait their hair must desist from these abominable practice. Henceforth, a woman must not put on men’s clothing and a man must not wear woman’s clothing; anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of God.
Women must cover their head: It was written in the Bible that “A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for that is the same as shaving her head. If a woman refuses to wear a head covering, then she should cut off all her hair. But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved, then she should wear a head covering 1 Corinthians 11: 4-6.
You must not dress inappropriately: Men must not dress inappropriately; they must not pull their trousers/pants to the midsection of their buttock to reveal parts of their backside. Likewise women must not wear any apparel that can reveal their cleavage, their backside or their underwear 1 Timothy 2: 9. It is not only women, but men too must dress moderately in order not to defile themselves.
Hair Do Must Be Modest
Christians
must make sure that their hair-do is modest, they must not cut, shave, braid or
plait their hair in strange ways; in addition they must not colour their hair
in unnatural colour. For it is written in the scripture that “believers must
not shave around the sides of their heads nor disfigure the edges of their
beards Leviticus
Since you are among the “children of the Lord and you are a holy people to the Lord your God and He has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth”. Then it is your responsibility to make sure that your hair-do, beard and nails are done modestly Deuteronomy 14: 1-2.
Tattoo And Incision
Nowadays, people are making tattoo and incisions on their body as if anyone who did not have tattoo is not enlighten or know what is in vogue. People making tattoo cut across all ages and career to the extent that law enforcements officers, the students, the military personnel and the celebrities have several tattoos on their bodies. Some people even cover the whole of their bodies with tattoos which is against the statute of the Lord.
Many pastors make tattoos on their bodies; they always advertise these tattoos and encourage their parishioners to make tattoos on their bodies. Such priests should desist from this nefarious activity before the wrath of God come upon them.
Do not make incisions on your body for the dead and do not mark your skin with tattoos says the Lord Leviticus 19: 28. Anyone who marks their skin with tattoo(s) has defiled their bodies; such people must repent and retrace their steps before it is too late.
Skin Lightening/Whitening
This is a common occurrence among the dark/black skin people, whereby they will use skin whitening/lightening substances or cream on the body to enhance their beauty. Any soul that is not proud of their skin colour is indirectly telling God that He had made a mistake by creating them with that skin colour. Almighty God will not view such people as guiltless. For this reason, do not defile your body through skin lightening/whitening process.
The
Book of Isaiah said this about such people “and so it shall be: instead of a
sweet smell there will be a stench; instead of sash, a rope; Instead of well
set hair, baldness; instead of rich robe, a girding of sackcloth; and branding
instead of beauty Isaiah
Idol Worship
Everyone who support, encourage or finance idolatry practices has defile themselves. So do not turn to idols to neither solve your problems nor make for yourself molded god, says the Lord Leviticus 19: 4. Do not defile yourself through idol worshipping or association with idolatry.
Do
not defile yourself by consulting the clairvoyants’ and occultists for any event of situation. Do not seek the guidance
of the psychics and soothsayers because it is forbidden by the Lord. “Give no
regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled
by them”. I am the Lord your God Leviticus
Week 41:
Topic: Do Not Defile Your Body – Part 4
Bible
The concluding part of this study will be about the most common way of defiling our bodies through sexual relationship.
Sexual Relationship
God
is not against sexual relationship in fact He is the One that performed the
first wedding in the Garden of
· Incest: Sexual relationship between family or close relatives. In most cases, those that are not permitted by the law to marry legally because they are closely related Leviticus 18: 6-18.
· Fornication: Sexual relationship between two unmarried people Ephesians 5: 3.
· Adultery: When a married person is having extra marital affairs Leviticus 18: 20.
· Uncleanness: When a man is having sexual relationship with a woman during her menstrual period Leviticus 18: 19.
· Prostitution: When somebody sells his/her body for money. Sexual relationship that attracts payment in money/favour Leviticus 19: 29.
· Taking your ex back: When a man’s wife left him and married another person, the woman must not return to her former husband to marry him or have sexual relationship with him (getting together with your ex-wife) Deuteronomy 24: 1-4.
· Gay: A man having sexual relationship with man Romans 1: 27, Leviticus 18: 22.
· Lesbian: Women having sexual relationship with women Romans 1: 26.
· Sodomy: Oral or anal sexual intercourse between human beings 1 Corinthians 6: 9.
· Sex with Animal: A man or woman having sexual relationship with animal Leviticus 18: 23.
All the aforementioned sexual relationships are abominations in the presence of God. Whoever gets involve in any of these relationships not only defiles his or her body, but also endanger his/her life and future.
The Lord’s Warning
The Lord sent His warnings in several passages in the Bible but we will only mention few.
Defilement through sexual relationships: Do not defile yourselves with any of the previously mentioned sexual relationship so that the Lord will not drive you away from your land and give it to your neighbor who is better than you. Those abominable practices defile the land and the Lord will punish the people who live there in manners that will make the land to vomit out its inhabitants. Therefore, you must keep the statues and judgments of the Lord by not committing any of the detestable sins. All these abominable activities are practiced by the Gentiles of the land and that was how the land has become defiled. So do not defile the land and give the land a reason to spit you out Leviticus 18: 24-28. I pray that wherever you are residing presently, will not vomit you out.
Do
not defile the
Defilement through idolatry: Any person who associate with idolatry or turn to mediums and familiar spirits for assistance will have themselves to blame. God will set His face against them and cut them off from their people Leviticus 20: 6. If you don’t want to die suddenly or for God to turn against you, and cut you off from your community, then, do not defile yourself by committing spiritual prostitution through consultation with the mediums Leviticus 20: 27.
Defilement caused by blood: Do not shed innocent blood or consume blood so that you will not wander blindly through the streets Lamentation 4: 10-11. If you don’t want the fury and fierce anger of the Lord to come upon you, then do not defile your body by consuming blood or shedding innocent blood.
Benefits
There are many benefits mentioned in the Bible for every soul that did not defile their body, but due to time constraint we will mention two.
First Fruits: Any soul who did not defile his/her body will be among the redeemed of the Lord who will sing a new song before the heavenly throne of God. Such people shall mingle with the four living creatures, the elders and the heavenly beings because they are among the first fruits of God and the Lamb Revelation 14: 2-5. If you want to sing before God and the 24 elders, then keep your body holy. If you want to be first fruit to God and to the Lamb, do not defile your body.
New
Jerusalem:
The undefiled people will live in New Jerusalem the City of
Examples
We shall discuss some examples from the Bible to edify the faith of our brethren so that they will not defile their bodies.
Daniel: When Daniel and others
were taken as captives to
Joseph: Joseph did not defile
himself when he had the opportunity to sleep with potiphar’s
wife Genesis 39: 1-12. Emulate Joseph by keeping your body
pure for the Lord. Had it been that Joseph had slept with Potiphar’s
wife, he would not have been the prime minister of
Finally
he who overcomes the temptation of the Devil and did not defile his/her body,
Christ will make him a pillar in the
The Seal: Revelation 16: 15: “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walks naked and they see his shame”.