How to Have Victory Over Sexual Sins

January, 2001 (updated November 1, 2007)

Dear Brethren:

How do we get victory over sexual sin?

First, control Your thought life.
Second, get rid of related objects.
Third, cleanse yourself and your home of unclean spirits.
Fourth, ask Jesus for the power of the Holy Spirit to not sin.
Finally, fifth, walk in the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-28 "You have heard that it was said ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart." God tells us in His word if we think it, in His eyes we have done it, we have committed fornication or adultery. The writer of Proverbs states "The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking heart; he who would destroy his soul does it" (Proverbs 6:32). Adultery binds the will so that you cannot focus on or succeed in other matters. A person who yields his will to this is a slave of his lustful passion and if not repented of will prevent him or her from developing their soul potential.

How then do we get control over sexual thoughts and masturbation? The sex organ is not the zipper but the mind. The battle is in the mind. The zipper carries out only what the mind commands it to do. The key to victory is controlling your thought life. Starve the dog and it will go away. When you fill your mind with sexual thoughts, your going to sin. The Bible states:

"Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death." (James 1:13-15)

How then do we control our thought life? First, by confessing any known sin in this area to Jesus and then asking Him to cleanse you with his blood of all filthy fantasies and unclean spirits related. The Bible states:

"Behold, Yehovah’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His-ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear." (Isaiah 59:1-2)

"He who sows iniquity will reap vanity, and the rod of his fury will perish." (Proverbs 22:8)

"He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." (Proverbs 28:13)

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

Second, get rid of anything which incites lustful desires: magazines, pictures, music, TV and Radio shows and websites. The Bible states about man:

"For as he thinks within his soul, so he is." (Proverbs 23:7)

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you." (Phil 4:8-9)

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Romans 13:14)

You have heard the saying: "Out of sight, out of mind." The saying is true. To win the battle you must starve the dog.

Third, cleanse yourself and your home of unclean spirits related. Anoint your home (< see related letter) and work place and bind the unclean spirits. The Bible tells us:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)

"Behold, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy and to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and nothing shall injure you." (Luke 10:19)

When you sin you open a doorway to related demonic spirits to attach themselves to you. Once they do this they make sure you stay in bondage to this sin. So after confessing this sin to Jesus and getting rid of anything which incited you to sin in the first place, the next thing you need to do is cleanse yourself and your home of unclean spirits. The following link will explain to you how to do this: Anointing and Cleansing Yourself & Your Home.

Fourth, pray and ask the Lord for Holy Spirit spiritual strength to avoid temptations in this area and to say no to your flesh. The Bible teaches us that the flesh never did obey God’s laws and it never will. Paul wrote in Romans 8:6-8:

"For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Rom 8:6-8)

For this reason we cannot gain victory over this sin through trying to muster up enough will power. We need Jesus’ grace, strength and power to have victory over this sin and to stay clean of this sin. God’s word commands us:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might" (Eph 6:10)

"Seek Yehovah and His strength; seek His face continually." (Psalm 105:4, 1 Chronicles 16:11)

How often do you need to do this? As often as you are hit with the temptation. James wrote:

"Submit therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-souled. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4:7-10)

When I am hit with temptation or fall to temptation, after doing all the other steps above, I get on my knees and cry out to Jesus for deliverance from the specific sin; and I keep praying to Him for deliverance until I hear him say "I have heard your prayers." Depending on what kind of week I am having I may need to do this several times a day. God promises that if we call upon Him that He will save, strengthen and deliver us from temptation:

"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)

"But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

"For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." (1 Corinthians 10:12-14)

Finally, fifth, to have victory over sexual sin, Paul wrote "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). What does it mean to walk in the Holy Spirit? How do we know when we are walking in the Holy Spirit and when we are not? Paul wrote again in Ephesians 5:15-17,

"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:15-17)

You are walking in the Holy Spirit when you are using your time each day during the week according to God's will.

If you remember we read in Romans 8:6-8 that the flesh never did obey God's laws and it never will. How then do we keep from sinning? By filling up our time with activities led by God's Holy Spirit so that we are so busy that the flesh never has an opportunity to sin or carry out its desires.

When I was in Junior College many years ago, I went through a degree in Electronic Technology. This required 4 hours a day of class time five days a week. We were allowed a 20 minute break in between that 4 hours of class. I remember how difficult it was for me in those days to sit in a chair for 4 hours. I was so antsy. I used my 20 minute break every day to go out and share the Gospel with a student. There were 15,000 students on this Junior College campus so I never had any trouble finding someone to share Jesus with. I would go through a Salvation Tract like the one provided on this website. It took me about five minutes to find someone to share with, ten minutes to share the Salvation Tract with them, and five minutes to get back to class.

One day I decided instead of going out and sharing Christ on campus with students to go to the break room and buy a coke. I went in and bought a coke and sat down at a table to enjoy it. When I did I looked around the room and noticed all the beautiful women that were there. RED FLAG! RED FLAG! RED FLAG! That was all it took. My mind was on females and the gymnastics of my perverted mind went into action. Paul wrote in Romans 8:7 "The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so." You see our flesh is in bondage to sin; therefore, given the opportunity the flesh will sin. James the brother of Jesus wrote:

The saying "An idle mind is the play ground of the Devil" is an absolute truth. If your fleshly mind is idle it will gravitate to and sin. How then do we keep the flesh from sinning? By filling up our time, including our recreation, with activities according to God's will. "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). When you are walking by the Holy Spirit, using your time according to God's will, the flesh does not have opportunity or a chance to sin. When I was using my break to share the love of Jesus Christ with others, my mind was filled with how to help that person release their faith in Jesus. My mind and flesh did not have an opportunity to sin. When I went into that break room and sat down at a table with my mind idle, like radar it zeroed in right onto its object of sin without even blinking an eye. "The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:7-8). When I say object of sin, I do not mean women, or men for ladies, that looking at a man or woman is sin; I mean that what we are doing in our mind with that man or woman is what makes it an object of sin. Thank God for the beautiful flowers in the field. It is okay to admire the beautiful flowers God has created. Just don't dwell on them too long with your mind idle or you will find yourself taking God's beautiful flowers and turning them into objects of sin in your heart and mind. So finally, fifth, the only way you can keep from committing sexual sin, or any other sin, is by walking in the Holy Spirit which means to seek God's will in your use of time and then focusing your mind on and using your time, including your breaks, according to God's will. When you do that, your flesh will not have the opportunity to sin.

This is why God's will for us is to use our free time to share Him with others. That 20 minutes I used to share Jesus Christ with others brought a lot of students to Christ and will go into eternity. That twenty minutes I spent in that break room produced no fruit, only gave my flesh the opportunity to sin, and is gone forever. If you want victory over your flesh on this side of heaven, the only way you can keep it from sinning is by filling up your time with not just activities, but Holy Spirit led activities. When you use your free time to share Christ with others, you are walking in the Holy Spirit and not carrying out the desire of the flesh.

"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. GO THEREFORE and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’" (Matthew 28:18-20)

This involves also giving your desires and wants to Jesus. This means you trust Jesus to fulfill your desires when it is best for you and His kingdom; it also means that because you have given them to Him, they are no longer your concern, therefore you need to get your mind off of them. When you do not give your desires to Jesus to fulfill them when He deems it is best, then again your focus is on fulfilling those desires and thus on the flesh. The only outcome will be lust and sin. The only way you can have victory over your flesh is by giving your desires to Jesus to fulfill in His time and then to fill your time and mind with God's will, not chasing after the lusts of the flesh. The first generation of Israel out of Egypt did not make it into the promised land. Why? Because instead of focusing on God's will for them, instead they focused on and pursued the desire of their flesh. Therefore the Psalmist wrote:

"They quickly forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, But craved intensely in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. So He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls." (Psalm 106:13-15)

What is God's counsel to us then concerning this? Psalm 37:4 which states "Delight yourself in Yehovah; and He will give you the desires of your heart." God says if you focus on Him and His will for you and fill your time with that which He leads you to do through His Holy Spirit that in His time He will give you the desires of Your heart, that is His promise.

"Not one of the good promises which Yehovah had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass." (Joshua 21:45)

What does God say is the outcome of chasing after the lusts of our flesh instead of God's will?

"Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:15-17)

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life." (Galatians 6:7-8)

"‘Woe to the rebellious children,’ declares Yehovah, ‘who execute a plan, but not Mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin.’" (Isaiah 30:1)

There is only one way to keep from committing sexual sin: it is by walking in the Holy Spirit. You are walking in the Holy Spirit when you are filling your use of time from the time you get up until you go to bed with God's will and activities. When you do that the flesh which is in bondage to sin already, never has the opportunity to fulfill its desires. Walk by the Holy Spirit and your flesh will not have the opportunity to carry out its desire to sin. There is no other way to keep from sexual sin or any other sin on this side of heaven. Left idle, the flesh WILL sin. It is an absolute spiritual law because the flesh left idle will automatically gravitate to sin. But if you "Walk by the Spirit. . . you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).

Sincerely in Jesus,

Dale P. Kruse
Pastor Evangelist

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