Beat Temptations By Creating Boundaries

In marriage, think of a boundary being compared to drawing a line in the sand that you & your spouse determine together so that “line” protects the sacredness of your marriage – keeping you and/or your spouse far from anything that could hurt your relationship.

In case you didn’t know, God’s plan for sexual purity has always included boundaries. A good example of a boundary guarding against temptation is in Proverbs 5 when Solomon said of the wayward woman, “Keep a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house…” (Proverbs 5:8).

Satan is always lurking around and he will attack at every opportunity, in Genesis 3, Satan’s very first attack on Adam and Eve was strategic in the sense that he planted doubt in their minds on the only boundary God had set. “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1).

You better believe that Satan is attacking in the same ways today, trying to plant doubt in our minds, only to see us question God’s promises by justifying sin as if God would withhold something from us. Satan knows when your at your weakest, he knows when to plant that doubt, because he is a master of deceit and loves the sight of our struggle.

Satan seeks to desensitize us to the harmfulness of impurity by taking us there one small boundary break at a time. The truth is that God’s boundaries are evidence of His goodness and His desire to protect us from painful consequences. And, if you look at the many Scriptures that set sexual boundaries in context, you’ll find that they are wrapped in love:

Boundary	God’s Love
No coarse joking, not a hint of sexual immorality (Ephesians 5:3).	“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love…” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Treat younger men as brothers and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity (1 Timothy 5:1-2).	“Watch your life and your doctrine closely … save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16).
Keep the marriage bed pure (Hebrews 13:4).	“Keep on loving each other as brothers” (Hebrews 13:1).
Learn to control your body in a way that is holy and honorable (1 Thessalonians 4:4).	“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other …” (1Thessalonians 3:12).

Establishing good boundaries will not only help protect your marriage, but it will also create a refuge where you can taste the glorious freedom of being naked and unashamed (Genesis 2:25). Start securing the sanctity of your marriage and ask God to help you set up those boundaries because He loves us and knows what we need before we do.

~Nick~