CHARLES STANLEY-LANDMINES IN THE PATHWAY OF THE BELIEVER-SEXUAL SIN

Stanley gave a lot of Biblical advice in this message, but he didn't go far enough. The key to defeating sexual sin isn't just fleeing youthful lust, i.e. not thinking about it, but it is the renewing of the mind. Before you were saved you were taught by the world to think of people as sex objects. Likely, your church, now that you're saved, if they even preach against sexual sins at all, is still teaching you to think of people as objects  of sexual gratification. The only difference between before and after salvation is that before said "indulge your desires" whereas after says "don't touch that."

Rather, Christians, both men and women, need to allow God's Holy Spirit to re-orient their thinking to where they see all people as people: in other words, the way Christ sees us and them. This renewal of our minds is what will allow us to defeat sexual sin in Christ as well as grow us in our relationship with Him in many other ways.

As far as the passage about the woman caught in adultery is concerned, it was a set up.

First of all, how did the Pharisees catch her? Were they in the habit of walking down the street peeping in windows?

Second, where was the guy? The Bible commanded both the adulterer and the adulteress to be stoned to death and it takes two to tango after all.

Third, Jesus uttered His famous and oft misinterpreted line about casting the first stone, He then wrote on the ground, then all the accusers left.

We're not told what Jesus wrote on the ground, but, referring to the law in Leviticus I mentioned earlier, I think he inscribed in the dirt information that indicated to the Pharisees that our Lord knew they were supposed to be the other guest of honour at this party.

To put it plainly and way less vulgar than it could be put, when Jesus uttered His words about casting the first stone, this famous sentence could be paraphrased, "All right, any of you that hasn't slept with her can throw the first rock."

Jesus did say stone her, and the stipulation in Leviticus that the woman had to be put to death along with the adulterous man is actually quite empowering to women. While this says to women that they shouldn't initiate extramarital affairs, it also gives them the right and the power to refuse a cheater's advances. You aren't a weak little woman; you can resist.