Chaste- Virtuous, undefiled, stainless, kept. Thoughts lead to actions. God says for us to guard our hearts. Thoughts, hearts/feelings, actions–they’re all connected!

2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD.
3 Commit to the LORD whatever [all] you do, and He will establish your plans [according to His will].
32 Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.

We have a progression in these verses:

1. Verse 2- motives = thoughts. They are our rationale for what we do.
2. Verse 3- We must use our will to tame our feelings; our hearts will amplify whatever is going on in our minds. If we establish protocols, guard rails, and accountability, we are committing to the LORD’s will for our lives.
3. Verse 32- When we align our thoughts with God’s Word and tame our feelings according to the parameters set by Scripture, we will find that we have self-control. Patience is outlasting the feeling when we are tempted.

There are quite a few areas that we humans are susceptible to sin. Let’s look at a few–don’t worry; we won’t look at ALL of them today: Entitlement, Lust, Pride, Vanity, Impatience, Selfishness, Sloth, Anger, Spite, Rage, Hate, Gluttony, Fear.

1. Entitlement- “God owes me.” “I can act with impunity.” The problem here is who is at the center of attention. If we will turn our attention outward, we will find that God loves us all equally, that justice is based upon His standards and not ours. We fight entitlement with selflessness. Philippians 2:3-5, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus [humility]…”
2. Lust- Out-of-control passion for blood, for sex, for vengeance, for anything that dominates our hearts and actions. In being chaste, we must keep our thoughts pure. When Jesus spoke about adultery, it also applies to the other passions, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Matthew 5:27-30. In other words, it would be better to do without whatever is ruling over us than to fight the temptation to go too far and sin. Whether it is video games that give a rush of adrenaline, pornography and all it leads to, vengeance and the certain satisfaction of getting even (or ahead), they all are works of wickedness and the Christian should fight them tooth and nail. We should do whatever it takes to remove them from our lives. We need to keep removing temptations until they no longer have a hold on us. We fight lust with pure thoughts, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8.

There is one more verse that we would do well to memorize:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It [He] teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, Titus 2:11-12

The only way I know about the Grace of God is because God had Paul write about it; then, He kept it safe by having people copy Paul’s letter to Titus and distribute it to other Christians who kept it safe through these many years. God wants us to live chaste lives before Him and with Him.

Do you want to please God? Is obeying the Savior your heart’s desire? Then, live chastely before Him today. He will show you how, empower you to do it, and bless you with the knowledge that He is pleased. We’ll give Him all the glory!

Abba, I pledge to live chastely before You today. May I turn to You for every decision and follow Your lead in every thought, word and deed. I am Yours, LORD; I am bought and paid for by Your precious blood! May I live up to Your name as You live in, with, and through me. Amen.