Uncleanness

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
— Romans 6:6

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
— Romans 6:13

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
— Matthew 15:19-20

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
— Romans 1:26

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
— Romans 6:23

How to Mortify Uncleanness, by John Preston. The following contains Chapter Twelve of his work, “Sins Overthrow.” 1631.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
— Colossians 3:5

Having handled the Doctrine of Mortification in general, as also come to some particulars, namely, that of Fornication; it now remaineth that in the next place, following the method and order of the Apostle, I come to the next particular sin named in the Text, Uncleanness: And because these two sins do in many things coincidere, and differ not greatly in anything that I can set down as means to prevent them, for what hath been said of the one may serve for the other; therefore I shall be the briefer in this, and may perchance make use of some of the things spoken formerly in the discovering of the heinousness of Fornication. The Doctrine then that we shall at this time insist on, is, That,

Uncleanness is one of the sins that are here to be mortified.

This sin of Uncleanness most Interpreters make to be the sin of Onan, Gen. 38:9, and the heinousness thereof appears, in that God was so displeased with him for it, that he slew him presently. Besides, the grievousness thereof is is manifest, in that throughout the whole book of God we find not any name appropriated unto it, as if God could not give name bad enough, or would not vouchsafe it any, because men should not know it at all. But now particularly I will lay open the vileness of it, by these four arguments.

First, the heinousness of it appears, because that it makes a man that is guilty of it, a man of death; you may see it in the example of Onan, Gen. 38:9, before mentioned, God cut him off presently, hardly gave any space for repentance. Where sudden judgment lights upon a man, it is a fearful thing, and argues the greatness of God’s displeasure against that sin; now where God’s wrath is so exceedingly inflamed against a sin, we must needs conclude that sin to be very sinful, and of a high nature.

Secondly, it is an unnatural sin: All sin is so much the more heinous, as it is opposite to the nature of a man. We read but of three sins against nature, whereof this is one; namely, bestiality, Sodomy, and this; and therefore it must needs be of an high rank, and consequently a most notorious vile sin.

Thirdly, the manner of it aggravates it exceedingly; all things done against oneself, are the more heinous; as self-murder is of an higher nature than murder of another; and the reason is, because all creatures by nature seek the preservation of themselves: in like manner, self-uncleanness is a great aggravation unto it.

Fourthly and lastly, that sin which is made the punishment of another, is ever the greater sin; now God hath made this sin to be the punishment of all other sins, for after a man hath long continued in other sins, at last God gives him up to this sin as to a punishment of the former: and therefore questionless it is a great and an heinous sin.

Now since you have seen the heinousness of this sin, in the next place I will show you the manifold deceits of Satan, whereby men are provoked to the commission of this filthy sin.

First, Men do go on in the committing of this sin, because they do hope to repent afterwards.

For answer of this, I say, that man who hath a will to sin, doth harden himself more and more by sin; and this sin of Uncleanness being a great sin, it doth harden the heart the more, and doth the more indispose a man towards God.

A man by common reason would think that great sins do make the heart to be more sensible; but indeed it doth not so, for it takes away the sense. Great sins are a means to harden the heart, so that it cannot repent: Prov. 2:19. None that go unto her return again, neither do they take hold of the paths of life; which is meant of repentance: for God doth not give repentance to this sin, because it is a sin so evident against the light of Nature; as Ezek. 24:16. Son of man, behold, I take from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke, yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down: that is, if man will refuse the time of repentance which God doth offer unto him, when he would repent then God doth deny him: It is not in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but of God: God will have mercy upon whom he will have mercy, Rom. 9:16.

Now to show what Repentance is:

Repentance is a change of the heart, whereby a man is become a new creature, having an inward affection to that which is good, and a loathing and detestation of that which is bad. To show that Repentance is the change of the heart, see how the Prophet Hosea, Chap. 7:14, doth reprove the Israelites for their howling on their beds, because their Repentance was not from their hearts; they did howl much, as it were, for their sins, but yet their Repentance was not from the heart, and therefore nothing available to them. True Repentance doth turn the disposition of the heart of a man another way then it went before.

Another means that Satan useth to delude the hearts of men, and cause them to be set upon evil, is, because they do not see the punishment due for sin to be presently executed upon sinners: For Answer of this; In that God doth spare to punish sin, no man hath cause to joy in it. God is merciful, and doth hear many times a long while with men not to punish them for sin, to see if they will return unto him, and repent: But as long as man doth continue in any sin without repentance, so long doth he abuse God’s patience every day and hour, Rom. 2:4. Thinkest thou this, O man, and espises thou the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to Repentance: Vers. 5. But after the hardness and impenitence of heart, treasurest up wrath unto thyself against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

Another Deceit that Satan useth to provoke men unto this sin, is, to judge of uncleanness by common opinion; that is, to weigh this sin in a false balance, and to look upon it in a false glass, and not to carry it to the balance of the Sanctuary of the Lord, and therefore many times they esteem great sins to be little sins, and little sins to be none at all; when men do thus mistake sin, they judge of it otherwise than it is: As when bad company are together, they do all allow and approve of sin, and so evil words do corrupt good manners; and in their opinions do make sin to be no sin at all; not considering that place, Titus 2:14. That Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. When a man hath committed sin, his Conscience is defiled, and so can no more judge of sin aright, than one that would discern of colors in a foul and soiled glass; but when the Conscience is clear, it sees things as they are, and so is able to judge of sin by that rule by which ourselves shall be judged at the last day: There is a sanctifying Spirit, which if we had, we should judge of sin aright; and the rule whereby we are to try sin, is the written Word of God.

Fourthly, Satan useth to provoke men to this sin, when they can commit it in secret, then will they be bold to do it: But consider, God sees in secret, and he will reward them openly: Mat. 6:4. Give thine alms in secret, and thy father that is in secret will reward thee openly: Now we may judge by the rule of contrarieties, that if God do see Alms that are done in private, and will reward them openly, may not we think that he will do the like of sin: For so he did by David, he spared not him though he were his own servant: 2 Sam. 12. Thou didst this sin secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the Sun. And thus they go on boldly in this sin, thinking they shall escape well enough if they can do it secretly, and not be seen of men; but they in this despising of God, make God to despise them. Consider, oh man, the many ways God hath to reveal sin that is committed in secret: Eccles. 10:20. Curse not the King, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich, no not in thy bed-chamber; for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. Sin that hath been committed in secret, shall be discovered by ways that a man thought unpossible: Evil men are as a glass that is soldered together; as soon as the solder is melted, the glass doth fall in pieces: So they that are companions in evil, may for a time be true the one to the other, but yet the Lord will one way or other discover their iniquities, so that they shall fall in pieces like a broken potshard; yea, perhaps the Sinner himself shall confess his sin, as Judas did.

The last Deceit Ih Satan doth use to provoke men unto this sin, Is with the present delight Ih they have unto It: To this I answer, as Christ in Mat. 5:27. Thou shalt not commit adultery, for whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery already with her in his heart. If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee, for it is profitable that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell fire. Therefore, I say, it were better for thee to leave thy delight, than to have thy soul damned in hell forever: by leaving thy sin thou dost not leave thy delight, for then thou hast a new heart, new desires and affections to delight in better things; so that the forsaking of sin is but a change of delight, and those sins which have the greater delight in them, shall have the greater torment, as doth appear out of Rev. 18:7, concerning Babylon, The more pleasure she had, the more should her torments and sorrows be.

Thus have I dispatched, in brief, this sin of uncleanness, insisting and enlarging only some two or three of the Deceits whereby the devil doth beguile the sons of men, and lead them captive to the commission of this slavish and abominable sin; for motives and helps against it, I refer you to those I produced in the handling of fornication.

https://takeupcross.com
takeupcross