If you sit on the beach and watch the waves, you will observe that the waves can sometimes tend to “fight” with each other. Often undertows occur as the waters conflict with one another. Rather than having a peaceful experience, it becomes a very dangerous situation.

I think that sin is like that, and that we get caught in the wake of sin as our sin comes into contact with the sins of others. When this happens, the clash can become very dangerous. We can be pulled into sin that we find ourselves fighting against, but the pull to join in with the sin takes hold.

Consider the people who love Jesus and have been praying for a spouse. God leads two people together, they get engaged, and begin plans for their wedding. Their desire for purity comes under attack. 

One thinks that they can share a bed without being sexually active. The other wants to please his or her intended. Rationalization takes place. God’s words are pushed back as their sins collide and the undertow takes them down.

I know of an engaged couple who became sexually active prior to marriage. The woman thought it was ok because she shared the gospel with her finance. Her sin of neediness and his lack of a relationship with God ended tragically in a divorce years later. 

1 Thessalonians 5:22-24 states: “Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”

Please note that the above verses don’t give us any avenue to go against God’s Word. Rationalization or any other tactic to convince ourselves that any sin can be committed without God’s judgment is a lie from Satan. 

Hebrews 13:4 states: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”

The above description of the unmarried couple would be a case of defiling the marriage bed. God does not intend for our bodies to physically connect, even without sexual involvement, prior to marriage. Such a couple would be fooling themselves. They are susceptible to premarital sex should this continue.

But God tells us to flee from such situations! Don’t be held a prisoner by sinful desires.

Are you and I being held prisoner by some sinful desire?

It might be pride revealing itself in narcissism. When this collides with someone else’s self-centeredness, there is trouble in the relationship.

God created us to be relational people. He created us to help one another resist sinful temptations. This is how we can have healthy relationships.

Galatians 6:1-2 states: “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

1 John 1:7 states: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

These two verses provide God’s people with ways we can pray for ourselves and one another. 

For example:

Father, please help me to see my own sin so that I can help those who love you to walk in the light, as Jesus did and is our light. 

Father, please protect me from being caught up by any transgression. Please reveal my sins to me so that I can repent. Please bring someone who can help me. Thank you for your forgiveness because of Jesus’ shed blood that cleanses us.

Father, please help me be gentle as I seek to restore ____ to a right relationship with You. Please protect me from the powerful wake of _____’s sin, so that I don’t fall into temptation. You are all powerful and want to help us to walk in the light of Jesus.

Sin is powerful. But God is more powerful. 

What sin is tempting you now to rebel against God? Sin is rebellion against God, and there are always consequences, even if we are forgiven. When we lean into Jesus and help one another, we can sin less. We will never be sinless. 

Can I help you walk in the light of Christ? Please contact me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com if you want me to come alongside you.

Living for Jesus, Donna

P.S. If this has helped you, please share it with others!

Note: If the verses for Bible references do not appear when you hover over them, go directly to the website, and they should appear for you. Also, please remember to look at the full context of the verses by reading the complete passage.

Copyright 2025 Donna Shappy   All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.