Job: An Ancient Example for Modern Manhood

Due to sexual misconduct biblical manhood is being seriously compromised within the evangelical church. A recent issue of World Magazine enumerated some of the most disgraceful episodes,¹ and yet we hardly need to be reminded that the incidence of sexual sin among professing Christian leaders has become epidemic. Misconduct has become so common that we dread, and yet are no longer shocked, by media revelations of each successive scandal.

What is wrong in the church? We of course must face the reality that there are always some within the church, even among its leaders, that are not true believers: they profess the truth, but do not possess the truth. In addition, true believers are not perfect, and are capable of falling into gross sin, as did King David, the man after God's own heart (II Sam. 11-12).

But why does there seem to be so much more sexual misconduct occurring in America today than in previous generations? An aggressive and hostile media is certainly reporting more of what is happening, but at the same time it is difficult to deny that such sin has in fact increased dramatically in recent years. There are at least two underlying causes contributing to the escalation of this kind of sin in the Christian community. One underlying cause is the influence of our cultural decline, and its concomitant preoccupation with illicit sex. Everywhere we turn we are confronted with sexual images or sexual conversation. Television, movies, advertising circulars, convenience store newsstands, and the Internet bombard our senses with sexual images, and talk shows and casual conversation are saturated with sexual innuendo. The other underlying cause is the truncated Gospel that has become far too common in American evangelicalism. So often, when people are invited to Christ, they are not challenged with the cost of discipleship. Thus we have large numbers of professing believers who maintain a merely casual relationship with the church, and fail to see the necessity of following Jesus as Lord as well as Savior.

And yet, even among those who have a proper understanding of salvation and the church of Jesus Christ, there remains the problem of dealing with sexual temptation because of the "remnants of corruption"² in the believer, aggravated by our cultural setting. This category of temptation is in a peculiar sense a male problem. Of course Christian women also have to deal with sexual temptation, but not in the same way or to the same degree that men do. In fact women are often horrified if and when they discover the sorts of things that tempt their Christian husbands. This article seeks to provide biblical strategies for dealing with such temptation.

The solution to this problem, as to all our problems, is found in the Word of God. Jesus prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth" (John 17:17).³ One especially helpful passage providing instruction for men who desire to model biblical manhood in the area of sexual purity is Job 31:1. In chapter 31 Job is answering the false accusations that had been leveled at him by his friends. He is not displaying a proud, Pharisaical attitude. His friends had concluded that his many troubles must have been the result of serious and specific sin in his life. In the words of Matthew Henry, Job is giving a "just and necessary vindication, to clear himself from those crimes with which his friends had falsely charged him, which is a debt every man owes to his own reputation."⁴

In verses 1-4 Job answers the accusation of lust, in verses 4-8 he answers the accusation of fraud and injustice in business, and in verses 9-12 he answers the accusation of adultery. In this last section he denies that he has had any designs on a neighbor's wife. In verse 1, the focus of our consideration, it is not adulterous coveting that is in view, but sexual lust in a more general sense: "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?"

The NASB has the most literal translation of the Hebrew word that is used for the female envisioned: "virgin." Now of course this does not mean that Job felt free to lust after women who were not virgins. The KJV has "maid," the NKJV has "young woman," and the NIV has "girl." All of these translations are efforts to capture what Job has in mind: sexual lust for any woman, and the young single woman is representative because she is most often the source of temptation to lust.

That lust is in view is clear from the Hebrew verb that is used of Job's contemplation, which means to "consider diligently."⁵ The NASB "gaze" and the NIV "look lustfully" are the best renderings.⁶ Clearly Job does not have in mind the legitimate consideration of a woman's attractiveness or her finer qualities. How do we define "looking lustfully" at a woman? Some have defined it as involving a high state of arousal.⁷ This definition, however, lets most of us off the hook the majority of the time. Lust starts long before a high state of arousal is reached. Lustful looking is somewhat difficult to define. Someone has said, "I don't know how to define pornography, but I know it when I see it." Likewise, men generally know when they are looking lustfully. It involves sweeping a woman's body with the eyes, and desiring to have that body, or intentionally storing that image in the mind for future reference. "Looking lustfully" may involve looking at an actual woman that we pass at the mall, doing a "double take." Or it may involve looking at pictures of women in advertising circulars, on news stands at the local convenience store, on TV, or on the Internet. Or it may involve searching the memory banks in an effort to bring up images that have been stored there.

Job dealt with this temptation very aggressively: he made a covenant with his eyes. This is a metaphorical expression, since the eyes are inanimate. As Barnes says, it "is poetical, meaning that he solemnly resolved. A covenant is of a sacred and binding nature; and the strength of his resolution was as great as if he had made a solemn compact."⁸ But this metaphorical expression contains a profound and practical truth. Delitzsch points out that the Hebrew indicates the kind of covenant where a superior makes a covenant with an inferior-not a covenant made between equals.⁹ Consider the significance of this. Delitzsch paraphrases as follows: "as lord of my senses I prescribed this law for my eyes."¹⁰ As believers who are indwelt by the Spirit of God and delivered from the dominion of sin, we have the ability to control our eyes-not to the point of absolute perfection, but to the point of consistent domination. "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace" (Rom. 6:14). We are not the helpless victims of our eyes. As a Christian man, you cannot say, "I can't help looking." Yes you can!

Now Job's purpose was not just to lead an outwardly chaste life-to avoid open sin-but to avoid the first motions of sin.¹¹ Verse 4 makes it clear that his concern was not what people would think, but what God would think: "Does He not see my ways, and number all my steps?" Barnes comments: "if a man wishes to maintain purity of life, he must make just such a covenant as this with himself-one so sacred, so solemn, so firm that he will not suffer his mind for a moment to harbor an improper thought."¹² In this connection Jesus said the following:

"You have heard that it was said, YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; but I say to you, that every one who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to go into hell" (Matt. 5:27-30).

This means dealing radically with sin. Jesus was not speaking literally. We must always compare Scripture with Scripture, and self-dismemberment is forbidden elsewhere (Deut. 14:1; 23:1). Furthermore, we do not read of any of the apostles walking about minus body parts due to self-mutilation. What Jesus means is that in areas of special temptation we need to take special measures to deal with that temptation.

Who needs to take special measures, and what sorts of special measures need to be taken? The authors of Every Man's Battle state that in their experience 10% of men do not have any problem at all with sexual lust, 10% have an extreme problem, and among the other 80% there is a spectrum.¹³ In other words, the vast majority of men-Christian men-are susceptible to sexual lust, but for some it is more of a problem than for others. Obviously Job was susceptible to sexual temptation, otherwise he would not have found it necessary to make a covenant with his eyes. And since most of us share Job's susceptibility to one degree or another, we need to make a covenant with our eyes.

The sorts of special measures which need to be taken vary from one individual to another, depending upon the degree of a man's problem and the particular sources of his temptation. In considering the measures which can be taken to control our eyes, we must keep in mind that we are not helpless victims of our eyes; rather, as believers we can by God's grace control our eyes. One way to control the eyes is by staying away from avoidable situations that would subject us to temptation. This is employing the biblical principle of fleeing temptation (II Tim. 2:22). I know a man who in order to avoid temptation turned down a promotion which would have required him to work in New York City. For many Christian men taking such a position would not have been a problem. But this man, knowing his own propensities, was dealing radically with sin, or more accurately the potential thereof. Perhaps for you dealing aggressively with temptation will mean staying away from the beach or from that gym that is frequented by scantily clad women. You may need to find alternative activities for your family in order to avoid certain situations.

Another special measure that some men may need to take is the elimination, or limitation, of cable TV in order to avoid some of those movie or music video channels. Or perhaps you need to get rid of your TV, as some have done. If less radical measures will work for you, here are some other suggestions. First, it might be a good idea not to flip channels, since you will often see something provocative in doing so; instead, go to the specific channel that you're after. Second, turn off those beer and bikini commercials, or look away, or get out of the room. If you travel you may want to have the hotel block the adult channels on your TV. As Jerry Jenkins observes, there may be some embarrassment connected with making this request,¹⁴ but if you are serious about denying yourself, taking up your cross daily, and following Christ (Luke 9:23), then this is a small matter.

Some men will need to take special measures with their Internet access. If it is not already the primary source of sexual temptation, it may well be so in the near future. Not only are there endless sexual images available on the Internet, but it seduces many by its promise of anonymity. A man can have access to tantalizing smut without running the risk of being seen entering an X-rated video store. Even if a man avoids the hardcore web sites, there are links to soft-core material from almost every home page, and it is so easy to click on a link. If you find yourself looking at material that you should not, you may want to put a filter on your Internet and give the password to your wife or a friend.¹⁵

But how do we control images that confront us in situations which we cannot avoid? As Arterburn and Stoeker stress in Every Man's Battle, we need to learn to "bounce" the eyes rather than allowing them to linger on women or sexual images.¹⁶ In the convenience store do not allow your gaze to wander to the magazine rack; even fitness and entertainment magazines regularly have provocative covers. When you come into contact with a woman who, because of her provocative dress or appearance might tempt you to lust, look away, or focus only on her face. Sometimes you can limit her to your peripheral field of vision to prevent sinning with your thoughts. Whatever techniques you employ, do not allow your eyes to linger inappropriately.

The need to use any or all of these suggestions depends upon an individual's threshold of susceptibility. The question is this: in order to follow Christ, are you willing to deal radically with sin?

"Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed" (Rom. 6:15-16).

These strategies must be undergirded with positive spiritual disciplines, flowing out of faith in Christ alone for salvation from sin. The traditionally defined means of grace-the Word, sacraments, and prayer-all need to be employed on a consistent basis. Use of the Word should include Scripture memorization. Memorizing God's Word in general, and passages that have to do with purity in particular, is a great deterrent to temptation. Some especially helpful passages are I Peter 2:11-12; Psalm 119:9-11; I Cor. 10:11-13. The considerable time that many of us spend in the car presents an opportunity to memorize Scripture, as well as to listen to edifying tapes. In dealing with any problem area, we need to use a holistic approach, taking up the whole armor of God for the battle (Eph. 6:10-20).