Why are sexual sins so embarrassing?

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

The Lord gave me a powerful revelation today on the hold that sexual sins have on people. Why are they so powerful to grip and hold a person in guilt and shame? It seems they are among the all-time, best-selling weapons that Satan uses against countless individuals around the world today!

Guilt and shame are known to tear a person to pieces spiritually. They make you feel guilty, separated from God, they rob you of your faith and rips you to pieces. They break God's children down piece by piece, robbing them of their joy, peace, confidence and pure conscience. They are also valuable tools that demonic spirits use against a person in the forms of mental torment and harassment.

Furthermore, it seems that those caught in this trap find it hard to open up and talk about their struggle or failure with others. Almost everybody finds it hard to even admit that they are struggling in the area of sexuality, even when it seems almost everybody else struggles with it!!

I guess the key question is, why are sex-related sins so embarrassing? This intense embarrassment is not a fleshly nature, but rather the workings of unclean spirits. "Who told you that you were naked?" God asked Adam and Eve, thus giving us a clear indication that Satan or one of his unclean spirits were telling Adam and Eve that they were naked, and thus should be ashamed of themselves! Shame did not enter the world until this moment, and it came about when someone (a spirit) told Adam and Eve (through their thought-lives) that they were naked, and therefore made them ashamed of themselves.

Genesis 3:11, "And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked?"

They were so ashamed, that they not only covered themselves, but also hid in the garden from God!

Genesis 3:10, "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."

Notice how shame brought a dreaded fear of God! Before that moment, there was no fear of God, at least not the type of fear where a person is scared and wants to distance themselves from God! This is exactly what happens when people are fearful of having committed the unpardonable sin... they become afraid of God and feel that He is out to punish them!

Also notice how even Adam was ashamed of his body, and didn't want God (his own creator) to see him naked! It shouldn't surprise us when we see how the enemy tries today to make our sexuality shameful in the same way. Obviously, God has made sex beautiful, but Satan wants us to be ashamed of it, and when we partake in sexual sin, it becomes an open door for a heavy burden caused by guilt and shame to move in on us. Unclean spirits then use this to their advantage and bring much bondage and torment.

So why do unclean spirits work so hard to keep a person 'locked/shut up' concerning their failure or struggle? He does not want them to open up and uncover the darkness in their soul in which guilt and shame have their strongest grip. God's Word is clear that confessing our faults to one another can bring about and promote healing in one's life:

James 5:16, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed..."

From experience, many (including myself) will testify to a powerful healing concept of simply admitting to another believer what your faults have been. It seems to lift a heavy load when a person brings something that's kept them bound for years, out into the open. There's a tremendous release that many feel when they simply confess their struggle or failure to another!

So why are sexual sins so embarrassing? The unclean spirits who are taking advantage of the person through guilt and shame do NOT want you to open up about your failure, and expose the darkness by which their weapons (guilt and shame) are able to do their work.