Well, we have been following the narrative of Joseph and we have watched Joseph go from basking in the privileges afforded to the favorite son of a doting father, to an object that is auctioned off at a slave market to the highest bidder. We have watched his brothers strip his coat from his body like skin from an animal. And that began a process by which his entire identity was just as violently stripped away from him.

His language was stripped, culture stripped, values, name, reputation, influence, and position stripped. He was truly naked - body and soul.

If ever there were circumstances where you could say you were justified in being bitter, resentful, and angry, circumstances where you’d be entitled to a bit of self-pity and depression, it would be this. Imagine the confusion and loneliness in Joseph’s mind as he tries to make heads or tails of why all this happened. Is God even real? What did I do to deserve this? Joseph could have forever been imprisoned in these dark lonely walls of self-pity and feeling sorry for himself.

God delivered Joseph from that mental prison. Joseph was able to trust God to the point that he not only was able to exist, but he thrived. He rose and became a blessing in Potiphar’s house. And if you didn’t know better, it would sure seem that the rags to riches story is complete. Joseph has risen to a position of prominence in the house of Potiphar.

This is a significant accomplishment. Potiphar was a wealthy captain in Pharaoh’s army and probably had dozens and dozens of slaves. I know the English rendering ‘captain of the guard’ doesn’t sound that impressive. But the same title is given to the Babylonian general who destroys Jerusalem in 2 Kings 25.

Joseph is no longer doing manual labor. He’s administrating, managing, and organizing. He has authority. He is respected. The text says Joseph was an attendant to Potiphar. That word ‘attendant’ is used to describe Joshua’s relationship with Moses. In other words, Joseph was not just a personal assistant. He was the COO of a major business, of the whole estate. I’m guessing that his lifestyle and influence as a slave in Potiphar’s house far exceeded his lifestyle and influence as a shepherd in Palestine.

The rags to riches story is complete. Joseph has arrived, right? Put a bow around it. The end. But the story is far from over. In fact, we are just getting started. The screws are going to be turned in on him in ways he never could have dreamed. It’s not going to be pretty. And this stage two of testing begins with temptation.

Now when you think Potiphar’s wife and temptation you are likely thinking sexual temptation and that is there for sure - in spades. But it’s much more sophisticated as we are going to see. In fact, as we build out the temptations that surround the sexual temptation, it helps us to understand why sexual sin is so powerful and how to overcome it. Definition of Temptation

Let’s begin with a simple definition. What is temptation?

Temptations are like fishing lures. Picture a big juicy worm threaded on a sharp hook. To a fish, it looks really good, but there are really bad hidden consequences. It’s an enticement to do something harmful.

And as we read the text, there at least 6 ways in which Joseph is tempted and so we’ll identify those lures that drift by and then talk about how Joseph avoided them. Now the first lure, the first temptation, comes at the end of verse 6: Where’s the temptation there? That just sounds like a blessing. Well, be careful what you wish for. Being beautiful can be a curse. Well, curse me. No. Think about it. Everywhere Joseph went, he was liked. He was liked by his father. He was liked by Potiphar and in this text, we will see that he is also liked by Potiphar’s wife.

And you’re saying, “Man, I hate people like that.” Ah! You see, you’ve demonstrated the curse of beauty. It is not fun to be hated simply because of your gifts. Isn’t that what Joseph’s brother’s said? Joseph is dad’s favorite. He is handsome. Joseph got all the muscles, the height, the wavy hair, the charm, the athletic ability, and the administrative ability. And did Joseph’s brothers like him for that? They envied him. Being the object of someone’s jealousy is not fun. And if it’s for no fault of your own, how can you apologize for being born?

It’s actually not easy being extremely talented, extremely beautiful, extremely smart, extremely wealthy, or extremely athletic. People envy you. People become jealous of you. You become, as in Joseph’s case, the object of someone else’s desire.

Okay, so there’s a temptation for onlookers not to envy, but what’s the temptation for Joseph? The temptation is to believe it. To believe that because he has the currently in-style desirable traits that he is superior to those who do not have such traits.

The temptation is to believe that because you have wavy hair, muscles, beauty, academic ability, social talent, or wealth that you are superior to others who do not.

It is true that being handsome and beautiful will open many doors of opportunity, but we better be aware as they swing wide, because many of them will close behind us and lock us into prisons much worse than the prison we thought we were in. And that much worse prison is the belief that you are better than others. Why is it a prison? Because then your value and worth are chained to those identity markers. As soon as that happens, you are living on borrowed time. You are valuable so long as you are beautiful, athletic, successful, etc. But the second you lose those things, you are yesterday’s news. Being in this prison forces you to run from the drooling monster of time who runs at a pace you can barely outrun, but the problem is he never tires and you do. Eventually, he will catch you and gobble you up and you will be worthless. Time will ensure that one day you will not be beautiful, not successful, not athletic, not powerful…it will win.

It’s tempting to believe that we are superior to others because we possess the gifts they want. We tell ourselves, “It wasn’t even my idea. Others believe it and told me about it. Even my enemies believe it which is why they are jealous. If even my worst enemies believe it, it must be true. Because they want to be like me, that proves that I have more value than them.”

And there’s an incredible temptation to lord this over others and to subtly remind them of the valuable things they want that you so effortlessly possess. Man, there is an allure of thinking oneself superior. But Joseph refused the bait!

Here comes the second temptation. I’m focusing on one aspect of this sentence. The way the text captures this is perfect. After a time, his master’s wife “cast her eyes on Joseph.” When Joseph was first taken into captivity, he was a boy. He was just 17. He wasn’t even done developing as a man. He was in a low position. But as he aged, as he learned the language, as his form filled out, Potiphar’s wife began in her mind to look at him differently.

At first, it’s nothing overt. It’s subtle. It’s a second glance. It’s a glance that lasts slightly longer than normal. It’s being caught staring from across the room when you think nobody’s looking.

At first, it’s like, “Oh, there’s that new Canaanite slave. I hate it when Potiphar drags in these inarticulate slaves. What’s his name? Joseph. Okay.” But then as he grew: “Oh, there’s Joseph…he’s kind of cute.” And maybe she starts picking him for certain slave related chores because he’s pleasant to be around. She wanted him. And it’s nice to be wanted, isn’t it?

As Potiphar’s wife comments and remarks and peers at Joseph, this temptation, at least at first, is not appealing to Joseph’s sensuality. It’s actually appealing to his insecurity. You see, beneath the sensual desire, is a soul desire. It’s among the most basic needs of the human being to be wanted. We all want to be wanted. Being wanted: - Flatters our vanity. - Prooves to our egos that we have worth. - Silences our self- condemning consciences

Yes, it’s sexual but first it’s spiritual. When there is a vacancy of worth, identity, and value, then we open ourselves up for sexual sin. This is so often the crack in the foundation that leads to adultery. A woman stops feeling loved, valued, and cherished by her husband. She stops feeling wanted and then someone else expresses interest and desire and it’s over.

Now if Joseph was in a vulnerable position of needing to be wanted, just think how influenced he would be by Potiphar’s wife’s advances. “Joseph, dang, you got some rippling muscles. Love the cheekbones and the washboard abs. Joseph, I love your deep blue eyes. Wow, your sandy hair is so seductive. I like your dark complexion.”

Who isn’t just totally flattered by that? Just to be wanted.

Now the story is a girl wanting a guy. But the temptation works in reverse just as well, if not better. What girl doesn’t want to be wanted by the eyes of some man? And there are all sorts of temptations that surround being wanted in this way. “If I wear a modest swimsuit, or modest clothing, well, nobody is going to look at me. Nobody is going to want me. I see the way they look at the girls with low shirts, tight pants, or bikinis. So I want to be wanted in that way.” It’s a temptation for a woman to dress this way, is it not?

Or maybe it’s the type of photo you choose to post. It’s just slightly revealing, slightly seductive, or just a bit edgy. It’s nice to get the comments, “You look great!” from your girlfriends and it wouldn’t be a bad thing if you got a little trolling admiration from some of the guys. It’s easy to think, “If I have a figure that is attractive, well, then I want to capture the eyes of men so that I can feel like I have value and worth.”

Women, please. Don’t fall for that. Don’t sell yourself so cheaply. Dress for Jesus Christ, not for the shallow fulfillment of lustful men. The lust of men will never fulfill you. Once they get what they want, they will spit you out and move on and you will have just barely tasted of the love and security you so desperately crave. And then you will be left with nothing but the painful hook.

Nothing in the text indicates that Joseph was fishing for this kind of attention but he is noticed nonetheless.

The temptation for Joseph is to allow the attention of Potiphar’s wife to fill his soul. Taking the bait is the simple act of enjoying the attention, wanting the eyes to fall on you, wanting the attention to come your way again. If a man, woman, girl, or boy enjoys the attention, the hook is set. You’re going to end up in the frying pan. To allow that deep desire to be wanted to be satisfied by the lust of fickle people will destroy your soul. It’s alluring to simply be wanted but Joseph refused the bait!

Here’s the next one.

Now there’s something that’s not apparent here in the text until you look a little closer. What’s the temptation referenced here? She says, “Lie with me!” And then you look at Joseph’s reasoning against this seductress. I’m not seeing any temptation other than the obvious sexual temptation? That’s because he’s speaking from the position of someone who’s already won. Joseph is refusing the allure of power.

Everything he says is coming from a man who has chosen to not use his power and influence and authority for his own benefit. Joseph is in a position of power. He’s got the trust of Potiphar. He’s got the respect of the other slaves. He’s got influence. He’s got the authority to make decisions.

A lesser man without character might have reasoned exactly in the opposite direction. You can imagine the exact same circumstances presenting themselves to another person, and he looks at them and he sees an opportunity:

“I’m in charge. My master doesn’t concern himself with anything in the house and he’s entrusted everything to my care. He holds nothing back from me. This is about as perfect as it gets! I am powerful enough to get away with this. I have enough autonomy in my life that nobody will question me. I have achieved that station of life such that I can be alone for long periods of time on business trips or alone in my hotel and nobody could ever question me. I am powerful enough to get away with it.”

The question for powerful people is always, “How am I going to use that power? Will I use it for myself or God?” Joseph speaks from a position where he has determined to use his power for God alone.

Do you use your power for selfish gain or God-glorifying purposes? Let me give you an example. My mom was a realtor for many years, back when you could buy 100 acres in Eagle for the cost of a snowcone. And she really stood out in the market because she wasn’t working for people. She was working for God. People would call her up and say, “Hey, I want to make an offer on a house.” She would look at the house and say, “You don’t want that house.” They would say, “Yeah I do.” “No you don’t!” They would look at her flabbergasted and say, “I’m ready to give you a large commission and you are refusing. Why would you do that?” She would say, “Because it’s not a good house,” and she would list the reasons. She was in a position of power that she could have used for her benefit but she was working for God, not for a commission.

Joseph was working for God. He could have seen his position of power as a means to his selfish end. He could have thought, “After all the suffering I’ve been through, I deserve a little something for myself. And I’ve worked hard for this position of freedom and autonomy.”

Do you know that self-pity is one of the largest drivers of pornography? “I’ve got it so hard. Nobody knows how difficult my life is, how much I have to absorb. Nobody knows how difficult my wife is.” Or like in Joseph’s case, “Nobody has any idea how difficult it is not having a wife, not having an outlet for sexual fulfillment. I deserve some relief.”

Joseph could have thought down these paths. “I’m the big shot now. I’ve got the power and I’m tired of always serving other people. I have the power to do something about this problem. It’s time to finally use my position for my own benefit.” That’s a real temptation. But Joseph refused the bait!

But we are only on temptation #3. Here’s the next one that attacks him.

There are at least three temptations in this verse that I can see and I’m sure there are more than that. I’m keying in on one phrase in verse 10. Joseph refused to lie with her, yes, but it also says, “He refused to be with her.” Make no mistake. Joseph was lonely. He was all alone and there was nobody to help him bear the burden of his sorrow.

When a man is lonely, there’s nothing like the softness of a woman to give him sympathy and make him feel special. “Man, I’m so sorry. You are an amazing person to have survived what you did.” There’s nothing like the soft voice of a woman to say, “You really have a hard job. I’m so proud of you. Great job Joseph, I’m impressed.” There’s nothing like the velvet voice of a woman to dribble in a little respect.

I am sure Joseph longed for intimacy because he was lonely. And sex is one of the best short term solutions to loneliness. It’s designed by God to create intimacy. I’m quite sure that Potiphar’s wife didn’t start out by grabbing him by the collar. It was much more subtle, much less brazen, and honestly, much more attractive: “Just be with me. You don’t have to work today Joseph. Let’s just hang out at Starbucks. Let’s just enjoy life together. You’re always so deadly serious. Joseph, have you been thinking about me? I’ve been thinking about you. I just like being with you. You make me feel special. You satisfy in me that craving to be close to someone. Hey just sit on the couch with me. It’s not going to hurt anything. I don’t bite.”

And do you not think this would be attractive to Joseph? Do you not think his soul was lonely for companionship? But Joseph refused the bait!

But we are still not done. Let’s look at another temptation in the text. What do we mean by this? This temptation happened day after day. Day after day after day a slow drip that just wears away at a person’s resolve. It’s one thing to resist temptation once or twice or three times. But it’s another thing entirely to resist temptation indefinitely, never yielding even when constantly being presented with opportunities. And there is a temptation to yield, not for the pleasure, but to simply silence the tormenting voices inside your head. “If I yield it will all be over.”

The Navy Seals have a famous training called hell week. And that torturous week includes laughable amounts of exercise, exposure to cold, minimal sleep, and deprivation of pretty much every kind. As the week wears on, you are just mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. Under those conditions, your body is just screaming, “Please stop!” You just want it to be over. And it can all be over if you walk up to a bell in the center of camp and ring it. And once you do that, you can take a shower, the pain stops, you can go to bed; it’s all over, but you are also out. That’s how sustained temptation sometimes feels. Your reward for resisting temptation is just more temptation, more torture. It’s not like there is an end in sight. It’s not like you can just attain some level of resistance where suddenly these thoughts and images and desires just go away. We just want to silence the voices in our head that are screaming at us. And it’s tempting to cave just to simply silence the noise.

Don’t you think Joseph felt this way? Of course, he did! “Man, just the repetition is wearing away at my resolve. I only have so much in me.” How long did this go on? Weeks, months, years? And clearly, it’s growing in intensity. Joseph, it can all be over, if you just yield. But Joseph refused the bait!

Now I want to talk directly about the allure of sex as pleasure. I’m sure Potiphar’s wife was beautiful. I’m certain of it. What wealthy, powerful person doesn’t magnetically attract the most beautiful people in society? Of course she was beautiful. Joseph was handsome and well-built. I’m sure Potiphar’s wife was beautiful and well-figured. And to a young, single man, a virgin, at the height of his sex drive, this would have been very difficult.

It would have been pleasurable to catch her eyes. She knew how to use them. The way she dressed. What she chose to reveal. The way she moved. It must have all been quite seductive. But the reason I saved the allure of pleasure to the very end is to help us remember that sex is almost never about pleasure exclusively. It’s very complex in its relationship to our deeper needs for power, respect, intimacy, and security. We are complex creatures and everything is connected. We have a biological desire for food and even physical necessity for it, but that’s only a small reason for why we eat. Many of us eat for very complex psychological reasons. We eat for social reasons. We eat to take the edge off depression. Sexual intimacy is similar. It satisfies the desire to be wanted. There are elements of power involved. There is closeness and intimacy. There are physiological and pleasure factors.

Pleasure is a powerful motive. Sex from the standpoint of desire is among the most powerful biological drives we have. This is why it’s used in advertising with great effect.

So you have all these psychological factors in the background. And the reason this is important to mention is because Joseph won this battle before it even started. The opportunity presented itself, but all these other areas of his life were settled and determined long ago.

Conversely, the man who would have fallen here would have lost the battle long ago. It is said that the man who falls into adultery doesn’t fall very far. One compromise after another after another and that final step is just the next logical small progression.

Sure the attack is full-on sensual. If Joseph had managed up to this point to stay at arm’s length from the woman, he no longer was now. Now he’s within the orb of her perfume. Now he can see her exactly as she is, he can feel her.

But it’s all reactionary at this point. There’s no time to think. And because of all the right decisions made up to this point, he did exactly what he should have done: he ran for his life!

But Joseph refused the bait! How Joseph Crushed Temptation

Now, how did he do this? Let’s get serious. Listen, the only reason temptation works is because it is deceitful. Nobody would ever fall for temptation without deception.

What fish would ever choose to bite a hook with a worm on it if he knew what would happen next? Is the enjoyment of that dinner bite worth becoming a dinner bite for some fly fisherman? Certainly not! But the bait works because you can’t see the hook. It appears so, so different. You can imagine a young fish looking at that bait ball and thinking, “Man I’ve never seen a worm so juicy. I didn’t even know they made them that big. That’s the most delicious looking thing I’ve ever seen.” But he hears in his head the voice of his mother or father saying, “Son, if you ever see a worm that looks so beautiful, so delicious, so seductive that you think it can’t be true, run for your life. It will kill you.” And he inspects it from all angles. “How can this worm be bad? Those old fish, they don’t know anything. They are always so negative and crusty. They don’t even have Instagram and Snapchat. How could they possibly know what’s bad?” And he goes for it and ends up on a plaque as a trophy in someone’s bedroom.

A temptation is simply an enticement to do something that is harmful to you. The power of temptation is in its ability to deceive. So to overcome temptation it’s all about uncovering the deception. Here’s the first deception to uncover. We are deceived into believing that we are strong. We are not strong. It seems like we are really strong. But in reality, we are very weak. Don’t tell yourself that you can handle it. You can’t. You are a sucker. You are impulsive and immature.

When you know that you are weak, vulnerable, and a wimp, you will do things to ensure that you stay away from danger. If you know you have bad balance, you won’t get near the edge of the cliff. If you think you have good balance but actually have bad balance, then you’ll be dead.

Don’t even mess with temptation. There is a Welsh proverb that says, “He who would not enter the room of sin must not sit at the door of temptation.”

If you struggle with going to the beach because of all the immodest swimwear, don’t go. Why put yourself in that situation? If you know you’re weak then guard your eyes. If you know you will be tempted on your computer, then lock it down. The eyes are the gateway into our souls. Be careful little eyes what you see.

If you think you can handle it, you will fail. Why? Because you will begin to nurse sin at the level of the imagination, a place that nobody else can see. “I’m just going to extract some pleasure just thinking about it. It won’t hurt anyone. I can handle that.” But you can’t handle it. You have no idea how weak you are. It’s like the guy who thinks he can handle drugs. You can’t handle even a little bit. It will hook you and you will be reeled into death.

Run. Run for your life. You can’t handle a train barreling down towards you. You can’t handle an attacking grizzly bear. You can’t handle a mountain lion. Run for your life!

Every year in Yellowstone, some guy gets gored or run over by a bison because he thinks, “The bison looks slow and innocent. Let me just get a bit closer.”

This is why the Bible’s recommendation for dealing with sexual sin is to flee! We are told to stand firm for the faith. We are told to defend the faith. But when it comes to sexual sin we are told to run for our lives! If you don’t obey this verse at the level of your mind, your body is already defiled. The decision has already been made. The only thing that is missing is the occasion.

And because we’ve already gone down the road so far that all we need is the occasion, and once the occasion arises, we are done.

So first deception to uncover, “I can handle it.” No you can’t. Here’s the second deception to uncover. We are deceived into believing there is no hook. There is a hook. “It doesn’t seem like it. It doesn’t seem like there will be any consequences at all. Where are the consequences? All I see is delight!” But the hook is very sharp, very powerful, and very deadly. The consequences of sexual sin are very real.

And because they are very well documented, we should all put into our minds that sexual sin in any form is not an option. Don’t even toy with it. Don’t dabble with it. Don’t be like the fish asking, “I wonder if there really is a hook in there?” Just believe it, close down the mental discussion, and resolve it in your mind.

Those people I know who have been most successful in overcoming sexual sin all think about it in the exact same way: it simply is not an option. Don’t make disobeying God in this way something that comes up for discussion. “Let’s take a vote on it. What are the pros and cons?” There are only cons. Why would I do this? It’s poison. It’s a land mine. I’m not going to play flag football in an uncleared minefield. It’s just not an option.

Now here’s why this is so important. There is a world of difference, psychologically, between something that is nearly impossible and something that is actually impossible.

Winning the lottery is nearly impossible. Statistically speaking, it’s about 1 in 300 million. You’re many times more likely to get hit by lighting, attacked by a shark, and be in both a plane crash and a car crash consecutively than winning the lottery. And yet people happily say, “You can’t win if you don’t play!” If it’s even the slightest possibility, that minuscule chance has toyed with the imagination of so many and destroyed thousands and thousands of lives. Because it’s possible it controls your imagination.

Conversely, if it’s impossible, not an option, if you’ve closed down discussion, ratified it, and made it an unalterable policy, then it cannot control your imagination. You don’t crave owning the country of Spain. That would be cool, and you might start dreaming about it if it were possible, but it’s not possible. No human could ever do that. It’s not an option. So it occupies zero space in your brain.

This, by the way, is the way you silence the torture of daily temptation. You may think, “God it’s not fair that you just keep torturing me.” Day after day Joseph has to entertain Potiphar’s wife’s proposition. No, he doesn’t have to entertain it day after day. He entertains it once and then kills it. It’s not an option. He’s slain it.

My mom, bless her soul, my entire life lived on popcorn, coffee, and caramel. But then she got diagnosed with cancer. And that changed her diet for good. She gave up coffee and sugar and now eats kale and green beans. If you believe your only chance to live is by eating healthy, guess what, you’ll eat healthily. If you believe you might get lucky and you can eat unhealthily and still live, well then, of course you will cheat. We all do.

Here’s the third deception to uncover. We are deceived into thinking that we can improve on God’s design. It sure seems like we can improve on God’s design. I mean this sure seems like a pretty old sexual ethic. Do we really need to listen to this stuff? Isn’t there a way we can update this to be more compatible with the modern moral appetite? It sure seems like if we obeyed the letter of the law here, that obeying God isn’t worth it. I’m not sure God is really worth all the suffering involved in denying myself. It doesn’t seem like he is. But here’s the truth. Nothing in this worth more than the smile of God.

Do you see how Joseph trusts God’s design? He says, “My master doesn’t deal with anything in the house anymore. The only thing he cares about is his food, and he’s kept nothing back from me except you because you are his wife.” In other words, he says, “There is a rightness about sexual intimacy staying in the bed of a husband and wife, and I understand it.” That’s the way it’s designed and who am I to question God’s design?

Oh, come on Joseph, what’s your problem? Do we really need to be so principled about all this stuff? Isn’t there a way we can update your religion to be more compatible with modern moral appetite?

It may seem like sexual freedom and God are incompatible. Sexual sin and God are not compatible. There are not many ways to build spiritual intimacy with God and others. There is one way and it is the only way.

Do you hear it in Joseph’s voice, “How could I do this great evil and sin against God? I love the smile of God so much, how could I ever do anything to dismiss his gaze?”

Do you want to know what’s way, way, way better than any sexual experience? Closeness with God. Now you want to know why this last point is so important? Because you can appreciate your own weakness and even fear the hook to some degree, but when the right opportunity comes you’re still a goner. Because you are only motivated by not doing something in a negative sense. You aren’t motivated by doing something positive. There’s no carrot, no reward.

Listen, if your only concern is getting caught or spoiling your reputation then you are done. If the only thing that is stopping you from looking at pornography or having an affair is that you fear consequences or don’t have the opportunity, well, the opportunity is going to come. For Joseph, the opportunity came. Potiphar’s wife comes and she grabs him. She caught him by his cloak. But opportunity changed nothing for Joseph because lack of opportunity isn’t what was preventing him. It was love for God and that doesn’t change when an opportunity presents itself.

If the only thing that is stopping you is circumstances, then you will fail. No question. Just wait. Potiphar’s wife will find you alone and seize you by the cloak and you are gone. Why? Because you really want her to grab you. You want her to steal you away. And you want to lay the blame on her and say, “It wasn’t my fault. It was her fault,” but that’s exactly what you wanted. We may think we merely respond to outward temptations that are presented to us, but the truth is our evil desires are constantly searching out temptations to satisfy our insatiable lusts.

When Joseph came to Egypt, he could have said to himself, “Sweet, they have a different sexual ethic. Look at all these women throwing themselves at me. I can get used to this. Hey, spring break forever!”

But Joseph was absolutely decisive in his refusal because how could he sin against the God he loved so deeply? The most powerful deterrent to sin will always be love for God. Thomas Chalmers wrote an article that really changed my life. It’s entitled “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.”

Most people think self-control works like this: you look in your heart and you have all these desires, and you say, “These desires are going to get me into trouble, so I must suppress them.” That’s not what happens here. Joseph is not looking inside to suppress his desire for fulfillment. He’s looking outside to enhance his desire for God. He was satisfied with Jesus. And because he was satisfied, he could respond from a position of great strength. What does he say? What is his ultimate argument against doing this? He says, “This is a sin against God. The smile of God upon me is the most precious thing in the world. How could I jeopardize that?” A Final Word on Forgiveness

Now, in a room this size, there is undoubtedly a lot of guilt. “I haven’t been like Joseph. I’m more like Potiphar’s wife than Joseph.” But listen, this is the glory of the gospel. What makes you righteous is not your sexual purity. What makes your righteous is Jesus Christ. And accepting his righteousness will cause your soul to leap to such heights, it will cast your eyes to heaven and catch the gaze of Christ, such that you will live a sexually pure life.

Joseph was not perfect and he certainly would have failed and asked God for forgiveness. We know that. But we see a man who, overall as a whole, was victorious because he was so enthralled with the beauty of God.

So no matter how many times you’ve failed, messed up, or disappointed someone, there is forgiveness in the cross of Jesus Christ. You may have to deal with the consequences of your choices for the rest of your life, true enough. But you are forgiven. You can receive the smile of God upon your life not because of your righteousness, but because of his righteousness given to you. So I want to pray a gospel prayer that applies to everyone in this room who wants to follow Jesus Christ. If you are a believer, it applies to you. If you are not a believer but would like to become a believer it applies to you.