And also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5). At the Olympics the greatest athletes in the world assemble for a fortnight of competition. The diversity is remarkable! Athletes from nearly every nation on earth gather to display their prowess in nearly every sport imaginable. The competition is fierce. World records are broken. Often favorites underperform or are injured. Sometimes an unknown athlete from an unheralded nation steps onto the world stage and captures the prize. Athletes are awarded one of three prizes, a gold, silver, or bronze medal. Victors are honored while standing on a podium in which the gold medalist is slightly elevated above the silver and bronze winners. The national anthem of the gold medalist’s country is played and the flashbulbs pop. It is a sight to behold!

The single constant amidst all the diversity is the rules. Each sport has its rules. Every athlete is expected to obey them. Athletes are taught the rules from the time they are old enough to compete. The rules of the sport are the common denominator for all contestants. Everybody in the sport must play by the rules. And yet often the rules are broken. Why do athletes break the rules? Some want to “win at any cost.” Some competitors, trying to gain an edge, will do just about anything to win. Some use performance-enhancing drugs to make them stronger, more resilient, quicker. Some commit a lane violation and cross into a competitor’s lane. Some intentionally cheat to win. Others unintentionally violate the rules. The motive does not matter when it comes to competition. All athletes must compete according to the rules. To violate the rules is to incur the penalty of the judge. Remember the old playground motto, “winners never cheat and cheaters never win?” It’s still true.

What does all this have to do with purity? There are rules for life which, if violated, incur the penalty of the Judge. Many of those rules apply to our sexuality. To intentionally or unintentionally violate them leads to consequences. God’s gracious design for human sexuality is for all sexual behavior to be confined to a heterosexual, monogamous, lifelong marriage. God intended for one man and one woman to enter into the lifelong commitment of marriage as virgins and to have no other sexual partners. To violate those rules is to incur consequences of sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), guilt, shame, damaged relationships, and separation from God. God’s rules for our sexuality are meant for our good to protect us from physical, emotional, and spiritual harm.

What if we have broken the rules? Physical and emotional violations have consequences. Rule breakers often bear these consequences for a lifetime. Modern medicine has formulated Valtrex and other drugs to manage the symptoms of STDs but none can promise a cure for breaking God’s sexual rules. Wounded emotions are even tougher to heal. God, however, is loving and forgiving. He will forgive those who come to Him broken and repentant (cf. Luke 15:11-32). Our sins are put on Christ and His blood cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Spiritual violations can be repaired in Christ. Athletes must compete according to the rules of competition. So must we. All of us must live by the rules of the King. Only then will we receive the prize.