A woman has an innate desire to be cherished. This desire can sometimes make her easy prey to a man’s lusts if she believes that offering her body to him will win and keep his love. This desire also helps explain why close to 91 percent of the buyers of romance fiction are women. Books in this genre are generally required to have an emotionally satisfying, optimistic ending—a formula which has rewarded romance fiction with the largest share of the paperback literature market and the second largest in the e-book market.¹
So how does a Christian woman resist this pull and keep her mind, body, and heart pure and untarnished in a very stained, harsh world? Elisabeth Elliot wrote, in the preface of her classic book Passion and Purity: “The love life of a Christian is a crucial battleground. There, if nowhere else, it will be determined as to who is Lord: the world, the self and the devil, or the Lord Christ.”²
We want to help you win that battle, with the right weapons and armor at your disposal. The resources on this page will point you to the only source of ultimate satisfaction and worth: Jesus, the Lover of your soul!
“Greener-Grass Syndrome”
by Kimberlee Hertzer
No one just walks into an affair. The downward slope leading to affairs of the heart or the body is soft underfoot and gradual. Many women wander out of their own yards and into another’s because of the proverbial temptation: the grass over the fence looks so much more refreshing than the grass in their own yard. The danger, however, in yielding to this temptation is once the grass is eaten, it will sour your soul. So how can you keep in your own yard or return to it if you’ve wandered? This practical article will help you answer these questions.
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"A Stirring Summons to Purity"
Belief and behavior always go hand in hand—in that order. What we do is always based on what we believe . . . about God, about ourselves, about others. However, some suggest that what we do is not as important as what we believe. Others suggest that belief is not as important as action. But belief without deeds is hypocrisy, while action without beliefs ends in confusion. After discussing right belief in the first half of the book of Ephesians, Paul shifted his focus to action, calling Christians to pure living in Ephesians 5:1–7.
Character Counts: Building a Life That Pleases God, CD series
Cultivating Purity in an Impure World, CD set
Family Matters: Investing in the Things That Last, DVD set
Gaining Control of Your Mind, CD series
"Resisting Temptation," single CD message
Browse through our list of products to find books, audio series, and more resources to help you maintain a morally pure life
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Close Calls: What Adulterers Want You to Know About Protecting Your Marriage
by Dave Carder
softcover book
On the day you said “I do” to forsaking all others, you meant it. You would never—you could never—forsake your beloved for another person. “It would never happen to me,” you’ve said. “I love my spouse.”
But time and stress have a way of steering us to the cliff of an adulterous affair. Though we don’t often admit it, we’ve all had close calls. How do you put up guardrails to protect yourself? This question is answered practically in Dave Carder’s book Close Calls. He writes, “This book will not only help you be more alert to close calls—it will strengthen your marriage.”
207-page softcover book
Purchase
Cultivating Purity in an Impure World
LifeMaps book
Sexual purity . . . impossible?
Through the encounters of Bible heroes, David and Joseph, Chuck Swindoll and Insight for Living reveal the practical steps necessary to cultivate purity in a sex-crazed world. God offers a way of victory . . . so begin the journey today.
120-page softcover LifeMaps book
Purchase
Staying Pure in a World Gone Wild
CD series
It is a wicked world out there. Drive down any highway and your eyes will be assaulted by scantily clad women on billboards. Sit down to watch a football game and you’ll want to change the channel whenever the commercials come on. And we haven’t even mentioned the Internet or reality television. It’s not easy saying pure in a world gone wild. But Chuck Swindoll offers help and encouragement in keeping your life free of the impurities of the world with this series of timely and timeless truths.
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Other Recommended Books
Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life under Christ's Control by Elisabeth Elliot, softcover book
Every Woman's Battle: Discovering God's Plan for Sexual and Emotional Fulfillment by Shannon Ethridge and Stephen Arterburn, softcover book and softcover workbook
Porn Nation: Conquering America's #1 Addiction by Michael Leahy, hardcover book
Counseling Care
If you're struggling with issues regarding sexual purity—promiscuity, infidelity, or pornography—and would like to speak with a grace-filled and godly counselor, please visit Insight for Living's Pastoral Ministries page.
Purity Ministries
You know the old saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." To help keep your life free from immorality while on the Internet, you might consider visiting Pure Life Ministry's Web site. They provide information about some of the best Internet filters available. For Macintosh users, you might consider Internet Security Barrier from Intego.
We recommend you visit these ministries which specialize in sexually related issues—Internet pornography, homosexuality, and infidelity—if you're interested in more information about this deeply important and intimate subject.
- Exodus International
- Living Hope Ministries
- Love Won Out Conferences
- Pure Intimacy
- Pure Life Ministries
NOTES
1. Romance Writers of America, "Romance Literature Statistics," Romance Writers of America, http://www.rwa.org/cs/the_romance_literature_statistics/industry_statistics (accessed March 24, 2011).
2. Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ's Control (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1984), 12.

