The Path to Sexual Healing: A Bible Study

By Linda Cochrane

Victims of sexual abuse (and former abusers) will grow in wholeness and grace through this honest yet sensitive study that aids in recovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 1, 2000
• ISBN: 9781585585304

Linda Cochrane

Linda Cochrane is the executive director of Hopeline Women's Center in Monroe, Connecticut, and is cofounder of PACE (Post-Abortion Counseling and Education). She is the author of Forgiven and Set Free, Healing a Father's Heart, and The Path to Sexual Healing. Cochrane resides in New York.

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Jesus Christ is coming back for a bride, a bride that is pure, holy, and radiant. His bride will be beautifully dressed, without a spot, a stain, or a wrinkle. Her lanterns will be trimmed, filled with oil, and ready to light. Christ’s bride will be ready. Are you ready?

The church is the bride of Christ and if you are a Christian, you are part of his church. This study is designed to prepare you for Christ’s coming as your bridegroom.

Feeling like the bride of Christ may seem nearly impossible if you have been sexually wounded. Seeing yourself as holy, pure, and full of God’s light does not easily follow sexual trauma, one of the most soul-staining experiences of life. When a person has been sexually defiled, he or she may feel ashamed to stand in the presence of a holy God. Sexual sin leaves darkened spots of guilt on an innocent soul, and the self-confidence of victims of sexual abuse often collapses under the trauma of defilement.

In a similar way, standing before a holy God after having committed sexual sin is a frightening prospect. Our failures exposed by the light of his presence make us want to run and hide, a normal response of our sin nature. And we often feel more guilty about sexual sin than any other, even fearing to confess it to God. We try to hide it from our fellow sinners and we act as if our sexual life is hidden from God. It is not. He sees everything and knows everything. We cannot hide our guilt and shame from our holy God. If we are to be the bride without a spot, without a stain, and without a wrinkle, we must respond to his call for cleansing. He tenderly calls to us, Come away, my beloved. We must come out from hiding, get into his light, and face our uncleanness. There is nothing to fear when we long for his cleansing. In his forgiveness we can feel pure. In his presence we can feel acceptance.

Becoming the bride of Christ is a process of transformation. The holy Creator of our sexuality has a perfect plan for us and as he sanctifies us, we become more like the man or woman God created us to be. Being created in the image of God, we have his ways and his principles written in our hearts. We may choose to follow those ways or we may choose to go our own way. He does not force us to follow his sexual plans for us.

God’s perfect plan for our sexuality is for us to remain sexually pure before marriage. And when married, we are to remain monogamous and faithful to our partner. If you are married, his plan is for you and your spouse to have sex only with each other. If you are single, God’s plan is for you to abstain from sexual relations. Married or single, our thoughts, attitudes, and actions must be pleasing to God.

In God’s perfect plan there is no sexual perversion or abuse. But we live in a fallen and imperfect world. This study is for those who have fallen and not followed God’s perfect plan. It is also for those who have been victims of sexual abuse. The good news is God heals and forgives. If we know God’s standards—and we do because God’s ways are written on our heart—we know where we have fallen short. The negative impact of sexual sin on our soul is extensive, but there is a remedy. This study will help you find and apply that remedy.

God sees our sexual expression in marriage as a serious commitment and he wants to deepen our love and affection for our spouse as we grow older. God’s plan is that our love for our spouse will grow out of our love for God. If we commit ourselves to God and follow him with devotion, we will want our sexual life in line with his plans for us, a plan