How Joseph Fought Sexual Temptation: A God-Centered Battle

Joseph provides an example for us of how one should face (more like flee from) the place where one is tempted.

Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar by Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne

When the Bible speaks about Joseph, it gives us a story of success from prison to palace; within this story, it also gives us something much deeper: a glimpse into a man who feared God in private before he was ever honored in public. One of the most powerful moments in Joseph’s story is how he resisted sexual temptation in Genesis 39. And there’s so much to learn from it today.

The Fear of God Came First

Joseph didn’t say no to Potiphar’s wife because he wasn’t attracted. He didn’t refuse her because he thought the consequences were too risky. He said no because he feared God. He lived with a constant awareness that God was watching. That kind of fear is not a terror that God will crush you; rather it’s a holy reverence that doesn’t want to grieve Him. Joseph saw obedience as something sacred, even when no one was watching.

Sexual purity is less about rules and more about worship. When God is big in our hearts, sin looks small. But when God is small to us, temptation looks powerful. Joseph had a big view of God. That’s what gave him strength in the heat of the moment.

Sin Is First and Foremost Against God

When Potiphar’s wife made her advances, Joseph did not utter, “I can’t do this to your husband” or “What if we get caught?” He said, "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9).

This is crucial. Joseph saw sin both horizontally as well as vertically. For him it was first a vertical rebellion and then horizontal betrayal. All sin is personal, and it’s primarily personal against God. That’s what makes it so serious. Until we feel the weight of how sin offends a holy God, we won’t feel the need to flee from it.

Running is a Spiritual Exercise

Joseph didn’t sit down to explain why this relationship was inappropriate. He didn’t linger to prove how strong he was. He ran. When she grabbed his cloak, he left it in her hands and got out of the house (Genesis 39:12). Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is run.

This is a deeply practical lesson. You can’t fight sexual sin by standing around and trying to reason with it. You fight it by creating distance. By fleeing. Because the longer you linger, the weaker your resistance. And it matters that you run from sin and towards God.

Practical Ways to Fight Sexual Temptation

Joseph’s story is meant to be more than admired; it’s meant to be studied, dissected, and it needs to be applied. Here are a few ways we can follow his example today:

• Start with worship. Cultivate the fear of God. Fill your heart with the majesty of God until sin loses its appeal.

• Be honest about sin. Don’t redefine it. Call it what it is—a great wickedness against a holy God.

• Flee quickly. Set boundaries. Don’t flirt with situations that you know are dangerous. Run, even if it costs you something.

• Stay accountable. Bring your struggle into the light. Don’t fight alone. Confess to trusted believers who will pray and walk with you.

• Saturate your mind with Scripture. Temptation grows in a mind that is spiritually empty. Let the Word of God dwell richly in you.

Joseph shows us that victory over sexual temptation is possible. But it doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when the fear of God governs your heart, when sin is seen for what it truly is, and when you refuse to stick around to see how strong you are.

You fight sexual temptation best not when you prove your strength, but when you trust God enough to run to Him.

“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 1:24-25