The Power of Purity: Living Holy in A Promiscuous World. (Featuring Michelle TeautrultAir Date: Jun. 03, 2025

Beth Barlet (00:03)
In a world that constantly promotes promiscuity and challenges biblical standards, maintaining sexual purity can feel daunting. But as Christian women, we are called to a higher standard, one rooted in faith, obedience, and God-designed for our lives. In this episode, I’m joined by Pastor Michelle Tetreault, and we’re diving deep into biblical strategies and empowering truths to help you stand firm in your faith, maintain your purity,

and walk confidently in your convictions in Christ. Whether you’re struggling with societal pressures or seeking clarity on how to stay pure, this conversation will inspire and equip you to live confidently and intentionally for Jesus. Let’s get to it. Salty begins right now.

Beth Barlet (01:12)
Welcome to Salted, where I help you uncover the transformative power to know and love Jesus in His fullness and stir up revival within your heart. Join me, Beth Barlett, as I come alongside you every week on the narrow path that draws us into a deeper relationship with Jesus. Get ready to be encouraged, empowered, ignited and equipped as we pursue authentic discipleship to influence the world for the Kingdom of God.

Beth Barlet (01:43)
Hey everyone. I am so excited that I get to sit down and be with all of you guys today. One of my best friends in the whole world is actually collaborating with me on this podcast. What an answered prayer. Thank you, Lord. She is a powerful, amazing woman of God. Her name is Michelle Tetra. Hi, Michelle. Hi.

Michelle Tetreault (01:56)
Yes. ⁓

Hello?

Beth Barlet (02:08)
She is a mighty woman of God, a sister in Christ who the Lord has graciously given me to run with in my faith journey, to encourage me, to love me, and always sets the bar higher for me to go deeper and longer with the Lord. So praise God for Michelle. But anyway, so I brought her on the show today because she is such a powerful role model who personifies for so many what it looks like to wholeheartedly love.

Jesus and to live for him with all of her heart. And who like me has such a passion to speak to women about the power of consecration, the blessings of living singleheartedly for Jesus, and the rewards that can be seen through an overflow of everyday choices that glorify him in this life. And I am just so excited to have her on the Salted Podcast for this episode.

because she has such a powerful testimony about standing firm in her convictions to stay pure until marriage as the Bible calls us and instructs us to, and also just to live in a way that glorifies the Lord through holiness, righteousness, and purity. And this episode, if you are struggling in this area, this episode is for you to seek Jesus as the love of your life and live an obedient and surrendered life to Jesus Christ.

So before I get started, I really just want to talk about who Michelle is, not just my bestie who I love, but that she actually has spent most of her life in New Jersey, where she actually discovered her passion for ministry. She served on the staff at her local church for about five years. And in 2019, she moved down to South Carolina’s low country and spent over three years as the campus’s director and woman’s pastor at our local church.

She holds a degree at Victory Bible Institute and Oral Roberts University. And she has such a deep heart for women and is passionate about seeing them connect across generations and step into their God given calling. And she’s all about creating space for real connection and helping others walk out their purpose with confidence and faith. So welcome, Michelle.

Michelle Tetreault (04:27)
Thank you, Bob.

Beth Barlet (04:33)
So when did we meet, Michelle? Has it been like five years now?

Michelle Tetreault (04:37)
Yeah, I think it has. ⁓ I think we became friends because we were thrust into small groups together, leading groups together, right? Yeah.

Beth Barlet (04:46)
Yeah,

so God called us right away in our relationship to disciple and to minister together So literally for such a time as this this is actually not a surprise to us, right? But the Lord has called us to lead women alongside each other But Michelle literally is such a gift It’s another call for you ladies that if you don’t have someone in your life to love you challenge you to bring you higher

Michelle Tetreault (04:52)
Mm-hmm.

Right.

.

Beth Barlet (05:12)
to be your soundboard, to literally have someone to talk about all your crazy God revelations with who is someone who will actually listen and tell you their same crazy God revelations. That is what you need to have in your life. But also someone who, as you know, scripture tells us, iron sharpens iron and that we need each other to grow, to mature, and to be sanctified more like Jesus because we need each other to get to that.

Michelle Tetreault (05:19)
You

you.

Beth Barlet (05:38)
end of that race that Paul calls us to, right?

Michelle Tetreault (05:41)
Yeah, we need each other. Love you, Beth.

Beth Barlet (05:44)
Amen.

Love you. All right. Well, in today’s episode, I just really want to intro. I really felt like the Lord was leading me to talk about this hard topic that many times in the Western church is swept under the rug because it’s taboo or no one feels comfortable talking about it. But hey, let’s talk about it because this is why we’re here. Right. Let’s go there because it’s so important to God. And I really feel that he wants us to talk about

holiness and sexual purity. And I think we really need to talk about what is and what isn’t accepted according to God’s word as followers of Jesus Christ, not by what the world says. And there’s so much we can go into as we dive into sexual immorality, but I want to for our purposes today to really just focus on the temptation that many struggle with. Sexual immorality, sleeping with one’s boyfriend, et cetera, outside of marriage.

You know, actually briefly talking about say pornography, adultery, homosexuality, masturbation, all this stuff that is taboo. Calling out the truth that according to God’s law and word that sex outside of marriage, whether it be physical or of the heart, you know, as Jesus talks about lust is disapproved of is sin and frowned upon by God. Amen. Amen. And you know how we as Christian women handle our thoughts about sex.

Michelle Tetreault (07:02)
Amen.

Beth Barlet (07:09)
and our relationships with the Oppa success as a single person, I think really has a major effect on the rest of our lives. You know, from the time we’re young, we’re influenced by the world around us, but the question usually is who and what are we allowing ourselves, our children, to be influenced by in this life when it comes to our belief about sex. And you know, I think even myself when I was growing up, many are influenced on their views sadly by Hollywood.

Michelle Tetreault (07:37)
Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (07:37)
by movies,

by magazines, things we see on TV. And I think that because of this, after I got saved, know, God had to tear down those images in my heart and actually erect a new one according to his divine design and his love for me and his word about what sex is and how it’s used in the body of Christ. And before I really get started, one of the situations I want to address today and dive into

Michelle Tetreault (08:01)
Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (08:07)
is the sexual purity we’re called to both inside and outside of marriage within God’s Word compared with the well-accepted standards of sexual immorality of the world. Because I think mainstream society, even a part of what we see on TV, the music that we listen to, et cetera, is all the time outside of God’s desire for us that should overflow and pour out from our heart as disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (08:33)
Mm-hmm.

Amen.

Beth Barlet (08:35)
And we as women, especially, I think have been over sexualized in this culture, feeling that we need to portray ourselves a certain way, that we have to attract that right guy into our lives a certain way based on what TV shows. And I think Satan really uses our insecurities really in order to almost tempt us into that temptation out of a place of really feeling to be wanted, accepted, and loved.

Michelle Tetreault (09:02)
Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (09:04)
which many women I think in the body of Christ struggle with. And that the Lord, well not the Lord, the enemy uses sex to deceive us. That’s the only way sometimes to fill those voids. And I think like I’ve talked about on other episodes is that there are so many women too that haven’t embraced their true identity in Jesus and their value and their worth come from other people, come from the approval of the opposite sex. And I think that also

Michelle Tetreault (09:15)
Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (09:31)
women are trying to find their validation, their value, their worth from relationships versus having their soul satisfaction in Jesus Christ. And I think it’s so important today, once again, that we really need to renew our minds about what God says about sex and holiness and marriage according to his word.

Michelle Tetreault (09:40)
Thank you.

Amen. And like all of those things that you said, like those are valid needs. You know what I mean? God created us with those needs. But when they’re not being met in the proper way in which God intended, like he created us, right? He knows we need those things. But when we look for those outside of the Lord, we’re always gonna find that it’s a polluted stream, right? It’s never the intended way in which God intends to satisfy those things.

Beth Barlet (09:56)
Emma.

Emma.

So true. And it’s so funny because he put them there for us desire him, but because of how corrupt the world is and because creation is fallen, we tend to stray to those dirty places. Amen. So Michelle, what does the Bible really say then about purity?

Michelle Tetreault (10:34)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Yeah, it’s a good question. It actually the scriptures talk a whole lot about purity and throughout the Old Testament throughout the New Testament You know for particularly in the New Testament, right? We’re living in New Testament days after Christ has come and all that, you know Old Testament You read a lot of kind of the ceremonial purity. There’s the lot of that. You read a lot of the external things

that people did in order to maintain, you know, whether they were clean or unclean, pure, impure. But New Testament, right, you read a lot about there’s a definite emphasis on the purity of our heart and that the fact that everything flows out of the inward and out to the external, you know, and

You know, basically, I love, there’s a definition of like kind of just purity in general. And obviously we’ll then get into sexual purity and all of that, because that all just flows out of that. But purity in general is kind of the, it’s the state of an undivided heart before the Lord, a heart that’s completely given to God, right? So there’s no mixture of motives in our heart. We’re not manipulating, you know, to try and get what we want.

when it comes to the Lord, there’s no competition or cleavage of our interests, right? We’re not cleaving to anything else. There’s nothing beyond God that is in competition with the affections of our heart. And there’s also no hypocrisy, right? There’s no duality in our heart. I don’t say one thing, but on the inside mean another. You know, I’m not too faced.

And then there’s also no insecurity, which is a big one, right? We deal with insecurity all the time, but part of purity of heart with the Lord is that our security is completely in the Lord, right? Our security is not based in or founded in anything or anyone outside of Jesus Christ. And so it’s this beautiful undivided heart that the Lord is after. And…

Beth Barlet (12:31)
huge.

Michelle Tetreault (12:50)
That is the foundation for which we have sexual purity as well, It’s kind of, was thinking, you know, since we’re on this topic, because the ultimate goal, I always love the Westminster Catechism where it says, what is the chief end of man, The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. And that’s like the aim of our life, right? So there’s these big overarching themes.

Beth Barlet (13:13)
Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (13:15)
of purity throughout the gospels and it’s the fact that God wants the entirety of our life. He wants all of us. Internal, external, all of us. so with that, we look at, there’s a bunch of different scriptures and we’ll talk about some of them, but purity starts, like sexual purity in particular, Jesus points that it starts actually at the thoughts. The thoughts in the intents of our heart.

And that fact that everything else flows out of there. In fact, that’s why when you read like, in Matthew where he’s talking about, I’ll just read it. It says, let me back up. It says in Matthew chapter five, He says, have heard it said that you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than your whole body go into hell. Like that is such an extreme, extreme measures.

Beth Barlet (14:30)
Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (14:31)
that these are red letter words, these are the words of Jesus and this is his instructions for his disciples, those who claim to follow him, who’ve made him the Lord of their life, who are his disciples, right? Like this is what it means when the gospel impacts you and you have now committed your life to Christ. Like this is the radical position because that he commands us to take with sin and particularly sexual sin.

because of how radically it affects not just our external world, but it affects every aspect of the deepest part of who we are. It corrupts us from the inside out. And I love when he talks about the fact that he says, whoever looks. And you know, this isn’t just a fleeting momentary look. That’s not that first glance that you get.

You know, we all are ambushed literally our culture is crazy with sexual promiscuity everywhere, Like there’s sexual sin everywhere. But so it’s not that first initial look. He’s talking when he says looks, he’s talking about this look of meditation. It’s the second look, right? It’s the continual gaze of where you are meditating. now that thing is not just something you’ve looked at, but it’s now something you’re cherishing.

Beth Barlet (15:30)
everywhere.

Right.

Michelle Tetreault (15:50)
you’re meditating on it. And it’s this place where we have undisciplined thoughts. Because what we have to understand is that because our sexual purity isn’t just something in our actions, again, but it actually starts in our thoughts and the attitudes of our heart, the affections of our heart. And it never just, it’s like…

Beth Barlet (16:10)
Right.

Michelle Tetreault (16:14)
Adultery is the, like if you give the analogy, adultery is the oak tree, right? it started as an acorn. It started as a small seed of a thought. And Jesus is saying, listen, you need to nip this thing in the bud. And not only that, if it’s, I mean, taking your, I love that it says, your right eye, It’s like almost like your good eye, your predominant eye, your eye. You know, even the most

Beth Barlet (16:23)
Amen.

For all you lefties out there,

Michelle Tetreault (16:44)
But he’s saying like tear it out, know If you go to the doctor, right if you go to the doctor and they tell you you have cancer like a cancerous tumor or whatever in your body and they say listen the antidote to it is to or like you’re you have a Organ or something that is diseased and they’re like the only option to save your life right now is to take this organ You’d be like well duh, of course,

There’s been people who have faced with the dilemma of like, listen, have to cut this limb off in order to save your life. You you do that because it’s your life. And we need to ⁓ look at sexual sin in our life as detrimental to us as that cancer in our body or that limb that is costing us the actual, you know, big picture of our life.

That’s how detrimental though it is to the corruption of what of the intended design and call and the value in which Jesus sees over his creation, you know so And so, you know sexual purity in general, right? you see throughout scripture. There’s this emphasis on

This moral integrity and holiness that that God calls us to he invites us into this journey But it doesn’t just happen right like I often think of a garden in the fact that if you do not Tend a garden if you just let that garden sit there Inevitably in its untilled and untended state. There’s going to be weeds that take place you know and so in our life, right we we there’s a there’s part of

being a disciple of Christ part of being disciplined is there’s a call to diligence. know, scripture proverbs tells us, your heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life. Everything flows out of your heart, but you have to guard it with diligence. And the same is true for sexual purity in our life, especially in our culture where you’re constantly externally being bombarded with temptation, with

Beth Barlet (18:40)
Right.

Michelle Tetreault (18:50)
options, you know, and so yeah, I love 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 3 through 5. It says, for this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.

not in passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. Right? Like if you’re looking for the will of God for your life, right? He says very plain, this is the will of God, your sanctification, right? That there is a continual becoming of who we are in Christ. As we follow him, we become like him. And that we…

Beth Barlet (19:18)
⁓ It’s right there.

Michelle Tetreault (19:39)
We’re exemplary. We become a witness to the world around us that we are his followers. ⁓

Beth Barlet (19:44)
And it’s that eternal perspective too, like always keeping

your mind on that because if we take our minds off the eternal perspective, really sanctification doesn’t matter. But because we know that one day that we will meet our Lord and Savior and that we are to become more and more like Him until that day, then there’s value, then there’s worth, then there’s a reasoning behind why we want to be holy, why we want to be pure, because we put that eternal

Michelle Tetreault (19:55)
Mm-hmm.

Yes.

Beth Barlet (20:12)
that eternal groan in our heart as number one priority. Amen. Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (20:16)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah

and when that’s the aim of your life, right? When and I think for for anyone who is watching this I think there’s there’s ultimately you know, I mean truly there is a satisfaction that comes from knowing the Lord that that nothing else can give you you know, and Yeah, what am I?

Beth Barlet (20:38)
Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (20:42)
One of my favorite verses that we’ve talked about this before, but one of my favorite verses is Matthew 5 8 where it says blessed are the pure in heart for they shall seek God. Right? The reward of a pure and undivided heart, a life that is lived to glorify God, where that is the chief end of your life, there is a dying to the flesh that is required.

at times, in seasons, especially when our flesh, when lust has been awakened, when the appetites of the flesh are roaring, in the depths of my heart, this is what I want, right? But there is a crucifixion of that will and that appetite and that desire that happens when my satisfaction is found in the Lord.

When I’ve encountered the greater, the one that actually satisfies the appetites of my heart, There is a greater ⁓ satisfaction, right? Jesus says, at my right hand there are pleasures forevermore. In my presence is fullness of joy and at my right hand are pleasures forevermore. There is a place in the Lord, again, not just knowing all these things about God.

Beth Barlet (21:42)
Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (21:59)
intellectually, I mean, you can, but it’s actually, it’s actually experiencing the Lord. And, you know, I often think of, because we’re talking about adultery and we were talking about how it starts in the heart before it acts, it happens in the actions, you know, before we act it out. And I often think back to Psalm 51, you know, the story of David.

Beth Barlet (22:16)
sure.

Michelle Tetreault (22:22)
where he is, he has had this adulterous affair, he’s king, but he’s had this adulterous affair with Bathsheba and Nathan the prophet confronts him. And I often think back to this, cause I remember studying it out one time and you you’re reading all of this, the remorse of David’s heart and the fact that he knows that he’s done this sin, not just against, not just the sin itself, but he knows what it’s cost him in his relationship with the Lord, fellowship and.

all of this and but it’s interesting John Piper has commentary on this on this passage and he says this and I’ve never forgot it he says he says it’s astonishing that nowhere in Psalm 51 does David pray directly about sex he says why doesn’t he cry out for sexual restraint or pray for men to hold him accountable or for his eyes to be protected or clean thoughts

He says the reason is he knows these are symptoms and not the disease. He said people give way to sexual sin because they’re not fully satisfied in Christ. Which is why I love that Psalm so much is because you read the cry of actually David’s heart in that season was he’s saying things like that he desired truth in his inward parts. That he’s like created me a clean heart, God, renew a right, a loyal spirit within me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation. You know, it’s all of these things that flow out of a heart where it’s like, Lord, I want you and you alone. Even then it’s that cry where you’re leaning into the Lord in those places where temptation is approaching you. But instead of leaning into the temptation, you’re leaning into the Lord. And in those moments you get to encounter God, you know? And I just, there’s a satisfaction that is found.

You know, within every temptation, scripture tells us that Jesus, the Lord has made a way of escape. You know, within every temptation, there’s the opportunity to either lean into that temptation and be taken away into it where there’s shame, there’s remorse, there’s fleeting satisfaction, but never long-term, you know, or we can lean into the Lord and there is an invitation from God Himself.

the one who created and knows every intricacy of who you are and what will satisfy you, right? The one who knows the intention, like he gave, he’s the one who created sex, Sexual desires in and of themselves are not bad. You’re meant to have sexual desires. He actually created that. But the problem is, that when those desires are not disciplined and submitted to the Lord.

Beth Barlet (24:46)
Amen.

And then.

Michelle Tetreault (25:05)
those desires are going to lead you to destruction. It’s corrosive to the spiritual condition of our heart and then eventually our life. And so the Lord knows all that and in those temptations is an opportunity to experience God and the satisfaction that can only come from him.

Beth Barlet (25:29)
So good. So good. So good. So good.

Michelle Tetreault (25:32)
⁓ He

is so good. It’s so good.

Beth Barlet (25:37)
And I think too, when you talk about that, cause the world tells us that holiness and purity and righteousness is some sort of hard set of rules that it’s us that we’re missing out on the best of life. that it’s all in a negative twist that everything with obeying God, you know, with living in that light, that there’s so much negative connotation to it in the world. But I think we have to look at it from what you’re saying from that.

Michelle Tetreault (25:56)
and

Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (26:06)
biblical eternal perspective that with holiness with a clean and pure heart that the gift the blessing is that we have more of God and I think it’s almost similarly like if we’re as a parent with my children that I’m going to discipline them I’m going to give them boundaries I’m gonna give them rules that they need to follow because I love them so much and I care about them

And not just because I want them to be kept physically safe, but because I want them to have a full, deep, eternal, forever relationship with Jesus. And I know that with it comes discipline, that with it comes a mind fixed on the eternal life, and that the Bible clearly states,

Michelle Tetreault (26:50)
Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (26:52)
is a road toward blessing. And that even though that these times may seem difficult during the temptations that it’s all worth it because we’re not living for the temporary, we’re living for the eternal things. And God knows all things. And he knows how detrimental it can be to us physically, spiritually, emotionally. So he puts those boundaries there and those cautions up for us so he can protect us because he wants ultimately the best for us.

even when the world tells us that it’s completely the other way.

Michelle Tetreault (27:25)
Yeah. And isn’t that just like everything in the gospel? everything. It makes you know it’s not the way the world does any of it. It’s like the ultimate cultural counterculture. There we go. You know, but it’s the way that the way of following the Lord. It’s the narrow road, right? It’s the broad is the way the gate and broad and wide is the way that leads to destruction, But narrow is the gate and narrow is the road.

Beth Barlet (27:39)
Right?

Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (27:53)
you know, and that leads to life. And it’s, and there are a few who find it. it’s a narrow road, but it’s, it is hard. It’s difficult. It’s as narrow and difficult as the way I think that’s what it says, but it’s the way to actual satisfaction of our soul, you know, and it’s the way to find, to walk in your purpose and your calling and to, again, to, to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Right? It’s, this is it.

Beth Barlet (28:00)
It’s hard.

Yeah, exactly.

Amen.

And I think too, like…

If we know our identity of who we are, that we are truly daughters of the most high God, that when we know our identity, it truly determines the actions and the way we live and the choices that we make. So because we are daughters and the grace of God has just transformed our hearts and our lives, that it should help us say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live like one Thessalonians 4.3, to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.

Because as Christians, we are the salt of the earth. So we need to talk different. We need to act different. Our values are different. Our priorities are different. And so that just overflows once again into our sexual lives. It’s not a compartmentalized thing where I’m going to be holy in this lane, but I’m going to do what I want in this lane because I’m going to agree with the world says versus what God says because this is what I want. When it’s easy and convenient, sure. But when it’s difficult and hard.

Michelle Tetreault (29:23)
Thank

Beth Barlet (29:24)
No, I’m going to choose my own way this time. And I think it’s all about God preservation or self preservation. Which one are you going to choose?

Michelle Tetreault (29:32)
Yes. Yeah.

Amen.

Beth Barlet (29:36)
All right, so I think that before we go any further, what we’re talking about sexual purity, it’s so important to remember too on God’s beautiful design of marriage. And I think that we need to know that God holds marriage. Marriage is so important to God. And you know, the Bible constantly tells us that we are the bride of Christ and this represents God’s faithfulness and our covenant with him.

Michelle Tetreault (29:49)
Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (30:03)
And the main reason that God created marriage is to illustrate what a relationship with him should look like. And I think because creation has fallen, Satan is using everything to break up the home, marriages, families, et cetera. marriage, even despite what the spirit of perversion or confusion may say, it is an institution that was created by God between man and woman. Genesis 1, 27 through 28.

Michelle Tetreault (30:15)
Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (30:34)
And so God created man in his own image, the image of God, created him. Male and female, he created them and God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on earth. But I feel that we need to say that if you’re a Christian, that marriage should matter to you.

Michelle Tetreault (31:01)
Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (31:01)
especially

when you’re in a relationship with someone that you love because it matters to God and despite what the enemy’s plan is that sexual intimacy is designed for the marriage bed and nothing more. know Hebrews 13 four says let marriage be held in honor among all and let marriage let the marriage bed be undefiled for God will judge the sexual immoral and the adulterous.

Michelle Tetreault (31:16)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (31:29)
And

you know, it’s holding fast to the convictions of God against what we said, the cultural pressures and influence of the world, because the cultural norms are going to shift all the time, whether they be more conservative, whether they be more liberal, but we have to hold fast to what God’s word says and stand firm on that narrow road in our convictions. And I love always, we talked about this one time about the picture of someone girding up their loins.

Michelle Tetreault (31:46)
Amen.

Mm-hmm.

Mm. Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (31:58)
ready for action like a soldier and that we

have to be watchful. I think I talk about this in another episode where to be watchful is making decisions in advance. So if I’m dating this guy and I want to be pure and holy for the Lord, it’s making that decision in advance to be watchful, knowing the temptations that I’m going to come across and deciding in the moment before

Michelle Tetreault (32:08)
Amen.

Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (32:26)
that I’m not going to sleep with him, that despite whatever he says, if he’s the one for me, that I’m going to stand in my convictions and trust that he knows the Lord and loves the Lord more than he loves me and will honor my decision versus not making that decision in advance and being watchful and then just allowing this to occur until it gets into the heat of the moment. And then it’s going to be very difficult in that moment to make my decision this way or the other.

Michelle Tetreault (32:29)
the man.

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (32:56)
And I think that’s a way we can be diligent as you talked about and deciding to be with the Lord and make those convictions ahead of time to prevent us from falling into temptation later on. Amen. So Michelle, I know there are a lot of misconceptions of the world versus what the Bible says about some of these ⁓

Michelle Tetreault (33:06)
Yes.

Yeah. Amen.

Okay.

Beth Barlet (33:25)
sexual topics. And so I want to go over a couple of them just so we can refute it with biblical truth. Especially if you guys have been leaning on some of what the world says. Hopefully this can kind of bring you back and sway you back to the ways of the Lord.

Michelle Tetreault (33:31)
Amen.

Beth Barlet (33:44)
And so the first one is, I think it’s, just physical. So Michelle, what does the Bible really say about it’s just physical?

Michelle Tetreault (33:53)
Well, it says in first Corinthians 6, 18 through 20, which is such a good one. It says, flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexual immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. You are not your own. You were bought with a price, so glorify God in your.

body. And, you know, this passage emphasizes that sexual intimacy is not merely a physical act. It involves the body, the mind, and the spirit. Right? Engaging in sex outside of marriage can have profound emotional and spiritual implications. And the Bible teaches that our bodies are sacred and meant to honor God.

Meaning that sexual relationships should reflect that Sanctity, you know, and I love too that it says it says fleet, right? It doesn’t say say well, let me just sit and like pray about this for a while. It says Yeah, let me let me see what my lease agreement is first before I decide whether or not I should move out You know and stop having sex with my boyfriend, you know, it doesn’t say think about it, right? It’s this is one

Beth Barlet (35:00)
It’s like, run, run!

Michelle Tetreault (35:16)
Command of the Lord. He’s like listen Flea don’t sit and think about it This is not something to pray or ask ask your friends about he’s like flea run the opposite direction get as far from this thing as you possibly can because because of how Corrosive and destructive this is to the very temple of God himself

it’s like Joseph when he was being propositioned by Potiphar’s wife in Genesis, right? Like he didn’t think about it. He didn’t have to say, Lord, is this your will? Like it was, I mean, his robe was left behind and that man ran, you know? Literally, so yeah.

Beth Barlet (35:58)
Literally.

Amen. All right. And also another one that I hear a lot is, well, everybody is doing it. So, and everybody sins. So this is just another sin that I’m going to commit, right? Well, actually in Romans 12 to

Michelle Tetreault (36:08)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (36:17)
We are reminded that scripture tells us do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. that just because something is wildly accepted culturally, like we talked about the narrow road versus the broad path that, you know, if people are doing it doesn’t mean that it’s acceptable.

to God and the Bible calls believers to a higher standard that often goes against societal norms. And you know, this verse constantly is needed to be renewed and meditated over. I know in my life, because I always get caught up with the norm of society in every aspect of my life and constantly having to go back to know God’s word says this, because you can start to go down a rabbit hole and start to prioritize

Michelle Tetreault (36:48)
Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (37:16)
what is normal by society when you don’t have the word of God hidden in your heart constantly bringing you back on what God’s will is, what pleases God and constantly again transforming your mind by his word and shifting your perspective to what’s of the eternal versus what I want to experience in the temporary with the pleasures of this world and for right now.

And so honestly, Michelle, I want people to hear your testimony because I feel like your testimony is so powerful. I know you guys are listening on audio, but if you check out social media, you will see how beautiful my sister in Christ is and how just she has stood firm in her convictions for so many years because of the love she has for Jesus and how he is her all.

Michelle Tetreault (38:00)
Aww.

Beth Barlet (38:12)
He is what satisfies her heart. And I want her to talk about how she navigated the cultural norms of society to stand firm in her convictions and to fulfill what the Lord has for her in her life.

Michelle Tetreault (38:29)
Well, before I get started, kept thinking of there’s a quote by Elizabeth Elliot and it’s such a good one. It’s gold. I love her too. She’s so good. I first read her as a teenager, some of her stuff. She has a book, Passion and Purity, but but she has a quote and it says, she said this, said, the love life of a Christian is a crucial battleground. There, if nowhere else, it will be determined as to who is Lord.

Beth Barlet (38:35)
I love her. I love her.

Michelle Tetreault (38:56)
the world, self, the devil, or the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is just so beautiful. And truly that has been, that just resonates with me so much, particularly when it comes to the journey that I feel like the Lord has had me on, and like sexual purity being such a big component of what I feel like has been my journey.

Beth Barlet (39:01)
Mmm. So good.

Michelle Tetreault (39:18)
or an emphasis on my journey. But a little bit about just backstory of my life. I gave my life to Christ when I was five. I’ve grown up in a Christian home all my life. literally I grew up, I can remember it like 10 years old, going to bed, reading my Bible every night. That’s just been my, I’ve known the Lord from a very early age and had a relationship with Jesus from very early age.

And it’s important because, from a very early age, like I grew up, I grew up in New Jersey, like Beth had said, and I grew up going to public school. I wasn’t homeschooled or private school. I went to public school. And as you can imagine, public school in New Jersey, there was a lot going on. So, but I can remember, ⁓ Jersey Shore? Jersey Shore?

Beth Barlet (40:02)
You always think of the seashore. What is that show? Seasore. Yeah.

Seasore.

Michelle Tetreault (40:09)
Well, you know, it’s not off. It’s not off. anyway, that was kind of my my upbringing. And so as as that I was one of the only Christians throughout in my entire school that I knew of throughout elementary and then all the way into high school as well. But from an early age, I had already established convictions.

there were some convictions that I had established in the Lord because I read his word. knew his will concerning relationships. And I didn’t want anybody like to date anybody in particular like that that didn’t love the Lord as much as I did wasn’t I wanted someone who knew him who was born again saved and all that. And and so for me, particularly through all of like elementary school like

seventh eighth grade, people are getting into relationships and I was not dating because I was one of only Christians so there weren’t any options. But by the time I was about 15, so I was public high school but I was also I was a part of a youth group at my church and if you’re from North Jersey like you know that like at least when I was growing up all the churches are really small and so my youth group actually consisted of three girls.

One of them, one of which was me and the other was my twin sister and then my best friend who went to another school like neighboring school. And so, but every year we would have what was called we used to call them winter retreats. And so it would be like all the churches in North Jersey plus some of the churches in upstate New York, we would all like combine all of our people and collide on a retreat center once a year in the winter. And it was super fun.

and they’d bring in speakers, they’d bring in worship leaders, all that. I can remember, fun fact too, this year, that year in particular when I was 15, we actually traveled and joined like the bus ride up with the Jonas Brothers. They were attending church at the church next to us. They weren’t the big Jonas Brothers at the time.

Beth Barlet (42:00)
Yeah,

Michelle Tetreault (42:05)
And they were actually much younger than me so they were not even on my radar But fun fact I rode to this retreat with the Jonas Brothers and they actually led worship that weekend. So Just funny Anyway, so but there at this retreat like it was a wonderful weekend and truly if you had asked me Michelle like where are you going? You know, I would have told you

100 % I am going because I want to encounter Jesus. I want to know the Lord But there was a very large part of me that was also going in hopes of meeting this elusive Christian guy that I had never met before and so after that weekend I there were like a series of things that had happened with the guys that were out there that I met and

I remember coming back, like I said, the retreat itself was so great, but I remember coming back so disappointed, like crushing disappointment. And I remember being alone in my room and just like literally tears streaming down my face and just saying like, God.

I know you’re calling me to purity. I knew there was an invitation for me to walk in purity, but I was like, God, why aren’t you calling any of these guys to purity? Why? Because the guys that I encountered at the retreat were no different than the guys I went to public school with who didn’t know the Lord. And the things that they were doing, the things that they were saying, and I was like, what the heck? What? And I remember that night opening up my Bible and

Beth Barlet (43:25)
Hmm.

I don’t get it!

Michelle Tetreault (43:39)
And you know, there’s just moments, again, reading, if you’re not feeling like the Lord is speaking to you, they always talk about like, is your Bible closed? Because the Lord speaks primarily through his word. And I remember reading that night, opening up to Psalm 73, starting in verse 25, and it’s like the words leapt off the page. And I knew the Lord was speaking to me through these scriptures. And it’s the Psalmist praying and he says, it says this, says, whom have I in heaven but you?

And it says, there is nothing on the earth that I desire besides you, though my heart and my flesh may fail. God, you are the strength of my heart and you are my portion forever. And I remember reading those words and it wasn’t an audible voice of the Lord, but I knew the Lord was speaking to me. And I knew in that moment that as this little 15 year old girl,

I remember, I knew there was an invitation of the Lord to say like, Michelle, will you surrender this area of your life to me? And the area of my relationships. And that may seem weird, but to me as a little 15 year old girl, which that was like a lot of what consumed my world, that was my world. That was my world. And I remember thinking, but there was this undergirding, do you trust me?

Beth Barlet (44:56)
Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (45:03)
do you trust me with this area of your heart and life? And I can remember immediately there was the flood of thoughts of what does that mean? Like the implications, what is that? What are the implications of committing the Lord to that area of my life to the Lord? am I going to be dating? how long am I going to have to wait to date? or does that mean I will I get married?

Beth Barlet (45:04)
Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (45:27)
How long will I have to wait to get married? Like there was all, can’t, like in a moment, there was all the thoughts, all the thoughts were coming. And, man, but again, it was like this, you trust me? And I, you know, do I trust him that he has the best intention for my life? Do I trust him that he sees beyond this moment I’m in and he knows the purpose and the plan for which I’m created? Do I trust him?

Beth Barlet (45:31)
time.

Michelle Tetreault (45:56)
with not just my present, but do I trust him with my future when it comes to this area of my life? and I remember, like if I was crying before I was bawling then, just saying okay, God, I don’t know what that looks like. I really don’t know what that means, but I trust you. And I give this area of my life to you. And so for me, that meant,

Beth Barlet (46:08)
Beautiful.

Michelle Tetreault (46:22)
not that meant throughout high school, there would be guys that I would like there would be guys I would be interested in but but I would pray about it and each time I would pray about it, the Lord was like, Nope, I didn’t know I just had no peace to progress into a relationship and and so for me it was very, you know, much a trust and a like a Yeah, an attestment of my life.

and everything that my life contained, the days of my life. Sometimes it was a day by day of just, Lord, I trust you. I trust you. And that solitary encounter with the Lord when I was 15, it so marked my life. It did, it changed my perspective that now I felt, I could feel the protection and the purpose of God over that area of my life where I hadn’t prior.

⁓ And not only that but it also changed my outlook instead of having just a you know, very temporal outlook concerning that area of like it became that eternal perspective of God has a purpose there is an actual end in which God seeks to glorify be glorified in this area and and I think that became really a Deep cry of my heart of like God. What does it look like for you to have your way in this area? Like what would that look like?

You know, and truly because very, for so much of my, particularly like high school and the days after that encounter, like, I mean, there were so many of my friends who I loved and would, but I’d see them like one by one be pulled aside, be pulled astray and led down into destruction or destructive behaviors or places they never wanted to go.

you know, because of wrong relationships. And it was this Lord, like, what would it look like for you to have your way? Like, you’ve got a plan. This is your design. This is your thing that’s meant to glorify you, you know? And it became this deep-seated cry in my heart. And so there were definitely times where, you just like that verse where my heart and my flesh would fail. Like, I think throughout college and stuff like that.

But at each one of those points, again, kind of like we talked about before, you can either lean into the temptation and the despair and the loneliness, right? Or you can lean into the Lord in those moments. And I chose to lean into the Lord and say, okay, God, this was your promise over my life. I didn’t invite myself into this journey. You invited me into this journey. Therefore, do you have something? You’re able to be my portion. And I found out what it meant for him to be my portion.

that there is a contentment that only he can give us. And I remember after, so that was all through college as well. Like I’d pray about it. I like a guy pray about it. And just the Lord was like, no. And so then I returned back from, I had been at college in Tulsa and I flew back, came to live back in New Jersey again. And I remember after I was in New Jersey for about seven years,

And I was during that time it literally felt like a wilderness here. I am in my Earl like mid to late 20s at this point and it felt like a desert a barren wasteland as far as as as far as prospects anyone I’m okay lord. Is there anyone on the horizon that you have for me but truly I was one of the only

people my age at my church, in the area I was living at the time too. literally for the next seven years after graduating from college, everyone was either, everyone I knew, right, was either 10 years older than me, 10 plus, or like my parents age, or they were 10 years younger than me, and they were kids that I grew up babysitting. I’m like, okay, zero options. Yeah.

And not only that, I was at the time during the season, I was also working like these super, what I deemed, right? These kind of menial jobs. I was working part-time during part of the season for one of my best, one of my good friends’ moms. was painting plaques for her craft business in the basement of her house. And then I was also working for my sister.

who was a general manager at a Moe Southwest Grill. So I was the cashier girl, helping her out on the side and and then I went to go work for, eventually I went to, during that time I went to go work part-time at my church, but I was only working part-time and you don’t get paid big bucks, buko bucks in the ministry. I was literally, I’m sitting there going, I graduated from college and I’m following the best I can.

to my ability after you Lord. And it just felt what am I doing with my life? Like, where am I? is, there’s doesn’t seem like anything’s happening. You know, at this point in my life, so many of my friends were on baby number two or three. They had been married, you know, for five years at this point. And like, I’m like, there’s no one on the horizon of my life.

And I can remember I was getting ready to turn 30 and the, as I’m driving down the road one day and I remember crying and having this moment with the Lord where I’m just like, God, I feel like I’ve wasted the best years of my life. I just feel like I’ve wasted them, right? my twenties, they were supposed to be the best years. when I was in my, these are all my thoughts, right? The thoughts of a 20 year old. I was like, I was in my, I’m supposed to be my, these are my prime.

It’s when I have the most energy, like now I wanna go to bed at nine and I’m okay with it. Like that’s okay. It’s not a bad thing, but. You know, but it was when I was supposed to have the most energy, have the most fun, you know, all the things. And here I am working what I deem as menial jobs, doing, none of the boxes that I had planned for my life up until that point, none of the boxes had been checked.

Beth Barlet (51:53)
Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (52:14)
And I just remember being like, God, I’ve wasted it. And I’ll never forget, I felt like the Lord in that moment was like, I felt like the Holy Spirit said to me, said, Michelle, am I not worth the best years of your life? What you deem the best years of your life? And I, in that moment, all of sudden it felt like the Lord just shifted my perspective on all of it. And I remember thinking immediately of the woman with the alabaster jar in scripture who,

unreservedly breaks open this most expensive bottle of perfume, wipes Jesus’ feet with her hair. And I love it because what everyone else looked at as wasteful, know, Jesus saw as valuable and it was costly, but he knew it was preparation for his burial to come.

Beth Barlet (52:42)
Yeah.

Hmm.

And then

so beautiful.

Michelle Tetreault (53:09)
And I

remember in that moment, the Lord saying, listen, I know it feels costly. I know this season feels costly, but it is not wasteful. Even if it looks wasteful to everyone else around you, including yourself. But it was this feeling of listen, do you trust me? That I know what this season is preparation for. You may not know it, but he knew it. He knows what it’s preparation for.

You know, and it was preparation, I knew it was preparation for things that I didn’t yet know, you know? it brought me back to this place of a recommitment of that yes to the Lord. You know, of God I trust you. I do not understand this, but I trust you. And you know.

Beth Barlet (53:51)
And then.

Michelle Tetreault (53:58)
My life has been, there’s a lot of other stories, Beth, know some of them. There’s been other twists and turns that my journey has taken. There’s been other moments where the Lord has encountered my heart. But all of that has led me to moments where, just like these moments where it’s been like, Lord, I trust, there’s this undergirding of do you trust me?

little gist of my testimony.

Beth Barlet (54:21)
Amen. is just every time I hear it, it’s so beautiful, so powerful. And I feel like leading after your testimony, if you can just tell our family of listeners, if you are a Christian woman who is struggling to remain sexually pure, whether you are single or even whether or not you are married and you are just struggling in this area of your life, what, what could you say to them?

Michelle Tetreault (54:36)
Mm-hmm.

Beth Barlet (54:48)
Or how could you encourage them to stay firm and hold the course on the narrow path that leads to life based on what you’ve experienced? Like what would you say to our audience?

Michelle Tetreault (54:59)
Yeah, I would say, I mean, truly, know everybody, I think everybody’s journey is definitely unique in the way that he leads us and guides us, but there’s a definite standard of holiness and purity that there’s an expectation for all of us, right? And that’s the invitation of the Lord and the call of the Lord for all of us. And I would say ultimately, right, choosing purity,

is about recognizing the Lordship of Jesus over your life. And it’s trusting that he actually has a plan for it. He has a plan for your life. He has a plan for that area of your life. it requires surrender, it requires faith, and it requires the reliance on God’s strength and guidance. You are not gonna be able to do this on your own or in your own strength, nor do you want to.

Beth Barlet (55:49)
Well, no, for sure.

Michelle Tetreault (55:50)
And ⁓

there always comes a moment where there’s these forks in the road, right? Where you’re going to have to decide who is Lord of your life and who are you going to follow? Is it like that, like you had mentioned before, like is it self? Is it the world? Is it the devil or is it the Lord Jesus Christ? Like that quote we read earlier. And it’s, I mean, obviously it’s, you know, the gift that I…

Beth Barlet (56:00)
Amen.

Michelle Tetreault (56:14)
I mean scripture tells us that you know it’s good to submit to the Lord at an early age. Right? I think there is definite benefit so if you’re younger and you’re listening to this like submit like don’t wait don’t put it off and say okay well let me have my fun and then I’ll follow the Lord or but truly like the Lord I mean I look back over my life there’s no regret right? I have no regret but also I feel the protection of the Lord over that area of my life in the way

that like I know the contentment of God that and the satisfaction of God I think in a way that is unique. And the fact that I didn’t have to go and I wasn’t looking for love in all the wrong places so to speak, you know? And when I found that treasure hidden in a field and I wasn’t looking back. And yeah, so there was truly no regret.

Beth Barlet (57:05)
Hey, Matt.

Michelle Tetreault (57:11)
I would also say I love Song of Solomon. You know, Song of Solomon says, it says, not stir up or awaken love until it’s time. And I really believe that I have avoided some of the, you know, when lust, it’s much easier to maintain a heart that’s free from lust when lust hasn’t been awakened. You know, you’re gonna have to put that, you’re gonna have to,

put those things to sleep and there’s gonna have to be a crucifixion of those desires and those appetites. But when you don’t awaken it to begin with, it’s a lot easier. And I remember, for me too, and I would say this as well, truly, if there have been areas of compromise already where boundaries have been breached, where shame has gotten in, regret, remorse, all the things, you know, like,

I love that song Solomon again, is a very big comparison of, he compares our sexual purity and the life of marriage to a vineyard or a garden that needs to be tended and kept. And it talks about

catching all the little foxes that come to ruin or spoil the vines that are trying to blossom. And I often think of that and the fact that, if boundaries have been breached, don’t throw in the towel. You don’t have to burn the field. what I mean? He calls us to, there’s a repairing of the fences.

Beth Barlet (58:42)
I

Michelle Tetreault (58:49)
But that could happen, there was a repentance that can happen in our life. And the Lord is so kind to pick us up exactly where we’ve left off with Him. Or if we’ve never started the journey of purity and trusting the Lord, like today is the day, like don’t wait. He’s the most beautiful Redeemer of stories. And yeah.

Beth Barlet (58:50)
you

Amen.

And I feel led to speak to that too. Like any sisters right now living in sin, say you are sleeping with your boyfriend outside of marriage or you know, the Holy Spirit is convicting your heart after just hearing our discussion. I feel led to tell you and to say that you are so worthy, that you are worthy enough to wait for a man who loves Jesus with all of his heart.

who highly values you and sees you and sees your inherent priceless worth in Jesus and is willing to wait to have you alone only when you are joined in marriage because you are so valued and loved by God and you are so worth the wait.

I think it’s believing and trusting in God’s goodness, just like Michelle had said, to give you the best in this life that he has for you by living by his laws, by his commands, because he loves you, instead of allowing any spirit of fear or rejection or anything that’s causing you to live more with the standards of the world versus the ways of God.

And listen, like Michelle said, you know, wherever you are, God is a loving God of mercy and grace, and that every day is a new day in his compassion and his steadfast love. Wherever you are, God can redeem beauty from ashes, and his arms are always wide open whenever we’ve gone astray.

And so honestly, if you are in a place today, I feel led to just lead you through, if you are feeling the Holy Spirit unction you to turn away from a sin of promiscuity or immorality or anything that the Lord has just been highlighting to you that is not in line with his will. Take time on your own today. Just confess your sin to God. know, ask God to cleanse, renew, transform your mind.

to hate sin as he hates sin, to give you his view for your life, for what is best in his will and his plan, to ask God to fill your mind with things that are true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and consume media and everything else in our lives that can be described this way. Focus your things on things that are pure and holy and beautiful. And then more than anything, ask God

to reveal the void in your heart that you are trying to fill with whatever sexual sin it may be, that he and he alone, that God would be your full and utmost satisfaction and ask him to help you to turn from your sin through his power, through his grace, through the Holy Spirit that lives inside of you. And today, like I said, is a new day and his grace and his mercy is just so powerful and so redeeming and that it’s not too late

and that pull and press into the Holy Spirit and where he’s leading you because it is only God’s best. And I wanna thank Michelle so much for being on the Salted Podcast today. She is just an array and plethora of biblical knowledge and encouragement and inspiration. And I’m just so thankful that I have access to it every day of my life, but I thought I’d share her with you guys today.

But you know, I want to thank you Michelle for coming on the show, you know, and end this conversation with the fact that we love and serve a God who heals and restores. There is no shame, guilt or condemnation in Jesus Christ and that no matter how far on the narrow path you have strayed, that like the story of the prodigal son, that our heavenly father is waiting for you with arms wide open, ready for you to return to him.

through repentance and cover you with his grace. And so I want to end in prayer. Father God, would you cover and bless each and every sister who is listening today and help them through your spirit to live in a manner worthy of their calling in you in a way that honors and pleases you. Help them to turn from the ways of this world, hold fast to your truth, your word to live a life of holiness.

righteousness and purity that glorifies you. Give them the courage to walk the hard and narrow path that leads to life and walk against the popular broad and easy way that leads to eternal destruction. Help them to encounter and have a new revelation of your unconditional love for them and renew their hearts full of your peace, assurance and joy. And we thank you Father and love you in Jesus name we pray.

Amen. All right, guys. Thank you, Michelle. You are the best and I hope to see everyone here next week. Love you guys.

Michelle Tetreault (1:04:00)
Amen.

Thanks

Beth Barlet (1:04:11)
I pray this episode has blessed you today. I appreciate our time together and I hope our conversation has deepened your faith. Don’t forget to check out today’s show notes for episode links and additional information. Be sure to share this podcast with a friend, review it, and hit subscribe so you don’t miss one episode. Go to my website www.thesaltedpodcast.com and subscribe to my newsletter to be part of our Salted community. Remember,

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