Good Monday morning to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Have you noticed a dramatic trend in our world over the past several years, especially in America and Europe? Does it seem to you that most all entertainment, almost all advertising and marketing, most all attempts at comedy or joking are at least laced with, if not immersed in sexuality? Of course, we understand the darkness and addiction of the very powerful pornography industry and more recently sex trafficking, even with children.
It should not be difficult for you to see the dramatic destructive effects all this is having on marriage and family, respect for women and children, and the rise of a sexual revolution. In short, this trend is destroying the moral fabric of societies and enslaving millions of people in very destructive lifestyles.
Once again, the apostle Paul, writing his first letter to his Christian friends in the large city of Corinth, Greece, addresses this contemporary and explosive issue head on. Why? Because, in the first century Roman empire, this very same problem was having the same devastating effects on families and cities. Sadly, it was even a problem, a serious problem, among these first Christians in Corinth to whom Paul had introduced Jesus Christ and His Gospel.
Listen to Paul dictate these very powerful words of admonition and teaching: “Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me – but I will not be mastered by anything. Food for the stomach and the stomach for food – but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus for the Body. By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ Himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that whoever unites themself with a prostitute is one with them in body? For the Scripture says,’The two will become one flesh.’ But the person who unites themself with Jesus Christ is one with Him in spirit.” (1 Cor. 6:12-17) Wow! There is an avalanche of important and practical life truth here isn’t there? Let’s take it one phrase at a time.
This weekend we dealt with that first very powerful statement about everything being permissible, so I won’t repeat that, but if you missed it, I urge you to go back and dig into it! Paul’s statement about food and stomach is clear, isn’t it? God designed both food and our bodies. God designed the ability for our bodies to eat and process food for nourishing our bodies. Hunger is a God designed indicator that we need to eat, but God also gave us minds to make wise food choices and both gluttony and many food & water borne illnesses remind us that eating requires wisdom to be beneficial! And the very same thing is true regarding our bodies and God designed human sexuality! Do you understand that my friends?
Paul wants us to consider that EVERY aspect of our human bodies are designed, each and all, for the glory and honor of God our creator and designer! We, however, have the freedom and ability to misuse our bodies in evil ways that mock God and actually honor Satan! We have the freedom to abuse our bodies in ways that are self-destructive. Paul boldly calls us to understand that in our salvation experience our bodies are actually united with Jesus Christ and His experience of death and resurrection! (1 Cor.6:14,15,17)
As we trust Jesus to be our Savior and Lord, and we reject the reign of sin and Satan in our lives, we are associating ourselves with the atonement death of Jesus as He took upon Himself our sin and He experienced the wrath of God in punishment for our sin. (Romans 6:1-4) As we trust God’s Holy Spirit to birth a new Holy spiritual nature in us and cleanse us from our sin, God reconciles us to Himself, adopts us as His sons and daughters, then the Holy Spirit ‘baptizes’ us into union with the resurrected, reigning Lord Jesus Christ! (Romans 6:5-14) That powerful chapter, Romans 6, is a great declaration of the transformation God accomplishes in us as He unites with Jesus Christ!
I urge you to read through those verses slowly, grasping the powerful truth Paul declares, for when we understand our union with Jesus Christ, we should then be repulsed by the reality that when we sin, we take Jesus and the Holy Spirit with us into that sin!!
Now that’s a shocking statement isn’t it my friends? But it’s true… isn’t it? As you think deeply about that statement, what emotions rise up in you? That, my friends, is one of the ultimate, practical realities of why I chose the phrase “Walking with Jesus” for these, our daily encounters with each other in God’s Word. Now hold on to your seatbelts friends and let’s look at Paul’s bold venture into the world of rampant sexual immorality in Corinth, and all over my world and yours: “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside their body, but the person who sins sexually sins against their own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body!” (1 Cor. 6:18-20) This may be one of the most powerful, life changing statements in the entire Bible!
The word ‘flee’ means run with intention, with desperation, with a strong sense of fear that if you don’t run away from all sexual immorality, the results could destroy your reputation, your legacy, your future and all your relationships! Pause… Ponder that my friends, it could save your life if you never forget it.
Why does Paul say sexual sins are sins against our body? Do you remember I showed you in Romans 6 that in our salvation experience the Holy Spirit unites our bodies with the body of Christ in His atonement death and resurrection? Therefore when we use our bodies to engage sin, we are bringing Jesus with us into that sin. Sexual sin, of course, is any use of our sexuality in any way that is contrary to the holy expression of love God has designed uniquely between a husband and his wife. Because the Holy Spirit lives inside a Christian, if and when that Christian engages in sexual sin, they are actually bringing the Holy Spirit of God into that sexual sin and that is a horrific mockery both of the holiness of the Holy Spirit of God and also the holy design of God for marriage intimacy and the conception of children. Do you understand that my friends?
Do you notice Paul boldly reminds us that we were purchased from our sin condemnation and sin bondage by the Lord Jesus Christ through His ultimate sacrifice of His suffering and atonement death on the cross? In that purchase Jesus broke the shackles of the dark kingdom that held us in bondage and set us free to live Holy Spirit filled and guided lives for God’s great glory as a Holy people of God! One of the main ways we do that is regarding our sexuality as HOLY designed by God so our sexuality is always expressed as worship of our great and holy God. Peter echoed this thought with these words: “You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ… you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light…” (1 Peter 1:18,19; 2:9)
Now we must stop right here and deeply ponder these powerful Scriptures. Our God designed sexuality is wonderful, holy and powerful! It is a primary target of the dark kingdom, Satan and his demons, for EVERY use of our sexuality that is anything LESS than God’s designed holiness is debauchery, decadence and leads us to death! I think it’s time to pray asking God to help us understand the magnitude of this… and I’ll meet you right back here tomorrow, my friends.
Today’s Scripture is 1 Cor. 6:12-20.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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