Sex,Lies,andConsequencesPt.4

"For this is the will of God, that you should be consecrated (separated and set apart for pure and holy living): that you should abstain and shrink from all sexual vice,

That each one of you should know how to possess (control, manage) his own body in consecration (purity, separated from things profane) and honor,

Not [to be used] in the passion of lust like the heathen, who do not know God and have no knowledge of His will…"

The key phrase is "who do not know God." If you were to ask Paul, What can I do so that I am protected from Satan's power to deceive me into sexual sin?

His answer would be, Get to know God.

So, all this talk about sexual purity and walking in God’s will hinges on one crucial thing: Who’s your daddy?

What do I mean?

If you have not been born again, then none of this really matters.

The BIBLE passages on purity are not written to you, because these are kingdom truths for kingdom people.

Listen to the words of Jesus as He speaks to the religious leaders of His day:

Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does.”—John 8

What Jesus meant was that they still possessed an unredeemed, fallen nature. As long as that’s the case your spiritual father is, technically, the devil. That is, you have been “Born in sin, shaped in iniquity.” You carry only Adam’s nature, and you are serving the cause of Satan.

“You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.”--Eph. 2:1-3

This is why Jesus emphasized,

“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

He went on to explain all this by saying:

“Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’—John 3

Now, having been born again, we have received a new nature with a desire to please God in all areas of life.

“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…”—1 John 5:3

Burdensome: not tedious or heavy to be borne. That is, they are welcomed, sweet, excellent.

This does not mean they are always easy. They aren’t.

But it means there is a desire in the true child of God to do them, to please God. The true child of God rejoices in His commandments and amen’s them.

Actually, what is burdensome to the true child of God is displeasing the Lord.

Now, let’s bring all this down to our sexuality. Is sexual purity easy?

No, not always. Is it hugely rewarding? Yes!

But in order to be victorious we must commit our bodies to God, yielding all to Him as His offspring.

This is what you will do if God is your Father:

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

The name of a popular book out there for women is "Our Bodies, Ourselves."

Self-described as "a book by and for women about health and

Sexuality," it among other things approves of abortion and lesbianism.

The premise of the book perfectly describes the sexual message of our culture: It is that women are free to do with their bodies as they wish.

This is the philosophy that opens the door to all kinds of evils, such as abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and so on.

But the Bible contradicts this philosophy for both men and women in Christ. The Bible teaches that:

We do not have the right to do whatever we desire with our bodies

We belong to God, both body and

spirit-- We are not our own, but God's!

Nowhere is this stated more clearly than in 1Co 6:19-20),

where Christians are told...

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

GOD LIVES IN YOU BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

Listen to Paul talking to the Corinthians who lived in a very immoral society:

“There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one." Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never "become one."

Paul goes on to say:

“There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another. Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit?”—1 Cor. 6

The fact of the Spirit's indwelling should affect how we use

our bodies!

Paul also said that:

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GIVEN TO US FROM GOD...

The Holy Spirit is promised to those who believe, repent and are baptized –

“Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”--Ac 2:38-39

The Holy Spirit is also an earnest (down payment) of our ultimate redemption

“The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”—Ep 1:14

The Spirit living within us means that we are signed, sealed and delivered to heaven.

FACT: The blessing of the Spirit's indwelling should impact how we use our bodies!

Then Paul tells us why we are not our own:

OUR BODIES WERE BOUGHT AT A PRICE

A. WE HAVE BEEN BOUGHT...

1. By the blood of Christ

“So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood- Ac 20:28

2. Hence, we also look for the redemption of our bodies at the resurrection.

“And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.”- Ro 8:23

-- God purchased our bodies for both now and the future!

III. OUR BODIES ARE TO GLORIFY GOD

A. OUR BODIES...

1. Are now members of Christ

“Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? 1Co 6:13-15

2. Are now to be instruments of righteousness

“Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.

Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.”—Ro 6:12-13

How do we GLORIFY GOD?

1. By how we live

a. Living sacrificial, holy lives, acceptable to God

b. Demonstrating that God's will is good, acceptable,and perfect.

And we glorify God…

2. By how we die, magnifying God in how we die with faith and hope, knowing that to die is gain for the Christian - Php 1:23

-- Clearly our bodies are to glorify God, not self!

CONCLUSION

1. The world would have us view our bodies...

a. As owned by ourselves, and no one has a right to tell us how to use it

b. As an instrument of pleasure, to be used as we please

c. As something to be discarded at death, needed no more.

2. God would have us view our bodies...

a. As the temple of the Holy Spirit

b. As belonging to God, purchased at a price

c. As an instrument through which we are to glorify Him

d. As that which will be redeemed, when raised and given immortality.

Indeed, our bodies are gifts from God of which we must be wise stewards.

Are we using our bodies in ways that glorify Him?

"...therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which

are God's." - 1Co 6:20

NEXT TIME: THE GAY DILEMMA

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