SexualPurity2

“Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; 2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.

7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.

8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.”—1 Thes. 4:1-8

This lays out the Bible’s authority on sexuality very clearly. To reject the Bible’s teaching on sexuality is to reject God Himself.

And the Bible is crystal clear on sexual immorality. Paul wrote:

“Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.”—1 Cor. 6:18

In case you think they had it easier then in terms of sexual temptation, you should know that:

The Christians at Corinth faced great challenges in living holy lives...

a. The city was known for its immorality.

b. The temple of Venus in Corinth hosted 1000 priestesses dedicated to prostitution in the name of religion. It was a “spiritual” thing to go to them.

c. Some of the Corinthian Christians had been very immoral prior to their conversion.

“Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God?

Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Now what he says next is very important. Catch it:

Some of you were once like that.

Notice that the sinful behavior Paul just identified is in the “were” tense. They had done those things, but the practice of all that changed when they got saved.

Paul goes on to describe what salvation had done in their lives:

But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” - 1Co 6:9-11

In light of their conversion, Paul warns them to "Flee fornication" (KJV) - 1Co 6:18

His admonition is needed just as much today because:

Just as in Corinth, fornication (sexual immorality) is rampant in our culture.

Morality is being loosely defined (and redefined), causing many to engage in dangerous behavior. Our culture is in the process of defining deviancy down. What was once considered wrong and even sexually perverse is now being called normal. And those that disagree with the new definitions are labeled abnormal.

Because our culture is redefining morality today, wisdom calls us to first notice the Biblical definition of that conduct which we are to flee...

FORNICATION DEFINED

The Greek word translated fornication or sexual immorality is porneia.

Porneia is used generally to refer to any sexual sin.

Thus it includes any form of illicit sexual intercourse—adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, etc.

Let’s look at some more of those confusing sexual words found in the Bible:

Adultery (moichao) - to have unlawful intercourse with another's wife or husband.

Homosexuality- one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual, cf. 1Co 6:9

9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders…”

Beastiality – to lie carnally with an animal, Lev 18:23

Lust—Sinful longing; the inward sin which leads to the falling away from God absence of restraint, insatiable desire for pleasure Ro 13:13

“Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.”

In Mark 4:19 "lusts" can also be other objects of desire. “And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust for other things enter in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

Concupiscence—mentioned 3 times in N.T. Sexual lust; morbid carnal passion. Inordinate desire.

Paul talks about the "lust of concupiscence"; In the Revised Version of scripture it’s called the "passion of lust" and denotes evil desire, indwelling sin.

Romans 7:8 But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment [to express itself], got a hold on me and aroused and stimulated all kinds of forbidden desires in me (concupiscence, covetousness).”

Paul is describing "the inordinate affection or desire for what is forbidden"… contrary to the Holiness which the Gospel requires.

Colossians 3:5: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil concupiscence and greed, which is idolatry.”

1 Thessalonians 4:5 “That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God.”

Christians are called of God to “FLEE the fornication, concupiscence, fleshly lusts, passions of carnal desire.

We have the Gospel which teaches us not only what and Who we should believe, but more importantly, now that we believe…how we should live. "walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" Rom. 8:4.

Lasciviousness—mentioned 9 times in the N.T. It refers to unbridled lust; conduct and character that is unbecoming, indecent, unrestrainedly shameless. The inability to blush.

Mark 7:22 Jesus said that from the heart come, “Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:”

Romans 13:13 “As in the day, let us walk becomingly; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and lasciviousness, not in strife and emulation.”

2 Corinthians 12:21 “And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.”

Impurity: mentioned 42 times in N.T. It is the condition or quality of being impure in any sense; it refers to defilement; foulness; adulteration. It is that which is, or which renders anything, impure; such as foul matter, action, language, and so on.

Romans 1:24 “For this reason, in accordance with their own depraved cravings, God gave them up to uncleanness, allowing them to dishonour their bodies among themselves with impurity.”

Romans 6:19 “…and just as you once surrendered your faculties into bondage to impurity and ever-increasing disregard of Law, so you must now surrender them into bondage to Righteousness ever advancing towards perfect holiness.”

Defrauder Appealing to desires you can’t righteously satisfy. Don’t be a stumbling block. Watch how you dress.

Homosexuality and Lesbianism

Let the Bible speak for itself. The N.T. is hardly silent on the issue, nor was Jesus. “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife.”

DEVASTATION OF SEXUAL IMMORALITY

DESTROYS THE BODY...

Bacterial STDs (e.g., chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea) are often

brought on by fornication

Viral STDs (e.g., genital herpes, Hepatitis B, AIDS) are

incurable

Many people have learned the hard way, what Solomon warned his son: - Pr 5:11-12 “In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body. You will say, “How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings!

DESTROYS THE HOME...

Marriages intended for life are broken, often beyond repair.

Mt 19:4-6

Children are devastated, with emotional effects lasting into

adulthood Mal 2:16

Potential for future marriages is lessened (who desires "damaged goods" due to STDs?

DESTROYS THE SOUL...

It will be hard to forgive oneself; there will be self-recrimination - Pr 5:12-13

“You will say, ‘How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings! Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?’”

Rather than enhancing intimacy, sexual immorality hinders intimacy and affects one’s ability to be emotionally intimate.

“Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "Get up and get out!"—2 Sam. 13:15

If unrepented and unforgiven, judgment is certain - 1Co 6: 9-10; Ga 5:19-21; He 13:4

We see why Paul would write "Flee fornication." It is not to be taken

lightly!

Next Time: The “How To” of Sexual Purity

Related Media

Related Sermons