Escape Sexual Immorality Through Gratefulness
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 9 viewsNotes
Transcript
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.
Last week we talked about being imitators of God. As loved children we should imitate the love of Christ. Love which is unconditional, love which is sacrificial and love which pleases and glorifies God. This is true love!
God’s love is the benchmark of true love, which is very very different from the idea of love that our fallen corrupt world propagates. That which we often call love is self gratifying, self promoting, self serving, conditional and rather than glorifying God it glorifies the object of love making it idolatry.
But we are to be imitators of God and because we have received the everlasting love of God through Christ and the forgiveness of our sins through Christ we must walk worthy of that, we must be the body of Christ in this world living His love and His forgiveness because the world does not know this kind of love and forgiveness.
We see to unique nature of this love in
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
So this is the special kind of love which as Christians we should have as a gift of the Spirit.
Back in or text this morning Paul moves from what we should do (love as Christ loved us) to what we should not do.
3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
So it’s not completely surprising that Paul opens this subject of fornication uncleanness and covetousness as these are perversions of love.
Fornication: Adultery, prostitution, incest, or any form of illicit sex.
Uncleanness: Impurity, physical or moral uncleanness.
Or
Covetousness: Greediness, or desiring that which does not belong to you.
So we can covet people or things. It’s the tenth commandment.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Why is covetousness included here? well i believe that it is the underlying sin of fornication and impurity. It is the desire of someone who does not belong to you that leads to the act of fornication or impure thoughts.
Now before any women’s lib people jump on me because I am speaking of a wife as someone who belongs to a man. Let me just point out that the bible teaches that a wife belongs to her husband. It also teaches that a husband belongs to his wife.
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
The unfortunate byproduct of the women’s lib movement is that it destroys any chance of true intimacy. True intimacy between a husband and wife is when they belong to each other.
So when you desire someone else’s spouse that is covetousness. Which when we get to vs 5 we find that that is idolatry. God is meant to be our heart’s greatest treasure but when we covet we give that place to something or someone else which is idolatry.
So these three things fornication, all uncleanness or covetousness Paul says
“let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints”
So what does he mean by that?
What he clearly is not saying is don’t even mentions these sins at all because he is at this moment mentioning them.
He says let it not even be named, which implies that they certainly should not be doing these things but not only don’t do them don’t even let them be named. I believe that what he means by not naming these things is understood by “as is fitting for saints” Which is to say as is proper or appropriate for the saints. So what Paul could mean here is something like “Do not mention fornication uncleanness or covetousness in ways that it would be inappropriate for saints. So I believe that Paul is say we should be very thoughtful and careful how we even talk about these sins. Being careful not to make light of them or make less of them, or worse to make then seem acceptable in any way.
These are not small issues they are not trivial as we see in the following verses
5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
I also believe that this is Paul’s line of thought because of what he says next
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
Filthiness: obscenity
Foolish talking: Silly talk
Course jesting: dirty jokes
Which are not fitting
So one might say why is is so bad to joke around about sex or more specifically illicit sex.
It makes light of a very heavy sin. Sin is no joking matter.
What is the antidote?
Giving of thanks.
It may seem to be a strange cure for fornication uncleanness and covetousness. But consider what is at the heart of these sins. Ungratefulness. When I desire and lust after something or someone that God have not given to me I’m ungrateful for what God has given me. I’m saying that what God have given me is not enough - that I want more that I need more.
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
They coveted, they made there sexual immorality and desires their God. They offered theirselves to their immoral desires and so God said ok. He gave them what they wanted. Sexual immorality without God.
It’s not that God rejects these people because of their sin. It is rather, that these people have rejected God because of their sin. Our inheritance in the kingdom of God is God. Those who say suppress the knowledge of God don’t want God. So God gives the over to what they want. No God.
They knew God but they did not glorify God and were not thankful to God. If we are truly grateful for all that God gives us then we will not covet what God has not given us and we will not joke and make light of sexual immorality.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.