1 Corinthians 6:9-20
Oh boy…the topic that we dare not speak of. It’s fascinating to me how we can live in a world where we’ve become almost totally desensitized to the idea of there even being a link between sex and sin and yet as a church be nearly scared to death to discuss it. The reason why that is can be pretty discouraging to consider. So much of what scripture clearly defines as sexual sin is today not only accepted as “normal”, but it’s celebrated with words like, “bold” and “brave”. What God has to say about these sins are seen as antiquated notions that don’t hold water anymore.
There even those out there claiming that because these sins can be forced into a box labeled “LOVE”, Jesus would embrace it all. From transgenderism, homosexuality, and same sex marriage to pornography, promiscuity, prostitution and whatever else you want to toss in there, the line between what is sexually immoral and what is sexually acceptable has been blurred to the point of near erasure. Christian denominations are splitting over it. And that’s not all.
Sexual sin or sexual immorality is also a key player in statistics affecting the number of people getting married these days (down) children being born (way down) and pastors having to leave the ministry due to moral failings related to sexual sin (way up). Simply put, this is a problem that’s impacting every facet of society in some way, shape or form and none of it is good.
Let’s, as they say, go back to the beginning…
Genesis 1:27. “So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God, He created them; male and female He created them.” Note that God did not have any issues with pronouns. He kept it pretty simple. Male. Female. Created in His image which is a big deal. Why? Because it speaks to God’s reverent love for us. We were created through love, in His image for His glory and for our good. He could have created us in any image He wanted to, but out of a desire to be intimate with this facet of His creation, He made man and woman in His image. That’s a big deal.
A little further on in chapter 2 of Genesis, God puts a deep sleep on Adam, pulls out a rib and from that creates a woman – Eve – because and here we go with God loving on us again, He saw that it wasn’t good for the man to be alone. Adam wakes up, sees Eve and the first thing he says is, “At last!” Amen, Adam.
And then, God creates marriage. Adam sees Eve as a physical extension of himself who he is meant to be joined to forever. Genesis 2:24. “This explains why a man (a biological man) leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife (a biological woman) and the two are united into one.” And that union was meant by God to be both spiritual and physical.
God wanted the man and woman to love Him for having given them life, but He also wanted that same degree of love to exist between them. God created sex as one of the primary ways to help facilitate that love. And make no mistake. When God gave Adam and Eve sex, the idea was for it to take place between the two of them alone. And it’s amazing how once Adam and Eve fell to sin, sexual sin almost immediately became a thing. It was one of the first gifts God gave to man that man in his flesh chose to pervert to meet his own carnal desires.
And it’s been that way ever since…
In this week’s message I take a look into how the apostle Paul dealt with sexual sin in a church that he founded in Corinth, a bustling city located in Greece. The Corinthian church faced a problem similar to one we face today. There was in the congregation a faith in Jesus Christ which is great, but a total misunderstanding of Christ’s grace which is bad. This little congregation was of the mind that if I have received the Holy Spirit, I am guaranteed a spot in Heaven. And if I’m already guaranteed a spot in Heaven, then I may as well live it up here on earth. And they did! The congregants in the Corinthian church tolerated sexual sin and drunkenness. They were all about gluttony and the concept of “whatever feels good, do it!”
In 1 Corinthians 6 Paul is rebuking the church over their behavior and in 6:12 they’re response to him is, “I am allowed to do anything!” Sound logic, right? To counter this line of thought, Paul comes back with, “Yes. Everything is allowed but not everything is good.” And using grace as a tool for excusing sin is indicative of someone who doesn’t understand grace. And Paul goes on to talk about how believers in Christ are joined to His body. And knowing that, if we then choose to go out and have sex outside of marriage or stare at porn or pay a prostitute, we are subjecting Jesus – in a very physical way – to that same sin. Yikes.
6:18…Paul says, “Run from sexual sin!” Nowhere else in the Bible are we told to run from a sin. In most cases we’re told to put on the full armor of God and face that sin and watch Satan flee. Sexual sin Paul points out is a little bit different. How? Because if we are claiming to be saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, then we now possess an indwelling of the physical presence of His Holy Spirit. Paul tells us that we are in fact temples of the Holy Spirit. As a result, Paul closes with this stark reminder and I’ll do likewise. “You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honor God with your body.”
You wouldn’t dream – I hope – of intentionally walking into a church and defacing or defiling it. Well, when we succumb to sexual disobedience – or any harmful thing we do to our bodies we are defiling a temple of the Holy Spirit. Friends, we don’t want any part of that. Be humbled by the depth of God’s love for you, that He would trust you to house His Holy Spirit, the clearest evidence any of us has of His love. And never forget the price that was paid by His Son so that, despite our lack of worthiness we’re still able to invite that same Holy Spirit into ourselves and trust in Him to guide us one day all the way to Heaven.