Dealing with Sexual Immorality

Dealing with Sexual Immorality
1 Corinthians 6.18-20
18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Sexual immorality is a topic rarely discussed in and of itself. It is often lumped in with a general overview of morality, but it certainly deserves its own discourse. We live in a generation obsessed with sex. It is the most basic of our animal instincts and contains the highest connection to the flesh of all the sins. Perhaps that is why sexual immorality is so prevelant in our culture. We hear of pastors and presidents and polticians guilty of sexual immorality, and it leaves us with a rather unsettling discovery--sexual immorality is one of the easiest and most elusive sins of all.

The Bible is not silent on this topic. There are literally dozens of passages discussing sexual immorality in God's word. This leads us to a firm conclusion: God is not silent when it comes to the issue of sex. In order to understand exactly why sexual immorality is despicable in God's eyes, we must understand exactly what the perversion is. As with all other sins, sexual immorality is a mere twisted perversion of a beautiful creation of God.

Originally sex was designed and defined by God within these parameters: "a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh" (Genesis 2.24). While sex is not explicitly mentioned here in this verse, the implications all throughout scripture intertwine the concepts of the joining of flesh with sexual relations (1 Corinthians 6.16). The picture here in Genesis denotes that sex is far more than a physical sensation--it is a means of communicating oneness with a man and woman bound together in marriage. In this sense, one could say that sex is a sort of ritual like the ritual of praising God when we see a sunset or singing/dancing when we are excited. From this we can conclude that sex is a manifestation or projection of earthly love. In this regard, there is something quite special about human sexuality. Unlike the animal world, sexual relations between a man and woman is but another way to praise God. It is an extension of God's love manifested in a physical form. This is called "eros"--the Greek word for physical, sensual love. The side effect of this love is the creation of yet another love. From the joining of a man and a wife is wrought a child, by whom both parents love and celebrate as another gift of life. Isn't sex a wonderful gift?

As we can see, God created a powerful and beautiful force among mankind. Unfortunately, sin wields this power and often uses it against us. What is such a beautiful and innocent gift can become a curse if perverted. That is exactly the picture that is painted in the latter part of 1 Corinthians 6. Paul lays out how sexual immorality negates the Holy Spirit's temple--our bodies. The 21st Century world has little or no concept of this. The body is but a tool for pleasure, not for the glorification of God. Therefore, sin is rampant in our culture. Any concept of holiness dies in cinema screens, television, billboards, and sexually enticing clothing stores. This is much easier for men to understand, but women too can get a sense of just how pervasive sexual immorality is in our culture. As Christians, however, we know that we must run away from these things. Paul says that " your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God." Beloved, your body is God's; it is His temple. When we defile it by partaking of forbidden pleasures, we defile God's temple.

I sometimes hear that sexual immorality is "not that big a deal." "After all," some say, "It won't make me love my spouse any less." And so men become engrossed in pornography and extramarital affairs that slowly chip away at their marriage. Why is this so? Why does lusting or having sex outside of marriage totally destroy marriages both present and future? It is because, beloved, that there is a commitment to sex. Verse 6 of 1 Corinthians 6 says that "he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body." Sex is more than a basic animal instinct. As we mentioned above, sex is a ritual of the love between to people so intense and passionate that they literally become joined together. Their thoughts, their actions, their prayers, their hopes and dreams are all connected. When such such commitment is placed somewhere else, how can we possibly maintain any concept of love with our partner?

Next week we will look at exactly how we can avoid sexual immorality, but we NEED to understand exactly how serious the consequences are of commiting lust, fornication, and adultery and how they wreck the spiritual foundation that God has set. Beloved, I understand how strong our sinful nature can be at times. I firmly believe most of us have stumbled in one way or another sexually at one time or another. It may have been a simple look, or it may have been more than that. Regardless, we serve a God who overlooks ANY offense. Praise God that the Holy Spirit is here to help us overcome the temptations of sin. If you are struggling or have given into the temptations of sexual immorality or any other form of lust, please come to Jesus and make it right with Him. Beloved, please do not give in. Let us not defile God with our bodies, but "honor God with [our bodies]." Remember that "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." God bought you at a price so He can live inside of you. Therefore, let us clean out all the sexual immorality within us, and let us purify ourselves with the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit flowing within us each and every day. Amen.

With love in Christ,



Austin Aldrich