Sex is so powerful that God warns us about sexual immorality
(18) Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
(19) Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
(20) you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Who does sexual immorality hurt?
Why are our bodies important to God?
(1)“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
(2) Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
How does God want us to use our bodies?
(8) We know that the law is good when used correctly.
(9) For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders.
(10) The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching
(11) that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.”
Who is the law made for?
(9) “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men
(10) nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
(11) And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
How are we able to fulfil God’s requirements?
God’s Design For Sex
(4) “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
(5) and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
(6) So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
This scripture describes sex as a kind of super-glue that unites a man and a woman so strongly that they become “one.” Sex creates intimacy on all levels; this is why we ought to protect it. This is why God wants us to be careful to only join ourselves to the one we marry.
(4) Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
(Adultery means sex between two people where either one or both are already married).
Why should we keep our marriage bed pure?
Some Negative Results of Sexual Immorality
- Physically hurting our own bodies and other(s)
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD): the effects are permanent and severe. (Some STDs like Chlamydia can cause sterility; others cause cervical cancer: all require lifelong use of medications)
- Emotionally unable to trust or love someone because of past hurts
- Unwanted pregnancy, abortion and sterility caused by abortion(s)
- Guilt and shame
Wrong Thinking About Sex
・Wrong thinking, “sex is for escaping reality” (detachment)
(12) “You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.
(13) You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.”
・Wrong thinking, “everyone is doing it.”
(2) Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
・Wrong thinking, “sex before marriage is OK because I will marry him/her eventually.”
“Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.”
・Wrong thinking, “sex for money, gifts, status, or convenience is OK.”
(16) Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
(17) Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
(18) May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
・Wrong thinking, “my sexual identity – I was born this way, I’m an addict, etc.”
(15) “You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
(16) You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
(17) How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!”
・Wrong thinking, “lust or pornography are OK.”
(28) “But I tell you that if a man looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, he has already committed that sin with her in his mind.”
(18) Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
Why does God care about the things that happen in our heart and mind?
Why does God care about our bodies?
Perhaps you didn’t know that God designed sex for marriage. Like many guys and girls, maybe you’ve been exposed to pornography or have been sexually active outside marriage. Perhaps you’re regretful of opening God’s gift before marriage. Perhaps, because of wrong thinking and wrong decisions, you are feeling shame and fear regarding your sexuality and marriage.
The Bible has some good news for us:
(17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
(1) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
(2) because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
(3) For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,
(4) in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
How does God set us free from our mistakes?
(Note – if you have been sexually abused, this is NOT your mistake, but you may want to ask God to make you pure. (It will help you to privately seek prayer from a leader you trust)
God’s Purity
How does God restore our purity?
(18) “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord . “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
(9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Ask a Friend
How important is sexual purity to you? Why?
Application
Have you ever asked God to help you stay sexually pure?
How can you make sexual purity a priority in your life?
Prayer Model
Lord, thank you for the great gift of sex. Help me to treasure this gift, and keep it safe for marriage. I commit my body and my sexuality to you. Help me to live in your ways.
Key Verse
Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
