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let’s pray together Lord God we thank you for this day another day to live Lord for you in your world but God we need your instruction we need your word to light the way for us God help me to be able to declare it now and work among your people so that we not only hear it but we become doers of it in Jesus name amen started off our last couple sermons with some song references today we’re going to do some poetry William Shakespeare was a famous English playwright from the 16th century you know him from his plays like Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet but he also wrote a number of poems and one of his more unusual poems is sonnet 129 unusual because the poem is not like a love poem from man to woman it’s a meditation on sexual lust I want to read this poem to you it’s not very long it’s written in early modern English so it’s going to sound a little ant qued you might not get all the words but don’t worry about it just try and pay attention to the main ideas as I read Shakespeare’s Sonet 129 the expense of spirit in a waste of Shame is lust in action until action lust is perjured murderous bloody full of blame Savage extreme rude cruel not to trust enjoyed no sooner but despised straight past reason hunted and no sooner had past reason hated as a swallowed bait on purpose laid to make the taker mad mad in Pursuit and in possession so had having an inquest to have extreme a bliss in proof and proved a very woe before a joy proposed behind a dream all this the world well knows yet none knows well to shun the heaven that leads men to this hell that’s the end of the poem from what we can tell today Shakespeare was not a true Christian yet even Shakespeare could observe what lust and the immorality that Springs from lust is really like lust is extremely selfish it leads to many other sins lust is controlling it causes a person to do something he would otherwise never choose to do because it is so reckless and foolish lust is deceptive it promises joy and fulfillment but that Joy goes away like a vapor and leaves behind nothing but shame and regret but what is most startling is what Shakespeare asserts at the end of his poem in the final couplet even though many have discovered the world well knows Shakespeare says the truly evil and vain nature of lust it never satisfies this does not stop people from pursuing it and going back to it again and again since the fall of Adam and Eve immorality and lust have been characteristic of the sinful human race Romans 1: 24-27 says that increasing sexual perversion is the natural outcome of man’s Rebellion against his creator though different cultures throughout history have been more open or less open with this sin immorality has been a problem a major problem everywhere Humanity has existed across time our modern American culture is no exception our society not only excuses sexual sin but even celebrates it and promotes it but how should Christians live in such a perverse World consider what the Apostle Paul writes to Christians in the first century Christians who lived in an immoral society that was just as bad if not worse than our own listen what Paul says is the Christian calling Ephesians 5:3 but immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you some translations say should not even be a hint as is proper among saints that is Holy ones do you hear from Paul what the standard of Our Lord is when it comes to his people and immorality God says it shouldn’t even be named among you not even a little bit you should be walking in total sexual Purity and self-control I don’t know if that strikes you as crazy how can that be when we live in such world how can is this even possible can sexual Purity truly be expected of those who genuinely know God consider yourselves this morning have you realized even as Shakespeare did the evil destructive vain nature of sexual sin and lust and realizing this do you nevertheless still turn to it even regularly do you appreciate the seriousness of safeguarding yourself when it comes to immorality and have you come to realize that there actually is a better way a more Joyful Way way to live your life and Steward your sexuality and that is in a Chase life in obedience and to the glory of Jesus now the good news of the Gospel the good news of the Gospel of Salvation is that no matter how much whether if or how much you’ve already been caught up in immorality if you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus you will be forgiven you will be cleansed you’ll be saved but you must indeed repent and what does repent mean it’s a change of mind that results in a change of action changing the way that you live if we are indeed to fulfill the calling that we have from God which we can do which we must do must have our minds renewed by God’s truth and that’s what we’re going to seek to do this morning in our new passage please take your Bibles and open to 1 Corinthians 6 1 Corinthians 6 let’s hear our God speak to this issue of lust and immorality the title of my message today is lust a costly consumption lust a costly consumption our text is 1 Corinthians 62 to20 you find that on page 1,144 if you’re using the Pew Bible a few bits of background before we look at the text this text is part of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the mostly Gentile Church in Corinth part of Greece the Corinthians though true believers they have become as is evident as we look at other parts of the book increasingly proud selfish and excusing of sin partly due to adopting certain ideas from their ungodly culture now Paul writes this letter to the church in Corinth to correct their thinking and behavior on various issues and immorality is one of them so let’s see how Paul and the Lord through Paul addresses that issue in our text 1 Corinthians 6 12 20 all things are lawful for me but not all things are profitable all things are lawful for me but I will not be Mastered by anything food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food but God will do away with both of them yet the body is not for immorality but for the Lord and the Lord is for the body now God has not only raised up the Lord but will also raise us up through his power do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute may it never be or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her for he says the two shall become one flesh but the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him flee immorality every other sin that a man commits is outside the body but the immoral man sins against his own body or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have from God and that you are not your own for you have been bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body amazing text notice first here as we just consider the passage as a whole the words immorality and immoral they appear several times in this passage what exactly is immorality the Greek word used for it here is pora and it refers to any kind of unrighteous sexual activity it’s a very broad term it is the pursuit of any sexual pleasure or fulfillment outside of God’s design in marriage anything outside God’s design you see God created and he loves marriage and God designed sexual intimacy to be a blessed part of the one flesh Union of one man and one woman in marriage this physical Union is not only for procreation but also for pleasure as Proverbs 5 and Song of Solomon plainly indicate even within marriage sexual intimacy is to be is to be pursued not chiefly to satisfy one’s own desires but to satisfy the desires of the other spouse as Paul makes clear in the next chapter 1 Corinthians 7 so God’s original design for marriage and sex is good but every sexual Pursuit that violates God’s design God hates and he calls it immorality and this would include premarital sex or fornication adultery pornography solo stimulation homosexuality beastiality incest and prostitution but that’s not all immorality is lustful looks lustful thoughts lustful speech also comes under the category of immorality Jesus says you lust in your heart that counts as adultery Matthew 5:27 to30 and Paul says that coarse words lustful joking has no place in the Christian’s mouth in Ephesians 5:4 so understand that when this passage and when the scriptures refers to immorality it’s referring to all of this those external actions the lust of the heart and the core speech notice also as we consider the whole passage here that there are two commands two commands given first is in verse 18 flee immorality and the other is in verse 20 glorify God in your body these are really two sides of one command stewarding one sexuality as a Christian requires on the negative side fleeing immorality and on the positive deci side glorifying God glorifying God in your body you cannot do one without the other they go together but notice where the commands appear in our passage at the end near the end and this delay is significant even though obedience to these two commands is the intended outcome of Paul’s teaching Paul evidently wants to address Christian thinking about immorality before he addresses Christian Behavior it may also have been struck by three times in the passage Paul says do you not know what you think has a lot to do with whether you’re going to obey the Lord so we’re going to mimic Paul’s approach as we studied this passage here Paul presents three critical truths about the body that should lead us to flee imorality and glorify God in our bodies instead three critical truths about the body that should lead us to flee immorality and glorify God in our bodies instead we’re going to investigate these truths and then we’ll Circle back to talk about the two commands that’s our approach let’s take a look at the first critical truth why you should flee immorality and glorify God in your body instead and this truth appears in verses 12 to 14 number one our bodies matter to God our bodies matter to God there’s always a temptation as Christians to think that what we do in our bodies does not really matter to God this was certainly a Temptation in ancient Corinth popular Greek thought at the time was that the body was innately evil the body is evil physical is evil but the spirit is good it’s innately good and it’s separate from the body the body is kind of like a prison and the true self is the spirit so as long as one’s Spirit was right with the Divine what happened in one’s body the physical heart doesn’t really matter it’s popular thinking soon attached itself in the first century to Christian truth because Christians like Paul were preaching that faith alone in Christ is what saves it’s totally apart from good works or rituals things you see on the outside also physical issues like food drink circumcision they don’t matter to God what matters is a clean conscience and making sure not to cause other people to stumble into sin so you can see where popular Greek thought and the Christian message appeared to overlap and some Greek converts to the faith they began to believe that as one as long as one had faith in Christ it doesn’t really matter what one does with one’s body even ill even immorality could be tolerated or even Justified if someone still has the right spiritual beliefs situation like this appears to have Arisen in Corinth there were Corinthians suggesting that immorality as a mere function of the body doesn’t really matter to God and Paul responds to some of their thinking in verses 12 to 14 by apparently quoting some of their popular sayings and correcting those ideas why do I take that interpretation well it explains otherwise odd the odd uh way the passage proceeds the effort to deal with these Corinthian slogans explains the abrupt transition between verse 11 and verse 12 as well as the series of contrasts that verses 12 and 14 present we got a series of things that the Corinthians were repeating to themselves to justify immorality and Paul responding notice Paul’s oh I want to say this first notice the slogan that Paul confronts the beginning of verse 12 all things are lawful for me I don’t know about you that strikes me as a pretty sweeping statement right all things are lawful I have the right to do anything I want I am clean I have total freedom in Christ my spirit is right so nothing in the world or in my body can separate me from God that’s not too far from what some Christians say today but notice Paul’s response in verse 12 all all things are lawful but not all things are profitable or beneficial now this is interesting Paul doesn’t reject their slogan outright but he shows that it’s incomplete and that it arises from a fundamentally misguided perspective yes Paul says you Corinthians are clean in Christ and you have amazing Christian Liberty but do you remember that Christ called you to live wisely and always look for what is most useful or profitable immorality is inherently self-destructive according to Proverbs 5 it destroys Health it destroys wealth it destroys reputation it destroys relationships so how would giving free reign to your body or how would nonchalantly getting close to immorality fit in the Christian call to wise living but Paul has another response the same slogan he repeats it all things are lawful for me in the second half of verse 12 but then adds but I will not be Mastered by anything here is another fundamental Christian principle when we became Believers we renounced lordship of our lives and gave over exclusive authority to the Lord Jesus he is our Master now and he’s made quite clear that he’s not going to share his ownership and his control with anything or anyone else Matthew 6:24 so now Paul challenges the Corinthians and us with that principle how does indulging in immorality with your body fit with the reality of Christ exclusive jealous lordship immorality even as Shakespeare observed is inherently enslaving and controlling it demands greater and greater amounts of your time your resources how does that fit with the Christian calling to serve Christ Alone the next slogan that Paul deals with in verse 13 is somewhat longer and it really has two parts first food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food but God will do away with both of them here are two excuses given for the body and immorality first that immorality is necessary and inevitable it’s just like the stomach and food God they say made the stomach to enjoy different kinds of food and to nourish your body that’s the stomach’s purpose if you don’t eat you’re going to not only be unhappy but you’re going to eventually die in the same way God made the human body to enjoy and even to be nourished by many and different kinds of sexual experiences that’s what the body was apparently designed for we are sexual beings after all why else would God give us these passions in other words immorality is driven by biological need don’t try to stop it it’s natural it’s healthy and again don’t we hear this same idea in our own Society not only is it assumed today that people will be immoral but also that this is good you only give yourself a nervous disorder if you try to repress yourself you need an outlet for those god-given drives why else would God make the passion so strong don’t put limits on sex immorality is necessary it’s inevitable that’s the first excuse exerted but the second is that immorality is inconsequential the thinking goes like this the stomach’s not going to last forever and neither is food so does it really matter what foods you choose to eat or not to eat it’s all the same Destiny in the end might as well Live It Up why make it hard for yourself by refraining from food in the same way our bodies are not going to last forever and neither will SA so no matter how much we indulge or not the outcome is the same in the end therefore whatever we do in the body is not really going to matter in eternity why stress ourselves out with Chastity with resisting those Fierce Temptations those constant Temptations why not just relax and enjoy ourselves this apparently was part of the thinking in Corinth some in Corinth and Paul’s two-part response to this longer slogan we see this in verses 13 and 14 yet the body is not for immorality but for the Lord and the Lord is for the body now God has not only raised the Lord but will also raise us up through his power this is an amazing and unexpected response from Paul especially in the first part notice that Paul doesn’t simply retort that the body is made for sex and marriage you say the body is for immorality no the body is made for sex and marriage that’s not what he says notice he says it’s actually made for something much grander the body is made for the Lord himself your body is made for the Lord and the Lord was designed for your body Paul says to the Corinthians and us do you know what what is more necessary to your life your health your well-being than either food or sex Jesus Christ your body was meant for him and he was meant for your body so actually immorality it goes against the way that God created you it is not according to it as for the second part of Paul’s reply notice again that the Corinthian excuse is turned on its head yes our bodies and their appetites will one day come to an end by death but that is actually as Paul points out not the end of our bodies the same bodies that lived on the earth bodies that we chose to indulge or not to indulge in immorality those bodies those same bodies will be raised by the Lord in the same way that Jesus Christ’s body was raised so you cannot talk as if it doesn’t matter what we do with our bodies because we’ll just discard them in the end well guess what you’re getting that body back and your body these bodies that we’ll receive back they will be Eternal testimonies to the lives that we lived on the Earth by the way did you notice in verse 14 Paul does not say God will raise up our bodies through his power but instead he says God will raise us up through his power say what’s what’s the point of that why is that distinction important is Paul saying that our bodies won’t be raised only our Spirits no our bodies will indeed be raised just read over in 1 Corinthians 15 for a longer explanation of that rather by saying that we rather than merely just our bodies will be raised Paul is emphasizing something quite profound something that we can forget and that is you cannot distance yourself from your body you are not as some Greeks thought a soul imprisoned in the body like a shell rather you are your body you are a complex intermixture of body and soul Inner Man and outer man they are both you so you cannot say oh my whatever the body does that’s not me no that’s you that’s part of you so we must have none of this it doesn’t matter what I do in the body it certainly does matter what you do in the body because you are your body your body is part of you now let’s pause and think about what these truths mean for us you cannot claim that you are spiritually safe while you pursue immorality because God has called you to live wisely seeking that which most spiritually profits you and others and him you cannot remain nonchalant about whether immorality might place you into bondage for God will not tolerate you you being Mastered by anyone besides him and you cannot excuse your immorality as biologically or emotionally or psychologically or whatever you want to say you cannot excuse this as necessary because the Lord says that he and his will for you are more necessary than anything in this world and he cannot treat sexual sin as inconsequential because in one way or another you will wear the consequences of your sexual choices for eternity either in God’s new heavens and new earth or in Hell clearly then our bodies matter to God that’s the first critical truth there’s a second critical truth that should cause us to flee immorality and glorify God in our bodies instead and that’s in verses 15 to 17 number two our bodies are in Union with Christ if you’re a believer your body is in Union with Christ let’s take these verses all together verses 15 to 17 do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute may it never be or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her for he says the two shall become one flesh but the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him in these verses Paul draws our attention to the nature of our Union with Christ Paul essentially asks don’t you remember that when you became a Christian you were placed in to Jesus all of you was placed into Jesus Christ you spiritually became a member of his body you are part of him now and really this is how all the salvation Salvation blessings of God come to us as Christians we have become attached in something like spiritual marriage a spiritual marriage of total Oneness to the Son of God himself thus his everlasting life his righteousness his strength they pour into our lives via the UN ion meanwhile our sin goes to him which he paid off once for all triumphantly on the cross what’s his what’s his is ours what’s ours is his just like marriage now this is a mysterious Union that cannot be fully understood yet it is real it is plainly declared in the scriptures and it’s the foundation of our eternal life and hope well what does this have to do with immorality Paul basically asks us this question next having been made part of such an amazing Union with Jesus Christ will you then seek out a contradictory Union in these verses Paul contrasts two unions there’s total Union body and soul with Jesus Christ in the spirit and there’s total Union body and soul with a prostitute by the flesh both of these unions Paul indicates are versions of the fundamental one flesh marriage Paradigm established by God in Genesis 2:24 the two will become one flesh and by the way prostitution was the most common temptation to immorality in the ancient world at that time prostitution was cheap and readily available but what is said about prostitutes here it applies to any kind of immorality so don’t be like oh he’s only just talking about that no this this is talking about lust this is talking about immorality in whatever form it might appear The Prostitute is just an example even a symbol for all of that now notice what Paul says takes place theologically when a Christian indulges in immorality even goes to visit a prostitute the Christian takes away and that’s a good translation in The New American Standard 95 he removes he takes away the members of Christ out of Christ to make them members of a harlot to make them part of a harlot and what’s Paul’s reaction to this scenario what does he think about that should Christians ever do that may it never be absolutely not God forbid never why such a strong response Paul well Paul doesn’t draw out the implications for us directly because it should be obvious we can just explore this a little bit with our minds on the oneand can anyone conceive of a greater blasphemy than trying to unite Christ his members any part of him with immorality he’s the Holy One he’s the beautiful one he’s the unstained one and you’re going to try and stain him you’re going to try and pollute his members yet this is what is attempted anytime a Christian seeks out an indul is an immorality whatever form whether it’s in your heart or whether it’s in some external way the person not only robs Christ of the members that belong to him but he seeks to defile these members and even Christ himself with this heinous sin will a holy God endure this will he not care about that will he who dwells in in unapproachable light will say that’s okay if you pollute my body any Christian who loves Christ at all or has a shred of holy fear would not even dare consider such much less go through with it that’s one implication but there’s another if you remove yourself if you remove your members from Christ and unite yourself with Harlot how will you avoid Everlasting spiritual death because let’s face it Paul says that you cannot be United with Christ and a harlot at the same time you have to take away the members from One to join another you can either be members of Christ’s body or you can be a member of the harlot’s body immorality body you can’t do both either Christ can be your master or Mor it can be your master can’t have both Jesus won’t share someone might ask wait Pastor Dave you’re saying that I can lose my salvation by engaging in immorality no true Christians many true Christians have fallen into immorality that’s even evident in the scriptures but what this passage is clearly saying is this it is totally inconsistent God is saying it is totally inconsistent for for someone to say that he’s attached to Christ when that person then goes and attaches himself to a harlot now as I said there is wonderful forgiving and transforming Grace for all who repent and believe in Jesus he cleanses and he enables you to walk a new in Holiness praise God CU we who have stumbled into sexual sin many times we need that hope but let us not kid ourselves into thinking that God overlooks regular unrepentant immorality or let us not insist that we are repentant when no lasting change ever takes place in our lives oh Jesus I feel bad every time I do it do you stop does it make you feel bad enough to stop it’s worth mentioning now something that appears right before our passage 1 Corinthians 69-10 emphasizes the either or nature of Union with Christ Union with Christ and immorality look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God do not be deceived neither fornicators nor idolators nor adulterers nor a feminite nor homosexuals these are just different categories of immorality and he mentions some other ones and he says None of these will inherit the kingdom of God people who walk in this way people what this can be characteristic of them this marks their lives don’t be deceived they are not going to enter the kingdom of God don’t you know that this is a sobering word that we need to hear today you cannot have Christ and sexual immorality too you cannot claim Union with Christ while you regularly seek out Union with a prostitute such is indeed a costly consumption immorality will cost you your soul it will bring God’s vengeance you know something that’s kind of interesting and sobering if you look up the word immorality in the New Testament what you see in the context almost all the time is a promise of judgment or death to those who refuse to repent of it God even designates him himself as the special Avenger of those of those who defraud others by immorality God treats this sin seriously we must as well and we must ask ourselves which Union do I want when Union with Christ is so much better when it results in lasting life joy and blessing why would you ever settle for the shortlived thrill and the long lasting shame and poison of immorality if you’re going to choose Christ will it mean persevering during times of Temptation will it mean saying no to the flesh when your flesh is crying out for immorality yes but it’s worth it this is the union that’s worth it not this both the fact that our bodies matter to God and our bodies are in Union with Christ should cause us to flee immorality and seek to glorify God with our bodies instead now there’s a third critical truth that should motivate us towards these actions and that’s what we see in the last part of our passage verses 18 to 20 number three our bodies must not be desecrated our bodies must not be desecrated in this last section Paul points out three ways that immorality unacceptably desecrates a person’s body and I’ll give you these three reasons as sub points three ways threea immorality first desecrates man’s created dignity ver desecrates a man’s created dignity look at Verse 18 flee immorality every other sin that a man commits is outside the body but the immoral man sins against his own body now we’ll get back to the phrase fle flee immorality in just a moment but the rest of the verse do long puzzled interpreters in what sense is immorality a unique sin against one’s own body how is immorality different from gluttony drunkenness or even suicide which would also seem to be sins against one’s own body why is immorality in its own special category those are difficult questions to answer my view is that the uniqueness of sexual sin has to do with how it improperly joins people who are not actually married in body and soul this act fundamentally degrades people from their originally created dignity as image bearers of God therefore Those who commit immorality are consequently Afflicted with this sense of uncleanness and shame that seems to come from within and doesn’t go away significantly Paul says in Romans 124 and 126 the immorality dishonors the bodies of those who participate in it there something that dishonors degrades the body when it’s subjected to immorality God doesn’t want to see his image so desecrated and neither should we that’s the first reason our bodies must not be desecrated the second is the second way it can be desecrated 3B immoral it desecrates the spirit’s holy dwelling immorality desecrates the spirit’s holy dwelling now look at verse 19 first part or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have from God now I sometimes hear well-meaning Christians misapplying this verse do you really want to eat that double cheeseburger don’t you know your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit now look we should Steward our bodies well when it comes to our diet for the sake of Christ but physical health or appearance is not at all what this verse is talking about Paul is rather drawing attention to another amazing salvation blessing we have Union with Christ but we also have indwelling of the Holy Spirit we’re told here that the body is the temple or the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit which is like what uh Paul has already said in Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3:16 Paul referred to the entire church as the temple of God and of the Holy Spirit here apply here Paul applies the same metaphor on an individual basis you yes you listening today if you believe in Jesus Christ you are the dwelling place of God’s spirit you in your body but what does it have to do with the context the discussion on immorality because sexual sin is a desecration of God’s Temple of the spirit’s Dwelling Place in you this isn’t about cholesterol this is about sexual sin don’t you know that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit how can you desecrate that Temple by sexual sin As One Pastor put it indulging in immorality is like taking making a prostitute straight into God’s holy of holies that’s how God sees it because you are his Dwelling Place even in your body knowing this being reminded of this it should not only grieve anyone who loves God and is grateful for the holy spirit Spirit who indwells us empowers us and enlightens us that we would ever consider or do something like that but it should also sober us just as with the discussion about Union with Christ because how did God react to the desecration of his temple in the Old Testament when people brought sin right into the temple or they engaged in hypocritical worship while they were in in unrepentant of sin how did God regard that how did he respond to that do you remember he let his Temple be destroyed he says I’d rather have my glorious physical Dwelling Place laid to ruins and to have it continually polluted by this sin will a holy God act any differently with us if we continue to defile the Holy Temple The Dwelling Place of God’s spirit when we won’t repent of immorality finally there’s 3C immorality desecrates the son’s redeeming blood immorality desecrates the son’s redeeming blood look at the end of verse 19 going into verse 20 or do you not know that you are not your own for you’ve been bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body here Paul reminds us that our bodies if we are in Christ they don’t actually belong to us they’re not actually ours in truth everyone’s body belongs to God in one sense because God is the creator he owns you because he made you but the bodies of Believers belong to God in a special way because of the Redemption of Christ Bible talks about our Salvation using various metaphors and Redemption is one of them it has to do with slavery you were spiritually speaking formerly enslaved to sin and Satan Romans 6 but the Son of God by his incredible salvation work he redeemed you he paid the price for your freedom he bought you back and what was that price it was his shed Blood on the cross it was his sacrificial death as a criminal taking your place bearing and fully paying the wrath of God that was due you for your sin that was the price of your Redemption and he paid it but when he paid it he didn’t merely set you free to do as you please okay have a nice life rather your ownership passed to him you’re no longer having sin and Satan as your master now Jesus is your master after all he bought you he paid the price we have now become if we believe in Jesus we have become slaves of Christ and slaves of righteousness we are fully owned by God Body and Soul now most forms of slavery in the world are oppressive and evil but to be a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ is Happy servitude we are because he is our Master he is our owner we are under his eternal care and protection and amazingly though we are only unworthy slaves he says and you’re going to reign with me when I set up my kingdom I’m giving you places of Honor right alongside me these are wonderful realities this is part of the good news of the Gospel of salvation but they mean that our bodies are not our own to use and abuse as we would like or as we see fit no our bodies belong to Christ therefore to submit ourselves any part of us to immorality is theft it’s theft of our master’s property it’s defacement of our master’s property and it’s a blasphemy against our Redemption now if you love Christ and if you believe in Jesus you love Christ could you really treat Jesus Redemption so ungratefully let us fear desecrating the blood bo bodies that we have in Christ by going into sexual sin and not repenting of it to review the truths we’ve seen thus far number one our bodies matter to God number two our bodies are in Union with Christ and number three our bodies must not be desecrated we don’t want to violate our created dignity we don’t want to pollute the spirit’s holy dwelling we do not want to blaspheme the son’s redeeming blood this is all to change our thinking about immorality and to motivate us to something in response obedience to the two commands what commands let’s look at them again back at Verse 18 we see the first command from Jesus the first application of these critical truths about the body and that is first flee immorality flee immorality this is a present tense verb that implies continual action flee and keep on fleeing what does it mean to flee means to run away like your life depended on it because in a way spiritually it does your Eternal Soul your place in God’s kingdom it depends on whether you’re going to go to immorality or not therefore do as Proverbs 5 says don’t go near the door of temptation’s house keep your way far give Temptation a wide birth if you can help it if you can see it coming do this for Christ’s sake and do it for your own obviously one implication of this is that if you are currently involved in immorality you must turn from it you got to stop doing it don’t start doing it again and run away from anything that’s going to encourage you or drag you or push you to do it run away from it like your life dependent on it be like Joseph famous right Genesis 39 literally ran out of pifer’s house when Pier’s wife tried to entice him when nobody else was around he got in trouble for that he got falsely accused he got thrown in prison but he didn’t worry about that part he said what I’m worried about is being enticed in immorality I got to flee now what does this command to flee mean practically for us give you a few examples fleeing immorality means getting radical to remove or mitigate sources of Temptation in your life this is going to vary for each person exactly how this looks but you got to think about relationships situations entertainment technology social media there is nothing that is truly essential for you in your life except Jesus Christ if there’s something then that is Hing you towards sexual sin what must you do with it cut it off and throw it from you that’s what Jesus says Matthew 5:29 to30 say oh but that’s going to make my life hard listen to jesus’ exhortation would you rather enter into the kingdom maimed or would you rather be intact and have your whole body thrown into hell obviously this isn’t talking about literally Ming your body but it’s talking about cutting off sources of Temptation get radical remove or mitigate sources of Temptation in your life fing immorality also means changing your thought life what good will removing external sources of Temptation do if you don’t remove or do something about the internal sources of Temptation you must put off you must fundamentally put off and continually put off whenever they try and come back into your mind unprofitable and lustful thoughts and you must replace them with helpful thoughts based on God’s truth think about God think about serving Christ think about enjoying his creation to his glory this is another application of Philippians 4:8 think on what is good don’t think on what’s going to drag you to sin you must change your thought life fleing fleeing immorality also means changing where you look for Joy where you look for Comfort especially when life gets hard many people turn to sexual sin when they’re looking for Comfort when they feel depressed when they feel anxious when they feel angry when they feel hopeless immorality seems like it’s going to provide that Comfort but anyone who’s ever indulged can tell you it is short-lived and it only brings further pain and shame you must find comfort you must find your contentment you must find your joy from another source that’s actually reliable and the only place is Jesus Christ change where we look for joy and comfort fing immorality also means if you’re married rejoice in your spouse enjoy your spouse instead of immorality Proverbs 5 commands you enjoy the person that God gave you as your own special source of refreshment your own Fountain your own sistern or well that person was specifically designed for you don’t look for anybody else God gave you your own special designed for you person enjoy that person and be a source of enjoyment for that person and if sin has marged your relationship with that person well repent and seek reconciliation with that person so that your relationship can grow and you can enjoy one another fing immorality also means getting help from mature brothers and sisters in the church you knew I was going to say this right immorality is a very difficult and entangling sin it is using the good design of God and it’s using it against against you to draw you away from God it is a very difficult and entangling sin but God gave you an amazing resource in Jesus church in your brothers and sisters who also have God’s spirit they can help you they can encourage you they can instruct you they can help keep you accountable they can rescue you you need them as a Biblical counselor I’m very familiar with a fact and that is most people who struggle with sexual morality do not overcome until they get help from another person now if help is not available to you God is still sufficient you’re not doomed to sin but if help is available to you and you won’t take it do you really want to overcome there are other ways we can flee immorality but certainly those five those five should be things we put into practice I’ll repeat them to you get radical remove and mitigate sources of Temptation from your life change your thought life change where you look for joy and comfort especially when life gets hard rejoice in your spouse if you’re married and get help from mature brothers and sisters in the church now that’s just the first commit man flee immorality let’s look briefly at the second which we see at the very end of our passage verse 20 glorify God in your body I love this you know when it comes to the issue of sexual Purity often the instruction is framed mostly framed in negative prohibitions and warnings don’t do this or these are going to be the consequences and that’s not bad that’s actually biblical and necessary if you study the passages in the scriptures that have to do with this sin you’re going to find that most it’s negative instruction this is important for us we need a holy fear when it comes to this issue but that’s not all there is as we you can even tell from this second profound positive command from Paul not just stay away from something but do something else instead something wonderful you see these exhortations from God today about sexual Purity they’re not just a duty they are a duty but they’re an opportunity they’re an opportunity for you to experience Delight you have an Avenue for Joy being opened up to you right now how so well your body and its sexuality they are not simply burdens to be endured they are an opportunity to enjoy God and display his Worth to the world 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says or rather let me put it this way when you as 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says learn how to possess your own vessel in sanctification and honor yes you’re different from other people in some ways but all of it’s under God’s sovereignty when you learn how to possess your own vessel in sanctification and honor you powerfully glorify God you put his strength and his worth on full display for the world our perverse world doesn’t understand that they don’t know what to do with that they say how can you do that why would you do that you say because of my Lord when you say no to immorality and you say yes to chaste obedience to Jesus Christ you not only glorify God but you get to know more you get to fellowship with and you get to please by your obedience the one who saved you Jesus in short you get to walk in Joy with Jesus when you’re obedient this is what you were designed for this is what you and your body were meant for and you know what it is the only way to true and Lasting Joy I tell you something that has really struck me over the years is that one of the main draws towards immorality is the thought that somehow God is forcing you to miss out there’s all this Joy there’s all this fun there’s all this satisfaction that God say I can’t have oh I guess I’ll try and endure listen one of the things that God emphasizes throughout his scriptures is that he denies no good thing to him who walks uprightly God is no killjoy he promises that he will only give the best to his children you are not missing out when you choose not to go near immorality you know who’s missing out those who go to it those who do go near it those who are like H you know it’s not a big deal or I just have to I just got these passions they’re the ones who are missing out you know why because they don’t get the joy of Walking With Jesus the way you overcome immorality ultimately is by choosing a Greater Joy if you just try and grit your teeth put a whole bunch of rules in place it’s not going to be enough yeah sometimes you have to grit your teeth and can endure and rules are helpful certain safeguards are helpful but you need something better to motivate you you know what that better thing is it’s the Lord It’s the joy of walking with him there’s a statement from scripture I often think of about various things but certainly when it comes to sexual imorality in Hebrews 13:10 it says we have an altar from which those who serve the temple or we could say those in the world have no right to eat we’ve been given the best why would we give that up for something far worse it actually brings destruction with it we have an opportunity it is our calling but it’s actually an invitation to Joy don’t simply flee immorality embrace the positive glorify God in your body you say when I say no to sexual sin when I present my body when I present my mind in chastity in self-control in persevering Holiness to the Lord I get him I get to enjoy fellowship with him and I don’t lose his Joy that’s got to be your motivation that’s how you’ll overcome God will enable you to overcome but you have to believe that his way is better now finally let me say this I need to repeat this because I don’t want you to get the wrong impression no matter what you’ve done with your body maybe today you’re like Pastor Dave you don’t even know how unclean I am you don’t even know how solid my body is I don’t the Lord does but you know what’s the most wonderful truth no matter what you’ve done no matter how many times you’ve indulged in immorality even as a Christian if you will repent and believe you will be cleansed you will be forgiven there will be no stain on you anymore God forgives it all consider this you know who is one of the groups that repented when Jesus came to the world and found entrance into his kingdom prostitutes he says many of them are getting in while you Pharisees are ding at the door or just look at another verse that appears right before our passage I didn’t read it yet because I was saving it for now right when Paul says don’t you remember that the unrighteous not inherit the kingdom of God including all the sexually immoral look at what he says next in verse 11 such were some of you but you were washed but you were Sanctified but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God in this church are people who have been in bondage to sexual sin before some are maybe still struggling but you know what what’s true of these ancient Corinthians has now become true of us such we were were we were the immoral ones we were the ones enslaved to immorality but Christ brought us out Christ cleansed us and caused us to walk a new in sanctification and honor and he can do the same for you but you must repent and believe you must give up this sin you must give up that Idol of sex and say that this is the thing that I need this is the thing that’s going to make me happy this is the thing that’s going to satisfy no it’s not and every time you seek it out like like it’s going to guess what you’re going to be disappointed if you’ll give that up and say Jesus is going to be my satisfaction only he is allowed to be my Lord I will trust him because he will enable me to overcome if you will do that you will be saved but we’re going to need to help one another with this but he’s given us his help by his word today let’s hear it let’s believe it let’s obey it allow me to pray Lord we thank you for this hope filled word Lord we are sobered by it we need to appreciate that we cannot have immorality and you as well we cannot allow immorality to continue in our life we must repent of it and those that we’ve defrauded by immorality we must where appropriate confess and make it right but thank you God that you not only forgive and cleanse but you do give transforming Grace so that when our flesh cries out and says you need this you can’t get away from this we can say by Fai faith I don’t need this I need Jesus Christ and he’s going to enable me to endure I want something better I want something better than immorality could ever give me Lord if there are any Brethren who are still struggling with this right now God I pray that they would take you at your word they would put off this sin and they would get help from mature brothers and sisters in this church and Lord for those who don’t know you and maybe have been afraid to come to you because of sexual sin I pray Lord that they would be like those ancient prostitutes or even like these ancient Corinthians and say there’s total forgiveness and cleansing offered in Jesus Christ if Paul can if Paul can say I’m the worst and God saved me then the Lord can save me as well no matter how stained with sexual sin I am oh God what a privilege to then stand as a as a trophy for you a testimony to what you’ve done Lord help us to walk in joyful obedience in this area in Jesus name amen