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THE BIBLE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT SEX. OUR WORLD HAS CORRUPTED GOD’S GOOD GIFT OF SEX AND MADE THE SUBJECT SEEM CONFUSING AND EVEN VULGAR TO ADDRESS AT TIMES.. I AM PROVIDING YOU WITH TWELVE TRUTHS OR PRINCIPLES THAT SHOULD HELP YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE IN A WAY THAT FOLLOWS CHRIST, GLORIFIES GOD, AND RESULTS IN BLESSING.

1. SEX IS NOT A CURSE, IT IS A GOOD GIFT: Genesis 2:24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

IN THE FIRST BOOK OF OUR BIBLE, WE LEARN THE BEGINNINGS OF EVERYTHING. THIS INCLUDES THE BEGINNING OF THE EARTH, MANKIND, MARRIAGE, FAMILIES, AND SEX. SEX IS FIRST FOUND IN CHAPTER 2 OF THE BOOK. GOD HAS CREATED A MAN, ADAM, AND HE IS ALONE WORKING WITH GOD. GOD TELLS US IT IS NOT GOOD FOR THE MAN TO BE ALONE. IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THIS “NOT GOOD” SITUATION, GOD PUTS THE MAN TO SLEEP AND WHILE ASLEEP GOD TAKES A RIB BONE FROM ADAM AND CRAFTS IT INTO A HELPER FIT FOR HIM. GOD THEN BRINGS THE WOMAN TO ADAM AND ADAM IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZES THAT THIS ONE IS LIKE HIM. HE SINGS TO HER. THAT’S WHEN WE GET A COUPLE OF STATEMENTS THAT TELL US THE BIBLICAL TRUTH OF MAN AND WOMAN WHEN GOD’S GOOD PLAN IS PERFECTLY AT WORK AND SIN HAS NOT CORRUPTED ANYTHING IN THE WORLD. FIRST, IT TELLS US THIS IS WHY PEOPLE GET MARRIED BY SAYING, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” THEN IT TELL US THEY WERE TOGETHER AND WERE NAKED AND UNASHAMED. 

MOST OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT. WE CAN FIND IT HARD TO BE “NAKED AND UNASHAMED.” SINCE SIN DOES NOT ENTER THE WORLD UNTIL CHAPTER THREE, WE CAN BE SURE THAT SEX IS NOT BAD. IT IS ACTUALLY GOOD. IT IS PART OF GOD’S GOOD DESIGN. GENESIS ONE TELLS US MANKIND IS SUPPOSED TO REPRODUCE AS A BLESSING. THEY ARE TO “BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY AND FILL THE FACE OF THE EARTH.” THEY ARE TO DO THIS TOGETHER IN ORDER TO SHOW ALL CREATION THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD. IMAGING GOD AND BEING LIKE HIM IS MANKIND’S CREATED PURPOSE.

AFTER SIN ENTERS THE WORLD, GENESIS 3 SAYS THERE ARE CONSEQUENCE FOR SIN. BECAUSE MAN SINNED AND SIN HAS NOW ENTERED THE WORLD, WOMEN WILL HAVE PAIN IN CHILDBIRTH. SHE WILL ALSO BE IN A WAR WITH HER HUSBAND BECAUSE HER DESIRE WILL BE TO RULE OVER HIM. MAN WILL HAVE TO WORK HARD TO PROVIDE FOR HIS FAMILY’S NEEDS. HE WILL ALSO HAVE TO LEAD AS HE WAS CREATED TO DO WITH A WIFE THAT WILL NOT WANT TO FOLLOW HIS LEADING. THERE WILL BE TURMOIL IN THE RELATIONSHIP AND IT WILL TAKE WORK FOR THE MARRIAGE TO BE WHAT IT SHOULD BE. 

THEN THERE IS THE REALITY THAT SHAME AND PAIN CAN BE INVOLVED IN THE RELATIONSHIP DUE TO THE CORRUPTION OF SIN. MAN AND WOMAN FELT THE NEED TO COVER THEMSELVES. THEIR SELF-MADE COVERINGS DIDN’T WORK. THEY COULDN’T HIDE THEIR SHAME OR HEAL THEIR HEARTS. THEY KNEW THEIR GUILT WAS ABLE TO BE SEEN BY GOD AND OTHERS. SO GOD HAS PROMISED SOME GOOD THINGS FOR THEM IN SPITE OF HAVING TO REMOVE THEM FROM THE GOOD GARDEN THEY LIVED IN BEFORE HIS PRESENCE. HE MADE A SACRIFICE, A NEW COVERING FOR THEM. 

WE LATER FIND OUT THIS COVERING IS LESS ABOUT CLOTHES, THOUGH WE SHOULD COVER OUR BODIES, AND MORE ABOUT JESUS’ DYING IN OUR PLACE FOR OUR SINS. WHEN HE DIED ON THE CROSS, HE TRADED PLACES WITH US. AND SCRIPTURE SAYS IT WAS LIKE HE WORE OUR CORRUPTED CLOTHING BEFORE THE FACE OF GOD. HE WAS COVERED IN ALL OF OUR SIN WITH ITS GUILT. HE CARRIED OUR SHAME TO THE CROSS. HE PAID FOR OUR SINS AS GOD POURED OUT HIS PUNISHMENT ON IT ALL. NOW, BECAUSE OF THIS TRADE, WE ARE ABLE TO BE COVERED IN HIS SINLESS, RIGHTEOUS LIFE. THAT IS WHAT GOD LOOKS DOWN AND SEES US IN AT ALL TIMES. WE GET THIS BETTER COVERING BY PUTTING OUR FAITH IN WHAT JESUS DID FOR US ON THE CROSS AND BELIEVING IN THE HOPE OF JOINING IN HIS PHYSICAL RESURRECTION FROM DEATH.

NONE OF THIS MEANS SEX IS SINFUL IN AND OF ITSELF. INSTEAD, WE LEARN THAT SEX WAS CREATED TO BE A GOOD GIFT FOR ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN TO SHARE IN A SPECIAL COVENANT MARRIAGE, OR COMMITTED UNION. WHEN ONE MAN COMMITS TO ONE WOMAN WHO IS ALSO COMMITTED TO HIM SEX IS NOT ONLY GOOD, BUT A MEANS GOD USES TO BRING ADDITIONAL BLESSINGS INTO OUR LIVES. WE SHOULD HAVE SEX AND WE SHOULD CELEBRATE OUR GOOD GOD WHO HAS GIVEN US THIS GIFT. THE BIGGER GIFT IS THE PERSON WE GET TO BE INTIMATE WITH, BUT SEX IS ALSO A GIFT WORTH BEING THANKFUL AND UNASHAMED OF IN MARRIAGE. 

SEX OUTSIDE OF THIS COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP IS SIN, AS YOU WILL SEE. WHEN WE DO NOT USE THE GOOD THINGS GOD HAS GIVEN US IN THE WAY HE DESIGNED THEM WE CAN EXPERIENCE ALL KINDS OF NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES. IN OUR COUNTRY, WE HAVE RAPIDLY GROWN TO A PLACE WHERE IMMODESTY IS COMMON AND CELEBRATED AS GOOD. WE ALSO SEE A SEXUALIZATION AT WORK THAT PROMOTES THE SIN OF SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE AND ENCOURAGES LUST, THE SUSTAINED THINKING AND VIEWING OF SOMEONE IN A SEXUAL WAY. THIS IS NOT GOD’S WAY. WE SHOULD LIVE IN LINE WITH GOD’S GOOD DESIGN.

1. THERE IS BLESSING IN SEX: Proverbs 5:18-19 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.

NOW, AT THIS POINT YOU KNOW SEX IS GOOD. IT IS NOT PUNISHMENT. IT IS NOT SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF WHEN WE USE IT GOD’S WAY. I ALSO TOLD YOU THE BIBLE MAKES IT CLEAR IT IS A BLESSING. BUT NOW I HOPE YOU SEE THE BLESSING DIRECTLY FROM SCRIPTURE. IN PROVERBS 5, A KING IS TEACHING HIS SON HOW TO LIVE IN A WAY THAT WILL LEAD TO GREAT BLESSING. HE IS ALSO TEACHING HIM HOW TO AVOID LIVING IN A WAY THAT WILL BRING CURSE, OR NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES, ON HIM AND STEAL AWAY BLESSINGS AND LIFE. HE TELLS HIM HE SHOULD VALUE MARRIAGE. TO DO THIS HE MUST NOT SLEEP WITH EVERYONE. INSTEAD, HE SHOULD ONLY HAVE SEX WITH HIS WIFE. THEN HE GIVES US THE TEXT WE HAVE ABOVE. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS HE BELIEVES HIS SON WILL UNDERSTAND WHY HE SHOULD ONLY ENGAGE IN SEX WITH HIS OWN WIFE. 

A MARRIAGE PROTECTED BY ONLY HAVING SEX WITH YOUR WIFE WILL LEAD TO BLESSING. HE IS CALLED TO “REJOICE IN THE WIFE OF HIS YOUTH.” LET THAT SINK IN! HUSBANDS SHOULD CELEBRATE OVER AND OVER (RE-MEANING AGAIN, JOICE-HAVE JOY)! THE DESCRIPTION OF THE WIFE AS A DOE AND DEER CAN BE A BIT WEIRD TO US TODAY, BUT TO THE SON IT WAS WRITTEN TO IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF GRACE AND BEAUTY AND LOVE. THE FATHER EVEN GOES AS FAR AS TO GIVE TWO BENEDICTIONS, OR BLESSINGS YOU PRESENT TO SOMEONE. IN THIS CASE THEY ARE TO HIS SON. THE FIRST BLESSING THE FATHER GIVES TO HIS SON IS THE BLESSING OF FINDING HIS WIFE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO ADDRESS HIS NEEDS AND WANTS. THE FATHER IS TELLING HIS SON GOD HAS A WAY HUSBANDS CAN BE SATISFIED BY THE GIFT OF A WIFE RATHER THAN NEEDING TO GO OUTSIDE OF THE MARRIAGE TO FULFILL WHAT HE WANTS. HIS WIFE’S BREASTS ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH! THAT IS A TRUE BLESSING. I AM SURE THE KING WOULD SAY THE SAME TO HIS DAUGHTER. WOMEN CAN FIND A TRUE BLESSING FROM GOD IN THEIR HUSBAND WHOSE BODY IS ABLE TO BE ENOUGH TO SATISFY THEM TO THE END OF THEIR LIVES. 

THE SECOND BLESSING THE FATHER GIVES HIS SON IS ANOTHER GIFT WORTH PONDERING. HE WANTS HIS SON TO BE EVER, OR FOREVER, INTOXICATED WITH HER LOVE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WELL, LET’S BREAK IT DOWN. THE WORD WE TRANSLATE AS INTOXICATED ACTUALLY MEANS TO BE LOST IN OR LEAD ASTRAY. THAT’S WHY IT IS TRANSLATED AS INTOXICATED. SIN CAN INTOXICATE US. WE CAN SEEK AN ESCAPE OR A PATHWAY TO PLEASURE THAT LEADS US TO SOMEWHERE WE REALLY SHOULDN’T GO. THE AUTHOR IS POETICALLY TURNING THAT TEMPTATION TO FIND PLEASURE OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE ON ITS HEAD. HE IS BASICALLY SAYING TO HIS SON, DON’T BE LED OFF TO DEATH BY SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE AND THE COVENANT THAT MAKES IT SO WONDERFUL. INSTEAD, GET LOST IN THE LOVE OF YOUR BRIDE. GET LOST OVER AND OVER IN HER LOVE. 

THE WORD LOVE IN THE TEXT IS A POWERFUL WORD. YOU COULD TRANSLATE THE WORD AS “LOVESICK.” THE SAME AUTHOR OF THIS PARABLE WROTE THE SONG OF SONGS, OR SONG OF SOLOMON. IT IS A TALE OF LOVE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN. HE USES THIS WORD REPEATEDLY. IN THAT BOOK, THIS WORD TELLS US LOVE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE OCEAN AND IT CANNOT BE OVERCOME BY ITS POWER. IT TELLS US LOVE IS LIKE A BANNER AT A FEAST THAT CELEBRATES THE ONE IT LOVES. HE SAYS LOVE CAN MAKE ONE WEAK. IT CAN DRIVE ONE TO SEND WORD TO FIND THEIR LOVER BECAUSE THEY ARE CONSUMED WITH DESIRE FOR THEM. HE SAYS LOVE IS AS STRONG AS DEATH, INVOKING JEALOUSY TO THE POINT YOU CAN FEEL LIKE DEATH IS UPON YOU. IT IS SO STRONG A FLOOD COULD NOT DROWN IT OUT. SO, LET’S PUT IT ALL TOGETHER NOW THAT WE SEE WHAT THESE WORDS MEAN. THE KING IS CALLING FOR HIS SON TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE OVER AND OVER THE GIFTS OF MARRIAGE THAT LEAD HIM TO SAFETY FROM DESTRUCTION AND DEATH THAT COMES BY THE SIN OF SEX OUTSIDE OF COVENANT MARRIAGE BY ENJOYING THE REPEATED PLEASURE OF SEEING AND SAVORING HIS WIFE PHYSICALLY AND BEING OVERWHELMED AND LOST IN THE LAVISH AND POWERFUL LOVE THAT SHE BRINGS UPON HIS SPIRIT ALL THE DAYS OF HIS LIFE. 

THESE BLESSINGS MIGHT SEEM UNOBTAINABLE TO MOST PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY. BUT REMEMBER, WE HAVE CORRUPTED THE GOOD GIFT OF SEX. THERE IS NOW HARDSHIP IN MARRIAGE. WE HAVE TO WORK AT IT TO GET IT RIGHT. WE HAVE TO WORK AT OUR RELATIONSHIP TO MAKE IT A “DESIRABLE GARDEN OF LOVE.” THE MORE WE HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY WHAT IS NOT GOOD TO GOD, THINGS LIKE THE SEXUALIZATION OF MEN AND WOMEN ALL AROUND US AS WELL AS GENERAL IMMODESTY AND THE DESENSITIZATION IT CAN BRING, THE MORE IT WILL BE HARD FOR US TO EXPERIENCE BEING TRULY “LOVESICK” WITH THE ONE WE ARE COMMITTED TO BE WITH ALL THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE. WE NOW HAVE TO FIGHT TO REMOVE THOSE THINGS THAT STEAL THESE BLESSINGS FROM US AND SEEK HEALING FOR OUR HEARTS AND MINDS.

1. SEX IS THE WAY GOD BRINGS BLESSINGS TO US, BUT NOT PROTECTING SEX THE WAY GOD DESIGNED IT LEADS TO ALL KINDS OF TROUBLE, HURT, AND DESTRUCTION (INCLUDING DEATH): HEBREWS 13:4 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

AT THIS POINT, IT MAY STILL BE HARD FOR YOU TO SEE SEX AS SOMETHING RESERVED FOR MARRIAGE ALONE. YOU MAY BE ONE OF MANY WHO HAVE BEEN TAUGHT BY OUR CULTURE AS WELL AS (UNFORTUNATELY) BY A CHURCH OR SOMEONE WHO IDENTIFIES AS A CHRISTIAN THAT LOVE IS THE NECESSARY INGREDIENT TO MAKE SEX OK. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS. AS IN THE LAST PRINCIPLE, THE VERSE WE ARE LOOKING AT DEALS SPECIFICALLY WITH SEX IN AND OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE. WE SEE A FEW THINGS WE SHOULD TAKE A MOMENT TO UNPACK.

FIRST, WE SEE MARRIAGE, RATHER THAN SEX, IS THE FOCUS. THE VERSE TELLS US MARRIAGE IS SPECIAL AND GOD HAS GIVEN IT AN ELEVATED PLACE. ALL PEOPLE SHOULD SEE MARRIAGE AS SPECIAL, WHETHER THEY FEEL THEY SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT BE MARRIED. IT DESERVES HONOR FROM CHILDREN. IT DESERVES HONOR FROM ADULTS REGARDLESS OF THE STAGE OF LIFE. IT DESERVES HONOR FROM THOSE WHO HAVE SINNED AGAINST IT AND THOSE WHO CLING TO IT AS SPECIAL AND WORTH PROTECTING. IT SHOULD BE HONORED BY CHRISTIANS AND NON-CHRISTIANS ALIKE. THAT IS NOT OUR EXPERIENCE OF MARRIAGE IN AMERICA. 

MARRIAGE IS CURRENTLY HELD IN LOW REGARD. I CAN’T SAY EVERYONE THAT HOLDS IT IN LOW REGARD DOES IT FOR ONE REASON, BUT USUALLY THOSE WHO HOLD IT IN LOW REGARD FEEL THIS WAY BECAUSE CHRISTIAN OR NON-CHRISTIAN ALIKE DIVORCE IS MORE PREVALENT THAN LIFE-LONG MARRIAGES ARE. THEN THERE IS THE EXPERIENCE OF SEXUAL SIN OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE ONE CAN FEEL MARKED BY AND THINK OF THEMSELVES AS UNABLE TO POSSESS AN HONOR IN MARRIAGE. IT’S NOTHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THEY HAVE ALREADY HAD AND LIKELY LOST. THE LIKELIHOOD OF THEM LOSING IT AGAIN IS HIGH. THAT MEANS THE HOPE OF A BLESSED MARRIAGE IS PROBABLY GONE. THE HOPE OF A LIFE OF LOVE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO MOST.

BUT SHOULD WE FEEL THAT WAY? SHOULD WE ALLOW OURSELVES TO LOSE THE HOPE OF THE BLESSINGS A GODLY MARRIAGE AFFORDS? I DON’T THINK WE SHOULD AND NEITHER DOES SCRIPTURE. INSTEAD, WE NEED TO REMIND OURSELVES THAT MARRIAGE IS HELD IN HONOR BY GOD AND HIS PEOPLE SHOULD GIVE IT THE RESPECT AND HONOR IT DESERVES. 

THE SECOND THING WE SEE IN THIS TEXT IS A STATEMENT ABOUT THE PURITY OF THE MARRIAGE BED. WHAT IS THIS HERE FOR? DOES THE ORDER IN THE VERSE TELL US ANYTHING? I BELIEVE IT DOES! LISTEN TO THE REASONING. FIRST, THE AUTHOR GIVES US A GENERAL STATEMENT, A COMMAND TO HOLD MARRIAGE IN HONOR REGARDLESS OF WHO IS VIEWING IT. THEN WHAT FOLLOWS IS THIS STATEMENT ABOUT PROTECTING THE MARRIAGE BED FOLLOWED BY A REASON FOR WHY WE MUST PROTECT THE PURITY OF THE MARRIAGE BED. THAT REASON IS GOD’S COMING JUDGMENT ON SEXUAL SIN. I TAKE THAT TO MEAN THE WAY TO HONOR MARRIAGE THE WAY GOD EXPECTS IS TO PROTECT THE PURITY OF THE COVENANT AND HOLY PLACE OF MARRIAGE BY ONLY HAVING SEX WITH THE PERSON WITH WHOM WE ARE MARRIED AND COMMITTED. 

TO MAKE THIS CLEAR WE GET ADDITIONAL REASONING AT THE END OF THE VERSE. THE WORD “FOR” IS TELLING US THE REASON WE SHOULD DO THIS IS “BECAUSE” GOD IS GOING TO RENDER JUDGMENT AGAINST THOSE WHO ARE NOT HONORING MARRIAGE BY HAVING SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE. TO MAKE SURE WE SEE IT IS EVERYONE AND NOT JUST THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY MARRIED THE AUTHOR GIVES US TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO WILL BE JUDGED. THE SECOND IS EASY TO KNOW IS WRONG. ADULTERERS ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE MARRIED AND HAVE SEX WITH SOMEONE THEY ARE NOT MARRIED TO WHILE STILL MARRIED. THIS WOULD INCLUDE PEOPLE WHO LIVE AT HOME WITH THEIR SPOUSE AS WELL AS THOSE WHO MAY BE GOING THROUGH A DIVORCE OR ARE IN A FORMAL SEPERATION IN OUR COUNTRY. GOD DOESN’T GIVE A CAVEAT. IT SAYS ELSEWHERE IF YOU HAVE SEX ONCE YOU’VE BEEN DIVORCED, YOU ARE AN ADULTERER. IT ALSO SAYS ANYONE WHO MARRIES A DIVORCEE IS COMMITTING ADULTERY. GOD DIDN’T MAKE MARRIAGES TO BE DISPOSABLE. GOD DIDN’T MAKE PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCE SEX WITH MULTIPLE PARTNERS, EVEN THROUGH RE-MARRIAGE. THAT IS NOT GOD’S GOOD PLAN.

IT ALSO USES THE WORD TRANSLATED AS “SEXUALLY IMMORAL.” SOME PEOPLE WANT TO MAKE THIS WORD BE MORE LIMITED THAN IT REALLY IS. THEY WANT TO CHANGE THE BIBLE TO ALLOW THEM TO SIN. THERE ARE SEVERAL VERSES THAT FILL IN WHAT IT MEANS TO BE SEXUALLY IMMORAL THAT MAKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR SEXUAL IMMORALITY IS ALL SEX OUTSIDE OF GOD’S GOOD DESIGN. ADULTERY IS ALREADY CALLED OUT AS ITS OWN SIN, BUT HERE WE ARE SEEING A GENERAL TERM THAT SAYS ANYONE HAVING SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE IS IN VIEW. 

UNFORTUNATELY, NOWADAYS WE HAVE TO CLARIFY IT WOULD BE ANYONE HAVING SEX OUTSIDE OF A BIBLICAL VIEW OF MARRIAGE. YOU CANNOT HAVE A HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE THAT IS HONORING MARRIAGE THE WAY GOD INTENDS BECAUSE MARRIAGE IS ONLY BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN. JESUS, HIMSELF, CLARIFIED THIS WHEN HE SAID, “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’So they are no longer two, but one flesh (Mk. 10:6-8).’” 

JESUS WENT EVEN FURTHER TO SAY SEXUAL SIN INCLUDES LUST. TO LOOK AT A PERSON IN A WAY THAT MAKES THEM A SEXUAL OBJECT BEFORE YOUR EYES AND IN YOUR MIND OR HEART IS TO COMMIT THE SIN OF LUST. ALL SIN BRINGS ON NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES AND CHANGES US FOR THE WORST, THEREFORE WE SHOULD NOT ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE ENSLAVED BY IT. SO WHETHER YOU ARE MARRIED AND CHEATING, SEPARATED AND HAVING SEX WITH SOMEONE WHO IS NOT YOUR SPOUSE, IN A HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIP, HAVING SEX DESPITE NEVER BEING MARRIED, OR JUST THINKING ABOUT HAVING SEX WITH SOMEONE, YOU ARE DISHONORING MARRIAGE AND BRINGING GOD’S JUDGMENT AND THE CONSEQUENCES HE WILL SENTENCE YOU TO EXPERIENCE AS A RESULT. 

FORSAKE SIN. CHOOSE BLESSING. EVERYONE IS BETTER OFF WHEN YOU DO.

1. HOW WE DEAL WITH OUR SEXUAL SIN MATTERS TO GOD: Ephesians 5:3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

Maybe you are at the point you are experiencing conviction of sin. Maybe you see the world has lied to you and told you things are ok with God that are not ok with God. Maybe you are starting to understand why things feel off in your relationships and why your heart fills ripped in two. Maybe you are ready to stop indulging in sexual sin. That is a miracle and do not think less of it. God is helping you be set free if this is occurring. What we learn from this text is sexual sin can’t just be swept under the rug. It has to be eradicated in our lives. There shouldn’t even be a hint of sexual sin, not only in our own lives, but in the life of every member of our local church! That seems like too big an expectation, doesn’t it. We can control ourselves, but not a whole church full of people, right? You are right. But God calls entire churches to address sexual sin in the life of each of its members. 

IN SECOND CORINTHIANS, GOD WRITES THROUGH PAUL A CONCERN THE APOSTLE HAD. HE SAYS, “I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged (2 Cor. 12:21).” THE APOSTLE IS AWARE OF SEXUAL SIN IN THE CHURCH. HE HAS ADDRESSED IT BEFORE IN AT LEAST ONE OTHER LETTER WE HAVE POSSESSION OF TODAY (1 Corinthians). IN THAT LETTER, THERE WAS A PERSON COMMITTING SUCH AN EVIL ACT OF SEXUAL SIN THAT HE CALLED THE CHURCH TO REMOVE THE PERSON FROM CHURCH MEMBERSHIP. THIS IS NOW CALLED EXCOMMUNICATION. TO ALLOW THAT PERSON TO REMAIN WOULD CORRUPT THE CHURCH AND DESTROY ITS WITNESS. 

THE PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH HAD A REASON THEY ALLOWED THE SEXUALLY IMMORAL PERSON TO REMAIN A MEMBER AND EXPERIENCE THE ONGOING BLESSING OF BEING A PART OF THE COVENANT COMMUNITY. THEY BRAGGED ABOUT ALLOWING THAT PERSON TO STAY IN FELLOWSHIP AND GOOD STANDING BECAUSE THEY WERE SO GRACIOUS LIKE GOD. BUT GOD SENT WORD THROUGH HIS MESSENGER, THAT’S WHAT AN APOSTLE IS, THAT MADE IT CLEAR WHAT THEY WERE DOING WAS NOT GRACE. IT WAS EVIL. THEY DID NOT LOVE THAT PERSON THE WAY GOD DOES. GOD GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE, TO THOSE WHO SEE THEIR SIN AGAINST HIM AND REPENT, OR TURN AWAY FROM IT. HE STANDS AS AN ADVERSARY TO ALL WHO CHOOSE TO CONTINUE IN SIN AGAINST HIM. GRACE IS FOR THOSE WHO DESIRE TO BE SET FREE FROM SIN. LAW WHICH LEADS TO JUDGMENT IS FOR THOSE WHO DESIRE TO REMAIN IN SIN. AS A RESULT, THEY WERE CALLED TO LOVE THAT PERSON ENOUGH BY LOVING GOD MORE THAN THEIR REPUTATION IN THE WORLD BY REMOVING THEM FROM THE CHURCH. 

IN THIS SECOND LETTER, THE SAME APOSTLE TELLS THEM TO RESTORE A MEMBER WHO WAS REMOVED BECAUSE THEY HAVE COME TO SEE THEIR SIN IS WRONG. THEY DESIRE TO BE CLEANSED OF IT AND TO FOLLOW JESUS IN THE COVENANT COMMUNITY. THIS PERSON WAS NOT BEING ALLOWED BACK INTO MEMBERSHIP DESPITE BEING GENUINELY REPENTANT FOR SOME TIME. TO FAIL TO RESTORE THE REPENTENT PERSON IS ALSO TO FAIL TO IMAGE GOD. GOD FORGIVES ALL WHO REPENT AND WILL RESTORE THEM TO A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIMSELF. IF THEY ARE RESTORED TO GOD, THEY SHOULD BE RESTORED TO GOD’S PEOPLE. BUT WITH THIS IN MIND, THERE STILL SHOULD NOT BE EVEN A WHIFF OF SEXUAL SIN IN THE AIR WITH GOD’S PEOPLE. IT HAS TO BE REMOVED AND DEALT WITH BY THE CHURCH. GOD IS PURE. SEXUAL SIN IS CORRUPTION THAT MAKES WHAT IS PURE NOT PURE. YOU HAVE TO PROTECT THE PURITY OF THE CHURCH. 

1. THE DANGER SEXUAL SIN SECURES IS WORTH FEARING AND FLEEING: 1 Cor. 6:9 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

SOME PEOPLE ARE IGNORANT TO THE GREATEST DANGER SEXUAL SIN BRINGS ON THE ONE WHO COMMITS THE SIN. THE TEXT ABOVE TELLS US ANYONE WHO IS INVOLVED IN ANY TYPE OF SEXUAL SIN WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD. AT THE HEART OF THIS EXCLUSION FROM THE KINGDOM IS THE EXCLUSION OF A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. GOD IS THE MOST VALUABLE TREASURE IN ALL THE WORLD. WE WERE MADE TO EXIST IN A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. IF WE ARE NOT ABLE TO BE IN A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, WE ARE HEADING TOWARD DEATH. SOME MIGHT THINK THIS IS LIMITED TO PHYSICAL DEATH, BUT THE SCRIPTURES SAY THERE IS A SECOND DEATH. THE SECOND DEATH COMES AFTER WE PASS AWAY IN THIS LIFE AND ENTER OUR ETERNAL STATE. WE WON’T DIE AND CEASE TO EXIST. INSTEAD, WE WILL BE CAST AWAY FROM THE PRESENCE OF OUR GOOD GOD INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE WHERE THERE WILL BE WEEPING AND EXTREME PAIN AND SADNESS FOREVER. 

WHY WOULD ANYONE CHOOSE TO BE CUT OFF FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD? FOR SOME, THEY JUST DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING WOULD RESULT IN SUCH AN EXPERIENCE. THEY MIGHT THINK THEY ARE BASICALLY GOOD PEOPLE. BUT GOOD PEOPLE DON’T INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. ONLY FORGIVEN PEOPLE WILL INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. GOD ONLY FORGIVES THOSE WHO BELIEVE HIS WORD AND AS A RESULT REPENT OF THEIR SIN. YOU CANNOT ADOPT AN IDENTITY OF SIN. YOU CANNOT STAY LIVING IN SIN BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY OR ITS JUST WHO YOU ARE AS IF GOD WILL UNDERSTAND AND ALLOW IT. HE WON’T. YOU MUST TURN AWAY FROM SIN AND SEEK FORGIVENESS.

FOR THOSE WHO ARE TRAPPED IN SIN TODAY AND FEEL LIKE THERE IS NO WAY TO GET FREE, THERE IS HOPE FOR YOU. THE VERSE CONTINUES AND THE SAME AUTHOR, AFTER LAYING OUT A LAUNDRY LIST OF SIN-BASED IDENTITIES, TELLS THE CHURCH HE IS WRITING TO “AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU.” WHAT DOES THAT TELL US? IT TELLS US THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO LIVED LIVES AS SEXUALLY IMMORAL PEOPLE, AS ADULTERERS, AS HOMOSEXUAL. THAT IS WHO THEY IDENTIFIED AS AND THAT IS WHAT MARKED THEIR LIVES. THE SCRIPTURE TELLS US GOD CHANGED THEM AND TRULY SET THEM FREE. THE WORD “WERE” TELLS US IT IS NO LONGER WHO THE PERSON IS AT THE TIME OF RECEIVING THE LETTER. THE MARK IS NO LONGER ON THEIR LIVES. THEY LIVE DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT AND NO LONGER THINK, ACT, OR IDENTIFY AS THEY ONCE DID. IF YOU FEEL YOU WERE BORN ONE WAY, THAT DOESN’T MEAN GOD WON’T MAKE YOU NEW AND DIFFERENT. FOR ALL WHO CALL OUT FOR SALVATION, GOD GIVES THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD. HE PUTS A NEW HEART AND NEW SPIRIT WITHIN THEM. HE MAKES THEM AN ENTIRELY NEW CREATION. HOPEFULLY SOME OF YOU WHO READ THIS WILL BECOME ONE OF THE “SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU” ALIVE AND WELL IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN FOREVER!

1. WE MUST UNDERSTAND OUR BODY IS NOT SEPARATE FROM OUR SPIRIT, BUT IS INSTEAD UNITED 1 Cor. 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

THERE WAS A TIME WHERE THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE BELIEVED THEIR BODIES WERE SINFUL BECAUSE THEY WERE CORRUPTED BY THEIR VERY NATURE. THEY BELIEVED THIS BECAUSE FALSE TEACHERS TAUGHT THAT ALL PHYSICAL MATTER WAS CORRUPTED. ON THE FLIP SIDE, THEY BELIEVED THEIR SPIRIT, OR THE INNER MAN, WAS NOT CORRUPTED AND WOULD RETURN TO THE HEAVENS. THIS VIEW WAS ROOTED IN A RELIGIOUS VIEW CALLED DUALISM. DUALISM CLAIMS THERE ARE TWO GODS. ONE IS THE GOOD GOD AND THE OTHER IS AN EVIL GOD. THEY ARE PEERS AND EQUAL IN POWER. THEY ARE AT WAR WITH EACH OTHER AND YOU DO NOT KNOW WHO WILL WIN. AS A RESULT, THE PHYSICAL WORLD WAS CREATED BY THE EVIL GOD, BUT THE SPIRITUAL WORLD WAS THE CREATION AND PROPERTY OF THE GOOD GOD. THEY BELIEVED YOU COULD DO THINGS TO YOUR BODY AND IT WOULDN’T IMPACT YOUR SPIRIT. THIS BELIEF WOULD LATER GROW AND ENTER THE CHURCH. IT WOULD LATER BE GIVEN THE NAME “GNOSTICISM.”

GNOSTICISM STILL EXISTS, THOUGH IT DOESN’T EXIST THE WAY IT ONCE DID. PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THEIR BODY AND SPIRIT ARE SEPARATE. THEY STILL TEACH THAT PHYSICAL MATTERS ARE LESS IMPORTANT THAN SPIRITUAL MATTERS AS IF THEY ARE TRULY SEPARATE. THIS HAS LED SOME TO THROW AWAY SPIRITUALITY IN PURSUIT OF PERFECTING THE PHYSICAL, GOING AS FAR AS TO SAY THERE IS NO SPIRITUAL WORLD. OTHERS DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE. THEY FOCUS ONLY ON SPIRITUAL MATTERS WHILE NEGLECTING THE PHYSICAL. 

THE BIBLE DOESN’T CALL US TO DO AN EITHER-OR WITH THE BODY AND SPIRIT. THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT OUR PHYSICAL BODIES MATTER AND SO DO OUR SPIRITUAL SELVES. THE BIBLE TEACHES THE WAY WE CARE FOR THE PHYSICAL THINGS IN OUR HANDS MATTERS AS DOES OUR CARE FOR THE SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS IN OUR CARE. THERE ARE EVEN TEXTS THAT TEACH HOW WE DO OR DO NOT TAKE CARE OF OUR PHYSICAL BODY WILL IMPACT OUR SPIRITUAL SELF. IT TEACHES THAT A WELL CARED FOR SPIRIT SHOULD RESULT IN A BETTER PHYSICAL LIFE. 

OUR TEXT TELLS US WE CANNOT DO AS GNOSTICS DID IN THE PAST. WE CANNOT SAY THE THINGS WE DO WITH OUR BODIES DO NOT IMPACT OUR SPIRITS. IT GOES EVEN FURTHER IN THE VERSES RIGHT BEFORE AND AFTER THIS ONE TO EXPLAIN THAT BELIEVERS HAVE BEEN UNITED WITH GOD IN CHRIST. WE ARE NOW ONE WITH GOD AND INTERWINED WITH HIS SPIRIT. WHEN WE SIN, WE IMPACT BOTH OUR BODY AND OUR SPIRIT BECAUSE THE BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF GOD. WE DO NOT WANT TO HARM OUR BODY OR OUR SPIRIT. TO DO SO IS TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT OUR RELATIONSHIP, OUR UNION, WITH GOD. IT EVEN SAYS WE SHOULD REMEMBER WE DO NOT OWN OUR BODIES BECAUSE JESUS PURCHASED THEM. WE WERE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE. 

SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO WHEN WE ARE TEMPTED TO SIN? THE SCRIPTURE SAYS WE SHOULD FLEE. WE SHOULD RUN AWAY FROM THE TEMPTATION. WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF DODGE, AS THEY SAY. WE CANNOT BE OK WITH SIN. WE CANNOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF THINKING PHYSICAL SIN DOES NOT COME AS AN ENEMY AGAINST OUR SPIRIT. WE CANNOT BELIEVE FOR ONE MINUTE THAT SEXUAL SIN DOESN’T HARM US OR OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. THE REASON WE CAN’T IS BECAUSE IT ISN’T TRUE. WE ARE ONE HUMAN AND A HUMAN MAY BE DIVIDED INTO THE PHYSICAL AND NON-PHYSICAL, BUT YOU CAN’T CUT ONE FROM THE OTHER AND THE PERSON STILL BE A LIVING PERSON. WE WILL EVEN HAVE BODIES WHEN WE ARE RESURRECTED. 

1. SEXUAL SIN STARTS IN THE (CORRUPTED) HEART AND THEN CORRUPTS THE PHYSICAL BODY: Romans 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

SOME MIGHT READ THE TEXT ABOVE AND THINK SEXUAL SINS ARE A RESULT OF GOD PUNISHING, OR GIVING OVER, MEN TO SIN. IF WE READ THE TEXT CAREFULLY IT TELLS US SOMETHING HAPPENED BEFORE THE GIVING OVER TO IMPURITY (INCLUDING SEXUAL SIN). IT STARTED WITH SUPPRESSION OF THE TRUTH OF GOD. THAT CAME OUT AS A LACK OF THANKFULNESS TO GOD AND THE DISHONORING OF GOD. THESE TWO THINGS WORKED TOGETHER IN PEOPLE TO COME OUT AS DARKENED MIND AND CORRUPTED THOUGHTS ABOUT HIM. 

WITH ALL THIS EVIL AT WORK IN US, GOD GAVE ALL PEOPLE OVER TO THE “LUSTS OF THEIR HEARTS.” THIS IS A CORRUPTED HEART THAT WANTS THINGS IT SHOULDN’T. IT IS A HEART THAT, LIKE ADAM AND EVE, BELIEVES GOD IS WITHHOLDING GOOD FROM US TO THE POINT WE START THINKING ABOUT IT AND SEE ITS GOOD AND WE SHOULD HAVE IT. AT SOME POINT, THAT LUST, THAT DESIRE TO HAVE WHAT IS NOT FOR YOU, COMES OUT IN A NEW WAY. YOU CAN START TO JUSTIFY WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE IT AND EVEN SAY GOD WANTS YOU TO HAVE IT. THIS IS ALL DESPITE GOD’S WRITTEN WORD SAYING IT IS “NOT GOOD” IN THE WAYS HE DEFINES AS SINFUL.

NEXT, THE SIN WITHIN THE CORRUPTED HEART COMES OUT AND CORRUPTS AND DISHONORS YOUR BODY. DISHONOR GOD AND YOU WILL THEN DISHONOR YOURSELF. HONOR GOD IN YOUR HEART AND YOU WILL HONOR GOD IN YOUR BODY. IF YOU HONOR GOD IN YOUR BODY, THEN YOU WILL KEEP HONOR FOR YOURSELF ROOTED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD YOU WERE MADE TO REFLECT. WE HAVE TO GUARD OUR THOUGHT LIFE. THAT TAKES WORK.

1. WE DO NOT JUST FLEE TEMPTATION AND SIN. WE ALSO LEARN TO EXERCISE SELF-CONTROL: 1 Thess. 4:3-5 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God;

SCRIPTURE TELLS US SOMETHING WONDERFUL HAPPENS WHEN WE ARE BORN AGAIN. IT SAYS WE ARE GIVEN A NEW SPIRIT, THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHICH IS THE SPIRIT OF GOD. THE SPIRIT OF GOD PROVIDES A FEW NEW THINGS WE DID NOT HAVE BEFORE WE RECEIVED IT. FIRST, IT GIVES US GIFTS TO USE TO SERVE OTHERS AND GLORIFY GOD. SECOND, IT CAUSES US TO BEAR SPIRITUAL FRUIT. AS A NEW PERSON WITH A NEW NATURE, WE DESIRE THINGS WE DID NOT DESIRE BEFORE. WE ALSO HATE THINGS WE DIDN’T HATE BEFORE. AT THIS POINT, WHEN TEMPTATION COMES, WE RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO THE THINGS THAT USED TO LEAD US TO SIN. 

ONE OF THE SPIRITUAL FRUIT IS SELF-CONTROL. IT IS A GIFT THAT ALLOWS US TO DO THINGS WE DIDN’T HAVE THE POWER TO DO BEFORE. IN THE TEXT ABOVE SELF-CONTROL GIVES US THE POWER TO CONTROL OUR BODY AND HONOR OUR HOLY GOD. IT DOES THIS BY EMPOWERING US TO STAND AGAINST OUR PASSIONATE LUSTS WHICH WERE PRESENT PRIOR TO KNOWING GOD.

THE TEXT ALSO TELLS US IT REQUIRES EFFORT AND WORK TO EXPERIENCE THE PRODUCTION OF THIS FRUIT. IT SAYS WE MUST LEARN TO EXERCISE SELF-CONTROL. THAT MEANS IT ISN’T AS NATURAL AS IT MIGHT SEEM. AS YOU LEARN AND PRACTICE SELF-CONTROL YOU WILL GET BETTER AT DOING IT. BUT IT WON’T JUST ZAP IN YOUR HEAD THE SECOND YOU BELIEVE. INSTEAD, IT WILL TAKE LOTS OF PRACTICE. IF YOU ARE A BELIEVER IN CHRIST THIS CALL TO EXERCISE SELF-CONTROL AGAINST SEXUAL SIN IS A GIFT AND WORTH PUTTING THE WORK IN TO MASTER.

1. IT IS SERIOUS THAT WE MAKE UP OUR MIND ABOUT WHERE WE STAND WITH SEXUAL SIN BECAUSE GOD HAS A WAY OF RESCUING OR KEEPING YOU UNDER JUDGMENT FOREVER: 2 Peter 2:7-9 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

ONE FAMOUS UNNAMED THEOLOGIAN SAID “IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD.” THAT’S ACTUALLY A QUOTE FROM THE BOOK OF HEBREWS (10:31). WHEN GOD SHOWS YOU THE DANGER YOU ARE FACING BECAUSE OF SIN, IT IS A GIFT. MANY NEVER SEE THEY ARE IN DANGER. THE IMPLICATION IS YOU CAN’T CRY OUT TO BE SAVED FROM DANGER IF YOU DON’T KNOW YOU ARE IN IT. BUT IF YOU DO KNOW YOU ARE IN IT AND IT IS MORE POWERFUL AND ABLE TO OVERCOME YOU THAN YOU ARE TO SAVE YOURSELF YOU CAN CRY OUT TO GOD FOR RESCUE. THE WORD SAYS HE IS NOT ONLY ABLE TO SAVE BUT IS WILLING TO DO SO. 

I SHARE THE ABOVE VERSE WITH YOU WITH THE HOPE YOU WILL SEE HOW TRULLY DANGEROUS LUST, SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE, MARRIAGE DONE IN A WAY THAT GOES AGAINST THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF MARRIAGE, AND ADULTERY REALLY IS. MY HOPE IS YOU WILL SEEK GOD FOR RESCUE AND KNOW HE WILL HELP YOU. THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO HARD WORK TO BE SET FREE, BUT JUST LIKE A SLAVE MIGHT HAVE TO FIGHT TO RUN FAR FAR AWAY FROM THEIR CAPTORS, WE ALSO HAVE TO WORK VERY HARD TO HOLD JESUS’ HAND AND FOLLOW HIM OUT OF DANGER TO SAFETY. 

1. IF ANYONE UNWILLING TO TURN FROM SEXUAL SIN WILL EXPERIENCE THE INTENTIONAL SHAME AND CONSEQUENCES GOD HAS PLANNED FOR IT: Jeremiah 13:26-27 “So I Myself have also stripped your skirts off over your face, That your shame may be seen. “As for your adulteries and your lustful neighings, The lewdness of your prostitution On the hills in the field, I have seen your abominations. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean?”

THE CHURCH IN OUR COUNTRY HAS MADE A GRIEVOUS MISTAKE. THEY SPEAK OF THE GOD OF “FREE GRACE” AND MERCY THAT NEVER JUDGES AND NEVER PUNISHES SIN. THAT IS THEN AMPLIFIED FOR BELIEVERS. IF YOU PRAYED A PRAYER OR WERE BAPTIZED, THEN THERE IS NO WAY YOU WILL GET ANY NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR SIN, JUST FORGIVENESS AND MERCY UPON MERCY.

IT IS TRUE THAT GOD IS MERCIFUL, BUT IT IS NOT TRUE THAT EVERYONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE IN CHRIST REALLY IS. WE NEVER FULLY GET WHAT WE DESERVE IN THIS LIFE, BUT GOD IS THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE. HE DOESN’T WAIT TILL DEATH TO RENDER HIS JUDGMENTS. DEATH CAN BE THE EXECUTION OF HIS JUDGMENT. 

GOD DDOESN’T HE CHANGE. HE IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW. THE OLD TESTAMENT GOD IS THE NEW TESTAMENT GOD. JESUS IS A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF GOD. PEOPLE MISUNDERSTAND JESUS CAME TO PLEAD WITH US AS A WITNESS TO TURN FROM SIN AND COME OUT OF THE WORLD BY FOLLOWING HIM ALL THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE. THEY THINK HE CAME TO DIE AND HE IS SO KIND AND MERCIFUL AND “TURN THE OTHER CHEEKISH” THAT HE WOULD NEVER JUDGE SINNERS. HE HANGS OUT WITH THEM, RIGHT? NOT REALLY. HE WENT WHERE SINNERS WERE AND CALLED THEM OUT TO FOLLOW HIM. HE CALLED THEM TO REPENT. HE CALLED THEM TO TAKE UP A NEW LIFE. HE CALLED THEM TO HOLINESS AND PURITY. AND THEN HE LEFT AND WENT TO OTHER PLACES TO CALL MORE OF US OUT. HE DIDN’T STICK AROUND AND WAIT. AND HE WARNED JUDGMENT WAS COMING. AND GUESS WHO HE SAID WAS GOING TO DO IT…HIM. HE WOULD COME BACK AND JUDGE THE EARTH. JUST LIKE GOD JUDGED HIS PEOPLE IN THE PAST, HE IS GOING TO DEAL WITH HIS PEOPLE TODAY AND TOMORROW. TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION. LEAVE SEXUAL SIN BEHIND. DON’T RETURN TO IT.

1. HOW SERIOUS IS IT THAT A BROTHER WILL NOT CEASE TO COMMIT SEXUAL SIN?

SO SERIOUS WE ARE CALLED TO KICK THAT PERSON OUT OF THE CHURCH UNTIL THEY REPENT AND TURN AWAY FROM LIVING THAT WAY: 1 CORINTHIANS 5 SAYS,

1 I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. ² You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship.

³ Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man ⁴ in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus. ⁵ Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.

⁶ Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. ⁸ So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.

⁹ When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. ¹⁰ But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. ¹¹ I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.

¹² It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. ¹³ God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

THIS TEXT TEACHES US THAT AN UNWILLINGNESS TO TURN FROM SEXUAL SIN DEMANDS THE CHURCH STAND IN UNITY AGAINST THE PERSON BY EXCOMMUNICATING THEM FROM THE CHURCH BODY. THEY ARE NOT LIVING FOLLOWING CHRIST. THEY AREN’T COMMITTED TO HIM. IT SHOWS IN HOW THEY REFUSE TO BE COMMITTED TO HIS BODY AND MISSION BY SEPARATING THEMSELVES FROM WORLDLINESS. IF THEY AREN’T FOLLOWING CHRIST AND REFUSE TO REPENT, THEN THEY NEED TO BE IDENTIFIED AS THE UNBELIEVER THEY ARE. THE PROOF IS IN THE FRUIT. NOW, YOU NEED TO TEACH THEM THE THINGS I AM SHARING WITH YOU IN THIS LIST OF PRINCIPLES AND TRUTHS. 

SOME WILL BE CONFRONTED WITH THE TRUTH AND THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL WORK TO CONVICT THEM AND CALL THEM TO ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WORD. THEY WILL CONFESS THEIR SIN AND TURN AWAY FROM LIVING IN IT. INSTEAD, THEY WILL COMMIT THEMSELVES TO WORK AND WORK DILIGENTLY TO LIVE IN SEXUAL PURITY. THEY WILL COMMIT THEMSELVES TO WORK TOWARD BECOMING ABLE TO FLEE TEMPTATION. THEY WILL COMMIT TO CARING ABOUT OTHERS INSTEAD OF VIEWING THEM AS A THING BY WHICH TO GIVE THEM PLEASURE OR PROVIDE SOMETHING ONLY GOD CAN PROVIDE. AFTER THEY DECIDE TO DO THESE THINGS IN THEIR HEARTS, THEY WILL GO OUT AND DO IT. THEY AREN’T WORRIED ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES AS MUCH AS THEY ARE SADDENED BY WHAT THEY HAVE DONE AGAINST THE NAME OF CHRIST AND THE GLORY OF GOD. THEY CARE ABOUT HIM AND IT IS EVIDENT THEY DO NOT WISH TO GRIEVE HIM OR HIS HOLY SPIRIT. THEY DON’T WANT TO HURT THE BODY OF CHRIST AND GRIEVE CHRIST AS A RESULT. THEY UNDERSTAND JESUS DIED TO SET THEM FREE FROM THE SLAVERY THEY HAVE COME TO SEE THEY HAVE BEEN LIVING IN AND THEY REFUSE TO SETTLE FOR LESS THAN WHAT HIS BLOOD PURCHASED. THIS ONE DOESN’T NEED TO BE EXCOMMUNICATED. THEY NEED TO BE ENCOURAGED AND HELPED. 

THEN THERE ARE OTHERS. THOSE THAT REFUSE TO AGREE WITH THE WORD AND POSSIBLY EVEN BECOME ANGERED BY IT NEED TO BE CONFRONTED AND BROUGHT BEFORE THE CHURCH. THE CHURCH SHOULD BE UNITED IN A TIME LIKE THIS TO LOOK CLOSELY AT THE MEMBER AND THEIR ACTIONS AND ADDRESS ANY CORRUPTION THAT IS REMAINING IN THEM. SIN IS SHAMEFUL. IF THE PERSON ISN’T ASHAMED OF THEIR SIN, THEY MUST BE REMOVED AND GIVEN OVER TO SATAN FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLESH IN ORDER THAT THEIR SOULD MAY BE SAVED IN THE END. THEY NEED TO BE GIVEN BACK TO THE WORLD AND REMOVED FROM THE ASSEMBLY (WORSHIP SERVICES) AND CHURCH LIFE TOGETHER. THEY WANT THE WORLD, SO YOU SHOULD LET THEM HAVE IT. THEY WILL HOPEFULLY FIND OUT BEFORE ITS TOO LATE THAT SATAN AND THOSE IN THE WORLD DON’T REALLY LOVE THEM. THEY ARE USING THEM AT BEST THE WAY THAT PERSON HAS BEEN SELFISHLY USING EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING ELSE FOR THEMSELVES. 

1. IN CLOSING, REMEMBER THAT WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME WILL IMPACT THE WAY YOU LIVE, INCLUDING WHAT CONSEQUENCES YOU EXPERIENCE, WHETHER POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE: Proverbs 5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
   and listen closely to my insight,
   ² so you may carefully practice discretion
       and your lips preserve knowledge.
   ³ For the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
       and her speech is smoother than oil.
   ⁴ But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood,
       and as sharp as a double-edged sword.
   ⁵ Her feet go down to death;
       her steps lead to Sheol.
   ⁶ You aren’t thinking about where her life is headed;
       her steps wander, but you do not realize it.

⁷ Now, children, listen to me.
    Don’t turn away from what I am saying.
⁸ Keep far away from her,
    and don’t go near the entrance to her house,
⁹ so that you don’t give your honor to others,
    and waste your best years;
¹⁰ so that strangers don’t enrich themselves at your expense,
    and your work won’t end up the possession of foreigners.
¹¹ You will cry out in anguish when your end comes,
    when your flesh and body are consumed,
¹² and you will say, “How I hated instruction,
    and my heart rejected correction!
¹³ I did not obey my teachers
    and did not listen to my instructors.
¹⁴ Now I am at the point of utter disaster
    in the assembly and in the congregation.”

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern,
    and fresh water from your own well.
¹⁶ Should your springs flow outside,
    or streams of water in the street?
¹⁷ They should be for you alone
    and not for strangers who are with you.
¹⁸ Let your fountain be blessed
    and enjoy the wife of your youth.
¹⁹ Like a loving deer, a beautiful doe,
    let her breasts satisfy you all the time.
        Be constantly intoxicated by her love.
²⁰ Why should you be intoxicated by an adulteress, my son,
    and embrace the bosom of a foreign woman?

²¹ Indeed, what a man does is always in the Lord’s presence,
    and he weighs all his paths.
²² The wicked person’s iniquities will capture him,
    and he will be held with the cords of his sin.
²³ He will die for lack of discipline,
    and he goes astray because of his great folly.

AS YOU PROCESS ALL OF THIS I WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH ONE GENERAL PRINCIPLE, ONE BIBLICAL TRUTH, YOU NEED TO HAVE BEFORE YOU. IT IS ALMOST ALWAYS TRUE THOSE WHO REMAIN IN SIN WILL DIE AS A RESULT, TRAPPED IN SATAN’S SNARE. IT IS EQUALLY TRUE THAT JOY AND HAPPINESS AND A HOPE FOR A FUTURE AWAIT THOSE WHO TURN FROM SIN OR REFUSE TO ENTER INTO IT. DON’T WAIT TO ESCAPE. RUN WHILE THE CAGE DOOR IS OPEN. CALL OUT TO GOD AND SEEK HIS RESCUE. HE WILL ANSWER.  

WHAT OPTIONS OPEN UP TO YOU ARE IN YOUR HANDS. 

YOU MUST CHOOSE TODAY WHO YOU WILL BECOME. THAT REALLY BOILS DOWN TO WHO YOU TRUST AND COMMIT TO FOLLOW. THERE WILL BE SEASONS YOU SUFFER AND DON’T EXPERIENCE THE BLESSINGS SCRIPTURE PROMISES SIMPLY BECAUSE OUR WORLD IS BROKEN AND CORRUPTED BY SIN. IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT GOD HAS A WAY OF DOING MIRACULOUS REVERSALS THAT OVERTHROW THE POWER OF SIN THAT BRINGS UNDESERVED HARM AND NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES ON US DESPITE OUR BEING FAITHFUL. THESE CONSEQUENCES ARE NOT JUST TIED TO US, BUT MANY TIMES ALL WHO LIVE AROUND US. WE ARE PART OF THINGS BIGGER THAN US. THAT’S WHY WE BELIEVE AND PREACH THE GOSPEL. THAT’S WHY WE HOPE IN THE NEXT LIFE MORE THAN THIS ONE AND STORE UP OUR TREASURES IN HEAVEN RATHER THAN ON EARTH. 

MY HOPE IS YOU WILL COMMIT TO BE ALL IN WITH JESUS CHRIST AND FOLLOW GOD RATHER THAN LIVE FOR YOURSELF IN A WAY THAT GOES OFF OF ANY OTHER VOICE THAT CALLS YOU TO FOLLOW IT, WHETHER IT CALLS YOU TO DOUBT GOD OR STAY IN IGNORANCE. I WANT YOU TO HAVE ALL THE BLESSING GOD HAS FOR YOU. 

IN CHRIST, 

MIKE