Sexual
Purity in Thought, Word & Deed
1 Thessalonians 4:1-10, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
(By John McCarty)
Introduction:
In the movie, Indecent Proposal, Robert
Redford's character offers Demi Moore and her husband $1 million to have sex
with her. After reassuring each other that their marriage could survive such a
strain, after all, it is only sex, they agree to his offer. What is interesting
about this fictional story is that a television survey on the Oprah Winfrey show
indicated that 52% of callers said that they would have done the same thing.
This story reminds me of the time when Winston
Churchill offered a woman an absurd dollar amount to have sex with him. She
agreed. He then asked if she would have sex with him for $20. She responded,
"What do you think I am, a prostitute?" He said, "Ma'am, we've
already established that you are a prostitute. Now we are just negotiating the
price."
Young beautiful girls take center stage all over
America, even at the Super bowl and other stages around the world with
thousands, even millions of onlookers. Many
of them children and they don’t just expose themselves to the public, but
their backup dancers perform simulated lesbian sexual acts with each another in
the background. Slithering up and
down the stage in such a sensual way that it leaves nothing to one’s
imagination about what they are doing.
Millions of young girls around the world look up
to and want to emulate the Brittany Spear’s; Janice Jackson’s and
Madonna’s of the entertainment world.
Not long ago I was stunned by a picture of Brittany Spears and Madonna
French kissing at one of the music awards on National television.
What kind of message is that sending to the young people of America?
They flaunt their immorality in front of the entire nation and refuse to
take responsibility for the influencing of American’s youth in any way.
Not too many weeks ago I watched Brittany Spears
being interviewed by Diane Sawyer and Brittany Spears said she was raised
Southern Baptist that she believed the bible to be true and that she was a
Christian. She also said her mother
and dad had separated and although she didn’t say so, she left me with the
impression that it was because dad did not approve of her public life on stage
or the way she dressed and conducted her-self.
I could quote all kinds of statistics, but I
don't think we need to rehearse them to know that our society has become a
sexual madhouse. Almost every commercial on TV is insidiously infected with sex.
We are like a compass with the needle spinning out of control. Biblically
speaking this is exactly what we should expect from a culture that has on the
whole rejected God and his counsel. Rom. 1 teaches us that when men and women
turn their back on the God of the bible, the primary evidence of that, is sexual
confusion and rejection of sexual restraint.
If you want to know how sexually confused this
nation is just watch any news cast on TV and you will soon hear and see how the
homosexual community of San Francisco, Calif. Is flaunting their prevision in
front of the entire World. Demanding
the right to marry!
It was in the midst of a society stricken with
sexual confusion and a total lack of sexual restraint that God spoke His will in
the past and He is doing it in the present.
Since God has called us to please Him by the way
we live our lives. There should be
no restraint in our hearts for an all out pursuit of holiness, especially in the
realm of sexuality. Parents…our
children must see us model what a desire for holiness is by the way we lives our
lives in front of them.
Our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ explicitly commands us to be sexually holy.
Paul
the Apostle explicitly tells us that it’s God’s will that we be sexually
pure.
For
this is the will of God, your sanctification: for you yourselves to be
abstaining from sexual sin (1 Thess 4:3) The first thing I want you to notice from this verse
is that it’s God’s will that we be sexually pure.
"It
is God's will...." (1
Thess. 4:3) and
second, it’s because of
"...your
sanctification...." (4:3a)
It is a well know fact that the Greco-Roman world of Paul’s
day was infamous for its deviant sexual immorality. The worship of the pagan
gods often involved sex with temple prostitutes.
It was into this ancient pagan culture that the Apostle Paul
carried the gospel message. It was the announcement of the enthronement of Jesus
Christ as the new King that revolutionized the sexual attitudes and practices of
those embracing Christ as Lord and Savior. He came preaching Christ into a world
of sexual insanity; teaching one husband with one wife uniting and becoming one
flesh that brought sexual sanity onto the world stage.
So Paul writes to the Thessalonians, a group of Christians
who were very much like we are today, surrounded by a pagan culture burning with
pagan lust, and he tells them that it is God's will for them to be sanctified.
To be set apart unto God, to be different from the
surrounding culture. To be
"...abstaining
from sexual sins..." (4:3b)
The
Greek word used here is porneia and it means any kind of sexual activity
that is outside of God's will (God's will is self-giving sex between a husband
and wife which functions to solidify & renew their marriage vows.)
Sex
outside God's will includes:
Adultery:
sex of a married person with someone besides spouse.
Fornication:
sex between 2 unmarried people
Polygamy:
sex with more than one person
Masturbation:
"solo sex" with oneself
Homosexuality:
sex with someone of same sex
Lust:
visual or emotional sexual fantasy sex
Bestiality:
sex with animals
Pedophilia:
sex with children
Incest:
sex with a family member
All
of these are distortions or perversions of God’s gift of sex: porneia.
I
Cor. 6:13, "The
body is not meant for sexual immorality (porneia), but for the Lord."
Our bodies are to be presented as living sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1.
They belong to Him; He has purchased and paid for us on Calvary’s
Cross.
"...each
one of you to know to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor..."
(4:4
The contrast
is made with the heathen that do not know God.
They run around like a dog in heat all the time. Our culture is like a
drug addict looking for the ultimate high, but can never be satisfied. We are
called to be different, we are called to control our bodies in a way that is
holy and honorable. We are to conduct ourselves in a way that glorifies the
Father; magnifies the Son; edifies the saints and modifies the flesh.
I
Cor. 6:19b-20,
"You
are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your
body."
But what happens if you ignore this command to be pure sexually and
immerse yourself in passionate lust? You are training yourself for divorce.
Your ability to give yourself selflessly to another person is damaged.
C. S. Lewis said that when a man, in the grip of lust, says he wants a woman that is really that last thing he wants. "He does not want a woman, but rather a particular sensation for which a woman is the necessary apparatus. If he really wanted a woman, then he would also want a house, a picket fence, curtains, three kids, and the rest of his life with this particular woman. The man under the control of lust simply wants a sexual partner who is willing to pretend that she is not mentally and emotionally a woman."
"...that
you should not wrong...or take advantage of others...." (4:6a)
Here
we are called not to wrong others or not to defraud them.
This
means that we are not to arouse, excite, or awaken sexual desires in others that
we cannot righteously fulfill before God.
"Do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases
God." In the book the Song of Songs Chapters 4-5 the wife arouses and
excites and awakens sexual desires in her husband because before God, she was
able to fulfill those desires. In fact, in Chapter 5:1 it commands husbands and
wives to be intoxicated with each other’s sexuality. But the God who created
the goodness of sex is also the one who commands that we not misuse it.
Young Men, listen, if you speak in a sexual manner to your
date or the one your courting and tell her what your sexual fantasies are. You
would be defrauding her. You are to protect her heart and to guard it, not
defraud & take advantage of it.
Ladies, you should never dress in ways that communicate or
arouse sexual interests in guys. Your body is given to you to arouse your future
husband's sexual desires, not every guy you see in the Wal Mart Store. You are
responsible for what you are communicating whether you mean to or not.
As a Christian our view of
Sex is such a holy and sacred bonding of
two souls that it demands the covenantal context of marriage to be enjoyed to
its fullest. If you take it out of the context of marriage, sex then becomes
self-serving and potentially self-destructing.
The
secular worldview of sex is that it exists for my self-gratification.
"I
want to have sex with my boyfriend to make sure we are sexually compatible
before we commit to marriage."
One
girl said: Premarital sex gave me
fear as a gift…and shame to wear as a garment.
It stole my peace of mind and robbed me of hope in a bright future.
Sex smashed my concentration in class to smithereens.
My desire for church activities was ground to a pulp.
It made crumbs of the trust I had known in Christ…and in men and woman.
Sex gave me a jagged tear in my heart that even now, seven years later,
is still hurting.
The
secular worldview of sex says: "If
I give him sex, he will love me."
Here
is another story: I’m thirteen
and I’ve just ruined my life. I
thought Mike really loved me, but last night we had sex for the first time and
this morning he told my girl friend that he didn’t want to see me any more. I thought giving Mike what he wanted would make him happy and
he’d love me more. What if I’m pregnant?
What am I going to do? I
feel so alone and confused…I can’t talk to my parents…I don’t know how I
can go on.
The
secular worldview of sex says: "If
I tell her I love her, she will give me sex."
I
love him. He said he love me too.
But after we did it, he called me all sorts of names and left me.
I don’t understand this. We
went together for months and I thought we had something special…I have this
feeling that no one cares about me, and no matter what I do I am not able to
make any man happy.
Some guys who hired a prostitute for their buddy's bachelor
party so he could have one more fling before he "got stuck having sex with
only one woman." He ended up giving his bride a ventral disease for his
wedding gift that he picked up from the whore they hired.
The
Arena: "...to live a holy life..." (1 Thess. 4:7)
thoughts of your mind, the words of your mouth, the actions
of our lives are to be holy.
Matthew 5:27-28 Christ says:
You
have heard that it was said to the ancients, “You shall not commit
adultery,” but I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Sexual
sin finds its source in the heart. It's not just an external thing.
A preacher once said he used to go home after Sunday church
and look at the lingerie ads in the newspaper while his wife was making their
lunch. He comforted himself with the fact that he wasn't being
"technically" immoral.
Guys:
Looking upon a woman as an object to satisfy your sexual urges range from
mentally undressing someone you see walking across the Wal Marl parking lot to
visiting porn sights on the Internet. Jesus says you are committing adultery
with her. Parents, if you have a
computer at home and you have children that get on line, put American Family
Radio’s filer on it. It works. It
might cost you forty or fifty dollars a year, but it’s worth every dime.
Girls:
whenever you read romance novels because you
desire a vicarious experience of being the object of someone's affection and
sexual advances, this to is a form of emotional pornography. Parents, screen
what you allow your daughters to read.
Guys:
when you have ulterior motives in going to a party, that is,
when the goal of the night is to become sexually aroused and find release with
another person, "to score," you are an adulterer at the core of your
being.
Girls:
when you intentionally dress seductively and use
your body to manipulate and capture the attention of a guy, you are committing
adultery in your heart and tempting him to adultery as well.
I
Timothy 2:9, Christian women should dress modestly.
In
other words, there is a difference between the way a woman who knows God should
dress and one who doesn't. It’s sad but true, but I can go to the Wal Mart
store on any given day during the summer time and see woman that proclaim the
name of Christ dressed as seductively and as scantly as those deliberately
trying to get men to look upon them in a sexual way.
Guys:
If you are getting hot and heavy with your date on the
couch, but you ease your conscience by saying that you didn't actually have sex,
you have deceived yourself and have committed adultery.
Girls:
If you use sex or the promise of sex to get or
keep a guy, you engaging in sexual immorality.
All sexual immorality stems from a distortion of reality. It holds
out the promise of life and security and fulfillment apart from God's design. It
says no to God's interpretation or reality and substitutes an alternate reality
that you seek to control and squeeze pleasure out of.
Let
me ask you this: Are you in an all
out pursuit of holiness in the realm of sexuality?
Are you learning to control your body in a way that is holy & honorable?
Are your thoughts, words and actions clearly and noticeably different from those
who do not know God? I ask because...
As
the King, Jesus Christ must deal justly with all those who resist His will.
The
authority of King Jesus
Behind
every debate about what one should do or not do, there is always the question of
authority.
1
Thess. 4:2,
"For
you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus."
1 Thess. 4:8,
"Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject
man but God...."
In
the ancient Roman world, when a new Caesar ascended the throne, he would send
out his messengers (apostles) with the message (gospel) that there was a new
king. Implicit in the message was a demand to recognize the king's authority and
to pledge your loyalty to him. When Jesus conquered death, he sent out his
apostles, Paul was one of them, with the message that there was "another
king" (Acts 17:7), the King of Kings and Lord of lords.
We
are commanded to bow before this King Jesus and to recognize his rightful place
to rule our lives. He is the LORD Jesus Christ. He is the King of glory.
Phil.
2:9-11,
"God
exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord...."
Your
Lord commands you to avoid sexual immorality in thought, word, and deed, and to
honor him with your body that He gave to you. How will you response?
The
judgment of King Jesus
1
Thess 4:6,
"The
Lord will punish men for all such sins...."
Jerry Bridges on sin says: "Sin in the final analysis is
rebellion against the sovereign Creator, Ruler, and Judge of the universe. It
resists the rightful prerogative of a sovereign Ruler to command obedience from
His subjects. It says to an absolutely holy and righteous God that His moral
laws, which are a reflection of His own nature, are not worthy of our
wholehearted obedience."
1
Cor. 6:9, "Do you not know that the wicked
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God."
Men
and women can ignore this all they like, but the Bible says they are deceived.
Self-deception is a dangerous thing. The sad things is, is that those who are so
deceived don’t know they are deceived.
Madonna
mimicked masturbating on stage with a crucifix, while the words of 1 Cor 6:9
were read over a loud speaker.
God allows it to go on for a time while his messengers call
people to repentance.
The
promise of 1 Thess 4:6 is that the Lord will, at some point, punish all those
who ignore his word.
If
this is true, what hope is there for me?
Acts 17:30, "In the past God overlooked such
ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a
day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He
has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
As
the Priest, Jesus Christ graciously cleanses those who turn to Him.
1
Corinthians 6:11, "...that is what some of you were...."
The
Gospel is for the sexually immoral.
I can remember going into a truck stop and seeing out of the corner of my eye some prono books and turning to look at them. I took a quick glance and my initial instinct was to take another look, to indulge my lust. "Do you know why I wanted to do that?"; "Because I have an adulterous heart. That's why I need Jesus."
Jesus
must save us from ourselves, and that is exactly what He promises to do.
Acknowledge
Jesus' rights over your body and over your relationships.
Are
you willing to honor him in the way you think? Speak? Act toward others? Are you
willing to lay down a relationship if it becomes dishonoring to the Lord?
Pursue
sexual holiness with everything you've got.
Matthew
5:29-30,
"If
your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better
for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to thrown into
hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It
is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go
into hell.
Examine
your life for areas of rebellion where you have sinned in thought, word, and
deed.
Some
of you are battling the lusts of your flesh well; others are barely putting up a
fight. All of us need to do a heart check.
Augustine:
"Give me chastity & purity, but not yet."
Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my
heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way
in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Flood
your memory with the Gospel.
Andrew
Murray McCheyne said, "For every one look at your sin, take 10 looks to
Jesus."
The Gospel tells us that our lust, our sin, our straying no longer defines those who believe. That is not who we are; we are covered with the righteousness of Christ. Our lives are now hidden in Christ. We are to live our lives as a reflection of His righteousness.