Tag: sexual immorality

Jesus and Human Sexuality

On By BrianIn Ten Commandments2 Comments

TenCommandsIt is often said that Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality. This is wrong on at least two accounts. First, such a statement fails to recognize that Jesus is God, and as God spoke the entire Bible which addresses homosexuality in several places. Second, such a statement misses Jesus’ clear teaching on human sexuality in Matthew 19:

First, God determines our gender. Jesus clearly says that God made us male and female (v4). Our gender is determined by God, and not by our thoughts, feelings, desires, or whims. God, by his act of creation, determines reality, and he creates us genetically and biologically as male or female. To reject his determination is to abandon reality. My gender is not for me to decide. God determines our gender.

Second, God determines the definition of marriage. Jesus takes us back to Genesis, and tells us that marriage is between a man and a woman (v5). Marriage is determined by God, and not by our thoughts, feelings, desires, or whims. Again, God as the Creator determines reality, and he has determined that marriage is between a man and a woman. To reject his determination is to abandon reality. The definition of marriage is not for me to decide. God determines the definition of marriage.

Third, God determines the right context for sex. Jesus teaches that it is within marriage that a man and woman are to have a one flesh sexual relationship (v5). The right context for sex is determined by God, and not by our thoughts, feelings, desires, or whims. God as our Creator determines not only reality, but also morality, and he has determined that sexual activity is to take place within marriage. And so a man and woman who sleep together before marriage, live together, shack up together for a night, or have an affair are committing sexual immorality and sinning against God. Two men or two women who engage in homosexual activity are committing sexual immorality and sinning against God. The right context for sex is not for me to decide. God determines the right context for sex.

Jesus teaches that God determines our gender, the definition of marriage, and the right context for sex. Which leave us with a stark choice: We can reject Jesus’ teaching and God’s determination, and join the rest of our culture in its mass sexual confusion. Or we can follow the teachings of Jesus, embracing both reality and morality. We can throw out the teachings of Jesus and go our own way, or we can follow him. The choice is ours, but we must choose. Let’s not have any nonsense about following Jesus while rejecting his teaching. We must choose.

What will you do with Jesus’ teaching on human sexuality?

Why We Pursue Purity

On By BrianIn Ten Commandments1 Comment

TenCommandsA few days ago we considered how to pursue purity. Today, we want to consider why we should pursue purity. I Corinthians 6 gives us several reasons:

First, those who practice sexually immorality will not inherit the kingdom of God (v9-10). These words ought to startle us awake. Living in sexual sin is simply incompatible to a relationship with the Lord. Those who are living together, sleeping around, or practicing homosexual acts have no reason to think they are saved – they are outside the kingdom of God.

Second, sexual immorality belongs to our old way of life (v11). “Such were some of you,” but not anymore. Now we have been washed from that dirty behavior. Now we have been set apart from those sins. Now we are declared righteous in Jesus. We have a new life, and sexual immorality can have no part in it. In other words, we must live out who we now are in Christ.

Third, our bodies are meant for the Lord (v13-18). We are to use our bodies in service to Jesus, not in service to sin. How could we join our bodies to another in sexual sin, when we are joined to Christ?

Fourth, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (v19). How could we desecrate his temple by involving it in sexual sin? God is holy, and as his temples, we must strive to be holy.

Fifth, our bodies belong to God (v19-20). When Jesus died to pay for our sins, he purchased us out of our slavery to sin. We now belong to him. And so we must use our bodies to glorify him. Our actions must honor him.

Sexual immorality of all kinds is a characteristic of the old sinful way of life that is destined for hell. But in Christ, we have been washed and justified; we have a new life. Our bodies are set apart unto God. They are meant for the Lord. They are temples of the Holy Spirit. They belong to Him.

And so we must flee sexual immorality.

Pursuing Purity

On By BrianIn Ten Commandments

TenCommandsAs a young person, the slogan for purity was “Just Say No.” Which I suppose was good as far it went. The problem was that it simply didn’t go far enough. Purity is much more than simply avoiding sex outside of marriage. If we are going to pursue purity, we must guard our eyes, guard our minds, and guard our actions.

Guard Our Eyes – We need to guard our eyes from those things which would encourage impure or lustful thoughts (Job 31:1, Psalm 101:3). This of course includes pornography of all kinds. But it also includes certain movies, TV shows, pictures on Facebook, magazines, and books. It includes how we look at another person; we must not look at them with lustful intent (Matthew 5:28). Indeed to drive this point home, Jesus goes on to speak of gouging out our eyes. His point is not that we should injure ourselves, but that we must get serious about this. We need to guard our eyes.

Guard Your Mind – In Colossians 3:5, Paul tells us to put to death sexual immorality, and then works backwards showing how one gets to that point. And it begins with covetousness – desiring to possess that other person to use them for our own gratification. His point is clear – unless you are married to that person, he/she doesn’t belong to you, so don’t think (and then act) as if he/she does. Another root of sexual immorality that he points to is evil desire or lust. We are not to think of others with sexual desire. We are not to fantasize about others in this way. We need to guard our minds.

Guard Our Actions – Paul continues in Colossians 3:5 from coveting and evil desire to passion and impurity. Those are actions that flow from evil desire and lead to sexual immorality. So the Bible is not just teaching us to say no to sexual immorality, but also to those actions that would lead to sexual immorality. Song of Solomon warns us not to awaken love until it pleases (2:7, 3.5). That is, don’t do those things that will awaken desires within you that you can’t lawfully fulfill outside of marriage. We need to guard our actions.

Sexual immorality doesn’t just happen. It occurs when we fail to guard our eyes, guard our minds, and guard our actions. So let’s be on our guard. Pursue purity.

Purity in Conduct

On By BrianIn Book of Acts, Family/Single Life1 Comment

In Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council requested the Gentile believers to avoid four things.  We addressed three of them yesterday.  The fourth item they were to avoid was sexual immorality.  Why focus on this?  Probably because it was a big issue of the day.  Sexual immorality was part of the culture, indeed part of the pagan worship.  And the Gentile believers needed to understand that sexual immorality was not how Christians acted.  They may have lived that way before, but as Christians they couldn’t anymore.  They had a new life in Christ.  They needed to pursue purity in conduct.

Much has changed in 2000 years, but sexual immorality is one of the big sins in our culture today as it was back then.  Sexual immorality is in the air we breathe, but it must not be found in Christians.  We can’t hook up for a one night stand.  We can’t live together.  We can’t have an affair.  We can’t engage in homosexual activity.  We must flee all sexual immorality.  We must pursue purity in conduct.

Embracing God’s Sexual Boundaries

On By BrianIn Family/Single Life

In Genesis 2 and Matthew 19, God defines marriage as being between a man and a woman who leave their parents, join together, and become one flesh.  This becoming one flesh is understood to be directly related to the act of sex.  I Corinthians 6:15-16 make this clear.  In this passage, Paul tells the Christians not to participate with a prostitute, because in doing so they become one flesh with her.  Sex, or becoming one flesh with another, is to occur only in marriage.  This is God’s sexual boundary.

Paul goes on in verse 18 to tell the Christians to flee sexual immorality; that is, any sex outside of God’s boundary.  And he gives three reasons to flee: sexual immorality desecrates the body of Christ (v15-16), degrades one’s own body (v18), and in doing so desecrates God’s temple (v19-20).  We need to take this seriously.

None of this should need to be said.  But we need to be reminded because we live in a world where people hitch up for one night stands, dating couples sleep together, and unmarried couples live together.  But God has called Christians to be different.  We are to be holy as he is holy.  We are to hold to his boundaries.

And that means more than just abstinence.  Colossians 3:5 tells us:

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

God’s boundaries mean we don’t want to possess another person (covet them).  It means we don’t lust after them (evil desires and passions).  It means we don’t act on those lusts (impurity).  All of these things, as well as sexual immorality, must be put to death.

That means single people must guard their minds and hearts from coveting and lust.  They must say no to these temptations.  Rather than see how close to the edge they can get without committing sexual immorality, they must put it to death long before it gets to that point.  They must embrace God’s sexual boundaries.  They must keep themselves pure.

That means people with homosexual tendencies must guard their minds and hearts from coveting and lust.  They too must say no to these temptations, as well as temptations further down the path.  They must embrace God’s sexual boundaries.  They must keep themselves pure.

That means that married people must guard their minds and hearts.  Should their eye or mind or heart start to drift toward someone other than their spouse, they must put that temptation to death.  They too must embrace God’s sexual boundaries.  They must keep themselves pure.

No matter what position in life we find ourselves, we must flee sexual immorality.  We must embrace God’s sexual boundaries.  We must be holy as God is holy.