Flee Sexual Immorality – Your Body Is a Temple of the Holy Spirit , 6/14/26

This morning we continue our study in going through

the Word of God. Today, looking to the book of

1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 12 through 20.

1 Corinthians 6:12–20

We're going to be reading this here in just a

moment. But I would just like to say once again

that the Word of God is eminently practical to

our lives. It speaks directly to us. even sometimes

in ways that might be a little bit uncomfortable.

And of course, the job of the preacher is also

to preach the Word of God as it is. So today,

we are going to be looking at the subject of

sexual immorality. The title is, Flee Sexual

Immorality. Your body is a temple of the Holy

Spirit. Let's read the passage, beginning in

verse 12. All things are lawful for me, but all

things are not helpful. All things are lawful

for me, but I will not be brought under the power

of any. Food for the stomach and the stomach

for foods, but God will destroy both it and them

now. The body is not for sexual immorality, but

for the Lord and the Lord for the body. And God

both raised up the Lord and will also raise us

up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies

are members of Christ? Shall I then take the

members of Christ and make them members of a

harlot? Certainly not. Or do you not know? That

he who is joined to a harlot is one body with

her. For the two, he says, shall become one flesh.

But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit

with him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that

a man does is outside the body. But he who commits

sexual immorality sins against his own body.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple

of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have

from God, and you are not your own? For you were

bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in

your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

Let's ask the Lord's blessing on this time. Father,

we come before you, Lord, in this... is indeed

an impactful chapter, Lord, and this passage,

Lord, one that is extremely relevant to us. It

speaks to us, Lord, and it calls us to a life

of holiness and purity amidst a world that is

awash in immorality. So, Lord, we pray that you

would be with us, Lord, as we go through this.

Captivate our hearts, O Lord, by your Spirit.

Let us think your thoughts after you and help

us, Lord, to understand. as you would have us,

Lord, through the elimination of the Holy Spirit.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Dear brothers

and sisters, we are the church of Jesus Christ.

We have been bought with his blood, and we are

the temple of God. We have been washed. sanctified

and justified as we heard last week. And our

hearts and our minds have been and are being

renewed. We have been made new. And the transformation

that has happened to us truly matters. We are

not merely concerned about outward forms or rituals

or a checklist of do's and don'ts. But it is

important for us that we have personal, sincere,

abiding and true faith in the Lord Jesus. From

the depths of our hearts. As I preached last

week. Nevertheless, the outward body matters.

Your body matters. Spirituality is not just some

super ethereal pie in the sky type of thing.

But it is real. It is enfleshed. The spiritual

life that is within must be demonstrated by our

actions, by the fact that our body is not some

worthless piece of the flesh that must be abandoned

in order to have the Spirit. No, as God speaks

in His Word today, our bodies matter as well

as other outward things. Order matters. The sacraments

matter. Faithful marriages matter. And your body

matters. So much so that your physical body,

your flesh and blood body, is a temple. It is

a sanctuary and dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the

Trinity, God the Holy Spirit. Your body belongs

to God and God the Holy Spirit dwells in each

and every one who is born again and who has faith

and trust in Christ. If your body is holy and

is a temple of the Holy Spirit, then you should

not hate your body. God made you. He created

you. He created you to worship your God in an

embodied fashion. Your true person, the real

you, that is, is not just your inner person like

is sometimes said. No, a true and real man and

woman consists of both body and spirit. When

your body is dead, part of you is missing until

the resurrection when your body and your soul

will be reunited together again. This time, In

a resurrected body. We will worship in heaven.

After the resurrection. As a whole being. Body

and spirit. We will again. Not be some kind of

ethereal angel. Sitting on a cloud. Some kind

of disembodied spirits. No. This is not a biblical

understanding. We will be together. Body and

spirit. In light of this. We cannot fall into

extreme asceticism, the doctrine that teaches

us that we must be detached from the material

world in order to draw closer to God. And this

detachment is often professed to be done through

denial of food or other pleasures, or through

renouncing material possessions, or abstaining

from sexual relationships, which then leads to

hatred of the body and denial of the gifts that

God gives. has given us. Some forms of asceticism

go so far as to even whip oneself or to wear

chains or spike devices or have prolonged sleep

deprivation or to wear a hair cloth shirt or

sleep on a bed of nails. No, this is not the

biblical view of our body. In the passage today,

the Apostle Paul develops the subject of God's

view of your body and how sexual immorality is

a sin against God the Father, against Christ,

and against the Holy Spirit. Sex is a gift from

God, designed by God for procreation and for

pleasure, as we will see in the next chapter.

But God puts fences around it, and when those

fences are broken, great trouble comes. It is

a powerful tool that used rightly in a marriage

covenant, brings forth abundant blessings, begetting

children, and giving enjoyment and fulfillment.

but wrongly used. It is a weapon of destruction

that creates hurt, betrayal, abandoned children,

sex trafficking, rape, and other sins against

a holy and just and right God. And it is also

a sin then against our own body. The lies being

taught and lived in the city of Corinth. Are

very much like the lies of today. Have you heard

the words. My body. My choice. My body. My choice.

Or if it feels good. Do it. These lies are pervasive.

And they were pervasive at the time in which

this book was written. So common was immorality

in Corinth. That to act like a Corinthian. became

a universal shorthand for gross immorality, promiscuity,

and drunken debauchery. To be a Corinthian was

to be that kind of person in those deeds. Nevertheless,

as the word tells us today, man is not an animal

to do whatever his instincts desire at any place.

Man is created for covenant, both to be in covenant

with God and to be in covenant with one another.

As Paul will bring out in chapter 7 verse 2.

He says because of sexual immorality each man

is to have his own wife and each woman to have

her own husband. Man is created to worship and

this includes the use of his body according to

God's rules. Not only simply a physical impulse.

The human body is not created to live like the

beasts or the birds. In our passage today, Paul

deals with five reasons why a Christian is to

flee sexual immorality. Five reasons why sex

outside of the marriage covenant is contrary

to the will and the law of God Almighty. The

central command is found in verse 18. Flee sexual

immorality. All illicit sexual intercourse. harlotry,

adultery, fornication between unmarried persons,

homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, incest,

or those who are unlawfully divorced. All of

that is contained in this word. Ephesians 5 verse

Ephesians 5:3

3, But sexual immorality and all uncleanness

and covetousness, let it not once be named among

you. As is fitting for saints. This is the law

and the word of God. And Paul goes into great

detail and explains why. Why this is so. And

he does this in a way that is not really given

in any other passage. With attention to the detail

that he gives right here. At least not that I'm

aware of. The content or the prohibition. An

explanation is in many passages. But in this

particular one. He goes into detail about a proper

view of the body. That is not found any other

place in the scripture just like this. Let's

look now to this passage in God's word. Beginning

in number 1. In verse 12. Sexual immorality is

contrary. to the principles of christian liberty

sexual immorality is contrary to the principle

of christian liberty he says verse 12 all things

are lawful for me but all things are not helpful

all things are lawful for me but i will not be

brought under the power of any paul begins with

a statement all things are lawful for me Now

this could sound contrary to what he's about

to say, but there's two ways to understand this.

First of all, some commentators think that he

could be repeating a statement that the Corinthians

made, and then he answers it, both here and in

verse 13. That they say all things are lawful,

and Paul responds with all things are not helpful.

However, I think, along with other commentators,

that he is making a true statement because it's

one that is repeated at other places in the New

Testament. He's referring to principles of Christian

liberty. For indeed, we have great liberty that

God has given us, and that liberty extends to

many aspects of the Christian life. Paul himself

says in Romans 14 and verse 14, I know and am

convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing

unclean of itself. And later in this book, he

says in the context of foods in chapter 10, verse

23, all things are lawful for me, but not all

things are helpful. All things are lawful for

me, but not all things edify. But while all things

are lawful, he says, not all are helpful and

some things enslaved and a Christian should not

be enslaved to things. We can easily see this

in food and drink. These are wonderful gifts

of God, but they can be enslaving through gluttony

or through drunkenness. Many things are lawful,

but they're not suitable at all times or in all

circumstances. So it is with the gift of sex

that God has. created and that is today's subject

he says to flee sexual immorality this in today

we're going to be look again at the negative

effects of this and the actions next week lord

willing we're going to be getting into principles

for married life in chapter 7 looking more on

the positive side Now our liberty extends to

many things. We're not to be subject to the regulations

and commandments of men. As Paul says in Colossians

Colossians 2:20–22

chapter 2 verse 20 to 22. By he's saying that

not that you can't necessarily do things that

men say or have certain practices. But you're

not to look at that as the word of God. Therefore,

he says, if you died with Christ from the basic

principles of the world, why, as though living

in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations?

Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle, which

all things concern with perishing with the using,

according to the commandments and doctrines of

men. But in the all things, Law and liberty are

defined by God Himself in His Word. God gives

us great and incredible freedoms. Look at all

the different foods we can eat. The tastes and

the textures and the colors and the varieties

of them. And He says in 1 Timothy chapter 4,

1 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

For every creature of God is good, and nothing

is to be refused if it is good. received with

thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word

of God and prayer. God gives us incredible variety.

Aren't you glad that we just have to exist all

of our life? And are you glad that we don't exist

in all of our life just by eating one kind of

fish? Or just one kind of vegetable? No, we look

at the textures and the tapestries and the flavors

and all the sorts of things. Look at what comes

out of a pig versus what comes out of a cow versus

what comes out of a sheep. You know, and all

of the wonderful meats that we have and the ways

of preparing them. All the wonderful foods and

then there's spices and there's flavors. God

gives it all to us because He is a rich God and

He gives us all things richly to enjoy. We're

free to choose any job that we want, as long

as the function of that job is not breaking God's

law, such as theft or prostitution or something

like that. You can live where you want to. You

can choose to marry or to remain single. You

can choose to get further education and pursue

a different career path. But all of this freedom

is fenced with the law of God. We have this glorious

freedom, this Christian liberty that he gives

us. But on some things God says no. Or some things

he says yes in this context and no in that context.

And such is the subject of today. Sexual conduct

is one of the bodily functions that God speaks

directly to. In different scriptures of both

the Old and the New Testaments. Therefore, freedom

to do what you want is simply not an option.

It is not a matter of Christian liberty. For

immorality is against the law of God and contrary

to the principles of Christian liberty. Number

two, verse 13 and 14. Sexual immorality is against

the sanctity and the purpose. of the body food

for the stomachs and the stomach for foods but

god will both will destroy both it and them now

the body is not for sexual immorality but for

the lord and the lord for the body and god both

raised up the lord and will also raise us up

by his power three things we're going to note

in here first of all the body is not for sexual

immorality the first portion The Romans and Greeks

viewed sex as a natural bodily impulse. It was

a function of the body, just like eating or drinking.

And the church at Corinth still had some of this

mindset. It was seen as a thing indifferent,

not immoral in any kind of circumstances, with

the exception of incest. as we saw in chapter

5, described as sexual immorality not even named

among the Gentiles. They reasoned from analogy

that it was okay to eat all kinds of food which

are adapted to the stomach, so it is right to

gratify any other natural desires. And so they

did, in every way. Roman masculinity was strictly

defined by dominance, and so a man would dominate

sexually over his slaves. or over prostitutes,

or with social outcasts, or even, very sadly,

young males. Understanding this culture, you

can see why this was such a problem. And in almost

every letter to Gentile churches, Paul emphasizes

this emphatically. He speaks to them about this

matter. You look at Romans, Galatians, Ephesians.

Colossians, Thessalonians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians,

and in the letter to Timothy, who is ministering

to other churches. Peter writes of it, and so

does the writer of Hebrews. The New Testament

letters are filled with instructions on this

matter, and it is no wonder, considering the

culture in which they live. It was everywhere.

But sex is different than food. While we are

free to eat all or any of the foods that God

has provided, like food for the stomach and the

stomach for food, which might have been a popular

proverb, they were saying that the body is created

for all of these bodily functions, and so we

can indulge wherever and however we please. But

God did create our bodies, but not for the purposes

of having sex. like people eat food. No, the

body is not for sexual immorality, he says. He

fences it by giving it as a gift to a man and

a woman united in holy matrimony. Marriage is

honorable among all and the bed undefiled, but

fornicators and adulterers God will judge. The

body is not meant for sexual immorality. And

we see this in some of the consequences and problems

that come from an immoral lifestyle, a promiscuous

lifestyle. And we see these around our world.

I'm just going to list some of them. Consider

the psychological impact, the shame and the guilt,

the broken hearts and the emotional instability

that comes. Then there's the social harm of the

breakdown of families, the lack of proper fatherhood.

and motherhood, and then abandoned children.

Children moved from the stability of a family

where mother and father love and care for each

other to children being moved from pillar to

post. The societal costs of immorality are huge.

There is increased crime. Crimes because of jealousy,

because of conquest, because of the breakdown

of trust. even murders, covetousness, theft,

control and manipulation, and sexual abuse. There's

also the hardening of the conscience, distance

between people and alienation, meaninglessness.

Women value only because of their bodily function

and not for who they are. Sexual immorality enormously

increases the likelihood of STDs or sexually

transmitted diseases that can lead to severe

long -term health issues. And finally, the strength,

honor, and the fruit of your labor is then squandered

to others who will not reward or repay you. Hear

the wise words of Solomon in Proverbs 5, verse

Proverbs 5:1

1. My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Lend your

ear to my understanding that you may preserve

discretion and your lips may keep knowledge.

For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey and

her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end,

she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two -edged

sword. Her feet go down to the earth. Her steps

lay hold of hell. Lest you ponder her path of

life, her ways are unstable. You do not know

them. Therefore hear me now, my children, and

do not depart from the words of my mouth. Remove

your way far from me and do not go near the door

of her house, lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the cruel one, lest aliens

be filled with your wealth and your labors go

to the house of a foreigner and you mourn at

last when your flesh and your body are consumed

and you say, How I have hated instruction and

my heart despised correction. This, these are

sobering words from Proverbs. So the body is

not for sexuality, immorality, but secondly,

under this point, the body is for the Lord. Your

body is for the Lord. The Lord redeemed not only

your spirit, but your body by his blood. You

were bought with a price, as Paul speaks a little

later. Therefore, you belong. To Christ. And

through the shed blood of Christ. By which he

purchased us. Our bodies belong to him. And he

set us free. From slavery to sin. Excuse me.

You are made for the glory of God. You are designed

by God and your body is required in the worship

of God because God created you so. Your body

not only belongs to the Lord, but he says here,

it was made for the Lord. That is to be a member

of Christ. Redeemed by him and to serve him in

righteousness and holiness and not to be prostituted

to lust and evil desire. Your body is not irrelevant

because you will die someday. No, your body matters

because of the resurrection in union with Christ.

And, he says, the Lord is for your body. John

Gill says of this, he was preordained in the

counsel of God and provided in the covenant of

grace and sent in the fullness of time to be

a redeemer and savior of the body as well as

the soul, to be a sanctifier of it and the raiser

of it up from the dead in the resurrection. Then

in this passage, yet there's the eternal significance

of the body. I already alluded to that. Your

body is designed and designated for resurrection

glory. For resurrection glory. Yes. This very

body will be raised just as the Lord Jesus Christ's

body was raised. Though it dies, though it is

put into the ground and it returns to dust, God

will raise it up again in new life. It will be

transformed, still truly your body, and yet perfected

and glorious in the resurrection. Because the

dead in Christ will rise, their bodies reunited

with their spirits. And together as complete

men and women, we will worship and serve the

Lord together forever and ever. And so we shall

always, always be with the Lord. Therefore, our

present bodily actions have profound importance

for eternity. Number three, sexual union is a

profound spiritual reality. Therefore, we must

flee sexual immorality. It is a profound spiritual

reality, so we must flee sexual immorality. This

is verse 15 through 17. Do you not know that

your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then

take the members of Christ? and make them members

of a harlot? Certainly not. Or do you not know

that he who is joined to a harlot is one body

with her? For the two, he says, shall become

one flesh. But he who is joined to the Lord is

one spirit with him. So our bodies then are created

by God. They are for the glory of God. But they

are also here, as he brings out, they are members.

Christ just as an arm or a leg is part of our

body so our bodies are part of the body of Jesus

Christ We have become united with Christ through

salvation. We are one with Him. He has redeemed

us. He has saved us. He has sanctified us. And

He has made us part of His body. We partake of

the Lord's Supper together, which is a means

of grace to us. And He gives us heavenly food.

When we are joined to Christ, we are one spirit

with Him. And our bodies also become the Lord's.

But, He says, Sex outside of marriage joins the

members of Christ to one that does not belong

to us. in the context here, to a harlot or any

woman indulging in unlawful sexual intercourse.

All sexual sin also comes under the heading of

harlotry. The two bodies become one flesh, which

indicates a bonding together like wood being

glued or metal being welded. This creates a huge

disconnect because the believer is one spirit

with the Lord. And so doing this then, Living

in immorality creates a disconnect. It is a desecration

and it is an insult to Christ. Paul says emphatically,

shall I then take the members of Christ and make

them members of a harlot? Certainly not. Now

this last phrase is somewhat difficult to translate,

but it is the very strongest Greek negative.

It's like, may it never be so, or God forbid.

No, this should never be done. Now, there's also

a persistent lie that says, as long as my intentions

are right, as long as my heart's right, and if

I confess my sins, then I can do what I want

and God will forgive me. God's grace is always

there, right? No, this is not okay. This is not

the attitude of a true believer who wants to

please God. Remember verse 9 that we looked at

last week? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators,

nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,

nor sodomites will inherit the kingdom of God.

We cannot live in these sins and walk in communion

with God and expect that we will inherit the

kingdom of God. But to all who are married and

you join together as husband and wife in sexual

union, you are one flesh. You are welded and

cemented together. And your union reflects the

glories, not only of the union between Christ

and the church, but also of your union to Christ.

You're being united to him and members of him.

I will tell you, I do not understand all of this

fully. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 5 verse

Ephesians 5:32

32, this is a great mystery. Indeed. It is, but

is nonetheless true and it is amply supported

by the word of God. It is a mysterious thing

and yet it is glorious. Number four, moving on

to number four. Sexual immorality is a unique

sin against your own body. This is verse 18.

Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man

does is outside the body. But he who commits

sexual immorality sins against his own body.

The first word here, the first phrase is flee

it. Flee sexual immorality. That is to shun it.

Run from it. Seek safety by flight and escape

out of danger. Don't mess around with this thinking

that you can reason your way out of it. When

strong passions take hold of you, it will easily

overthrow everything and you lose restraint.

And so the word of God tells us, flee it. Remember

how allurement works, how the impulse comes,

the attractiveness and the beauty are there.

And then comes strong desire and restraint is

tossed to the wind. And the act is done. That's

the way it works. And so the word is here. Don't

even take the first step in that. Don't dally

around with it. Flee it. Flee it. Joseph is a

great example of this. When Potiphar's wife attempted

to seduce him, she kept coming after him and

after him. And finally, she grabbed his cloak

and pulled him to her. And so what did he do?

He did not stop to reason. He did not stop to

attempt to persuade her. He fled, leaving his

coat behind. He was a good example of this right

here. He fled. Now Paul is putting this sin in

a class of itself. And in this, he's saying that

this is not necessarily greater than other sins,

but there's something peculiar and unique about

it. Because of the mystery spoken about this

in the Bible, sexual immorality is a sin against

your own body that is different than theft or

drunkenness or lying and such other sins. What

does Paul mean by this? This is a subject of

a fair amount of debate or discussion. How is

this a greater sin? Or how is it a sin against

your own body? I'll give you a few possibilities.

One is, and this is by William Loder quoted in

Thistleton's commentary. He suggests that sex

actually changes people by creating a new reality.

By becoming one with another person. And that

is unique. as opposed to other sins. I think

that is probably a good interpretation. It changes

you by creating a new reality. You become one

with the other person, and this is different

than any other sin. Second, it also is unique

because this act is how new life is generated,

whether the act is lawful or not. So when done

unlawful, unlawfully there's still the possibility

of a new person that is an image bearer of god

being brought into the world through this sinful

action an eternal soul who will not experience

the love and the wholeness of a faithful father

or mother here again this is unique to this sin

no other sin has the possibility that this does

in the creation of another soul So it could be

that that's part of what he is speaking about.

But thirdly, sexual union also has covenantal

implications. Because it is covenantally and

spiritually significant, immorality creates a

spiritual wedge or disconnect from oneself and

simply defiles the body in a unique way. Those

are three options. There may be more, but whatever

it is, Paul says this one is unique. It is against

your own body, whereas all the other sins are

done outside your body. It is a unique sin. Number

five, your body then is the temple of the Holy

Spirit. You are not your own. So glorify God

in your body. Again, this is speaking to believers.

Your body is the temple. Of the Holy Spirit.

This is not referred to unbelievers. This is

only those who have been made new in Christ.

He says. Or do you not know. That your body is

the temple of the Holy Spirit. Who is in you.

Whom you have from God. And you are not your

own. For you were bought at a price. Therefore

glorify God. In your body. And in your spirit.

Which are God's. He begins this with, do you

not know? Now Paul uses this searching phrase

in this chapter six times. Six times in this

chapter he says, do you not know? Indicates that

as Christian believers who are instructed from

the word and read the word and have the Holy

Spirit, they ought to know these things. A good

understanding and reading God's word, you should

be able to know these things, which is why he

asked them again, don't you know this? Do you

not know? But he has to tell them, and over and

over again. The apostle lived and he taught there

for at least a year and a half. They had wise

and good instructors in Apollos and Paul and

others, and still these truths had not taken

root. So firmly entrenched was it in the ethos

and the culture of the day. They still had not

taken root. So Paul in this way is rebuking them

for their immaturity and their lack of knowledge

and wisdom and perception. Do you not know? And

this calls us to examine ourselves. Have we understood

and internalized these realities? Or are we only

hearing them without being transformed by them?

Because that's what was happening here. They

were still involved in this kind of activity.

And yet... They needed to hear this and be changed.

We Christian believers are a temple, both in

that the church collectively is a temple of God,

as we saw back in chapter 3, but also now we

see that our bodies are a temple of the Holy

Spirit and that the Spirit of God dwells in and

with us. This is our status in Christ. Our bodies

are a temple of the Holy Spirit. John Gill rightly

says, the Holy Spirit, in regeneration and sanctification,

when he begins the good work of grace on a man,

takes possession of his whole person, soul and

body, and dwells therein as in his temple. Paul

taught back in chapter 3, verse 17, said, If

anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy

him, for the temple of God is holy, which temple

you are. So our calling then is to glorify God

in our body and spirit and to act accordingly

to the fact that we are a temple of the Holy

Spirit. And we cannot do that if we're living

in sexual immorality. That is his point. Here

that he is bringing so strongly. Our bodies are

a sanctuary of the third member of the Holy Trinity.

A sanctuary of God himself. The Holy Spirit.

This usage here is very like to the inner sanctuary

of the temple. The place where the Ark of the

Covenant was. Where only the high priest could

go in once a year. But in Christ we are that

temple. And we have access to God himself. Now

picture this. This is the image that he is giving

you. The thought of dragging a harlot or an immoral

person into the inner sanctuary of the temple

and having unlawful sex, of becoming one flesh

together in the presence of a holy God is repugnant.

It is such an incredible image. And of course

we often don't stop to think of it in that way.

But that's what's going on. That is what is happening.

And he makes this point. very strongly. Your

body is the temple. You are not your own. Therefore,

glorify God in your body. We have been purchased

by Christ at the price of the shedding of his

own blood for our sins. And so we are called

to glorify him in our body and in our spirit.

How do we do this? How do we glorify him? First

of all, we put off the old man with his corrupt

practices and evil deeds. And we put on the new

man, renewed in knowledge after the image of

our creator. Secondly, we live in covenant faithfulness

and sexual purity with our spouse. Or if you're

not married, in chaste singleness. In chaste

singleness. Thirdly, we confess our sins and

we depart from them. Fourth, we love God, as

we heard again this morning, last weekend, this

week. We love God with our heart, soul, mind,

and our strength, and we love our neighbor as

ourself. And finally, we worship God with acceptable

worship, with reverence and fear, for our God

is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12, 28 and 29. In

contrast with the culture of the day, of the

culture of the time of Corinth, and in the culture

of our own day. Christian believers were and

are called to a much different way. Looking back

at them, they rejected the double standard, the

temple prostitution, the pederasty, and the casual

use of slaves and bodies. They were taught and

understood that sex belongs in the faithful exclusive

marriage of one man and one woman with mutual

rights and with self -control. They understood

also, And they taught that the body is not just

a disposable vessel for impulses, but it was

designed for resurrection. It was designed for

resurrection. So how it is used matters eternally.

And number four, this was radically counter -cultural.

It elevated women's dignity. It condemned exploitation.

And it called believers, including former pagans,

to holiness amidst a sexually saturated world.

Such were some of you, says Paul. Such were some

of you. But you have been washed. You have been

sanctified. You have been justified. Thank God.

Let's consider just a few final applications

as we look at this truth. Light of all this,

what are some strategies for purity? How do we

remain pure in the world in which we live? Well,

the first thing is, if you're married, you love

your wife. And we'll look at this next week,

but as Proverbs speaks, you rejoice with the

wife of your youth. You accept her and you receive

her joyfully just as a wonderful treasure and

glorious and you embrace her and you keep yourself

for her. That's one. But secondly, you also actively

flee in other ways. And going back, I should

say. you also do that to your husband. Sorry,

I was just kind of speaking to the men. But you

as wives, you also, you joyfully love your husband

and keep yourself for him and rejoice with him.

The Proverbs has it in the mail, so that's where

I went. All right, how do we flee in these ways?

Number one is avoidance. Physically remove yourself

from tempting contexts. That is, avoid places

known. for sexual sin. Set clear boundaries for

your context. There are some times where it's

not just you look the other way or you just deal

with your own heart or you think right thoughts

or whatever. There are some places where you

need to flee. You avoid it. You don't go there.

Avoid it. Secondly, pray. Pray. When you are

faced with a temptation, You pray for God's help

to bind, to remove those tempting images from

your mind. We're faced with them. You ask God

to remove them. Thirdly, you train your mind.

You train your mind to process beauty in a pure

manner so that when encountering potential temptation,

you can come away from it. Understanding that

it is God who has created beauty, but then you

let it go rather than allowing it to turn into

lost and evil desire. Fourth, understand your

own dignity as a member of Christ. Remember the

dignity and the holiness of your body as a temple

of the Holy Spirit, as a guard against... The

sin of immorality. When you're faced with it,

no, I am not my own. I have been bought. I am

a temple of the Holy Spirit. Understand that.

And number five, remember grace. Recall that

salvation includes grace for past sins. Such

were some of you, but also the power for future

victory. And if you fall, you run to God. You

repent of your sin. You flee away from it. You

confess your sin and you're renewed and restored

in right relationship with God. Actively flee

in these ways. So then we are to live through

Christ who bought us, who is our Lord and by

the power of the Holy Spirit who lives and works

within us. Apart from him, we can do nothing.

We are then called to present our bodies. Yes.

These earthly, physical bodies with all of our

senses. We present them to the Lord. How? As

a living sacrifice. Holy and acceptable to God.

Romans 12, 1 and 2. This is our reasonable service

and it's our spiritual worship. We must not be

conformed to the world, neither in its sins and

its lusts, nor in its pagan view of human sexuality.

Instead, by the word of God and the illuminating

power of the Holy Spirit, we are transformed

by the renewing of our minds. And in this way,

we prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect

will of God. Even our sanctification. I'll close

with this passage from 1 Thessalonians 4, 3 -5.

For this is the will of God. your sanctification,

that you should abstain from sexual immorality,

that each of you should know how to possess his

own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in

the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do

not know God. For God did not call us to uncleanness.

Dear church, God did not call us to uncleanness,

but... To holiness. May the grace and the power

of God. Enable us to live that way. As we live.

And as we work. In this day. Let's pray.