“Anything Doesn’t Go”
1 Corinthians 6:9-7:9
Sermon Series: “Flesh”
Introduction: We live in a society that says anything goes when it comes to sex. However, that is the opposite of what God says about sex. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that you should abstain from sexual immorality.” Steven Furtick says, “God invented it [sex], culture corrupted it, and it is up to us [the church] to reclaim it.” I hope that happens in this series. This is a real, practical, and very important issue. It can be such a blessing, but it also can (and does) cause so many problems. We need to openly and honestly deal with this issue from a biblical perspective and apply God’s wisdom to it. I am tired of seeing people’s lives wrecked because of sex. Mark Driscoll shares three basic, overarching categories of how people look at sex: god, gross, or gift. God wants us to see sex as a good gift from Him to be enjoyed in the context of marriage. He does not want us to turn it into a god that controls our life or look at it as a gross, dirty kind of thing. So, let’s look at God’s standard and how it applies to our lives.
1. God’s plan for sex is complete faithfulness within monogamous, heterosexual marriage (6:16, 7:2). Anything outside of this is sexual sin. Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This refers generally to the two becoming one unit but more specifically to the sexual relationship. Sex is a good gift from God that becomes destructive when used in the wrong way, and the only God-given place to express it is in the marital relationship. This is based on the pattern given in these verses where a man and a woman leave their families and make a public commitment to one another and then consummate the relationship. There must be a marital covenant before there is sex because God’s pattern is one man for one woman for one lifetime. We are to only give our bodies after everything else has been given to one another. Sex is the physical means that God has ordained for
expressing the loving, permanent commitment that two people make to one another in marriage. It physically expresses and symbolizes the joining of wills, minds, and emotions that takes places in the marriage ceremony.
2. Here are reasons why this is God’s plan. People often challenge God’s standard. Things like “It’s my life,” “It’s my body,” “No one has the right to tell me what to do,” and “It is not hurting anybody” are often said. However, here is some of the wisdom behind God’s plan.
A. Sexual sin enslaves, and God wants us to live in freedom instead of bondage (v. 12).
B. Sex is not just a biological urge, but it is designed to express oneness and commitment (v. 13, 15-17).
C. Our bodies belong to God-not us (v. 13-17).
D. Sexual sin has serious consequences, but God wants sex to be a blessing to us (v. 18, 7:3-4).
E. Our purpose is to glorify the God who died for us, to whom we belong, and who lives within us (v. 19-20).
3. We are commanded to flee from sexual immorality (v. 18).
This means we need to repent of sexual sin. If we are doing things that are wrong, we are to stop immediately. We need to develop convictions about this area. We need to make decisions up front regarding what our standards are. We need to set up safeguards to keep us away from temptation as much as possible.
4. There is forgiveness, a new life, and the power to change available through Jesus (v. 9-11). Paul told the Corinthians that they “were” sexually immoral, but now they are washed, sanctified, and justified through Jesus Christ. That is how God wants us look at ourselves through Christ, and it is important because how we live is partially determined by how we view ourselves. In John 8, Jesus dealt with a woman caught in adultery and said to her, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” In essence, He was telling her that her forgave her but that she was to stop committing sexual immorality. I believe that is Christ’s message to all of us today.
