Into His Arms

Into His Arms

Words of Faith 5-29-17

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2017

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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1 Corinthians 6

   [18] Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. [19] Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; [20] you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

        How do we handle sexual temptation when it comes along? In Corinth, temptation was everywhere. Paul exhorted the Corinthian Christians, when faced with immorality, to run. They were to respond in the same way that Joseph did when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him (Gen. 39:12). We are to flee from sexual immorality. The word means literally to run but also to shun, avoid, or stay away from.

       Why run? Sex is powerful. God made it that way. It is not the sort of sin that we can be casual about. Sexual sin is an area that "easily entangles" (Heb. 12:1).

       Some in Corinth had argued another slogan of sorts saying that sexual sin was "outside the body" and did not hurt anyone. Paul argued just the opposite. Sexual immorality is a sin against one's own body. It is an area of sin that damages people. It is a type of sin that dishonors the Body of Christ that we are connected to.

       There is a tendency these days to ask: "What is the big deal here? Don't we all sin in some manner or fashion? We are going to mess up and need forgiveness for something. Why is this area of sin so important?" Paul argued that sexual sin is unique.

       No, sexual sin does not make a person more or less lost. We all are in need of saving grace and all sins must be atoned by the Spirit applying the blood of Christ. But for a believer, who deliberately enters into sexual sin, it is a sin against one's own body, one's whole self.

         Today, we know far better the physical consequences of sexual immorality in the form of crisis pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, infertility, and marital difficulties. There are emotional consequences to sexual immorality such as memories and bonds are established with another person outside of marriage.

         Sexual sin tears at the fabric of marriage and devastates the joy and delight that God intended for one man and one woman to enjoy in marriage. Even many secular studies show that cohabitation before marriage increases the probability of divorce. Sexual sin is not unforgivable and does not ban a person from being saved (Matt. 12:32), but it brings damage that must be healed.

         Spiritually, there is a consequence to sexual immorality. For the believer there is a grieving of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. Paul reminded the Corinthians that the believer's body is a temple of the Holy Spirit: "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink" (1 Cor. 12:13).

         "Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us" (1 John 3:24). We are called by Christ to be vessels of light, "in the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:16).

         When we walk in sexual immorality, we grieve the Holy Spirit and we walk in rebellion. We cannot expect that God will overlook this area of rebellion and speak to us with comfort or guidance.

         When a believer walks in sexual immorality, he or she is like the prodigal son who was away from home in the far away land (Luke 15:11). The Father still loves us very much, and He is looking for us every day to return, but there is a distance. There is a barrier of our own making. We are separated from the blessing of His house when we walk in rebellion. The Father is ever ready for us to return to Him. But when we flee sexual immorality, we run into the arms of the Father who rejoices in our return to Him.

         As believers, we are not our own. We belong to the Lord and we belong to the Body of Christ. We were purchased at great price to be the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and to be connected with other believers for the purposes of God. We are to honor God in all ways. We are to honor God with our bodies.

         Father God, thank You for creating the gift of sexuality. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to redeem me and to make all things wonderful. Thank You Holy Spirit for living in me. May my life honor You. Keep me close to You and warn me of the times to flee. In Jesus' Name.