Thankful who all who have made it this morning and pray.
That the things that are studied here this morning with you guys.
In the congregation here will be uplifting and growing, our
knowledge for Christ and his desire for us.
If you have your Bibles in front of you, please open it to First
Corinthians chapter 6. We're going to be studying
through verses 9 through 20 this morning and we're going to be
studying about some difficult. Mainly, the topic of sexual
immorality and how the Bible teaches us how to deal with
that. My aim is to go through this
study, through God's word in a way that is appropriate for the
assembly this morning for everybody here.
And please don't be alarmed. I'm going to Do my best to make
sure that things we talked about are appropriate this morning.
And when we mention sexuality or homosexuality and sexual
immorality in the church, sometimes we're afraid to
address these topics because of maybe how we have heard them
addressed in the past, or maybe not heard them addressed at all.
But we're going to be walking through some and talking about
some biblical. Is that we can find in First
Corinthians 6 and my aim is to equip all of us including
myself, too. To show us how to love each
other in the church, how to love each other in the community that
we're in those that we may come in contact with outside of the
church, that may be struggling with some of these things that
we're going to be talking about. And when we talk to each other
about these things, we need to remember the most foundational
thing when we talk about these things, and that is that we are
not each other's enemies. We have an adversary that is
always trying to change our mind.
Who was trying to pull every one of us.
Every single person around us away from God's good design for
our bodies. So let's get into our study.
Were tempted to think that, you know, we may be living in unique
days with unique challenges regarding sexuality, but we only
think that way because we don't really sometimes realize or
understand what was happening in Corinth 2,000 years ago in the
first century, when the book of 1st Corinthians was written that
city was known for rampant sexual immorality, confusion,
and deception. And there is even the Aphrodite
there in Corinth, where every night, a thousand prostitutes
would come down into the city to work their trade.
Corinth was a culture where anything goes basically indulge
your body. However, you desire in the 1st
Corinthians 6. God gives us one of the most
comprehensive. Passages in the Bible about our
bodies and sexuality. So if it lets us listen and read
verse First Corinthians 6 beginning in verse 9, Or do you
not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived, neither the
sexually immoral, nor idolaters nor adulterers, nor men, who
practice, social practice, homosexuality, nor thieves nor
the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers nor swindlers will
inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you.
But you were washed, you were Sanctified, you were justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus. Christ.
And by the spirit of our God, all things are lawful for me but
not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me,
but I will not be dominated by anything food is meant for the
stomach and stomach is meant for the food.
And God will destroy both one. And the other, the body is meant
for sexual and the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but
for the Lord, and the Lord for the body, And if we this is the
first two times in our passions that we're going to see the word
body here that that's reference. And I want if you want to you
can either Circle in your Bible just make note of it every time
that we see the word body or bodies mention here.
So we've already seen it two times.
So if we keep reading Says and God raised the Lord, and will
also raise 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
prostitute? Never or do you not know that he
who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her for as
it is written, the two will become one flesh.
But who is joined to, the Lord becomes one spirit with him,
flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin at a person
commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins
against his own body, or do you not know that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God?
You are not your own for. You were bought with a price.
So glorify God in your body. That's about eight times that
the word body or bodies is mentioned in that passage.
And that's significant because there's a lot of different
messages that we get from a lot of different sources in the
world today about our bodies and how we're to view them, were use
them. And while we hear these messages
from the world, we need to desperately hear from God's word
on how he Wants us to treat our bodies.
According to him, that is, what is God, is telling us, this is
what he's telling us about our bodies.
First point, I want to make your body was created by God for his
glory and for your Earthly and eternal good.
Everyone in that statement matters, your body are our body
right now. That was it was created for God
for his glory and for our Eternal and Earthly, good or
body was created by God. If we go back to verse 13 here
in our Passage In many ways, this kind of is the foundation
because this is how the Corinthians thought in verse 13.
We see a phrase here that is, that was common in that day and
that is, you know, food is meant for the stomach and stomach
meant for the food. And when the people use this
phrasing in Corinth was the implication that the body was
made for sexual activity and sexual activity was made for the
body. That's what the Corinthians idea
was at that time. But God is saying, no, the body
is made for the Lord and the Lord is for the body.
And I want us to think about both sides of what God is saying
here. First in Corinthians 6, 13 to
say that the Body is for the Lord, is a very different
starting point than every other message that we hear from today.
What we hear in the world the way we're prone to think.
It's very different were driven today by whatever can bring us
or our bodies, the most pleasure.
What we can see, we touch Doom, eat, listen to or engaging.
We are drowning in a culture that shouts at every turn,
please your own body. That's what our culture tells
us. But the Bible says that every
time to please God, in all that we do.
So please yourself however you want to, please yourself or
please God, that's the fundamental question.
We need to ask ourselves what, what's our ultimate aim for our
bodies? Are we going to live in?
Self gratification for our bodies or are we going to live
in God glorification with our bodies?
That's the fundamental question. What it says here, in the next
part of the passage is so awesome.
God says here, your body is for me and I am for your body.
God says, I the Lord and for your body The Bible isn't saying
your body is for God's just do whatever he says, make your body
miserable, doesn't matter because it's really not about
you. It's about him.
That's not what it's saying. Is the Bible saying, yes, your
body is for God and the good news is God is for your body.
We're talking about the The God Who created our body in the
first place is for our body, so we go all the way back up.
You know, we want to back up all the way to the beginning of the
Bible. We realize that God is the one
who came up with the concept of our bodies.
He designed it. He designed it in a way that
would bring us pleasure. If we think about it, you know,
God created us with eyes. So we could see beauty all
around us. He created us with ears, so we
could hear music. He made us with taste that we
may enjoy the flavors. God created us with skin, so we
might experience touch. He made us with faculties so we
could communicate with one another.
So we might have a relationship with one another, unlike any
other else, anything else in creation?
He did that he didn't have to but he did.
Your body has been created formed and fashioned by God
himself in his images, as first as Genesis 1:27 says, for his
glory and for your good on this Earth.
So it's important to realize God is not against our bodies guys
and even indifferent toward our body which is really important.
A lot of the Corinthians the Christian Corinthians just like
maybe many of us today, we're tempted to think that well God
cares only about my spiritual life.
He doesn't, he doesn't care about my physical body.
And they start to calm part compartmentalize.
Just like we can come apart from Clark compartmentalize and
separate our spiritual life. Over here, from our physical
life, over there in the Bible, says that's impossible.
You cannot separate the two. God is the one who designed your
physical life, your body for your good on this earth right
now? And if we don't believe that God
is for our body, then we will inevitably buy into all kinds of
Lies. That Satan tells us about our
bodies. We will question if God knew
what he was doing when he made us this way, or that way, With
this disability or with that, desire will question it.
God knew what he was doing when he made you as a male or a
female. Will question why God would say
don't do this with your body and in that process will justify
going against what God has said. Why is that?
Because at the, at the route to the very root we are all prone
to forget that. God is for us and not against
us. We think about it.
You know, the all lies, all loving creator of the universe
universe formed our body and God knows better than anyone of us.
Or anyone else in this world, what is best for our bodies?
But, you know, we live in a in a world in a culture with a mantra
is, nobody can tell me what to do with my own body, this is
mine. I can do whatever I want with my
body. And that is the essence of sin
of pride and arrogance where we can say God I know better than
you what is good for my body. Don't say that, don't have that
thought. The God Who is for your body?
He is for us. If he questioned this will live
in all kinds of confusion and deception, you know, the God who
formed you is for you. God knows the way not just how
to satisfy your soul but to satisfy our bodies and we don't
want to You know, if we look at verse 14, God has made an
eternal investment in our body and verse 14.
It says it's talking about. Yeah.
God brings the Lord Jesus from the dead and will also raise us
up by his power. This is talking about God, he
raised Jesus from the dead and God is going to be raising up
our bodies from the dead. And that's why, I mean, what I
when I say that the first truth about her body was created for
God and His glory, and for our Earthly and eternal good.
He's not just, it's not just for his glory, not just for our
Oakley good. But for Earthly, our Eternal
good, God doesn't just love you enough, to save your soul from
sin. God loves us so much that he
wants to redeem your body for eternity.
He wants to raise up and restore your body.
That we something that will be Incorruptible forever.
This is what First Corinthian is all about 15 is all about.
If you want to turn the 1st Corinthians, 15, the whole
argument with first of the Corinthians was that well just
live to fulfill our bodily Pleasures in this life, which is
temporary. Then then our souls will go on
to eternal life and most have will have the best of both
worlds will be able to please our bodies in here and then
we'll have eternal life. And, you know, sometimes we tend
to do that, you know, in some of the world today are sometimes a
church setting. You know, we separate the tune,
we cannot do that. We've created a whole version.
Sometimes of Christianity, where we see our souls as sealed in
heaven, but we go on living for the temporary pleasures of our
bodies. However, we want to on this
Earth, we're okay with it as long as we still get to heaven,
but that is not Christianity. That goes totally against the
Bible and in 1st Corinthians, 15 Paul is saying listen, I'm
laying down my own body. I die every day.
I'm missing out on a lot in this world, but I believe and trust
that God is for me and know that one day, he's going to raise up
this body, just like he did with Jesus in First Corinthians 15,
beginning first 51, It says their butthole.
I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed in a moment.
In a twinkling of an eye. At the last trumpet for the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable and
we shall be changed for this perishable.
Body being body must put on the imperishable and this Mortal
body must put on immortality when the perishable puts on the
imperishable and the Mortal puts on immortality, then shall come
to pass the saying. That is written.
Death is swallowed up in Victory.
Oh death, where is your Victory O?
Death. Where is your steam?
The Sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord.
Jesus Christ. God and his power, raise the
body of Jesus from a tomb. And one day, he's going to be
raising, our bodies as well. And when we look at First
Corinthians 15, God not only created our body for Earthly
good but he created for Eternal good as well.
So if we put all this together, if our body, has this identity
that we've been molded and personally, by the hands of the
Creator who loves us so much. And if her body has the destiny,
you know, of to thrive forever redeemed, one of these days with
God, Then why would we trust ourselves or anyone else with
our bodies more than God? God is worthy of trust with our
bodies. The problem though, is we tend
to not believe this. Sometimes we've all said, God, I
know what's better for my body than you do all of us have Which
leads to our second Point here or second truth.
In this broken world, we all have broken bodies in this
broken world. We all have broken bodies.
And before I show you this, in First Corinthians on, go all the
way back to the beginning of the Bible.
The first sin in the world started with, man and woman
using their bodies outside of God's good design for them in
Genesis 3. God, said, do not what do not
eat from a particular tree. Do not satisfy the physical
craving of your body in this way.
However, that physical desire. Well, first of all gods created
us with with the physical doesn't desire for food, he
created that we have the desire for food which is good.
As part of goods, God's good design for our bodies.
But that fiscal desired could lead them to fulfill that desire
outside of God's design, which was not good.
So God told them, here's a good way to fulfill your physical
desires. Eat from enjoy.
All the fruit from all these things over here.
But God also taught them that there's a harmful way to fulfill
their desires said, do not eat from this tree.
He gave them the design from the beginning of the Bible before.
Synod even entered the world. God had given man and woman
physical desires that were intended to be fulfilled in
specific certain ways. And I want to say that one more
time, so we don't miss it before.
Seeing even entered the world. God had given people physical
desires that were intended to be fulfilled in certain ways and
not to fulfilled in other ways. And what happens in Genesis
chapter 3 is man and woman does decide to fulfill those desires
and ways contrary to God's design.
And the result was Brokenness Brokenness between man and woman
and their relationship with God. Brokenness between man and woman
in their relationship with each other.
Brokenness between man and woman and the world around them in
ways that would not just affect them, but now affects all of us.
Including you and I we live in a world that has been broken by
sin which affects each of us in all kinds of ways, but not all
in the same way. So let me just list some of the
ways. Our bodies are broken in this
world. Fundamentally, we live in a
world of weakness and disability in our bodies.
There's many people whose bodies don't function the way that they
should in different ways and everybody persons bought
everybody's body will eventually wear out one of these days. if
we look at the picture of Brokenness, a step deeper in
light of sexuality, and First Corinthians chapter 6, Some have
physical desires for opposite sex.
That leads us to think that think thoughts about others have
desires for others or do things with others.
That are not pleasing to God. According to his word, some have
physical desires for the same sex that leads us to think or
desire, do things that are not pleasing.
To God. some have questions about the way God made them
sexually to the point where people sometimes feel like they
don't fit or belong in their own bodies, some body, some some of
our bodies have significant struggles, Even when it comes to
sexual disability and fertility after maladies or cancer.
And during all of this, each of us, all of us, all of us are
prone to fulfill physical desires.
We have in ways that are contrary to God's word.
All of us have at some point in many ways whether in the past or
the present have sought to fulfill those physical Desires
in ways that are contrary to God's word.
In addition to that, some of us have been physically hurt.
Abused and or broken by people who have done things to our
bodies, contrary to God's word we could go on and on and on but
the point is that each of us are very different.
Our experiences, even some of our desires are different.
There are even different degrees to, which we have experienced
Brokenness in this world, but in the end, we are living in a
broken world. We all have broken bodies in
ways that significantly affect all of us.
Some of the realities of bodily sin.
Bodily sin. Harms.
Inevitably In First Corinthians 6, the Bible is showing us how
bodily sin specifically harms us and we carry out with our
bodies, our sin that someone else carries out against our
bodies. In First Corinthians 6 and verse
12 of our passage, some of the Corinthians Corinthians saw no
harm in practicing prostitution. All things are all things are
lawful. It says But God is asking.
Is it helpful? Is it helpful to your body and
helpful to others bodies? Just because something is
allowed, or you're able to do something with your body?
Does not mean it's helpful for your body.
Bodily sin is not helpful to you or others is harmful to you and
others. Bodily sin controls quickly.
God says, all things are lawful for me, but I will not be
dominated by in anything they're thinking in Corinth, you know,
all things are lawful. But God says no, just because
you can be careful, be warned, you can be controlled by these
things. So quickly bodily, send can
control so quickly. An example of that.
You don't remember back in Genesis 25, Esau.
Gave his Birthright away for what?
For a bowl of soup. He was so hungry, he would give
away his Birthright for a bowl of soup bodily.
Impulses can a can cause you and I to do extremely foolish things
in an instant that can lead to consequences.
That last for a lifetime bodily sin controls quickly, which
needs leads to the next Point. Bodily sin, devastates
painfully. This is what verse 16 and 17 are
talking about. The Bible is specifically saying
that sexual immorality, unites you and another person Affecting
all in a way that's different. From any other thing we can read
about. Verse 18 says, every other sin a
person commits is outside the body but notice the comparison
here but the sexual sexually immoral persons sins against his
own body. The body of the Bible here is
saying, don't underestimate at all the effect of bodily sin,
particularly sexual sin. It destroys lives.
It breaks marriages shatters homes and kids causes heartache
hurt and pain, and it leads to all sorts of other sins.
Lying stealing, cheating, bitterness hatred, slander,
gossip unforgiveness, even murder.
We think about David in the Old Testament who in a moment of
physical desire. Sin with Bathsheba in a way that
eventually led to the murder of Uriah to the death of a baby and
a sword. That would never depart from
David's house, David's life, and the life of so many others were
devastated, as a result of one moment.
Bodily sin, devastates painfully and ultimately bodily sin
condemns eternally. We look back at verses 9 through
10 in our passage. What is God saying here?
God says, or do you not know that the unrighteous will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the
sexually immoral, nor doubt, nor idolaters nor adulterers, nor
men who practice, homosexuality, nor thieves nor the greedy.
Really nor drunkards nor revilers nor swindlers will
inherit the kingdom of God. Obviously bodily sin is
addressed here in many different ways, but I don't want us to
miss the overall language here, pertain to all these ways, those
who sin, who go outside of God's design for our bodies will not
inherit the kingdom of God. It says it twice in this
passions will not inherit the kingdom of God.
How we use our bodies on Earth, affects our lives for eternity?
So if we put all this together and it's not a very good picture
of our bodies, it started out good, the beginning of the
Bible, but it is not good. Here's a picture of clay in a
Potter's hand you and I were created formed and fashioned by
God himself, and His Image fearfully, and wonderfully made
all of us without any exception were made.
Perfect by God. Yet all of us have chosen to sin
against God with our bodies. Many of us have been sinned
against in our bodies by others. Some of us have whether it's
sing we've committed or sin that has been committed against us.
We can seeing the effects. We can just read about in the
Bible. We have seen how the body how
bodily sin harms inevitably. In many cases control so
quickly. Devastates painfully and
ultimately condemns eternally that which was beautifully
designed By God and that's the problem with all of our bodies.
That's the picture. It's really clear with Clay when
we think about it. As beautiful as Clay.
Is it breaks. It's brittle.
This is a picture of every one of our lives in this broken
world. All of us without exception have
broken bodies and the evidence, which is scatter all over our
lives. If we think about it, it's pain
and hurt that seems like won't ever go away in some of our
lives. Maybe it's guilt from the past
that we can't ever Shake. Maybe it's struggles in the
present that we can't ever seem to escape.
It's questions. Like why do I always go back to
this temptation over and over and over again?
or maybe it's confusion about why God would even allow us to
have these desires. Why wouldn't God take, this
desire away from me? Why do I have this?
Why is he doing this to me? I have this desire that nobody
else can understand. Or maybe it's a constant battle
with unfulfilled desire. In so many different ways.
Broken hearts. Broken relationships.
Broken marriages. And then, ultimately broken
bodies. This is our reality in this
broken world as we all are susceptible to these broken
things that we can deal with. So is there any hope for people
with broken bodies in a broken world?
And I am here to say yes, there is hope number three, Jesus gave
his body to make your body new. Jesus gave his body to make your
body new 1st Corinthians 6. Verse 11.
And such were some of you but you were washed, you were
Sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ and by the spirit of our God such were some of you.
You were, you were this, but something changed something
happened. You were washed.
Take, Jesus Takes that, which is dirty and he makes it clean, he
washes. You were Sanctified that word
means. Made holy to be made.
Holy you were Justified that words means declared not guilty.
Justified, how is it possible for the dirty to be made clean?
How is it possible for the guilty to be made innocent or
the broken to be made whole, it is only possible in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And by the spirit of our God, as
it says here, We might run in to someone who might say what's so
special about Jesus big deal is Jesus what can he do?
How can what makes them? The only one who can make my
body knew what can I just figure this out on my own or go this
route or that route? Look at verse 19.
Here's what makes Jesus uniquely able to make your body new or do
you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within
you whom you have from God? You are not your own for you
were bought with a price. Here's why Jesus is the only one
is a hope for a broken body, made new the heart and core of
the Bible is that God comes to this broken world in the body of
Jesus. God In the Flesh, God in the
body. Jesus God in a body living,
perfectly Among Us. Never once sitting in his body
and as a result, he never deserved to experience the
penalty of sin, which is death bodily, physical death.
Yet he chose to die on a cross. Why to pay the price for the
sins of everybody who obeys his Gospel of Salvation and lives
for him. He paid the price.
Forcing on a cross. Then he physically rose from the
dead in victory, over sin is body walking around alive.
So that anybody who trusts in Jesus, as the Son of God and is
baptized will be forgiven of all your sin and filled with his
holy spirit, the spirit of God living in this.
Some like, you know, tend to thank you know, what what do I
do with all these desires that still might remain even if we
choose this path of Christianity, is this just a
life of unfulfilled, you know, daily desires that I'm going to
have? Well Jesus came to give you life
to the fullest of by the power of His spirit in.
You knowing that one day, when your body wears out and dies,
you will ultimately live with a fully redeemed, fully restored,
The new body that is free from all sin, free from all
suffering. Free from all Unholy desire,
free to experience the full pleasure of God that he is
designed for your body for the next 10 billion years and
Beyond. So I want to urge all of us
today, if we have never trusted in Jesus, today, we can be
washed Sanctified Justified before God by him through faith,
repentance confession and baptizing baptism.
And for all of us who believed and Obey and are Christians and
obey obey Christ, I want to remind all of us today this in
this world, with all of our broken bodies and broken World,
Jesus has bought Your body on a cross.
He has filled your body with his holy spirit.
He is committed to Bringing healing amidst your hurt.
He is committed to Bringing victory in your struggles.
Jesus loves all of us and is committed to giving us
everything we need to keep experiencing Earthly and eternal
good. As we glorify God in our body.
If only we will trust in him looking to him leaning on him
believing that he is making and will make your body new.
I know, I know, I know that Satan gets in our head sometimes
and temps us and he says, don't believe all this stuff. you
know, don't Healing. You know Victory made new really
you think you guys can get all that.
That's what Satan tries to tempt us with and tell us sometimes,
just look at all these. Look at all these broken pieces
up here and some of us, think I'm broken Beyond repair.
Some deal with those struggles. So if we start to take these
pieces and saying you know, I'm going to try to put them back
together but if we start trying to piece things back together,
the reality is you know there are still breaks and gaps.
Satan tries to tell us that we are to broken.
I know that that Satan tells some some of those things right
now, but I want us to know that we are not broken Beyond repair,
none of us, are I want to give us another picture?
There is a Japanese art form called kintsugi which means
golden joinery. It is a form of art that takes
broken pottery and puts the broken pieces back together.
But instead of hiding the cracks in the broken pieces, they
actually fill those breaks and gaps with gold.
The whole idea is that the artist intentionally takes
something that was broken. And instead of seeing those
breaks as something to hide or disguise and pretend like
they're not there, the artist fills, those breaks with gold.
Intern in the process, he turns it into an entirely new piece of
pottery. That which is beautiful in a
completely different way. And stunning way were once,
there were breaks, there is now Beauty.
And in this picture, I want you to see and believe that the
master artist The God who formed you.
The God, who formed us is able to do this with our broken
lives? I'm not saying it's easier
course or maybe it takes a long time.
What I'm saying is the Bible is saying that, which is that's the
reason Jesus came. That's why he came here to give
his body to make our body new in a way that takes your Brokenness
and my Brokenness and makes us Beautiful, not with gold.
But was something much more precious than gold, the blood of
Jesus Christ. He has the power to make your
body glorious, no matter what your past is, or your present.
This is what God's desire for your future is.
So I want to invite all of you to believe that Jesus died on a
cross to save us from sin. That's why he died.
He rose from the dead and victory over sin.
So that today we can follow him as a Savior and Lord of our
life. God will make you new.
He will wash you sanctify. You and justify you in the name
of Jesus. If only we will submit to him to
the gospel of South to gospel Plan of Salvation, to believe to
change of our old ways to submit to God's instruction confess the
name of Christ, as the Son of God and be baptized in order to
have your sins washed clean. If you're a Christian and never
obeyed that gospel, but have sinned.
Send against your body that needs a public confession.
Anyway, please come while we stand in while we see.
We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
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