1
00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,200
Good morning. 
My name is Andrew Evans. 

2
00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,120
I am one of the pastor's here at
Church of the Resurrection. 

3
00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:14,400
We are continuing our series in 
First Corinthians today. 

4
00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,760
You know the really exciting 
passage that we read a minute 

5
00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,840
ago. 
If you are new here, let me 

6
00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,960
extend a special welcome to you.
I know we have some some parents

7
00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,800
for a baby shower here in town. 
So glad that you all are here. 

8
00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,360
What a Sunday to be here. 
We are talking about sex today, 

9
00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,560
so before we get started, let's 
pray, shall we? 

10
00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:48,520
Father, I praise You that we do 
not have to fear our bodies, but

11
00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,360
that every part of us, you made 
every part of us to point us to 

12
00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:57,400
you, and I pray that you would 
meet us, particularly today as 

13
00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:02,600
we talk about this tough issue. 
Would you show us Your grace and

14
00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,560
your love? 
I pray in Jesus name, Amen. 

15
00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:12,800
Now, I suspect there are few 
topics in the church that we 

16
00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:17,280
expect to hear about more and 
enjoy hearing about less than 

17
00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:21,520
sex, right? 
We don't like talking about sex,

18
00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,280
particularly in the church. 
And that's probably in part 

19
00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,720
because there are certain voices
within sort of the broader 

20
00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:30,960
church community, particularly 
the broader evangelical 

21
00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:35,440
community, that talk about it 
loudly and angrily, Right? 

22
00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:42,080
And so for better or for worse, 
whenever we hear a sermon or or,

23
00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:47,000
you know, hear at the start of a
sermon about about sex, we brace

24
00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,960
ourselves for an onslaught of 
pious statements condemning 

25
00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,440
condescending exhortations and 
at the end of the day, probably 

26
00:01:55,440 --> 00:02:00,000
little of help. 
Part of the issue here, I think,

27
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:05,320
is that talk about sex is so 
often purely negative. 

28
00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,400
It can end up being kind of like
the DARE campaign. 

29
00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,320
You remember the DARE campaign 
against drugs? 

30
00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,040
Yeah. 
Dare to say no to drugs. 

31
00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,480
That's kind of what we end up 
doing with sex in the church, 

32
00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,240
right? 
DARE to say no to sex until 

33
00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,960
you're married. 
And the the end result is that 

34
00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,760
we end up feeling scared and 
confused, right. 

35
00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,320
This is one of the problems with
purity culture. 

36
00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,240
It was essentially negative. 
Be pure, don't have sex, kiss, 

37
00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,840
dating goodbye. 
But just saying no leaves us 

38
00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,280
wondering what then should we 
do? 

39
00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:51,480
This purity culture of the 90s 
and early aughts also had the 

40
00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,640
problem of leaving the 
impression that the church was 

41
00:02:55,640 --> 00:03:00,720
obsessed with sex. 
And this perception of an 

42
00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,000
obsession is another reason why 
I think we don't like talking 

43
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,240
about it. 
Sexual sin isn't the only kind 

44
00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:12,120
of sin. 
God cares about many other areas

45
00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,320
of righteousness. 
Paul actually makes that clear 

46
00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,800
in our passage today. 
But talking about sex can give 

47
00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,280
the impression that sexual 
ethics are the only kind of 

48
00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,520
ethics that we care about, and 
so we don't like to talk about 

49
00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,520
it. 
That's probably another reason. 

50
00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:32,880
I think, though, there's another
reason why we are uncomfortable 

51
00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:37,520
talking about sex in the church.
And this reason cuts more deeply

52
00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,440
than either the the negative 
sort of approach that so often 

53
00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:45,560
that so often we take, or the 
the obsession, the seeming 

54
00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:49,640
obsession. 
And this reason is, frankly, 

55
00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:56,400
that we all know that we have 
all failed in one way or another

56
00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,920
regarding sexual holiness. 
Sometimes that failure is 

57
00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,400
spectacular. 
Sometimes that that failure is 

58
00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,920
more hidden. 
Sometimes it's known only to us.

59
00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,880
But our society is unbelievably 
sexualized. 

60
00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,480
Temptations are everywhere, and 
nobody is untouched. 

61
00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:26,040
We don't like to talk about sex 
because we know that we are 

62
00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,800
guilty. 
And our passage this morning 

63
00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,360
actually addresses all of these 
issues. 

64
00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,000
Paul is writing to a church in 
Corinth that was living in a 

65
00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,560
similarly sexualized society, 
maybe even more so if you can 

66
00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,440
believe it. 
And Paul knows that the church 

67
00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:47,240
there, just like our church, 
needs teaching in sexual ethics.

68
00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,320
But while so often teaching on 
sexuality and sexual ethics can 

69
00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,240
leave us feeling defeated or 
confused, what Paul writes here 

70
00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,400
should give us both clarity and 
hope. 

71
00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,680
And that's because everything 
that Paul writes here points us 

72
00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:08,320
not to ourselves but to our 
Savior, points us to Jesus. 

73
00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:12,560
And he does this first by laying
before the Corinthians what 

74
00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:14,920
Christ has accomplished for 
them. 

75
00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:17,400
This is what he does in verses 9
through 11. 

76
00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,160
Paul starts out this passage by 
setting the the stakes very, 

77
00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:23,440
very high. 
This is what he writes. 

78
00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,640
Do you not know that the 
unrighteous will not inherit the

79
00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:31,320
Kingdom of God? 
In other words, only the 

80
00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,080
righteous are saved. 
And then he goes on to list what

81
00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,600
he means by the unrighteous. 
Neither the sexually immoral, 

82
00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,800
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, 
nor men who practice 

83
00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,800
homosexuality, nor thieves, nor 
the greedy, nor drunkards, nor 

84
00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,680
revilers, nor swindlers will 
inherit the Kingdom of God. 

85
00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:53,800
These behaviours are 
incompatible with life in the 

86
00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,120
Kingdom of God. 
Now, by talking about the 

87
00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,720
Kingdom of God here, Paul is 
doing something very important 

88
00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:02,720
for our understanding of this 
passage. 

89
00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,720
Because Paul here is linking the
salvation that he describes not 

90
00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:09,680
only to what Jesus talks about 
in the Gospels, where he talks 

91
00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,840
about the Kingdom of God or the 
Kingdom of heaven a lot, but 

92
00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:16,280
he's talked linking this 
salvation to the story of the 

93
00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,800
Old Testament. 
God saved Israel to be a holy 

94
00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:24,760
nation, a royal priesthood. 
They were to be the Kingdom of 

95
00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:28,000
God, bringing light into a Dark 
World. 

96
00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,080
Paul is connecting the 
Corinthian church with Israel in

97
00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,000
the Old Testament. 
And so we actually shouldn't be 

98
00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:39,640
surprised that in this list, 
Paul gives 10 words. 

99
00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:43,200
It's a subtle pointer back to 
the 10 commandments. 

100
00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:48,600
Paul here is calling the people 
in Corinth to the same holiness 

101
00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:52,440
that God has been calling his 
people to for millennia. 

102
00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:56,840
Now if you go count the words in
your English Bible, particularly

103
00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:00,240
in the English translations we 
have here, you odds are, 

104
00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,040
depending on the translation, 
you'll come up with only 9 

105
00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:05,520
words. 
And that's because the ESV 

106
00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:10,040
translation here combines 2 
words into the phrase men who 

107
00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,480
practice homosexuality. 
And these two words are 

108
00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:17,200
referring to the active and the 
passive partners in a homosexual

109
00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,040
relationship. 
Now, I imagine you're pretty 

110
00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:21,520
uncomfortable talking about 
this. 

111
00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,080
Nobody particularly enjoys 
talking about this. 

112
00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:28,360
But we have to be clear about 
what Paul means here. 

113
00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,680
Some people will argue that Paul
here is referring not to 

114
00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:37,440
homosexuality per SE, but rather
to abusive, exploitative 

115
00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:40,160
relationships that occurred in 
the ancient world. 

116
00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:42,000
Just think about Plato's 
symposium. 

117
00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,960
Other people argue that Paul has
in mind prostitution, and there 

118
00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,920
are translations. 
I have these on my shelf at 

119
00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:51,520
home. 
There are translations that will

120
00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,440
actually translate the first 
word as prostitutes. 

121
00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,880
Now, I want us to be clear about
what Paul is talking about here.

122
00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:00,760
This is contested ground. 
We have to know. 

123
00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:03,280
Paul certainly is condemning 
prostitution. 

124
00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,200
Definitely. 
He certainly is condemning 

125
00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,360
sexual exploitation. 
But that's not all that he's 

126
00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:13,640
condemning in these words, in 
this phrase, or in with these 

127
00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:17,040
two words. 
He is condemning homosexual 

128
00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:21,560
behavior in its entirety. 
Three points show us this. 

129
00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:25,000
First, if you were talking only 
about exploitation, he would not

130
00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,800
refer to the passive partner, 
the one who is being exploited. 

131
00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,240
He would only condemn the 
exploiter. 

132
00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,679
But he doesn't. 
Second, when he talks about the 

133
00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:38,760
passive partner here, the word 
doesn't only mean prostitute, It

134
00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,520
has a broader meaning. 
It means the passive person. 

135
00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,280
That's just the definition of 
the word. 

136
00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:47,000
I'm happy to show you that in 
the dictionary. 

137
00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,640
And 3rd this passage, and this 
is probably the most important 

138
00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:53,640
reason. 
This passage is just begging to 

139
00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:57,000
be read in light of the Old 
Testament. 

140
00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:01,240
And homosexual behavior is 
strictly forbidden in the Old 

141
00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:02,880
Testament, particularly 
Leviticus. 

142
00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,680
Paul here is in complete 
continuity with the sexual ethic

143
00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,920
of the Old Testament. 
That's more time than I would 

144
00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,640
typically like to spend on 2 
words in a passage. 

145
00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:17,640
This is contested ground though.
We have to know what Paul is 

146
00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:19,120
saying here. 
We need to be clear. 

147
00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:21,160
We need to be clear about what 
the Bible says. 

148
00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,720
Don't miss Paul's broader point 
here, though. 

149
00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:30,160
The unrighteous, including the 
sexually unrighteous, will not 

150
00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,200
inherit the Kingdom of God. 
The phrase sexually immoral at 

151
00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,440
the beginning of this list 
translates the word pornoi. 

152
00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:41,280
Pornoi. 
It refers to any sexual activity

153
00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,920
outside of a biblical marriage 
between one man and one woman. 

154
00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:50,040
Not just sex, although that's 
condemned as well outside of a 

155
00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:57,000
marriage, but porn lust. 
Paul here is clearly concerned 

156
00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,800
about sexual sin. 
This list has a lot of sexual 

157
00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,120
references, but that's not all 
he includes here either. 

158
00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:04,560
And that's really important to 
note, too. 

159
00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,760
Maybe you don't think of sexual 
sin as your primary vice. 

160
00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,720
But haven't we all been greedy 
before? 

161
00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:19,400
This unrighteousness extends to 
any violation of God's law. 

162
00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,760
When He gives this list, the 
point is to prick our 

163
00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:28,840
consciences. 
We should see ourselves in at 

164
00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,320
least one of these terms. 
In this list. 

165
00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:37,080
We are unrighteous. 
We know that we are unrighteous,

166
00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:42,120
sexually and otherwise. 
Now imagine what the original 

167
00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:44,880
church at Corinth was thinking 
as they heard this list. 

168
00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:48,280
The room was probably similar to
this, only without the blasting 

169
00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,240
air conditioner in the back. 
It was probably pretty quiet. 

170
00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:56,480
There were probably some 
uncomfortable shuffling of feet.

171
00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,360
And then Paul writes what he 
says in verse 11. 

172
00:11:00,560 --> 00:11:05,320
And such were some of you. 
They were exposed. 

173
00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,880
There's probably somebody in 
that church sitting in the pews 

174
00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,480
and Corinth for every sin that 
he listed there. 

175
00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:18,600
Paul sees their sin, God sees 
their sin. 

176
00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:25,120
God sees our sin. 
And then look at where Paul 

177
00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:28,960
goes. 
But you were washed. 

178
00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:36,360
But you were made holy. 
But you were made righteous in 

179
00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:40,920
the name of the Lord Jesus and 
in the Spirit of our God. 

180
00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,400
My friends, do you feel dirty, 
defiled? 

181
00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:49,400
Look to Christ and see how He 
has made you clean. 

182
00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:54,800
Do you feel impure, used up, 
sort of as common and disposable

183
00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:59,280
as an old shirt? 
Look to Christ and see how He 

184
00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:04,280
has made you holy, sanctified 
you to stand in His presence. 

185
00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:11,840
Is your guilt hanging over your 
head, condemning you at every 

186
00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,720
turn? 
Look to Christ and see how God 

187
00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:20,600
has separated your sin from you.
As far as the east is from the 

188
00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,960
West. 
He has declared you righteous, 

189
00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:30,000
righteous, righteous. 
If you are placing your faith in

190
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,880
Christ, you are clean, you are 
holy, you are righteous before 

191
00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:36,960
God. 
Friends in Christ, no matter 

192
00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:43,000
what your past is, He has made 
you clean. 

193
00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,320
You are free from the sin of 
your past. 

194
00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:51,640
This is what Christ has done for
you. 

195
00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:58,440
This is the good news of the 
gospel, and this is the starting

196
00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,200
point for how we should think 
about sex and sexual ethics. 

197
00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,560
We were guilty before God, but 
God has saved us. 

198
00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:10,280
We are clean. 
But the gift that God gives us 

199
00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:14,320
in Christ goes beyond simply 
having our sins washed away. 

200
00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:19,840
He actually gives us a new 
positive direction for our 

201
00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,000
lives. 
He gives us good things. 

202
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,080
God's salvation then drives us 
toward a positive righteousness,

203
00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:31,560
and this is what he's talking 
about in verses 12 through 20. 

204
00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:36,320
Paul here gives us at least 
three things that God gives us 

205
00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:39,480
in Christ. 
And the first thing that Paul 

206
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:44,720
names is how God gives our 
freedom a direction. 

207
00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,720
God gives our freedom a 
direction. 

208
00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,560
One of the great truths of the 
gospel that we just heard is how

209
00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:52,080
we are free. 
We are free from the 

210
00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:55,280
condemnation, the guilt, the 
power of sin. 

211
00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:58,320
But there's a danger in this 
freedom as well, right? 

212
00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,360
To think that we can do whatever
we want. 

213
00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:06,040
Now, we can't be condemned, so 
we should indulge our passions, 

214
00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,880
do all sorts of things that we 
want to do, like sexual 

215
00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,400
immorality. 
But it looks like, and it in 

216
00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,240
fact looks like the Corinthians 
were thinking exactly this way. 

217
00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:20,520
So in verses 12 and 13, Paul 
here seems to be quoting from 

218
00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:22,600
something that they were saying.
So look at these with me. 

219
00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:25,600
He quotes this, this first 
phrase twice. 

220
00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:30,480
All things are lawful for me. 
This is the attitude of freedom,

221
00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:32,600
right? 
I can do anything, I'm free, who

222
00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,520
can stop me? 
But notice how Paul responds. 

223
00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:42,520
He quotes them, but then he 
doesn't say, actually, you are 

224
00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:46,360
not free from everything. 
Not all things are lawful. 

225
00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:51,040
That's not what he says, is it? 
Now there's clearly a sense in 

226
00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,040
which he could have said that 
because he just gave a list of 

227
00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:56,000
10 things that are incompatible 
with life in the Kingdom of God.

228
00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:01,440
But see what he says instead. 
All things are lawful for me, 

229
00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:07,280
but not all things are helpful. 
All things are lawful for me, 

230
00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:12,040
but I will not be dominated or 
enslaved by anything. 

231
00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,720
Instead of looking to what we 
want to do, we should be looking

232
00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:22,520
to do what is helpful, what most
demonstrates our actual freedom.

233
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,720
Do you see how he's actually 
here giving their freedom a 

234
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:28,880
direction? 
He's pointing them. 

235
00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:33,240
Don't indulge yourself. 
Use your freedom to do what is 

236
00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:35,560
helpful. 
And it looks like the 

237
00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,720
Corinthians had another saying 
that they used to rationalize 

238
00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:40,840
their their sexual indulgences 
as well. 

239
00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:43,480
It goes like this. 
Food is meant for the body and 

240
00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:46,720
the body for food. 
And God will destroy both one 

241
00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,720
and the other. 
In the ESP, the quotation marks 

242
00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,920
end after in the body for food. 
I'm thinking the quotation 

243
00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:55,160
marks. 
There are no quotation marks in 

244
00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:57,800
Greek, right? 
So like they're kind of guessing

245
00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:01,640
where it is, but I think the 
quotation marks should end after

246
00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:05,160
and the body will be destroyed 
and God will destroy both one 

247
00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,200
and the other. 
So I think that is the phrase. 

248
00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:09,840
And the Corinthians seem to be 
saying, well, look, God might 

249
00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:11,720
made my body to experience 
pleasure. 

250
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,720
That's the way he made me. 
And look at the end of the day, 

251
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:16,320
my body's going to be destroyed 
anyway. 

252
00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,840
So why not while I have it, 
enjoy it, right? 

253
00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:22,480
That's what they seem to be 
saying. 

254
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,200
I'm free. 
But again, Paul wants to give 

255
00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:31,040
direction to their freedom, and 
he he responds in a way that 

256
00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,320
maps precisely onto this sort of
Corinthian saying. 

257
00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,840
God might have made your body 
with sexual potential, but God 

258
00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,240
did not make the body for sexual
sin. 

259
00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,920
God made our bodies for him to 
glorify him in our lives. 

260
00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:51,360
In fact, Christ came to redeem 
us, all of us, including our 

261
00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,120
bodies. 
And our bodies will not be 

262
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,200
destroyed. 
In fact, just as God raised 

263
00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:02,360
Christ, he will raise us up as 
well, our bodies physically. 

264
00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:08,680
And all of these statements, 
Paul here is giving direction to

265
00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,640
our freedom. 
We are free from our sin. 

266
00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:13,800
We are free from the 
condemnation of the law. 

267
00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:17,760
But that's not a license to do 
whatever we want precisely 

268
00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:21,560
because we are free, free not 
just from the guilt, but also 

269
00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,520
from the power of sin. 
We are free to live in ways that

270
00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:30,840
are helpful, that show a true 
freedom, that live in 

271
00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,840
self-control, and that honor the
one with whom we will be living 

272
00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:39,000
for eternity. 
God here gives our freedom a 

273
00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:41,960
direction. 
But God gives us more as well. 

274
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:46,680
He gives our lives a connection,
gives our lives a connection. 

275
00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:53,720
Underlying sexual sin typically 
is a deep longing for 

276
00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:57,240
connection. 
There's a reason that in the 

277
00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,000
Bible, the euphemism for sex is 
knowing someone. 

278
00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:08,160
We long to be connected. 
If one of the problems with 

279
00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:10,880
purity culture is that it's so 
often negative, you know, just 

280
00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,640
say no, dare to say no. 
Another is that it actually 

281
00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:19,800
doesn't help us with the deep 
longings that we feel deep 

282
00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:23,480
longings to be connected. 
But the gospel actually meets us

283
00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,520
precisely here and addresses 
this deep longing that we all 

284
00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:29,880
have. 
Look at verse 15. 

285
00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:34,760
Do you not know that your bodies
are members of Christ? 

286
00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:37,480
This is what happens when we 
become a Christian. 

287
00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:40,080
We are connected. 
All of us, including our bodies,

288
00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:44,120
are connected to Christ. 
All that Christ has becomes 

289
00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:46,400
ours. 
All that is ours becomes 

290
00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,520
Christ's. 
He sees us. 

291
00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:55,880
He sees you with perfect 
clarity, warts and all. 

292
00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:04,280
And he says, and I want you, and
I want you in my life, and I'm 

293
00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:08,600
going to connect myself to you. 
Isn't this exactly what we want?

294
00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:12,560
Isn't this exactly what we are 
longing for in sex and in other 

295
00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:17,280
kinds of relationships, intimate
relationships, We long to be 

296
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:21,600
seen and to not be rejected, but
to be desired and pulled closer.

297
00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:27,360
And because of the gospel, we 
have precisely that kind of 

298
00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:30,880
deep, intimate connection with 
God. 

299
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:36,720
This is Paul's point here in 
verses 15 through 18. 

300
00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,520
And This is why we should not 
indulge in sexual immorality, 

301
00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:47,000
like, for example, prostitution.
God saves all of us, our bodies 

302
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:53,720
and our souls, our whole lives. 
He, he joins us to Himself. 

303
00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:57,560
But when we sin, particularly 
sexually, we are joining 

304
00:19:57,560 --> 00:19:59,800
ourselves to something that is 
not Christ. 

305
00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:03,760
We can't be connected 
simultaneously to God and to 

306
00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:06,720
sin. 
We are disconnecting ourselves 

307
00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:13,240
from God and connecting 
ourselves to something else, to 

308
00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,400
sin. 
Paul makes this argument in 

309
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,600
verse 16 by citing Genesis 2 as 
it is written. 

310
00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:25,040
The two will become one flesh. 
The act of sex here unites two 

311
00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:30,280
people, whether in righteousness
under God or unrighteousness 

312
00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:35,200
apart from God. 
And this union within a marriage

313
00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:39,680
points to the union that we are 
meant to have with God. 

314
00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:46,640
Verse 17 But he who is joined to
the Lord becomes 1 Spirit with 

315
00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,520
him. 
This is what God is doing for us

316
00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,240
in the gospel. 
He's joining us to him. 

317
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:57,200
And this helps to explain why 
Christians rightly care so much 

318
00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,720
about sex. 
We shouldn't be obsessed with 

319
00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:02,240
sex. 
It's not the only thing that 

320
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:08,600
matters, but it does really, 
really matter, because sex 

321
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,480
within a marriage points us in a
way that almost nothing else in 

322
00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,640
the world does, points us to the
relationship between Christ and 

323
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:19,760
his people. 
Our sexual ethic points to the 

324
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:25,120
gospel, and that is why it is 
so, so important. 

325
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:30,160
God created marriage and sex 
within marriage not to be an end

326
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:35,200
in themselves, but to point to 
the greater spiritual union that

327
00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,560
we have with God through Christ 
and friends. 

328
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:43,160
While we may not all be married,
we can all have this greater 

329
00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:48,880
union, this greater intimacy 
that the gospel points us to and

330
00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:54,160
that marriage points us to. 
Because of the gospel, God gives

331
00:21:54,160 --> 00:22:00,000
our lives a connection. 
Now look, this connection isn't 

332
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,920
just to God individually. 
We are actually connected to 

333
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,720
each other as well in the body 
of Christ. 

334
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,120
Our lives, all of our lives, 
including our bodies, are 

335
00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:13,920
connected to Christ. 
Christ then connects us to each 

336
00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,280
other in a, in a, in a real 
spiritual way. 

337
00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,640
And this means, in a word, 
spiritual friendship. 

338
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:25,960
We are to pursue spiritual 
friendship with each other and 

339
00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:28,840
we can do that. 
Ultimately, we can only do that 

340
00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,280
because of what Christ has done 
for us. 

341
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,600
On the flip side, this also 
means that our sexual sin is 

342
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:41,760
never just private. 
If one of us is being severed 

343
00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:46,520
from Christ, the entire body 
suffers. 

344
00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:53,760
Our sin, especially our sexual 
sin, tears at the fabric of our 

345
00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:56,120
common life together as a 
church. 

346
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:02,160
So because of what Christ has 
done for us, our freedom is 

347
00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:07,200
given direction, our lives are 
given connection, and then 

348
00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,680
third, our bodies are given a 
new vocation. 

349
00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,560
This is the point of the last 
two verses, verses 19 and 20. 

350
00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:19,280
So Paul tells the Corinthians 
that because of the gospel, 

351
00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,360
because of their salvation, 
their bodies are now a temple of

352
00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:26,000
the Holy Spirit. 
Now this is really an amazing 

353
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,680
thing to contemplate, right? 
That the Spirit that was 

354
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:32,360
hovering over the waters at 
creation, the Spirit that 

355
00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:38,480
brought our Savior into the 
world, this Spirit is now living

356
00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:43,600
inside each of us in our bodies.
And when Paul is saying this, 

357
00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,600
he's, he's drawing out the 
dignity of our bodies. 

358
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,440
Not only will our bodies be 
raised in the future just like 

359
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:56,720
Christ was raised, our bodies 
are now temples of God's Spirit.

360
00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,640
We have a profound dignity 
because of what Christ has done,

361
00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:04,640
and we even have a holy vocation
that should cause our us to 

362
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,040
treat our bodies not as as 
instruments to be tossed away, 

363
00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:13,400
used in any which way reaching 
for any pleasure. 

364
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:18,400
Our bodies are holy and we 
should treat them that way. 

365
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,680
And one implication of being a 
temple of the Holy Spirit is 

366
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:24,400
that our bodies are no longer 
our own. 

367
00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:28,200
This is where Paul goes. 
The temple belongs to the God 

368
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:31,480
that lives there. 
So our bodies as a temple belong

369
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:35,280
to the Holy Spirit for him to 
use as he sees fit. 

370
00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,400
And what he sees fit to do with 
our bodies is to glorify 

371
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,520
himself, to glorify Godfather, 
Son, and Holy Spirit in our 

372
00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:44,440
bodies. 
This is the final verse of our 

373
00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,000
passage. 
So glorify God in your bodies. 

374
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:51,160
And the major way here, the the 
big implication that Paul wants 

375
00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:55,000
us to see is that we glorify God
not the only way, but a major 

376
00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:00,680
way through our sexual holiness.
God's glory is the driving cause

377
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:06,120
of our pursuit of holiness. 
We want to glorify God, the God 

378
00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:10,280
who saved us and who sent his 
Spirit to live in US. 

379
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:15,840
And so we pursue holiness. 
But it's so important to see 

380
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,840
that God's glory isn't merely A 
cause here. 

381
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:27,640
When we live holy lives, God 
manifests his glory in us. 

382
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,040
This is part of what a temple 
does. 

383
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,480
It manifests the glory of the 
God who lives there. 

384
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:39,160
In our Old Testament lesson that
we read Solomon and the people 

385
00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:41,960
are dedicating the temple and 
you know, you hear about the 

386
00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:45,120
oxen and the cows that are being
slaughtered beyond number, 

387
00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:46,560
right? 
And you can sort of get lost 

388
00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:48,640
there. 
But don't miss what happens at 

389
00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:53,480
the end. 
The temple is consecrated and 

390
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:58,160
then the glory of the Lord 
descends upon it and fills up 

391
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,560
the temple. 
It is filled. 

392
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:08,080
It is radiating out God's glory,
and here as the temple is filled

393
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:12,120
with God's glory, the temple is 
at the peak of its existence. 

394
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,480
This is the fullness. 
This is what it was made to do, 

395
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:21,280
to be filled with God's glory. 
And friends, this is true of our

396
00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:24,920
sexual holiness as well. 
Sexual holiness doesn't mean 

397
00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:28,560
fundamentally forgoing fun and 
pleasure until maybe, just 

398
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:30,240
maybe, at some point we can get 
married. 

399
00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,760
Sexual holiness doesn't mean 
just saying no. 

400
00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:42,320
Sexual holiness means, most 
fundamentally, saying yes to God

401
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:45,680
and to His life that He wants to
fill you with. 

402
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,440
It means pursuing connection 
with Him and ultimately being 

403
00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:53,520
filled with Him, just like the 
temple was filled with God's 

404
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,600
glory and God's presence. 
And the result, my friends, is 

405
00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:01,960
not a boring and a joyless life.
The result is a fullness and a 

406
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,600
richness and even a 
vivaciousness that you cannot 

407
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:11,000
get anywhere else. 
The result is the glory of God 

408
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:18,880
radiating out from you as we 
revel in the fullness of life 

409
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,200
that He has given us. 
In Christ. 

410
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:28,200
My friend, sexual sin is a cheap
counterfeit of the full life 

411
00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:31,800
that sexuality is designed to 
point us toward. 

412
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,080
This is why we can't both sin 
and be connected to Christ. 

413
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,640
You don't need a counterfeit 
when you have the real thing. 

414
00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:46,720
But thanks be to God who has 
cleansed us to give our freedom 

415
00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:50,760
a direction, our lives a 
connection, and our bodies a 

416
00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:55,920
vocation so that we can have 
life in its fullness. 

417
00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,680
All to His glory, in the name of
the Father and of the Son of the

418
00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:01,920
Holy Spirit, Amen.