Glorifying God With My Body Series

The theme of this entire series is “Giving God Glory Everyday” I want to talk to you about “Giving God Glory Through Your Bodies.” Listen to what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “…Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have [received] from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (NASB).

The most obvious way to give God glory with your body is by remaining pure. Now most Christians here this word and think of sexual purity but I doubt you will want to discuss that subject in your groups, especially if you have struggled in this area. So we’ll broaden the subject of purity in our group discussion time to deal with having a pure thought life. But often our thought life leads to desires that we actually act on if we are not careful. So I want to clearly define God’s view of purity in the sexual arena. You need to listen closely to what I have to say because this is a huge opportunity for you to receive God’s blessing. Let’s look at Proverbs 5:15-21 together.

“Drink water from your own well – share your love only with your wife. Why spill the water of your springs in public, having sex with just anyone? You should reserve it for yourselves. Don’t share it with strangers. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving doe, a graceful deer. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, with an immoral woman, or embrace the breasts of an adulterous woman? For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes” (Proverbs 5:15-21, NLT).

It’s obvious that Proverbs 5 is dealing with the subject of sexual purity. Now it’s easy to pick on the sins of those that make up the minority of the population like prostitution or homosexuality. But quite often in the Bible, when those sins are listed, they are listed with adultery and pre-marital sex (which are definitely the sins of the majority of our population). For example look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 with me: “…do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10).

This teaching is so important because I have had a number of Christians who have asked me, “Where in the Bible does it say pre-marital sex is wrong?” I’ve had engaged couples ask me this during pre-marital counseling. I’ve had parents ask me this because their teenage kids have asked them this very question. It’s a good question. However, the question implies a couple of things:

1. First of all, it implies that for something to be wrong it has to be mentioned verbatim (word for word/phrase for phrase) in the Bible. Just because the phrase “Thou shalt not have pre-marital sex” isn’t in the Bible doesn’t mean it’s okay. In fact, there are lots of activities that we know are sinful that are not specifically stated as being wrong in the Bible. But we know they are wrong because of the clear implications of other Scriptures. Let me illustrate it this way. As much as our Sr. Pastor dislikes cats because he’s allergic to them. Now, just because the Bible doesn’t specifically say it’s wrong to kill a cat doesn’t give him permission to do whatever we wants with cats! Sorry Dudley. Just because the phrase “Thou shalt not have-pre-marital sex” isn’t in the Bible doesn’t mean it’s okay.

2. Secondly, the question implies, that pre-marital sex is not immoral. The Bible specifically says sexual immorality is wrong. Most versions or translations of the Bible, such as the NASB, translate this phrase as “fornication.” The Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines “fornication” as “consensual sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other.” And based on 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, fornication (which is pre-marital sex) is just as immoral and just as dangerous to our spiritual condition before God as adultery, prostitution and homosexuality (and other forms of extra-marital sex). So the Bible clearly says that pre-marital sex is wrong.

Now, I don’t want to focus just on pre-marital sex. I’ve just mentioned it because those who are not yet married are in the most danger of losing out on the blessings God has in store for them if they disobey this command. But the question of sexual purity applies to those who have never been married. It applies to those who are currently married. It applies to those who are now divorced and widowed. And God’s word says that sex is wonderful and beautiful and right and holy within the context of a committed married relationship of a husband and a wife. Outside of this context, sex is impure, immoral and unsafe. It’s like fire, wonderful in the fireplace but dangerous outside of the fireplace.