Growing Pains

Main theme of this passage: growing in your walk with God. Verses 1-2. You’ve received the truth of how to grow in your walk with God. It begins with faith. But there are other areas in which we can grow. This passage gives us three ways to grow in our walk with God.

1. Grow in your Abstinence (v. 3-6)

—the bottom line (v. 3)

It is God’s will that you abstain from fornication (sexual sin). When you step into fornication, you have stepped outside of God’s will.

Abstinence: “the fact or practice of restraining oneself from indulging in something” (Dictionary).

—the right way: sanctification and honor (v. 4)

Sanctification: moral purity. Honor: something with great price. Moral purity should be valued, not desecrated. Falling into fornication de-values your body.

I Corinthians 6:19-20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Ex: Joseph (Gen. 39)

—the wrong way: lust of concupiscence (v. 5)

Concupiscence: that which kindles a desire. This is going after what your flesh wants.

Ex: Samson

—the reason (v. 6)

This is talking about sexual sin. Defraud: to take advantage of (in an sexual sense, according to the context). God takes this seriously; He is the avenger of such occurrences.

Illustration: A man wrote about his experience when his 13 year old son’s school announced a meeting to preview the new course in sexuality. Parents could examine the curriculum and take part in an actual lesson presented exactly as it would be given to the students.

“When I arrived at school, I was surprised to discover only about a dozen parents were there. As we waited for the presentation, I thumbed through page after page of instructions in the prevention of pregnancy or disease.

I found abstinence mentioned only in passing. When the teacher arrived with the school nurse, she asked if there were any questions. I asked why abstinence did not play a noticeable part in the material. What happened next was shocking. There was a great deal of laughter, and someone suggested that if I thought abstinence had any merit, I should go back to burying my head in the sand.

The teacher and nurse said nothing as I drowned in embarrassment. My mind had gone blank, and I could think of nothing to say. The teacher explained to me the job of the school was to teach ‘facts,’ and the home was responsible for moral teaching. I sat in silence for the next 20 minutes as the course was explained. The other parents seemed to give their unqualified support for the materials.

“Donuts, at the back,” announced the teacher during the break. “I’d like you to put on the name tags we have prepared – they’re right by the donuts – and mingle with the other parents.”

Everyone moved to the back of the room. As I watched them affixing their name tags and shaking hands, I sat deep in thought. I was ashamed that I had not been able to convince them to include a serious discussion of abstinence in the materials. I uttered a silent prayer for guidance. My thoughts were interrupted by the teacher’s hand on my shoulder.

‘Won’t you go and join the others, Mr. Layton?’ The nurse smiled sweetly at me. ‘The donuts are good.’

‘Thank you, no,’ I replied.

‘Well, then, how about a name tag? I’m sure the others would like to meet you.’

‘Somehow I doubt that,’ I replied.

‘Won’t you please join them?’ she coaxed.

Then I heard a still, small voice whisper, ‘Don’t go.’ The instruction was unmistakable. ‘Don’t go!’

‘I’ll just wait here,’ I said. When the class was called back to order, the teacher looked around the long table and thanked everyone for putting on name tags. She ignored me. Then she said, ‘Now we’re going to give you the same lesson we’ll be giving your children. Everyone please peel off your name tags.’

I watched in silence as the name tags came off. ‘Now, then, on the back of one of the tags, I drew a tiny flower. Who has it, please?’

The gentleman across from me held it up. ‘Here it is!’

‘All right,’ she said. ‘The flower represents disease. Do you recall with whom you shook hands?’ He pointed to a couple of people. ‘Very good,’ she replied. ‘The handshake in this case represents intimacy. So the two people you had contact with now have the disease.’

There was laughter and joking among the parents. The teacher continued, ‘And whom did the two of you shake hands with?’ The point was well taken, and she explained how this lesson would show students how quickly disease is spread.