Holiness In Every Season: God's Plan For Our Desires

INTRODUCTION

I am a foodie at heart. There’s nothing quite like a perfectly cooked ribeye steak—those rich, marbled streaks of fat, seared just right, juicy and tender. What is your favorite food?

Whatever your favorite food is, we know that food itself is a good gift, isn't it? It sustains us, brings people together, and brings us joy.

But what happens when we misuse this good gift of food? We all know the consequences: an upset stomach, a few extra pounds, a big belly, or, in the extreme, serious health issues. Food is a good thing, but sometimes, we take something intended for our good and turn it into something harmful.

Today, we're diving into a topic that, like food, is a profoundly good gift from God, intended for our flourishing, but one that's also incredibly easy to misuse and has been misused. God has given us a good gift and inclination called sexual desires. God has given us this tool that He intends to use to build marriages, families, and reflect the intimate relationship between Jesus Christ and the church.

But in a world that often distorts and abuses this gift, how do we honor God's design? How do we approach marriage and singleness in a way that reflects God’s glory?" That’s the question that Paul is trying to answer.

This morning, we're going to see how God calls us to live with self-control and self-giving love, honoring God’s design, so that our lives reflect Christ’s own love for His church.

PROBLEM: CONFLICTING VIEWS IN CORINTH

Leading up to this point, Paul has spent six chapters addressing issues in Corinth based on reports he received. Now, in chapter 7, he turns to the Corinthians’ own questions - verse 1 says, “matters you wrote about.” The Corinthians had some questions they wanted to ask Paul. Their primary concern is captured in verse 1. They said, “Hey Paul, it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman, right?” The Greek literally says, "It is good for a man not to touch a woman." Sounds like a random question to ask Paul. At first hearing, you might wonder, “Why are they asking this?” It seems like an odd question to ask.

Well, to understand why the Corinthians would ask this question, you need to know Corinth. Corinth was a hotbed of vice. It was the kind of city where if you told your grandmother, “I am going to Corinth,” she'd probably suggest you bring a chaperone. Every corner was filled with all types of immorality. And the Christians in Corinth were drawn from a culture that had issues with immorality. The church escaped from the immoral background.

But the church was divided into two camps. One group fought fiercely against the immorality. And the other group was more influenced by the culture than they realized. This group believed that because the Holy Spirit had come, what they did with their bodies didn’t matter.

"The Spirit has come,” they said, “so the body doesn’t matter." And they believed this type of thinking was a sign of spiritual maturity. However, this was a dangerous error because the Corinthians took the matter of immorality as if spiritual growth meant you could wear a lampshade on your head without any spiritual consequence.

But the first group, reacting to the immorality, thought Christians shouldn't engage in any physical intimacy, even intimacy in a marriage. They believed everyone should abstain. Both sides fell into ditches. Both were partly right and partly wrong. It's like arguing whether sleep or food is better. It is a silly question, because both have their place. Both sleep and food are valuable, but neither should be exclusive.

So, the "abstinence-only" group wrote to Paul, asking, "Don't you agree it's good for a man not to engage in physical intimacy? Don’t you agree that we all abstain? Married, single, or whatever?” This group was seriously worried about the immoral culture they escaped from. It was a tough place to live as a Christian. I mentioned in my previous messages that Corinth had such a bad reputation that there was an idiom associated with it.

For example, let me ask you a question: What do you call a person who is resistant to change, dull, and unwilling to try new things? You call them a stick in the mud. That is an idiom that describes someone reluctant to change. Now, in biblical times, what do you call a person who lived a debauched life and engaged in every immorality? In Greek, you said, “Corithiazesthai,” which means, “you are behaving like a Corinthian.” So, the city of Corinth was the epitome of moral corruption. So, it means that this group wanted to protect themselves and others by avoiding anything that feels like it could pull them back into a sinful culture.