Text: 1 Cor 6:15-20, Title: STD Sudden Traumatic Decision, Date/Place: NRBC, 10/17/10, AM
A. Opening illustration: 90% of children (ages 11-17) have accidentally been exposed to pornography on the web. ¨41% of all children with Internet access surf for porn sites. ¨Kids (ages 12-17) are the single largest group of consumers of Internet Porn. ¨1 out of every 5 children (ages 10-17) have received sexual solicitations on the net. ¨There are 1 million predators and pedophiles on the Internet at any given time. ¨There are 260 million pages of porn online. ¨There are 3,000 new porn websites every week. ¨ 68 million pornographic emails are sent everyday. ¨The median age of first exposure to porn is 11. ¨40% of pastors struggle with it. ¨1 of 2 men struggle with it. ¨Women are the fastest growing consumers of it.
B. Background to passage: we are again picking up in the middle of Paul’s thought. He has transitioned from believers suing one another to supposed Christian liberties and now to the action in question in the previous verses of sexual immorality. Since they brought up the subject, he will deal with it next.
C. Main thought: in this text we will see how believers should think and deal with sexual immorality
A. Nature of Sexual Immorality (v. 16, 18)
1. Now Paul has already stated the body was not made for sex, it was made for the glory of God. But the sexual dimension of our bodies is one of the most powerful and most destructive forces within us. God created sex and gave us the ability to enjoy it, but realizing the danger, he wanted to give them two truths that really apply to believers and unbelievers alike, so that they would begin to realize the danger of a decision to participate. 1) Paul says that a bond, a “oneness,” is formed with sexual encounters. Telling them that they should already know this, even by experience only, he explains that there is a oneness that is shared b/t those who engage in any sort of sexual experience. Images, smells, memories are fixed in one’s mind for years. There is usually always a special place in the heart, even if all present emotional attachment is gone for those with that bond. 2) He also says that this sort of sin is against one’s own body, meaning that it comes from the deepest, most sacred part of a person, and driven solely by personal gratification corrupts at the deepest level.
2. ,
3. Illustration: “while a lot of us make a god out of sex, far too few of us understand what God had in mind when He created sex…(in part) sex was to be the way that a husband and wife were to touch each other’s soul.” –Tim Gardner, Sacred Sex, “There may be some things better than sex, and there may be some things worse. But there is nothing exactly like it.” Billy Graham said, "You can't unscramble eggs," “This does not teach that fornication is greater than any other sin, but it does teach that it is altogether peculiar in its effects on the body, not so much in its physical as in its moral and spiritual effects. The idea runs through the bible that there is something mysterious in the commerce of the sexes and the effects which flow from it.” –Charles Hodge, “In fornicating with a prostitute a man removes his body (which is a temple of the Spirit, purchased by God, and destined for the resurrection) from union with Christ and makes it a member of her body, thereby putting it under her “mastery.” –Fee,
4. This is the reason that God intended sex and sexual encounters for marriage only. In marriage this is hugely important, but outside it is incredibly destructive physically and emotionally. There are many of you who still bear the emotional scars of bonds of intimacy being formed then broken. It’s kinda like industrial strength glue, when you rip things apart that are glued together with it, there is always damage. And the damage is haunting, especially in marriage. 2) Spiritually, this is one of the most destructive sins. Unfortunately it is one of the most widespread sins in evangelical churches. 90% of born-again Christians have said that they have had problems in relating to God or to other people because of shame and guilt over pornography. A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event. 50% of all Christian men and 20% of all Christian women are addicted to pornography. 60% of the women who answered the survey admitted to having significant struggles with lust; 40% admitted to being involved in sexual sin in the past year; and 20% of the church-going female participants struggle with looking at pornography on an ongoing basis. At a men's summit in Oregon before 2,000 men, Shelley Lubben of Shelley Lubben ministries challenged those who were struggling with porn addiction to stand. 30% rose to their feet. She immediately challenged them a second time, with the result that some 70% were standing. If you are trapped in, or enjoying sexual immorality, know that you are destroying your own soul, your marriage (or future marriage), and your relationship with God. Effects are terribly long lasting.
B. Dealing with Sexual Immorality (v. 17-20)
1. In the rest of these verses, Paul gives one main instruction on dealing with sexual immorality, and three truths to bolster that command. There is a link in scripture b/t overcoming sin and knowledge of God. So he begins with more “do you not know” statements. 1) Know that you are in a special union with Christ. Believers are one with Christ like a husband is one with his wife. There is a special bond, He’s in you, and you’re in Him, “the hope of glory.” 2) Know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. God dwells within you. It is His home, therefore it is holy ground. Temple desecration was one of the highest blasphemies to the Jews. And this Spirit was given you by God wholly by His grace. 3) Know that you don’t own you. You were purchased by God at a very high price. The precious blood of Jesus was spilt for the ransom of your soul. Herein lies the gospel. 4) Therefore Paul says, “FLEE” from sexual immorality. It means to run away quickly or escape because of danger or fear. Paul’s message is that there is great danger in sexual immorality. It is present tense noting the continuing need to keep fleeing.
2. Ezek 16:8, Gen 39:12, 2 Tim 2:22, 1 Thess 4:3-5,
3. Illustration: David Brainerd notes in his diary the “special seasons of sweetness” in His personal time with Christ, experiencing this union, Antiochus Epiphanies in order the infuriate the Jews and demonstrate his dominance of them and their God, sacrificed a pig on the altar of the Temple, and became the example for Jesus to say, “when you see the Abomination of Desolation,” "But you promised..." cried the youth. "You knew what I was when you picked me up." said the snake as it slithered away." You didn’t accept how He feels about your body as a temple of God. Just what did you accept about Christ?"
4. Some of the best weaponry for combating this kind of thing is to read deeply theological material. Study the person and attribute of God. 1) Christ has loved you, covered you with His wing, and betrothed you to Himself. Remind yourself constantly of His love for you and the covenant between the two of you. Enjoy His presence with you. Seek those times of sweetness with Him. 2) Put up signs in your mind, and in your home and office if necessary, that you are not to destroy the Spirit’s house. To take the Spirit’s temple through sexual immorality is to spit in the face of the God of grace. 3) You may have rights granted by the USA, but not by God. He has sole, absolute authority in your life. But that authority is sweet to you, because you know that He is good, loving, wise, and kind toward His children. Fight sin in your life with the gospel! Claim the blood of Christ and the freedom from sin’s bondage. But remember, you have to ask permission of the owner before you do anything to the house. Ask Him if it’s OK to view pornography, to be sexually active with your boyfriend, to fantasize about a coworker? 4) We don’t usually take the drastic steps like Jesus mentioned, but if ever there was a time for it, this sin demands it. Do not toy with this sin; be deathly afraid of it. It will take you down, and leave lasting scars. It will mess up your thoughts, your finances, your relationships, your priorities, your marriages, your testimony, your conscience, and most importantly your relationship with Christ. It also runs the gamut of the patience of God to the point where He may turn you over to your own lusts. Memorize scripture, put up filters on your computer, get accountability, read Every Man’s Battle.
A. Closing illustration: tell Dad’s story from the third person,
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
• Is Christ Exalted, Magnified, Honored, and Glorified?
