Sanctity Of Human Life Sunday

Sermon for 1/20/2006

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Introduction:

This Sunday is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. It is held on the closest Sunday to the anniversary of the Jan. 22, 1973 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize abortion in the Roe v. Wade case. There are about 46 million abortions a year worldwide and about 126,000 abortions a day, according to The Alan Guttmacher Institute. According to Focus on the Family, 44 percent of all American women will have an abortion at some point in their lifetime.

WBTU:

A. What produces most of these abortions? It is the result of an unwanted pregnancy.

B. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is especially true in this area. This morning we are going to tackle this issue with the Bible. The letters to the Corinthians give the most guidance on sexual issues than any other section of the Bible.

C. Read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20.

D. First century Corinth was a lot like our society today. As a matter of fact, their culture was sex saturated like ours. The temple of Aphrodite (Diana), the Greek goddess of sex, dominated the city. It was like a tourist center. People from all over the world came to worship sex at this temple. There were about 1,000 temple priestess (prostitutes) that would help one in his worship. In this environment, the Christians struggled to maintain lives of purity and chastity. Some of these baby Christians in Corinth were still actively involved in sexual immorality, specifically in prostitution. Old habits die hard!

E. We don’t have prostitution here. Bridge the gap from their culture to ours- Doug Goins- I have a dear friend of mine, who has walked with the Lord for years. He was talking about how he accepted the Lord in college, and how he was overwhelmed with the joy of having his sins forgiven and his conscience cleansed. Then, he said, he found out he had to quit sleeping with his girlfriend. Nobody had told him that was part of the deal and it was a very difficult pattern to break. To him, that was normal.

Thesis: This morning we are going to talk about sexual sin and the sanctity of the human body.

For instances:

I. Sexual sin

A. The high cost of sexual sin. Everything is permissible for me- but not everything is beneficial. Vs. 12

1. It seems that the Corinthians are using some of Paul’s own quotes to justify this.

2. Paul was a great champion of Christian freedom. (Col 2:16 NIV) Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

3. (Gal 5:13 NIV) You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Paul is talking about freedom in Christ and for Christ. All things are not good, helpful, expedient, profitable, or beneficial. Do not indulge the sinful nature!

4. Sexual sin brings tremendous disadvantage. Nothing has more built in problems and destructiveness than sexual sins. Just look in the newspaper!

B. The enslaving nature of sexual sin. Everything is permissible for me- but I will not be mastered by anything. Vs. 12

2. Paul does not want us to be controlled or enslaved by anything or anyone but Jesus Christ. No sin is more enslaving than sexual sin.

3. Begins with fantasy in the thoughts with fixation. Then come small indulgences or indiscretions. This leads to greater ones, and finally ends with acting out the thoughts. Sexual sin will grow. Never satisfied!

C. Sexual sin violates our personhood. Vs. 13

1. Some people in the church of Corinth were rationalizing their lifestyles by saying that sex is a normal, biological appetite to be satisfied, just like eating.

2. As the stomach is made for food, so the sex organs are made for sex; therefore, it is natural and right to satisfy them, and when we feel the urge it is okay to merge with whomever is available.

3. Paul is saying, No, hunger is to be satisfied with food; sexual desire is to be satisfied in a marriage relationship (1 Corinthians 7).

3. This view is so dehumanizing. Handing out condoms at school and refusing to teach abstinence really ties in with this. It really comes down to what we believe about human beings. Are we created by God and for God, or are we evolved from monkeys?

4. Know how monkeys view sex! It is just an urge to merge that instinctively must be satisfied. Nothing more and nothing less! When female primates get in heat, all adult primates engage in sex to make sure that these females conceive babies. I might be making this too generalized and simplistic but in most cases this is true. As a matter of fact there are books out comparing the sexual practices of primates to the sexual practices of human beings. These books are telling us that we are evolved from primates so that is where our sexual practices come from. One such book is called Primate Sexuality: Comparative Studies of the Prosimians, Monkeys, Apes, and Human Beings by Alan Dixson. At least they are staying true to their beliefs.