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Summary: Jesus' words about adultery point us not only towards the sacredness of the body but also to the sanctity of marriage.

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“Law & Order: SPU – Sex in HD”

Ex. 20:14; Mt. 5:27-30; 1 Thess. 4:3-8

Did you know that if you are not watching television in HD you are really missing out? HD – High Definition television. High Definition produces a clearer, more life-like picture that truly makes you feel like you are there, or are part of the action. High Definition makes things clearer and more exciting. I believe that the 7th commandment – “You shall not commit adultery” – does the same thing with sex and marriage – it produces a clearer, more life-like picture; it delivers a higher definition of sex and marriage. It makes sex and marriage clearer and exciting.

Since the commandment is part of the foundation for what the rest of the Bible says about this High Definition, let’s begin with a quick review of some BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES OF SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS. The first is that sex is not evil; SEX IS GOOD. It is G-rated, not R-rated. God created it and it was part of His perfect world. “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…God saw all that He had made and it was very good.” Repeatedly the Old Testament records that a man and woman “knew each other;” the word know means the intimacy of sexual relations. Take some time this week to read through the Biblical book called “Song of Songs/Solomon.” It is an expression of the physical, sensual love of a godly man for a godly woman. Sex is good. It is part of intimacy.

Principle number two is that SEX IS LIMITED TO MARRIAGE. God’s commandment – not His suggestion – is “You shall not commit adultery,” a commandment that Jesus repeated. Paul wrote to Titus (2:4-5), “…train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure (chaste – which means virginity before and faithfulness after marriage)…so that no one will malign the word of God.” The book of Hebrews (13:4) states, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and the sexually immoral.” The intimacy is reserved for marriage.

The third biblical principle is SEX IS PART OF ONENESS. God took one of Adam’s ribs from which He made Eve. Then He told the two to ‘become one.’ There is a mysterious yet wonderful oneness – a union – that can happen only between a man and a woman within the confines of marriage. As a husband and a wife surrender themselves and fuse their bodies and souls together, something miraculous and mysterious happens that unites them forever into one. It is a precious, divine intimacy. It is a gift from God.

Because of these principles God has laid out some BIBLICAL PREMISES OF SEXUAL RESTRICTIONS. There are at least four reasons God has put some limits on and boundaries around what we can do with our bodies. Paul wrote about it in 1 Cor. 6:12-20. There is, first, the PURPOSE OF THE BODY (13). “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” There is a relationship between Jesus and our bodies. We have been designed to enter into a relationship with Him and to serve Him. To cross the sexual boundaries violates His purpose for our bodies and corrupts our relationship with Him. We cannot be useful to Jesus if we are not in union with Him. The Bible states, “In a large house some dishes are made of gold or silver, while others are made of wood or clay. Some of these are special, and others are not. That's also how it is with people. The ones who stop doing evil and make themselves pure will become special. Their lives will be holy and pleasing to their Master, and they will be able to do all kinds of good deeds.” (2 Tim 2:20-21)

The second premise for sexual restrictions is the PROSTITUTION OF THE BODY (15-17). “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” Our bodies are part of Jesus Christ! Since God has designed us for that marvelous oneness of which we spoke, anytime we cross over His sexual boundaries, we tear at the oneness. Let me illustrate it this way. The word cleave in Genesis (“…a man shall cleave to his wife…”) means literally ‘to glue.’ I glued these two sheets of paper together last night. Where the glue dried, they are one sheet. If I try to pull them apart, I tear them both and destroy the perfect oneness. The sheets are forever part of each other. If I then glue one of the torn pieces to another piece, the same thing happens. Sexual union anchors that oneness and therefore we cannot unite sexually with another person outside of marriage without prostituting Jesus. Sex outside of marriage prostitutes and kills the intimacy between husband and wife and between them and God. C. S. Lewis wrote, “Every time a man and a woman enter into a sexual relationship a spiritual bond is established between them which must be eternally enjoyed or endured.”

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