1 Corinthians 6:12-13 ESV
“’All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything. ‘Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food’—and God will destroy both one and the other.”
As followers of Jesus Christ we are free, but not free to
sin. We are free from slavery to sin and from the power and control of Satan
over our lives. And, we are empowered of the Spirit of God to live in holiness
and righteousness.
But we aren’t under the Old Covenant ceremonial and
purification laws, and laws about certain foods that we can or cannot eat, as
were the Jews. But that doesn’t mean we are free to eat whatever we want or
that we are free to eat as much as we want. For, not everything is good for us,
and we are not to be controlled by anything other than by the Spirit of God.
But food is a subject that is difficult to define
Scripturally regarding what we can eat or how much, other than Scripture does
say we are not to be gluttonous. And, instructions were given to the Gentile
believers that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and
from blood, and from what has been strangled (Acts 21:25; Prov 23:21).
What may be regarded as gluttony by one person, though, may not
be regarded the same by another. Certainly, eating until you are stuffed or
until you are sick should be regarded as gluttony. But as far as what is good
or bad to eat, or how much is too much, we need to let the Lord direct us in
that, for our bodies are all different. But we should not resist God in this.
1 Corinthians 6:13-16 ESV
“The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The two will become one flesh.’”
The Scriptures are quite clear, however, regarding sexual
immorality of various kinds, that it is sinful. There is no wiggle room in this
one. And, Jesus said that to intentionally lust after another is to commit
adultery with that person in one’s heart (Matt 5:27-28).
But there are varied thoughts on what constitutes sexual
immorality. Certainly, having sex with someone outside of marriage or with
someone with whom you are not married is sexual immorality.
Masturbation, too, must fit here, for it is sex with
oneself, not with one’s spouse. It is self-gratification, finding sexual pleasure
and stimulation in oneself in place of with one’s spouse, or in addition to one’s
spouse. So, if you are married, and you practice masturbation, you are still cheating
on your spouse. It is still adultery, for you are lusting after yourself.
If you are someone who views pornography, that is looking
lustfully at someone else, so that is sexual immorality, and if you are
married, it is adultery against your spouse, especially if you use that to
masturbate and to satisfy yourself with yourself rather than with your spouse.
For, God intended sex to be between a husband and a wife
only. All other avenues for sexual stimulation and gratification are to be
regarded as sexual immorality, which would also include sex texting, sexual
conversations with others, and the sharing of sexually graphic photographs,
etc.
Sex and Love
But let me add this. Sex shouldn’t be just about sex. It
shouldn’t be just about you. It should be about intimacy. It should be about
love. It should be about meeting one another’s needs rather than just looking
to have one’s own needs or wants or desires met, which may not be healthy
desires.
It should be an expression of love, not of animal lust. And,
if we are followers of Jesus, it should be about our relationship with the
Lord, too. For, when we are joined together with our spouse, that union is to
be of the Lord, and the two are to be also united with Christ, and therefore
what we do with our bodies should also be in agreement with God.
So, if we commit sexual immorality, we are also committing
adultery against our Lord, who bought us back for God with his blood so that we
might now honor God with our bodies. So, we are not only damaging that pure
relationship we are to have with our spouse, but we are also hurting the pure
relationship we are to have with our Lord.
Thus, if our lives are committed to Jesus Christ, and if he
is truly Lord (owner-master) of our lives, we aren’t going to commit adultery
against our Lord or against our spouse. We will love our Lord, and we will
follow him in his ways, and therefore we will love our spouse with the love of
God, and we will do what is best for our spouse, to show him or her love, and
to not do anything intentionally to cause him or her harm.
1 Corinthians 6:17-20 ESV
“But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
When we get this idea that our bodies belong to us to do
with whatever we want, then we don’t have the right perspective. If we get this
idea that our spouse’s body belongs to us and therefore we can do whatever we
want with our spouse’s body, we also have the wrong perspective, for both
thoughts are against God, they are unloving, and they are harmful.
If we see that both our own body and our spouse’s body
belong to the Lord, then we will begin to see with the right perspective. Yes,
the Scriptures do teach that our bodies are not ours alone but also our spouse’s,
but they are still the Lord’s, and we are to honor God with what we do with
both bodies. And, love does no harm to others, too. Selfishness, thus, is not
love.
So, to love God and to love spouse is to honor God with how
we treat our own body as well as with how we treat the body and the heart of
our spouse. So, if you are given to lust and to sexual immorality, you are
treating God and your spouse with disdain, and you are trampling on the heart
of your spouse, and you are insulting the Spirit of Grace.
So, if this is where you are, I pray that today you would
truly repent of your sin, that you would turn away from your sinful practices,
and that you would turn to the Lord to follow him in all ways. I pray, too,
that you would now love God with all your heart, and that you would love your
spouse, and that you would honor him or her, and no longer treat him or her
with disdain.
Lyrics by Charles Wesley, pub. 1741
Soldiers
of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,
Strong
in the strength which God supplies, through His Eternal Son.
Strong
in the Lord of Hosts, and in His mighty power,
Who
in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.
Stand
then in His great might, with all His strength endued,
But
take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;
That,
having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,
Ye
may o’ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.
Leave
no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul;
Take
every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole.
From
strength to strength go on; wrestle, and fight, and pray;
Tread
all the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day.
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