8. Honoring God With Your Body Series

In order to apply this passage in our lives, let’s start with the conclusion Paul makes and then work backward.

1. I am a steward of my physical body, but it belongs to the Lord. (v. 19-20)

You may think that your body belongs to you – but the Word says actually you’ve been bought by a high price. God purchased you through the blood of his Son Jesus, and you agreed to the deal when you came to him in faith and turned your life over to His Lordship.

Because of this you have to think differently about what you do with your body.

ILLUS: When I drive my own car, I tend to take it for granted. I stop and start a bit quicker. I speed a bit more often. I do dumb things like trying to change the CD on my portable CD player while driving.

But if I drive someone else’s car my mindset changes. I don’t take chances. I keep my hands on the wheel. I do everything possible to avoid having to say to the owner “I wrecked your car.”

This is what we have to keep in mind about our bodies. They really aren’t ours. They belong to God – and we are simply stewards of them, in charge of their care while we live life on this earth.

So, we must HONOR GOD WITH OUR BODIES.

TRANS: But what does this mean exactly? Well, as you just heard Paul explain in some detail, first of all it means…

2. I must keep myself sexually pure. (v. 13-18)

13You say, "Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food." This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them. But our bodies were not made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.

There were those who were making the argument that since God made our bodies with stomachs – we should go ahead and fill it with food. In the same manner, they argued, God made our bodies with sexual parts and sexual desires, so we should go ahead and fulfill the sexual desires God has given us.

It’s a common lie today. I talked with a fellow CTK pastor last week and he told me of a discussion he had recently with a man in his twenties who wanted to know if this pastor really thought it was POSSIBLE to date someone without being involved sexually. Maybe you’ve wondered the same thing.

Nearly every TV show, every secular music video, nearly every popular song and nearly every movie coming out of Hollywood shouts the message: “It’s your body! If it feels good do it! Sex is just a physical act like any other physical act. If your body desires sex, then fulfill that desire as often as possible.”

But remember - your body does not belong to you. Just as I don’t have a right to use my friend’s car in a dangerous way – I don’t have the right to use my body and join it with someone else.

Paul reminds us that though the world tells us our bodies were made for sex, and therefore all sex is permissible - God’s word calls us to a different standard. Sexual purity. What is sexual purity?

Sexual purity is when sexual gratification is found only in the marriage relationship.

God’s design, way back at creation, was for a man and woman to be joined in marriage and become one flesh – physically, emotionally, financially – in every way.