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.
5. If this is true then we better lock up our teenage daughters and/or put chastity belts on them because look out. If we are just evolved primates then I can see their point!
5. In 2000, the Bloodhound Gang found commercial success with one of the most pornographic albums ever recorded. One of their lyrics said, “You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals, so let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel.”
6. School officials and parents say, “Well, you know they are going to do it.” Yes, if teenagers are just a bunch of monkeys, I would agree. However, as human beings we are made in God’s image and we are not like the animals.
7. Sexuality involves our whole personhood. It touches not only in terms of the body, but also in terms of the soul. It even touches at the level of the spirit as well. This is something that is known only to humans and not to the animals. The world wants us to believe that it only touches us at the physical level.
8. Why are there so many more songs about love, sensuality and sexuality than about eating? Because sex touches us deeper than just eating.
9. In countless ways, women and men confidently proclaim that they can have sex without any destructive side effects. Time and time again, they regret those choices. Once a person yields in this area, there are mental and emotional scars that may never entirely disappear, even though God’s grace can bring healing.
II. The Sanctity of the human body.
A. Our bodies have an eternal purpose. Vs. 14
1. Involving our bodies in sexual immorality violates the purpose of our bodies.
2. Our bodies are not just playmates or boy toys. Not just a nice piece of meat to gain pleasure from.
3. God created a body for the Lord Jesus when he lived here on the earth, and that body became an instrument that demonstrated the glory of God, the power of God, the beauty of God’s holiness. We are given bodies just like Jesus’. Jesus was tempted in all points and yet was without sin.
4. Our bodies were not designed to serve the Lord in this life only, but also in the life to come. A new heavenly body! Our bodies belong to God now and forever.
5. (Phil 3:20 NIV) But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,(Phil 3:21 NIV) who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
6. What will our glorified, heavenly bodies be like, I really don’t know. Many questions? However, let’s not undermine our eternal purpose with sexual immorality.
B. Our bodies are members of Christ. Vs. 15-17
1. Our bodies are members of Christ’s body. We are joined in spirit with Jesus. Whoever we are joined with, in a sense Christ is joined as well. What we do with our bodies is a reflection upon Jesus Christ. His reputation is dirtied by our involvement in sexual sin. Vs. 15
2. Sex unites two human beings physically and spiritually. Vs. 16
A. Knits two spiritual and physical beings together. The verb used here for joined or united is used in a literal sense when boards are glued together. Such a union is not to be considered lightly.
B. No such thing as casual or recreational sex. Ray Stedman- Men who live sexually promiscuous lives have told me that even the most casual sexual liaison results in a change that is evident when they meet the girl later. There is a deep sense of having shared a mystery together- an intimacy that can never be forgotten.
C. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Vs. 19-20
A. The Holy Spirit lives within us. We should not defile our bodies because God lives here. Vs. 19
B. We have been given the Holy Spirit as a gift. He is ready to help us in our battle against sin. He is called the Counselor and Helper. We have been given a great resource in the battle against the flesh and against sexual sin. We don’t have to be in bondage, because we have the power of the Spirit of God within us to supernaturally help us resist the temptation. It is possible to live a life of sexual purity. Vs. 19
C. We were bought with a price. We have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross.
Conclusion and invitation:
B. Honor God with your body. Is this what God would want me to do with my body? Vs. 20.
C. Sanctity of Human life. You are not your own. It’s my body and it’s my choice. No, it’s not. As Christians, our bodies are not our own. Our souls, spirits and bodies belong to Jesus. Talk a lot about our money and time not belong to us, it is the same way with our bodies. Jesus bought and purchased our bodies.
D. I know there are Tough choices to make. When your boyfriend says, "If we don’t have sex, them we are breaking up." Don’t have sex and you break up and you see him with another lady. That tough!
E. Or you have sex and conceive a baby. Lord can make a difference through carrying that baby to life. I know that’s tough and humiliating and to raise that little one will be even tougher. But God can be glorified in the choices we make. He will help us if we honor Him in our stewardship over these bodies!
