Main theme of this passage: growing in your walk with God. Verses 1-2. You’ve received the truth of how to grow in your walk with God. It begins with faith. But there are other areas in which we can grow. This passage gives us three ways to grow in our walk with God.
1. Grow in your Abstinence (v. 3-6)
—the bottom line (v. 3)
It is God’s will that you abstain from fornication (sexual sin). When you step into fornication, you have stepped outside of God’s will.
Abstinence: “the fact or practice of restraining oneself from indulging in something” (Dictionary).
—the right way: sanctification and honor (v. 4)
Sanctification: moral purity. Honor: something with great price. Moral purity should be valued, not desecrated. Falling into fornication de-values your body.
I Corinthians 6:19-20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Ex: Joseph (Gen. 39)
—the wrong way: lust of concupiscence (v. 5)
Concupiscence: that which kindles a desire. This is going after what your flesh wants.
Ex: Samson
—the reason (v. 6)
This is talking about sexual sin. Defraud: to take advantage of (in an sexual sense, according to the context). God takes this seriously; He is the avenger of such occurrences.
Illustration: A man wrote about his experience when his 13 year old son’s school announced a meeting to preview the new course in sexuality. Parents could examine the curriculum and take part in an actual lesson presented exactly as it would be given to the students.
“When I arrived at school, I was surprised to discover only about a dozen parents were there. As we waited for the presentation, I thumbed through page after page of instructions in the prevention of pregnancy or disease.
I found abstinence mentioned only in passing. When the teacher arrived with the school nurse, she asked if there were any questions. I asked why abstinence did not play a noticeable part in the material. What happened next was shocking. There was a great deal of laughter, and someone suggested that if I thought abstinence had any merit, I should go back to burying my head in the sand.
The teacher and nurse said nothing as I drowned in embarrassment. My mind had gone blank, and I could think of nothing to say. The teacher explained to me the job of the school was to teach ‘facts,’ and the home was responsible for moral teaching. I sat in silence for the next 20 minutes as the course was explained. The other parents seemed to give their unqualified support for the materials.
“Donuts, at the back,” announced the teacher during the break. “I’d like you to put on the name tags we have prepared – they’re right by the donuts – and mingle with the other parents.”
Everyone moved to the back of the room. As I watched them affixing their name tags and shaking hands, I sat deep in thought. I was ashamed that I had not been able to convince them to include a serious discussion of abstinence in the materials. I uttered a silent prayer for guidance. My thoughts were interrupted by the teacher’s hand on my shoulder.
‘Won’t you go and join the others, Mr. Layton?’ The nurse smiled sweetly at me. ‘The donuts are good.’
‘Thank you, no,’ I replied.
‘Well, then, how about a name tag? I’m sure the others would like to meet you.’
‘Somehow I doubt that,’ I replied.
‘Won’t you please join them?’ she coaxed.
Then I heard a still, small voice whisper, ‘Don’t go.’ The instruction was unmistakable. ‘Don’t go!’
‘I’ll just wait here,’ I said. When the class was called back to order, the teacher looked around the long table and thanked everyone for putting on name tags. She ignored me. Then she said, ‘Now we’re going to give you the same lesson we’ll be giving your children. Everyone please peel off your name tags.’
I watched in silence as the name tags came off. ‘Now, then, on the back of one of the tags, I drew a tiny flower. Who has it, please?’
The gentleman across from me held it up. ‘Here it is!’
‘All right,’ she said. ‘The flower represents disease. Do you recall with whom you shook hands?’ He pointed to a couple of people. ‘Very good,’ she replied. ‘The handshake in this case represents intimacy. So the two people you had contact with now have the disease.’
There was laughter and joking among the parents. The teacher continued, ‘And whom did the two of you shake hands with?’ The point was well taken, and she explained how this lesson would show students how quickly disease is spread.
‘Since we all shook hands, we all have the disease.’
It was then that I heard the still, small voice again. ‘Speak now,’ it said ‘but be humble.’
I noted wryly the latter admonition, then rose from my chair. I apologized for any upset I might have caused earlier, congratulated the teacher on an excellent lesson that would impress the youth, and then concluded by saying I had only one small point I wished to make.
‘Not all of us were infected,’ I said. ‘One of us… abstained.’”
2. Grow in your Holiness (v. 7-8)
—the call to holiness (v. 7)
We have been called to a life of holiness. Holiness is distinction, being set apart. And why should we be holy?
Leviticus 20:7, “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.”
God is holy, and we are His children. We must also be holy. Every Christian is called to holiness.
I Peter 1:15, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.”
We are to be holy in every aspect of our lives. It’s easy to be holy at church, but not so easy at home. Holiness should be on display at church, at home, at the job, in the store, in the mall, in the car, and even at family reunions! Holiness is not a convenience, it’s a command.
—the condemnation of unholiness (v. 8)
Whoever rejects this calling to holiness is rejecting God Himself! The world has rejected this call, but what about the Christian? It makes no sense for a Christian to reject a holy life because the Holy Spirit is living inside him! We have the HOLY Spirit, the HOLY Savior Jesus, the HOLY Father, the HOLY Bible, but we’re not going to be holy?
Illustration: Arlington National Cemetery is home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The sentinels who volunteer to guard this grave are trained and challenged for the task. First, the soldier must be between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet 4 inches tall. Next, he will be interviewed and undergo a two-week trial. During the trial, he must memorize seven pages of Arlington National Cemetery history. This information must be recited verbatim in order to earn the right to walk. Next he must learn the grave locations of nearly 300 veterans. He is also required to keep his uniform and weapon in immaculate condition at all times. Even after he has finished his service, he is not to do anything in his life, personal or public, which would bring shame upon the badge he has received, as the badge can be revoked. He is to live a life of distinction.
We are soldiers in the Lord’s Army, and we are always on duty. We are not to do anything that would bring shame to our King. We don’t have to memorize the history of a cemetery, but we should memorize God’s history book. Our lives should be immaculate at all times, in public and in private. We are not guarding a tomb of a dead soldier, we are guarding the testimony of the living Savior! It should be a life of distinction, a life of holiness.
3. Grow in your Love (v. 9-12)
—a godly principle (v. 9)
John 15:9-14, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”
—a growing love (v. 10)
It has been said that one should not “fall” in love; rather, he should grow in love. It’s great if you love others, but what are you doing to increase your love?
Did you know that God cannot grow His love toward us? He already has an infinite and unconditional love for us. But we are fickle. Our love can be like a roller coaster, going up and down. Grow in your love toward God and toward others.
—a diligent work (v. 11)
Three areas of diligence: Be quiet (and that ye study to be quiet), Be focused (and to do your own business), Be working (and to work with your own hands).
—an honest walk (v. 12)
Why should we work diligently? So we can live with integrity. “Them that are without” is referring to the lost. Our work should be a good testimony to the lost. Also, we should work so that we will have lack of nothing. Witness and wages. The witness comes first, but you also need wages.
CONCLUSION
These are growing pains. None of these come naturally for us. But if you want to grow in your walk with God, you must grow in your abstinence, grow in your holiness, and grow in your love. Notice that the abstinence is related to yourself, holiness is related to God, and love is related to others. All the bases are covered. If you leave out one, you will not grow right; you will be a deformed Christian.
Joseph Merrick was born on August 5, 1862. Although his parents were perfectly normal, Joseph was born with incredible deformities. They only became worse as he aged. As a full-grown adult, Merrick’s head was measured as 36 inches long; while his left arm and hand appeared normal, his right arm and hand were large and bulgy; the right side of his face was also bulging as if it were swollen to an extreme; his skin was covered in papillomata (warty growths); the subcutaneous tissue appeared to be weakened and caused a loosening of the skin. Due to these deformities, Merrick could not find a job; instead he joined a freak show and became known as the Elephant Man.
Sometimes I wonder if the world looks at us and sees us as freaks. We appear to be holy, but we have no love for others; or perhaps we do love others, but we live unholy lives. We are deformed, misshapen, freaks of nature. Many Christians are accused of being hypocrites, and many are. Hypocrites are nothing more than deformed saints. Look at yourself in the mirror tonight. Where do you need to grow? Ask God to change you and mold you into the image of Christ, that you would grow as He desires for you.
