SEXUAL MORALITY

God prohibits sexual worship —the idolization of sex and infatuation with sexual activity as a fundamental means to personal fulfillment. All throughout Scripture and history, people have mistakenly fallen into the trap of thinking that the God-created pleasure of sex and sexuality will bring us ultimate satisfaction (see Exodus 32:2-6; Deuteronomy 23:17; Proverbs 7:1-27; 1 Corinthians 10:8). Sadly, it seems that we are no different in our time. All across our culture, people believe, “If only I have sexual freedom in this way or that way, then I will be happy.” But this is not true. Sex is good, but sex is not God. It will not ultimately fulfill. Like anything else that becomes an idol, it will always take more than it gives while diverting the human heart away from the only One who is able to give supreme joy.

Each of the Bible’s sexual prohibitions is encapsulated in the all-encompassing command “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). These words were written to a church in the sex-crazed city of Corinth, where singles were sexually involved before marriage, husbands and wives were sexually involved outside of marriage, homosexuality was condoned, and prostitution was common. (Not much has changed in two thousand years.) So to the church in that culture and to the church in our culture, God says, “Flee from sexual immorality —any and all sexual thinking, looking, desiring, touching, speaking, and acting outside of marriage between a man and a woman. Don’t rationalize it, and don’t reason with it —run from it. Flee it as fast as you can.”

But we don’t believe God on this one. None of us do. The Bible doesn’t speak simply against adultery or homosexuality but against multiple manifestations of sexual immorality in every single one of our lives. All of us —men and women, heterosexual and homosexual —are sexual sinners, and all of us are in need of a Savior.

PRAY

Ask God to:

• Bring conviction and repentance in the lives of Christians (including you) involved in sexual immorality.
• Give Christians compassion, boldness, wisdom, and humility in addressing issues such as homosexual activity, pornography, and other forms of sexual sin.
• Open the hearts of unbelievers to see that God forgives and breaks the power of sexual sin and that true freedom is found in Jesus Christ.

PARTICIPATE

Prayerfully consider taking these steps:

• Meet with a small group of others in your church to exhort one another to sexual purity and faithfulness.
• Support or become involved in a ministry that helps those who struggle with same-sex attraction.
• Contact government officials and exhort them to enact and implement legislation that will prevent the exploitation of women (through avenues such as pornography or prostitution) in our culture.

PROCLAIM

Consider the following truths from Scripture:

• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
• 1 Corinthians 6:18-20: “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.”
• Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

For more (and more specific) suggestions, visit CounterCultureBook.com/SexualMorality.