Sacred Sex

“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.”—1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Sex is one of God’s greatest gifts—the sacred union between a husband and a wife. Well, at least that’s the way it’s supposed to be. But in our world today, sex has become degraded, commonplace, and removed from the vaulted and honored spot for which God intended it. The Bible uses the term “sexual immorality” as a catch-all term that describes any sexual activity outside of the union between a husband and wife.

In some ways, sex shows our search for God, because it is one of the few areas left where one can truly experience the transcendent. But when sex occurs outside of marriage, the transcendent starts to become elusive. It can’t continue to satisfy because the design and purpose of sex is to be in the context of marriage between a husband and a wife. God designed sex for our pleasure and enjoyment, but when there is any form of sex outside of marriage (or abused inside marriage) then it is sin in the sight of God. How do we resist the powerful draw of sexual immorality outside of marriage? Paul says that we are to “flee” from it. It means get away as fast as you can! Why? Because it is sin. And it’s not just any sin; it’s a different type of sin with some very different consequences. Paul writes,  

“Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” 

It’s a sin against oneself, which means that the sin invites direct physical, mental, and spiritual destruction.

For the Christian who is sinning by committing sexual immorality, God’s discipline is even more apparent. Because whenever someone becomes a follower of Christ, they are given God’s Spirit to dwell within them. Your body becomes not just a body that your soul and spirit inhabit, but a temple of praise to God, set apart for worship. We worship the Lord in “spirit and truth” (John 4:24), as our spirit, made alive and aware of God’s Spirit dwelling with it, lifts our focus onto God to worship Him properly. Whenever we sin sexually, we are polluting the temple that is to be set apart for God and Him alone. To appreciate the gravity of this, consider that your body is truly a temple. God looks at it as a temple. He lives in that temple. A temple is a place of worship. How repugnant would it be for someone to enter your place of Sunday worship and commit in that place an immoral sexual act? It’s morally and spiritually repugnant, because that is not the purpose for which God intended it. Just like the temple is to be a place of worship where people can meet God, so too have our bodies become temples, made alive by God’s Spirit, because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. He died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead. After that, He ascended into heaven. He had to ascend to heaven to take His rightful place at the right hand of God in order that He might send His Holy Spirit to set up residence in these earthly tents we call bodies—but when God’s Spirit comes into us, they are no longer earthly tents, but heavenly temples, the dwelling place of Almighty God.

To paraphrase C.J. Mahaney: Sexual immorality is so serious because Christ is so glorious. If you are a Christian, then you must understand that you are not your own any longer—Christ paid the price for your soul by the sacrifice of His own life on the cross. We must “flee” sin and make sure that we take “every thought captive” (2 Corinthians 10:5) so that we might not be ensnared by the “sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1). When we are tempted, know that Christ has provided a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13) and we don’t have to give in. And if you continue to feel tempted, then obey Paul’s admonition and “Flee!” May we flee the lure of sexual immorality and embrace the Savior who gave His life for us—then we will experience the joy and pleasure of God as we continually submit ourselves to Him and fill ourselves up with the knowledge of Him. Amen.