September 6th
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” 17But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 NKJV
When we sin sexually (mentally or physically) we are sinning against our own bodies. Whether we can feel him or not, God’s Spirit lives in us. Our spirit is joined with his Spirit. Sexual sin attempts to unite God’s Spirit with whatever we’re having sex with. It could be a porn picture, a prostitute or even a person in our memory. Since our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, we are defiling God’s temple when we use our body for sexual sin.
All sin has consequences, but sexual sin brings especially damaging results. Some of the consequences of sex sin may include:
- We grieve God
- We quench the Holy Spirit’s activity in our life
- Our relationship with our spouse (current or future) is damaged
- Our memory is filled with sexual images for future temptation
- We may contract a sexually transmitted disease
- Our thoughts are corrupted with evil (Romans 8:6)
- We open the door to all types of confusion
- For more, see Consequences of Sex Sin
Those who turn to Jesus for help have the hope of recovery from the damage of sex sin. God can heal and restore our sexual purity and strengthen us to deal with the consequences of our sin. While God may not remove the consequences, he will lead us in making the best of them and returning to the path of righteousness.
If you have decided to turn away from your sin and embrace God, you can keep this psalm in mind as you move forward:
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:2-5 NKJV
Questions for further thought:
What gives God the right to claim our bodies as his own? (vs. 20 above)
What is the special purpose our bodies have once we’ve placed our trust in Jesus? (Romans 6:11-14, 2 Timothy 2:20-21, Ephesians 2:10)
How does sexual sin thwart that special purpose?
How will doing God’s will affect our bodies? (John 4:31-34)
Prayer:
“Lord God, I affirm my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I accept your ownership of my body. Please forgive me for any sin that I’ve yielded my body and mind to. I repent of it now. I present my body members to you now as instruments of righteousness to do your will today. Holy Spirit, please lead me in truth and strengthen me to walk in purity. Thank you, Lord! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”