Monday, August 9: With sanctification and honor

One of the greatest lures of the world is sex. We see it every time we open a magazine, turn on a television, go to a movie, and in the United States, every time we walk down the street. In the days of Jesus, people wore clothing that hid their bodies, but today, some of our clothing doesn’t leave much to the imagination. According to a recent survey, 95% of Americans have had sexual relations prior to marriage, and surprisingly, that number has remained the same since the 1950’s. This is possibly the biggest hurdle for Christians who believe in God and believe that the Bible is the Word of God. When we pick and choose which parts of the Bible that we believe, aren’t we creating God in our image, deciding what the God we worship should be like? In His Word, He tells us who He is. Our thoughts or hopes cannot and will not change that!


When Christians weigh the world’s opinion when deciding the validity of verses in the Bible, huge problems arise. Yet sadly, that is exactly what occurs when it comes to premarital sex and extramarital sex. Certainly, King Solomon struggled in the same manner, with his 700 wives and 300 concubines. Sex is a creation of God to populate the earth, hence His command to, “Be fruitful and multiply,” in Genesis 1:22. Additionally, God had other reasons for the act of sexual intercourse. He designed it for husbands and wives to share intimacy. That intimacy is an example for us of the relationship that He desires with each of us as believers. No, that does not mean that we will have sexual relations with God, but as the brides of Christ, He wants to know us in a very intimate and special way. Interestingly, of all the sins mentioned in the Bible, sexual sin is the only one where we sin against our own bodies.


18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or 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? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20


Paul writes of the sacredness of the bodies of believers, and in the same manner that a husband becomes one with his wife, we as believers have become one with God. If we have sexual relations with another person, we share our soul with them. It would be similar to carrying an idol into church and worshipping that idol alongside Jesus. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we should not defile God’s sacred home. Don’t forget the number of times that God tells us that He is a jealous God. He chose us. He sent His Son to die for our sins. He purchased us with His blood. We are His!

Sex is a wonderful and unique gift given by God, and we know how Satan loves to corrupt God’s gifts as much as he possibly can. Sadly, the focus that the world puts on sex demonstrates the worship of the gifts of God, rather than the worship of God, Himself. As Christians, we are called to be His, and His alone. Our jealous God doesn’t want us having more conversations with the world than we have with Him. Let your relationship with God become more intimate in your prayers and in the way that you desire to please Him. Possess the temple of the Holy Spirit with honor! God loves us so much and He wants us to love Him back, intimately!


4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust,
1 Thessalonians 4:4-5