Earlier this week, I read through 1 Corinthians during my devotions. In chapter 5, Paul addresses a scandalous sin where a man is sleeping around with his own mother-in-law. When we look at a story like this, and many others like it, we can never accuse the Bible of whitewashing the sinfulness of humanity.
Another lengthy passage on this subject can be found in 1 Thessalonians , but here in 1 Corinthians 6, some valuable things are taught about this particular sin and how to overcome it. Nearly every Christian struggles with sexual temptation, perhaps even more during this pandemic. Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies. Paul begins the argument by offering a rebuttal to the common thinking of the day, which was an argument for human freedom.
We live in a world of sexual anarchy. Human autonomy is good only when lived under the sovereign rule of God. Next, we need to know the very purpose of our bodies. Our bodies were not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord 13b. In other words, our bodies were not meant to be used as instruments for sin, but for holiness, for the Lord. In fact, we were created for sex, but that sex act is sacred and should only be practiced with our spouse, in marriage.
Now, if point one was about our purpose, then point two is about our relationship. The next thing we need to know is that our bodies are members of Christ By being members of Christ, we are united with him 17a.
