The Sin Against the Body
18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price so you must honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:18-20 NLT)
Paul warns the Christians in Corinth to run from sexual sin. If you read the King James version of the scripture above, the term fornication is used instead of sexual sin. Paul uses the word fornication to include acts such as adultery, sexual perverseness, and sex outside of marriage. In this day in age, most people do not see sex as a big deal. Sex is glorified in movies, television, books, and music. Sex has a strong hold on people, to the point where it is not uncommon for a person to lose their virginity before they reach the age of 18.
So why is sex outside of marriage a sin?
Anything that falls short of God is a sin. The Bible tells us so in 1 John 3:4.
4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. (NLT Version).
God set a standard that we as believers should follow. When we go against that standard, it is considered sin. God created sex so that husband and wife could be fruitful and multiply (see Genesis 1:28). Sex was not intended to be had outside of marriage or used in a perverse way. We know this because in Leviticus, God gives out several commandments that forbid certain sexual practices (See Leviticus 18).
The results of sexual sin
Sin always leaves a negative effect on us, whether we realize it or not. Sexual transmitted diseases such as, HIV/AIDS, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HPV. It is important to note that not all people who have contracted HIV/AIDS contracted the virus through sexual intercourse. Some contracted it from birth (meaning their mother had HIV), through blood transfusions, or from sharing needles. With the exception of patients who contracted HIV/AIDS through other means, these sexually transmitted diseases did not just happen out of the blue, they are a result of sex outside of marriage, as well as perversion. Sexual sin can also lead to unwanted pregnancies, abortions, ungodly soul ties, obsession, and murder.
A good example that I can give comes from 2 Samuel 11:14-17. 14 So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. 15 The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” 16 So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. 17 And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight. Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. (2 Samuel 11:14-17 NLT).
David orders Uriah to be killed in order to hide his sin of adultery. King David decided to sleep with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. Once Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s baby, David tried several times to cover his sin. He finally “succeeded”, when Uriah was killed in battle. As a result of David’s sin, the child that Bathsheba was pregnant with died (see 2 Samuel 12:14). In this case adultery caused the death of Uriah, as well as Bathsheba and David’s son.
Another example that I can give comes from Revelation 21: 8: But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Revelation 21:8 NIV)
The ultimate consequence of sexual sin is complete separation from God.
Concluding remarks
Going back to 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Paul states that our bodies are a temple for the Holy Spirit. Paul also mentions that our bodies do not belong to us, because they were paid for with a heavy price. With that being said, we should live our lives in a godly way. In order to do so, we obey the commands the Lord has given to us. Christ lives within us, therefore we should not be engaging in acts that defame His dwelling place.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I humbly come to you and ask for your forgiveness. Not only have I sinned against you, but I have sinned against my own body. Please come into my heart and show me the ways in which I can live to glorify you with my whole being. I renounce any spirits of sexual perversion and lust in the mighty name of Jesus and ask that you purify me with the Blood of Jesus.
Amen
Go in Peace