In the time when the New Testa­ment was written, the city of Corinth was well known for sexual permis­siveness. It was a centre for the worship of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of sex. Night after night, the servants of Aphrodite would roam the streets as religious prosti­tutes.

It was not unusual in the Roman Empire of that day for pagans to seek after extravagant and uncon­trolled perversions, satisfying their sexual lusts in a multitude of ways. Slaves would be kept for the pur­pose of being their owners’ play­things. Temple prostitutes were common.

Some things never change. The western world of our day and age sounds so much like the western world of that time. Oh, we might not have temple prostitutes or desig­nated concubines. Instead, we have mistresses and live-in lovers. Pornography is everywhere. Also, the advertising and television indus­tries do their best to try to stretch the boundaries of decency. Sex and sexual innuendo is everywhere around us. We live in a culture that would have done the pagan Greeks and Romans proud.

Paul’s response to sexual im­morality⤒🔗

The apostle Paul, infallibly inspired by God to write the Holy Scriptures, had something important to say about this subject. Paul knew that the immorality of the culture in his day and age was completely incon­sistent with the Christian faith. He also knew that in light of such ram­pant perversion, he needed to make some very clear statements about what the Lord requires of us with regard to the whole matter of sexu­ality.

No doubt, we in our day and age need to hear what he had to say just as much as did his original readers.

Consider what he writes in 1 Thes­salonians 4:3-5: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to con­trol his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.” The heathens will allow themselves to be controlled by their passionate lust. That is totally inappropriate for the Christian believer. The believer must not live in that sort of way, al­lowing his or her body to be dese­crated with all sorts of immorality and perversion. In the face of such overwhelming immorality, the Chris­tian must control his own body, seeking after sexual purity.

Are our bodies not ours to do with as we want?←⤒🔗

Why is this so important? What’s the big deal? Why can’t we do what we want with our bodies? That’s what the world argues for. Am a not free to express my sexuality in a manner of my own choosing? Why should Christians be any different in this matter?

We read in 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, “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.”The Christian knows that he does not belong to himself, and he is not free to do with himself whatever he pleases. He belongs to someone who has authority over him and over his body. Jesus Christ offered the ultimate sacrifice for all His people. He gave up His life for them. He paid the price for their sins by dying on Calvary’s hill. He paid for them with his blood. So, as people who have been cho­sen by God to be saved, we are not our own. Our bodies are not our own. They belong to God. They are completely and totally His.

And because we are His, because we belong to God, God sends his Holy Spirit to live in our hearts. Each and every Christian believer is a temple in which God dwells by his Spirit.

Christians are called to keep these temples holy and spotless. We must not blemish ourselves with vile sin. This means that we must demonstrate holiness in all areas, including in the area of sexuality. Being a temple of the Spirit means that we will want to obey God when it comes to what we do with our bodies. As the Heidelberg Catechism says, “We are temples of the Holy Spirit, body and soul, and God wants both to be kept clean and holy.”

Don’t be like the pagans←⤒🔗

So, why should we control our bodies? Because they belong to God and are temples of the Holy Spirit. But now consider this also: quoting 1 Thessalonians 4:4, 5 again — “each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.” When we revel in passionate lust, then we are showing that we are like those who do not know God.

Think about that: they do not know God. The unbeliever has no de­sire to serve God. He has no desire to be obedient to God’s Holy Word. It only makes sense that this sort of person will follow the desires of his sinful heart. How else would you expect him to act? But with the Christian, it is differ­ent. He strives after holiness be­cause he does know God. He does know what Christ has done for him. He does know how his sinfulness separates him from God, and he longs to be free from that sin so that he might know God even better.

Now, does this mean that the Christian will never struggle with the sin of lust? Not necessarily. Sin will always rear its ugly head in our souls. But will the Christian fight against that lust? Absolutely ... As those who know God they will fight hard against that lust. They will strive after control of their bod­ies.

Fighting against lust←⤒🔗

OK, the Christian seeks to control his body, he seeks to fight against lust, because he knows God. He knows what God has done for him, he knows that he belongs to God. But how are we to go about fighting this battle? How can the Christian control his body? How can he flee from lust?

For one thing, we need to have a change of attitude. Rather than be­come titillated with illicit sexuality, finding guilty pleasure in it, or even becoming accustomed to its preva­lence, the believer instead is called to thoroughly detest all unchastity. We must detest the sin of adultery. We must detest the sin of fornica­tion. We must detest the sin of ho­mosexuality.

Why? Not because of societal norms, which fluctuate with time. But because such things desecrate our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit.

And not only should the Christian detest sinful sexual deeds, he should even detest sinful sexual looks. Jesus said that he who looks lustfully at a woman is already com­mitting adultery in his heart.

The Christian should hate it when he finds himself looking at others in that sort of way. He must repent of making such glances and he must fight against it.

The Christian should also avoid en­couraging others to look at him or her in such a manner, by means of suggestive poses or suggestive clothing. He or she should dress modestly in order to prevent others from committing adultery in their hearts. String bikinis and other such overly revealing clothing have no place on the body of the Chris­tian.

And for that matter, we shouldn’t even engage in sinful sexual talk by, for instance, telling dirty jokes. Do you think dirty jokes are funny? Many comics see sexuality as a rich minefield for laughter. It’s as if they don’t see the humour in any other area of life. Such should not be the case with the Christian.

Well, there seems to be quite a bit that the Christian is supposed to detest, doesn’t there? So much so, that it hardly seems realistic to ex­pect the Christian to detest all un­chastity. And yet, that is what God commands of His people.

Sex in and of itself is not the problem←⤒🔗

Some seem to think that the Chris­tian faith makes you hate sex in all of its forms. This is not true. In fact, sex can be very good. But the thing is, Christians are supposed to serve God by remaining within the guidelines for sex that He has es­tablished in His Holy Word, and those guidelines demand that sex be reserved for the marriage rela­tionship.

Remember, God is the one who established the institution of mar­riage. He established that the rela­tionship between a husband and a wife should be one of faithfulness and complete companionship. The husband and the wife are one flesh, and it is a good thing for that one­ness to be expressed, including in a physical way.

This is the pattern that God sets for sexuality. He instituted that pattern already in the Garden of Eden, when He joined Adam and Eve to­gether as husband and wife.

This pattern will continue to be in place until the time when Christ re­turns again. And this pattern for sexuality that God has set, it must not be changed. It must not be changed to allow for adultery. It must not be changed to allow for sex before marriage. It must not be changed to allow for homosexuality, incest, bestiality, or any other abomination before the Lord. We must honor God with our bodies.

Marriage does not cure every problem in the area←⤒🔗

Some might think that it’s easy for a happily married man to write all of this. And there is no doubt, this can be a very difficult matter for those who are not so blessed. Single people will have a harder time of it. They are called to abstain from sex­ual activities until they are privileged to participate fully in a marriage re­lationship.

Maybe their urges give them extra impetus to find a marriage partner. It is better to marry than to always burn with passion. No doubt, this is not an easy matter.

But we have to realize that mar­ried people also have to be careful to control their bodies. Marriage is not a license to lust. Having a husband or wife does not mean that you have someone who is there to meet your every whim and desire. Sex within marriage must be a matter of love, of true union. So, whether married or single, we must all honor God with our bodies.

There is hope in the battle←⤒🔗

But now, let’s face it: being holy in the realm of sexuality is an ex­tremely difficult matter. What a high standard it is that the Bible calls us to live up to, especially when we live in a culture so ob­sessed with sex.

There is no doubt that the lusts of the flesh are powerful. Tempta­tions are all around us. It’s a struggle. Still, the Christian must recognize the call of God to live a life of holiness. And the thing is as well, the Christian can also know that the power of God can help him break free from sin. Do you struggle in this area? Seek out spiritual assistance. And know as well that in Jesus Christ, there can be cleansing and heal­ing in this area, and in every area of our life. With Him, there can also be forgiveness from sexual sin.

May God give you a strong sense of how He owns you. And may He enable you to learn to control your body in a way that is holy and honourable, that it may be clear that you belong to Him, body and