God's Will for Our Sexual Purity - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 (5.10.20) - Dr. Jordan N. Rogers

[Music] it's god's demand that we control our bodies and our passions so how do i do it that's god's will for me so this morning we are in first thessalonians chapter 4 verses 1 through 8. what i want to speak with you about this morning is god's will for our sexual purity god's will for our sexual purity in accord with what i have just prayed it is my prayer this morning that we would not reduce the discussion the biblical presentation of god's demand for sexual purity that we would not reduce that to to a strange discussion or something that is immature but that we would understand that our sexual purity in this life is an expression of worship or it could be manipulated into an expression of rebellion against god you see human sexuality is is essential to our nature it's the way god made us god made us as beings who who can reproduce who have the desire to reproduce who have the desire to experience intimacy and i'm afraid that i'm afraid that the world talks about intimacy far more than the church does why would the world get the leading voice on something god created it ought not be that way the church ought not be fearful of speaking biblically about the topic of sexual intimacy when we talk about the topic of sexual intimacy we ought to talk about it from god's perspective from god's demand god's expectation that is god's will what is god's desire for how we express sexual intimacy it is not god's will that that human beings abstain from sexual intimacy it's god's will that we express that god-given gift in the god-prescribed manner and when we express that god-given gift of sexual intimacy in the god-prescribed manner let me tell you friends it's an act of worship it's glorifying to god for his creation to function properly and for his children to act accordingly to the holy calling with which we have been called and to which we have been called see we have not been called to impurity we have been called to holiness and holiness is not just expressed in the way that we treat people when we go to a restaurant or the way we treat people when we go to our job or when we are at school when we're out in the world holiness holiness and god's expectation for that digs so much deeper it digs down into the most the most closed off parts of our being it digs down into the most private aspect of our life and god does in fact have an expectation for us in that most private closed off sector of the human mind and heart and body god has a good and glorious plan so we need to understand that what is god's will for our sexual purity let me just tag the sermon with this summarizing statement i'm going to ask you this morning even if it's not your normal practice that you would take notes there is going to be much given to you in this sermon about how to pursue god's plan for sexual purity so i hope that you're going to take notes if not go back watch the sermon multiple times make sure you write these these statements down these scripture passages down and embed them deeply in your heart so let me tag the sermon with this simple sentence here and just say sexual purity is not only pleasing to god it is demanded by god sexual purity is not only pleasing to god it is demanded by god the way we're going to approach this text is the way that the apostle paul wrote it in verses one through six that'll be our first section and then the second section will be verses seven through eight you'll see that there is seemingly a clear divide there yet addressing the same thought in verses one through six you're going to see god's will for our sexual purity what what is god's outline how does god describe our sexual purity now this passage is not exhaustive it is not inclusive of everything that is said in all of scripture about sexual purity but in this passage you will see three demands three demands that god puts upon us that describe and prescribe for us god's will for our sexual purity so three demands god's will for our sexual purity and then in verses seven through eight get this you're going to see why why god demands our sexual purity for me i always no matter what i'm doing i need to understand why if i can understand the reason why man is just so much more helpful to me to understand why not just the what no just tell me what to do if you could explain to me why uh to do why is this good why is this right so in verses seven through eight why god demands our sexual purity i'm going to point out to you from the passage the three reasons that paul gives us the three reasons paul gives us to pursue sexual purity don't miss out on this in the very middle of the sermon i'm going to point out to you three controls three controls that i know of in god's word there are more but just for this morning three three controls that you need to go to and you need to be ready at all times to to activate those controls in order to engage in sexual purity okay three controls i want you to be very aware of those we'll do that right there in the middle of the text here so let's look at verses one through six god's demand for our or god's will for our sexual purity three demands here he says in verse one of chapter four and first thessalonians finally then brothers see what paul's going to do here he uses an interesting word lloyd pond he introduces a new section therefore finally he's transitioning to a brand new section a brand new uh focus or perspective here in the letter to the thessalonians previously in the first three chapters he's been talking about how the thessalonians received the apostles when they came what they've been doing since the apostles left paul's concern for them now that he is gone and and why he sent timothy back to them to minister to them so that they would be what so that they would be firmly established in their faith to be firmly established in your faith what do you need you need the word of god and you need the work of god you need both of those functioning in tandem the word of god and the work of god so you read god's word and you plead with god for him to work in you to firmly establish your faith and paul he is glad he is overjoyed that the thessalonians are firm in their faith but you know what people who are firm in their faith even people who are firm in their faith need to be instructed on practical matters so here in chapter four beginning here paul begins a new section where he really drills down on some practical issues this first practical issue he drills down on is the issue of human sexuality sexual purity so he says finally then brothers verse 1 we ask and we urge we compel you to this we ask and urge you here is an emphatic edition we urge you in the lord jesus that as you receive from us how you ought to walk that is how you ought to live your life and to please god that's what we're after right we're after the pleasure of god god made us for his glory we find our fulfillment when we are glorifying him and so he says as i told you we urged you in the lord jesus how you ought to walk and to please god to fulfill your god-given purpose just as you are doing paul says i'm not saying you're not doing this but just as you are doing that you do so more and more i love how paul says that because it reminds me that no matter where any of us are in our journey of spiritual maturity what can we do more and more more and more what does god expect of me more and more what does god want to accomplish in me more and more till the day i die and god completes that good work that he began in me in that day when i die when i see the lord jesus face to face you know what he's going to do he is going to make me perfect and complete in him he's going to take away any errant any any sinful desire i would ever have that's gone in a moment in a flash and from that point on i only do the will of god that is my one soul delight that's what i want to be my delight right now but i'm just like you we we all we all struggle with our flesh don't we we all struggle with with being tempted to sin and we need to do what more and more no matter where we are in that journey sees as as you are doing that you do so more and more verse two for you know i'm not telling you anything new for you know what instructions we gave you through the lord jesus so when paul says that we gave you instructions through the lord jesus he wasn't giving suggestions was he i think sometimes we miss that that when we read scripture we are not reading suggestions we're not reading opinions we are not reading words that are up for different interpretations when god spoke his word into existence through the inspiration of the holy spirit he was making declarations with fixed meanings it's not anyone's opinion it is god's word so paul says we gave you these instructions into verse 2 through the lord jesus verse 3 now for this is the will of god this is god's desire you do this and you are fulfilling his desire for the way he created you for this is the will of god your sanctification or the sanctification of you the hagias moss the holy making of you that's what god wants god wants us to more and more to be separated away from sinful desires and from the corruption of this world and all of its death and all of its filth and sensuality god wants us more and more this is his desire his will people say what is god's will for my life this is it god's will for your life is for you to be more and more separated from from sin and from sensuality and from corruption and from nasty desires so that you would be holy to him this is the will of god your holy making your sanctification now what is sanctification i've described it in a number of different ways just then but i want to define sanctification using a few biblical passages too to be specific the first biblical passage is going to describe to you exactly what sanctification is it is the process of realizing and experiencing freedom from the bondage of sin there's a second aspect it's not just realizing and experiencing and living in freedom from the bondage of sin it is living in the bondage of righteousness it is living as a slave to righteousness this is the only thing i will do is the right thing the god-honoring thing that's what sanctification is it is the process of leaving the jail cell that god christ has freed you from it's the process of getting out of that jail cell and walking into the freedom of the lord and walking in holiness as a free man as a free woman who is now a bond servant of the lord himself that's what sanctification is romans chapter 6 verses 17 through 18 paul says but thanks be to god that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient hear this have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed and having been set free from sin have become slaves of righteousness so how have we become obedient we've become obedient not because not because god is putting his heavy hand on us and forcing us to do it we have become obedient paul says from the heart we want we want to be slaves of righteousness there's nothing more freeing than being in bondage to christ and there's nothing more binding than being a slave to sin so how does this happen is this according to my will power it is my holy making dependent on my will power let me tell you it's dependent on your sanctified will power it's dependent on your holy spirit empowered will power ultimately it's dependent on the work of god it is god who is enabling you to become obedient from the heart listen to how the apostle peter speaks of the christians who were scattered abroad first peter chapter one verse two peter writes to those elect exiles of the dispersion in pontus galatia cappadocia and asia and bithynia according to the foreknowledge of god the father this is how you were elected according to the foreknowledge of god the father in the sanctification of the spirit for obedience to jesus christ and for sprinkling with his blood may grace and peace be multiplied to you so how are we sanctified ultimately it is a work of the holy spirit in other words let me draw this inference if your life is not becoming more and more like jesus it could in fact be either you are highly rebellious and extremely immature or the holy spirit is not at work in you because the holy spirit works in those in whom he indwells and it is it is his work to sanctify us for what unto obedience and paul says unto obedience of the heart so look at verse three a little more closely and we'll add another phrase to it so that's god's will right that we be made more and more separate unto him sanctified unto him he says for this is the will of god verse 3 your sanctification now he's going to define a specific aspect of sanctification your sanctification here's the first that you abstain you run from you keep yourself distant from it that you abstain from sexual immorality that word for sexual immorality is the word porneia it's where we get our english word pornography sexual immorality a quick definition of that is any expression of human sexuality outside of the biblical definition outside of the biblical confines human sexuality in scripture is only permitted to be expressed within the bonds of marriage between one man and one woman for a lifetime any other expression of human sexuality is sexual immorality whether that be homosexuality between two men lesbianism between two women fornication between a man and a woman or a man and a man or a woman and a woman though they are not married any expression of human sexuality outside of the confines of the biblical definition of marriage one man one woman united in marital commitment for lifetime any other expression is porneia it is sexual immorality you can engage in sexual immorality in your mind and with your body there are some who think that sexual immorality is something that you only do with your body and there are many millions and millions of people who consume pornography regularly and they are engaging in sexual immorality in their mind and what does jesus tell us in the gospels he says if you have lusted after a woman you have already committed adultery in your heart so god is concerned about sexual purity not just with the body he's concerned about sexual purity with the mind with the eyes with the heart he wants our whole obedience he wants our sexual purity down to the core of the person nothing is outside of the realm of this demand nothing this is the will of god your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality i told you just a few minutes ago that i would give you from this passage three demands three demands that god has placed on us for sexual purity demand number one let me give that to you from verse three god demands that we abstain from sexual immorality please write that down god demands that we abstain from sexual immorality ephesians chapter five i'm going to read here four different passages of scripture for you and the reason i'm going to read all four of those is because i want to have a waterfall effect on you through the word of god i want there to be a cascading waterfall of god's truth when it comes to sexual morality and sexual purity so here are these passages of scripture ephesians chapter 5 verse 3. paul writes but sexual immorality same word porneia and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among the saints colossians 3 5 paul says put to death therefore what is earthly in you sexual immorality porneia impurity passion evil desire and covetousness which is idolatry these actions are idolatry it is saying the body is to be worshipped before god first corinthians 6 13 the apostle paul writes food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food that's what some of them were saying he says and god will destroy both one and the other the body is not meant means it was not built god did not give you the body parts nor did he give you the desire for sexual immorality but for the lord and the lord for the body why were you created you and i were not created for the purpose of experiencing and expressing sexuality we were created for the purpose of honoring god so how do we honor god through our sexuality by being sexually pure by being holy as he is holy first peter 2 11 the apostle peter writes beloved i urge you two different men saying the same thing beloved i urge you as sojourners and exiles meaning you're temporarily living on this earth i urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain same sentence to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul paul says or peter says that's not helping anybody sexual immorality is not helping anybody it is actually waging war not just on the surface he says it's waging war against your soul to the deepest part of your body to the deepest part of your person it is cutting down that deep so what does peter say it's abstained from it paul says put it to death it shouldn't even be named among the saints of god i read that and i think there is no interpretation needed this is not a matter of opinion is it this is not a matter of deep exegesis this is this is just clear as day black ink on white paper abstain from sexual immorality god demands that we abstain from sexual immorality look at verse four this is god's will the second infinitival phrase that he uses this is the will of god verse four that each of you know how to control or possess could be the word there taphy that you control his own body in holiness and honor not in the passion of lust like the gentiles who do not know god so what's god's will god's will is our sanctification first of all is expressed in abstinence not from sex but in abstinence from sexual immorality secondly god demands right down this for verse four and five demand number two god demands that we control our bodies and passions god demands that we control our bodies and passions look at how paul said it that each of you this is god's will that each of you know how you know how to control he doesn't just say that each of you control he says that you know how to control what his own body in holiness and honor so we need to know how how i know it's god's demand for me it's god's demand that we control our bodies and our passions so how do i do it that's god's will for me to know how and i want to point out to you some these words here that word for control depending on what translation you are using your translation may actually say that each one of us know how to possess his own vessel the human body being pictured here as a vessel as a vessel carrying life and that we know how to control our vessel now what kind of control is he talking about this is clearly in the context of human sexuality he's not just talking about controlling our tongue controlling what we say he is talking specifically about human sexuality this is god's will that each of you know how to possess to control his own vessel his own body how in holiness and honor that word for control or possess it actually has the meaning of possessing something because you went and purchased it you went and you acquired it and you acquired it into your possession and it is in your hands you see if you go to a marketplace and you buy something into your possession you own that thing don't you you own it and because you own it you control it you see we don't go to the marketplace so that things can purchase us do we i've never been to a store and thought you know what which one of these items on the shelf is going to purchase me i'm going to go home with one of these items on the shelf that's that's stupid that is that is idiotic to think that way paul's saying this is god's will that each of you know how to possess to acquire possession and control what your own body your own vessel you see he says control it how in holiness and honor not in the passion of lust epithumia the pathos of epithelia this this evil sensual uh unsanctified desire like who he says like the gentiles who do not know god you see people who do not know god how are they living their life they are living their life not in control of their posit their passions they are living life under the control of their passions they are owned by their gut they are owned by their eyes they are owned by their senses and by their ability to perceive and their ability to feel pleasure people who don't know god that's how they operate what am i going to do today well what do i want to do today where am i going to go well where do i want to go what would be the most enjoyable thing for me what would be the most pleasurable thing for me that kind of person the person who does not know god does not acquire and own possession of their person their person is possessed by their desire and their passion and paul says it should be the exact opposite this is god's will that you take purchasing possession of your passions of your body and that you execute precision and control of the vessel that god gave you to live this temporary life in that's god's will for each one of us so how do we do that how do we control our body and our passions as i told you a few moments ago let me give you three controls here three means of control we're gonna stack them on top of one another the first means of control for our body and our passions number one is the sanctifying work of the holy spirit that's good news isn't it it is good news that the number one way to control our body and our passions is not us it's a work of god god is doing this in you if you don't see god doing this in you it is likely it is possible that god is not at work in you the number one way to control the body and the passions is the sanctifying powerful work of the holy spirit galatians chapter 5. a lot of times we just jump down to the fruit of the spirit the proof of the the presence of the holy spirit within you but i want to jump a little bit further back and look at what is what it's like to be in the absence of the holy spirit galatians chapter 5 verses 19 through 25. now paul says the works of the flesh are evident sexual immorality there it is sexual immorality impurity sensuality idolatry sorcery enmity strive jealousy fits of anger rivalries dissensions divisions envy drunkenness orgies and things like these i warn you as i warned you before that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of god you notice that he doesn't say that those who make a practice of such things are probably backslidden christians he says that they will not inherit the kingdom of god what a warning that's what paul means when he says how we urge you and we solemnly warn you for paul this is a very serious serious thing not something flippant but then he says in verse 22 of galatians 5 but the fruit the proof of the holy spirit within you the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and here it is self-control that's a gift of the holy spirit self-control that you be able to possess your own body and your passions not be possessed by your body and your passions a vessel is something you occupy it doesn't occupy you self-control gift of the spirit and he says against such things there is no law and all those who belong to christ jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires that's who we used to be but we nailed that rascal on the cross with christ he's dead i am not that man anymore you are not that woman anymore that person is dead they were buried in those baptismal waters a new person came out of those waters a brand new person filled with the spirit of god in control of the body and the passions amen then he says in verse 25 of galatians 5 if we live by the spirit let us also walk by the spirit walk by the spirit this is how you are to walk and to be pleasing to god to fulfill his demands for you okay so that's the number one controls the sanctifying work of the holy spirit the second way the number two control the means of control to control our bodies and our passions control number two is not just the holy spirit it is the god empowered discipline given to you upon regeneration when god made you brand new he not only gave you the holy spirit he gave you a new heart he gave you new desires he gave you a brand new will a will that is not in bondage to sin god gave you the ability to make the right choice praise god so what does paul say for us to do romans 6 1 through 1-14 actually it's 11-14 pardon me he says so you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to god in christ jesus let not that's a command for us let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions don't let sin sit on the throne of your heart that's where you said jesus sits so paul says that seat is occupied don't let your passions occupy it who has control of that we do now in the spirit we have control of that don't ever say i just can't control myself if you say i just can't control myself you are either ignorant of the power that god has given you or god has not given you that power because you are not born again you can control yourself the spirit has empowered you to do it and god has given you given you an empowered discipline to crucify the flesh verse 13 of romans 6 do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness but present yourselves to god every day as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to god as instruments for righteousness for sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under the law but under grace romans 13 12-14 the night is far gone love it the night is far gone the day is at hand so then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light let us swap properly as in the daytime not in orgies and in drunkennesses not in sexual immorality and sensuality not in quarreling and jealousy but put on the lord jesus christ how often should you put on the lord jesus christ every day every moment and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires don't feed your passions don't feed sinful desires paul says listen to how paul even talks about his own person first corinthians 9 27 this discipline is god empowered discipline he says but i discipline the literal rendering of the greek as he says i pummel i beat my body and keep it under control lest after preaching to others i myself should be disqualified paul says my body will not control me i will control my body that's what paul is telling us to do here that each one of us this is the will of god that each one of us know how to control his body that we not live like like lost people like people who don't know god know we have a god empowered control god in power discipline he has given us a spirit-empowered discipline he has given us so that's the two so far it's the sanctifying work of the holy spirit that's how you control your body it is the god-empowered discipline that he has given you upon regeneration and then control number three let me just get real practical here if you can't control your body or your sexual desires get married amen you get married it is god demand or control number three pursue god's gracious gift of marriage god has given you an outlet of expression for sexual intimacy it's called marriage between one man and one woman pursue god's gracious gift of marriage first corinthians 7 2 but because of the temptation to sexual immorality each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband see god doesn't want us to abstain from sex totally he wants us to abstain from sexual immorality so if you can't abstain from sexual immorality get married what a provision first corinthians 7 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control they should marry for it is better to marry than to burn with passion amen so those are the three ways that i'm going to point out for you this morning to control the body and its passions the sanctifying work of the holy spirit the god empowered discipline given to you upon regeneration and to pursue god's gracious gift of marriage what does it mean what does it mean to control one's person to control one's vessel in holiness and honor you see when we talk about that a lot of times what we do is we end up saying well what that means is that means don't do bad things don't engage in sexual immorality but but here's the thing god says don't engage in sexual immorality in fact abstain from it but he says control your body in holiness and honor it's not just enough for us to flee sexual immorality what does god want for us to do he wants us to control the body in holiness and in honor you know what he's touching upon here he is touching upon the sanctifying work of the holy spirit affecting our holy affections that we just not we not just hate sin but that we actually love righteousness god wants us to love holiness to love the pure expression of marital intimacy and to despise any expression of human sexuality outside of marital intimacy between one man and one woman that's what it means to control your body and your passions in holiness and in honor but let's quickly go here to the third demand god has placed upon us verse 5 and he says not in the passion of the lust of the gentiles who do not know god here it is verse 6 that no one transgress sin against or wrong cheat defraud his brother in this matter because the lord is an avenger he is a punisher in all these things as we told you beforehand and solemnly warns you what a warning so what is the third aspect the third demand the first is that we abstain from sexual immorality the second is that we control or we control our bodies and our passions the third demand god has placed on us is this god demands that we not sin sexually with or against any of our christian family not with or against anyone in our christian family he's already told us in first corinthians 6 believers aren't to even even think about having any kind of relationship with unbelievers that there's no fellowship of darkness with light and here he says now now don't defraud or sin against who not some stranger that you find attractive he says do not sin against or defraud your brother your brother someone in the family of god they are your brother ladies is your sister brothers these are people in the family of god paul says don't sin with them don't sin against them don't cheat anybody out of a holy expression of sexual purity you see paul is not speaking specifically or limitingly of adultery here is he he's not just saying don't don't don't fornicate don't adulterate with the wife of another brother that's not what he's saying he says don't transgress or wrong defraud any of your brothers you see because a woman doesn't have to be someone else's wife for you to defraud somebody she may not be somebody's wife today but she will be somebody's wife tomorrow she will be somebody's wife in the future and even if she's not going to be somebody's wife in the future she's somebody's daughter today she is somebodies and when we engage in sexual immorality if you ever face that temptation understand it doesn't just stay between you two it doesn't just stay between you two god sees it and what is he he is an avenger that means he is a punisher you say well i'm saved and god punished all my sins on the cross maybe you should have told the apostle paul that because he says that god is an avenger he is a punisher and who is he writing this to he is writing this to christians that you you're not going to lose your salvation if you are born again you are secure in the father's hands but you know what the father can do with you in his hands he can do this he can squeeze down a little bit god can punish us without sending us to hell can he i think people who have engaged in sexual immorality people who have engaged in adultery or fornication understand very well that god can punish a person without them going to hell they can experience great loss in this life if you just want to know about that go read proverbs chapter 5 giving your years to the merciless and that prostitute that wandering woman her throat going down to death it says god is an avenger so abstain from sexual immorality learn how to control your own body and passions in domain number three god demands that we not sin sexually with or against any of our christian family why i need to know why verse seven and eight the apostle paul gives us three reasons why three reasons why god demands our sexual purity this is very enlightening verse 7 4. this is why for god has not called us kaleo it's the same verb that paul uses in romans chapter 8 in chapter 9 to speak of the sovereign call of god to a person unto salvation so this has everything to do with your salvation this is not just a physical matter here he says for god has not called us to what god has not called us for impurity god did not save us from our sins so that we could swim in them he rescued us out of that cesspool so that we could be what god has not called us for impurity but in holiness he has called us to be separate come out from among them and be holy as i am holy that was god's command to his people god has not called us for impurity but in holiness god did not save us so that we could abound in sin and receive more grace paul says may it never be in romans 6. so that's the first reason that's the first reason that paul gives you it has everything to do with your salvation you think god saved you to give you a free ticket to sin no reason number one why god demands our sexual purity god has called us to holiness and let me tell you sexuality is a natural component to the human nature if you are not holy in your human sexuality you are not holy to god you can't be holy in part that's what lot's wife wanted to do is they're fleeing sodom and gomorrah she's wanting to run to safety and at the same time look back at sodom and gomorrah with longing eyes there's no way to safely straddle a fence no way to do it it ends up bad on both sides god has called us to holiness that's the first reason why god demands our sexual purity first peter 2 9. listen to this statement listen to what god has called you to do what he has called you to be a part of but you are a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his for god's own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light what on earth do we have doing with sexual immorality when we are a chosen race a holy priesthood proclaiming the excellencies of the one who called us and brought us into his marvelous light out of darkness look at verse eight he's gonna give you two more reasons in verse for god has not called us for impurity but in holiness therefore whoever disregards whoever sets it aside that word there for disregards is the greek word etheton at the tone the that is the antithetical the a there in front of it is the way of negating that verb the the verb without the negating a in the prefix actually means to bend the knee it means to bow the knee and he says whoever disregards whoever refuses to bow the knee to this refuses to bow the knee or disregards not man but god so if we refuse to obey god in the realm of human sexuality and sexual purity what are we refusing we are not refusing the command we are refusing god we are refusing to do what we are refusing to bow our knee it's hard to say jesus is is my lord and savior if jesus is not lord of my sexuality in fact it is impossible to call jesus lord and savior if he is not also lord of my sexuality paul says anyone who disregards this they disregard not man they refuse to bow their name to god so reason number one god has called us to holiness reason number two why god demands your sexual purity is to disregard the demand of sexual purity is to disregard god that's why this is important that's why this is important it is not about your love for that other person it is about your surrender to the lordship of jesus it has nothing to do with your affection for that other person it has everything to do with your affection or lack of affection or rebellion against god almighty god's called you to holiness and to disregard that command is to disregard god himself reason number three look how paul tacks this on reason number three he says he disregards not man but god who gives his holy spirit to you he tacks that on there at the end this is why it's important to be sexually pure god has given you his holy spirit you are not a soul actor you and that other person or you and that tv screen or you in the computer screen or you in the phone screen are not the only ones in that room you and the holy spirit god has given you his holy spirit listen to this first corinthians 6 verse 18 paul says flee sexual immorality every other sin a person commits is outside the body but there's something different about sexual immorality but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body or do you not know that your body this is how you sin against it your body is the 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 this is why sexual immorality is different it's different than any other kind of sin because sexual immorality is in the mind it's in the heart it's in the body and you are occupied by the holy spirit you are dragging god's holy name into whatever filth you walk into so paul says this is the will of god for you sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality that each one of us knows how to control or possess his own body his own vessel in holiness and honor not like the gentiles not in the passion of lust like them they don't know god and that none of us sin against or defraud or cheat or rob our brother or sister in this matter for god is an avenger of all such sins god has not called us friends god has not called us to impurity he called us for holiness he has called us for holiness if we disregard this who are we refusing to bow the knee to god himself and what has god done for us god's called people out of sin and out of darkness into light and he has forgiven us of our sins not because of anything we have done he's forgiven us of our sins because he killed his own son as the penalty for our transgressions and then god chose after killing his son for our sins and raising him up from the dead god chose to put his holy spirit inside of these rebels and turn them into his holy people a chosen race a holy priesthood unto him we are the temple now of the living god sexual immorality should not even be named among us friends sexual purity is not only pleasing to god it is demanded by god and it is incredibly necessary and important would you pray with me our father in heaven we plead we plead with you lord make us holy as you are holy lord you have called us clean through the death of your son through your justifying work of sinners by faith would you have called us clean lord we ask that you would make us clean or make us to be holy as you are holy forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who sin against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil yours is the kingdom in the power and the glory forever and ever amen

Channel: Dr. Jordan Neal Rogers

Views: 462

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Preaching, preach, teach, teaching, preacher, teacher, pastor, New Testament, Christ, Jesus, Savior, Gospel, salvation, Lord, Messiah, Messianic, 1 Thessalonians, Thessalonica, epistle, apostle, apostolic, Paul, apostles, minister, ministry, faith, firm, foundation, help, me, understand, Christian, Hillcrest, Baptist, Church, Nederland, Texas, Dr. Rogers, Jordan, Neal, Rogers, Jordan Rogers, expository, expository preaching, exposition, exposit, exegesis, sexual, sex, pure, purity, true, love, waits, intimate, intimacy, holiness, holy, sleep

Id: kiXRa-R9BrU

Length: 55min 35sec (3335 seconds)

Published: Sat May 16 2020