Four Lies About Sexuality- 1 Cor. 6

When I was young my parents bought me a dog--a beautiful Boxer puppy, or so they thought. It quickly became apparent that this puppy was no purebred Boxer. Upon taking the puppy to the vet, my parents were informed that this dog was at least 50% Great Dane. When my parents contacted the breeder for an explanation, the breeder offered this flimsy, if memorable, denial: "Well, it was a Boxer puppy when it left here!" Riiiight.

Lies often promise one thing, but deliver something else. As the hymn says: "The sin that promised joy and life, had led me to the grave." Our culture has a way of presenting sexual sin as attractive and desirable, but the reality is that such sin leads to moral ruin. Here are four lies about sexuality the Corinthians believers were at risk of accepting in 1 Corinthians 6, and that our culture wants us to believe as well.

1) Christian liberty gives me unbridled sexual freedom

The believers in Corinth were apparently fond of the expression "all things are lawful for me," and argued that because they were no longer under the law but under grace, that they were free to live as they pleased. They justified their sexual promiscuity by saying grace allowed them the freedom to sin. But as Paul says: "All things are lawful for me,but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything." (1 Cor. 6:12) They had exchanged their liberty in Christ for bondage to sin. We should not be dominated by sin, but instead live freed by Christ to pursue righteousness as we could not before when we were enslaved by sin.

2) Sexuality is merely a physical function

Paul addresses a common Corinthian expression: "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food."(6:13) In other words, just as eating is a natural function of the body,the Corinthian believers argued, so sexuality is a merely a natural function. The stomach is intended for food, so the body is intended for sex. They attached no spiritual significance to sexual union or activity. Many continue to believe this lie-- "monogamy isn't natural," "sex is just biology," etc. Since sex is just a natural bodily function, it shouldn't matter what we do, or who we do it with. But Paul replies "The body is not meant of sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." We belong, body and soul, to Christ, and therefore what we do with our bodies, particularly sexually, has profound spiritual implications.

3) Sexuality outside of marriage is inevitable; it's how we're wired!

You have probably heard something to the effect of "we are sexual creatures...it's how we're wired," or "boys will be boys" (though it should be noted, sexual immorality is not an exclusively male problem). So many people, even Christians, act as if sexual activity outside of marriage is inevitable, and therefore we should stop making a fuss about it. But Paul warns: "Flee sexual immorality."(6:18b) If sexual sin is inescapable, why does Paul, writing by the Spirit of God, tell the Corinthians to flee from it? Elsewhere in his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul says: "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..." (1 Thes. 4:3-5) We are not to consider sexual sin unavoidable, but rather we are to practice self-control over our bodies for the glory of God.

4) My body, my choice.

This is such a common battle cry of sexual liberation--"I can do with my body as I please. My body, my choice." Such a viewpoint is diametrically opposed to the heart of Christianity. Paul faces this lie head-on: "Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or 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." (1 Cor. 6:18-20) Your body is not your own, to delight as you please with the desires of you heart. No, you belong to God, who purchased you by the blood of Christ and whose Spirit dwells in you.

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Application: We need to learn to submit our thinking and activity to Scripture. We cannot allow the world to shape our beliefs, to convince us of the truthfulness of the lies it tells. The danger of the lies culture convinces us of regarding sexuality is that these lies often conform to our own sinful desires. We then use these lies ("I can't help it," "It's just sex," "I can do with my body as I please," etc.) to justify actions that offend the Spirit of God, and show just how little we regard the price Christ paid in the purchase of our freedom. How happily we buy the lies that would make the free man a slave again. Instead, let's resolve with Paul to glorify God in our bodies.

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Reading: 1 Corinthians 6