“For this
is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.” (v.3)
Today’s Scripture emphasizes the importance of sexual morality.
According to verse 3, one of the most important aspects of holy living is to
“avoid sexual immorality.” The word used in the New Testament text refers to a
wide range of sexual sin. Abstaining from sexual immorality is a matter of
God’s will. It is God who defines what constitutes immorality, not the culture.
God’s standard of morality demands that we control what we do
with our bodies. We are not to live like animals, driven only by instinct and
appetite. Paul describes an ethical landscape in which the moral practice of
believers is distinct from that of the surrounding culture.
This reminder is especially timely for Christians today who are
being pressured to redefine sexual standards so that practices that the Bible
describes as sinful are considered morally acceptable. God expects those who
belong to Christ to behave differently. Serious social and spiritual
consequences are in store for those who disregard God’s ethical standard. On a
social level, human relationships are damaged when people are wronged and taken
advantage of through sexual sin. Spiritually, Paul warns: “The Lord will punish
all those who commit such sins” (v. 6). These standards are not merely Paul’s.
Those who reject them are really rejecting God (v. 8).
Therefore,
abstain from sexual immorality, know how to possess your own body in
sanctification and honor, love one another with a brotherly love, lead a quiet
life, mind your own business, work with your own hands, comfort one another in
the hope of His return. In this way we distinguish ourselves from the surrounding culture.
The Truth
“Flee
sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he
who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.” (1 Corinthians
6:18)
