WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.140 All right, we have got quite a journey to go 00:00:02.140 --> 00:00:04.240 on together this morning. Let me start with this 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:07.679 question. If I were to say to you, you are free 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:11.320 in Christ, would you understand what I'm referring 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:16.460 to? Would you be able to define what it means 00:00:16.460 --> 00:00:19.940 to be free in Christ? Could you explain it to 00:00:19.940 --> 00:00:24.219 somebody else? In our world today, in the West, 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:28.219 we usually speak of freedom in terms like this. 00:00:28.910 --> 00:00:33.289 Having nobody that we have to answer to. Being 00:00:33.289 --> 00:00:37.130 able to choose whatever we want. Being able to 00:00:37.130 --> 00:00:39.450 go in any direction or take any path that suits 00:00:39.450 --> 00:00:43.530 us. Freedom for us means being able to define 00:00:43.530 --> 00:00:46.750 who we are and to follow after whatever desires 00:00:46.750 --> 00:00:52.229 well up within us. Now, with that definition 00:00:52.229 --> 00:00:54.149 of freedom, we hold up what the Bible says about 00:00:54.149 --> 00:00:56.549 freedom and we see that Christian freedom is 00:00:56.549 --> 00:00:59.189 not that. It's completely different from that, 00:00:59.250 --> 00:01:01.689 right? Because we do answer to a higher power. 00:01:02.350 --> 00:01:04.790 Our choices are not just about us, but about 00:01:04.790 --> 00:01:08.890 pleasing our Savior. Our path in life is not 00:01:08.890 --> 00:01:12.209 to be our will, but to be His will. It's Him, 00:01:12.349 --> 00:01:14.790 the Lord Himself, who defines who we are. And 00:01:14.790 --> 00:01:17.310 clearly, we're told that we shouldn't just run 00:01:17.310 --> 00:01:20.390 after every feeling that comes up within us. 00:01:20.450 --> 00:01:23.620 But nevertheless, we are free in Christ. The 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:25.599 scripture tells us that. It bears that out. We 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:27.900 are free in Christ. In fact, it's one of the 00:01:27.900 --> 00:01:30.079 most startling and beautiful aspects of the gospel 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:34.560 that God sent his son to come to earth, to take 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:38.239 on flesh, to die in our place, not just to improve 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:41.060 us, not just to make our lives more comfortable, 00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:45.280 but to liberate us from slavery, to make us free. 00:01:46.250 --> 00:01:49.209 He paid the ransom penalty for our sin. He broke 00:01:49.209 --> 00:01:52.829 the power of sin over us. He reconciled us to 00:01:52.829 --> 00:01:55.769 the Father and then he gave us his spirit to 00:01:55.769 --> 00:01:59.890 guide us and sanctify us through life. So being 00:01:59.890 --> 00:02:03.010 free in Christ and first and foremost is freedom 00:02:03.010 --> 00:02:06.750 from the penalty of sin, freedom from the power 00:02:06.750 --> 00:02:10.389 of sin over us and freedom from the perpetual 00:02:10.389 --> 00:02:13.370 anxiety that comes from not knowing whether you've 00:02:13.370 --> 00:02:16.110 done enough. to secure God's love and favor. 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:20.210 And we have that freedom. And again, this is 00:02:20.210 --> 00:02:22.469 what that freedom of Christ is not. It is not 00:02:22.469 --> 00:02:25.310 a wide open permission slip to live for ourselves. 00:02:26.370 --> 00:02:29.189 And that's what too many people going to churches 00:02:29.189 --> 00:02:32.310 this morning think. It just means we can do what 00:02:32.310 --> 00:02:36.669 we want and still claim to know Christ. But that's 00:02:36.669 --> 00:02:39.330 not what it is. It's not a blank check for self 00:02:39.330 --> 00:02:42.129 -indulgence. To see everything that our flesh 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:45.800 appears to want and then just run after it. It's 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:47.800 actually the opposite of that. Through Christ, 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:50.219 we are delivered from the tyranny of ourselves. 00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:54.340 Think about that. We're freed from the tyranny 00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:56.740 of ourselves. We're given a whole new inclination 00:02:56.740 --> 00:02:59.139 now to live for the glory of God. We're given 00:02:59.139 --> 00:03:02.759 new affections. We're given new wisdom for decision 00:03:02.759 --> 00:03:06.460 -making. We're given a whole new worldview. And 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:09.340 we're given a whole new reason for living. We're 00:03:09.340 --> 00:03:12.379 now free to delight in God's law. Think about 00:03:12.379 --> 00:03:15.319 that, in our inner man. Even something that tells 00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:18.020 us what we shouldn't do, we're now free to delight 00:03:18.020 --> 00:03:21.219 in those things. Free to delight in striving 00:03:21.219 --> 00:03:23.500 to observe the commands that Christ has given 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:26.580 to us. And it's not forced drudgery. It's what 00:03:26.580 --> 00:03:30.139 we want now. Because God has changed our hearts. 00:03:30.180 --> 00:03:32.460 He's brought us alive. He's given us these new 00:03:32.460 --> 00:03:35.199 affections. And get this, we are free now to 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:39.139 deny ourselves and to live for others. Does that 00:03:39.139 --> 00:03:42.319 sound like an oxymoron? We're free to deny ourselves 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:47.300 and to live to serve others. Everything for us 00:03:47.300 --> 00:03:50.099 has changed. When we put our trust in Christ, 00:03:50.139 --> 00:03:54.780 we are now free indeed. Now, how that gets fleshed 00:03:54.780 --> 00:03:57.520 out is where the struggle comes in, right? How 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:00.240 it practically works its way out in the daily 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:03.900 struggles of life because we're not yet perfected 00:04:03.900 --> 00:04:06.860 in our freedom, right? We don't use it as we 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:09.460 should. We're not as practically mature as we 00:04:09.460 --> 00:04:11.800 ought to be in our faith. So now as we walk through 00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:13.979 life, we are faced with all kinds of choices 00:04:13.979 --> 00:04:16.699 and decisions every day. Should I go left or 00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:21.199 should I go right? What is wise? What is foolish? 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:24.579 If I'm faced with five things, how do I prioritize 00:04:24.579 --> 00:04:28.970 them? In what order? I know I'm free to do this 00:04:28.970 --> 00:04:33.889 or that, but should I? Paul has a few things 00:04:33.889 --> 00:04:35.889 to say about this in our passage for today. So 00:04:35.889 --> 00:04:38.930 grab your Bibles. We are going to go to 1 Corinthians 00:04:38.930 --> 00:04:46.189 6. 1 Corinthians 6. And guys, this message really 00:04:46.189 --> 00:04:48.509 is, I know I've done this before, part one of 00:04:48.509 --> 00:04:50.949 two. So like when we were in chapter five, remember 00:04:50.949 --> 00:04:52.410 I made you raise your right hand and promise 00:04:52.410 --> 00:04:55.639 to come back next Sunday? I'm doing, I'm kind 00:04:55.639 --> 00:04:57.259 of doing, I know it didn't work, but it's okay. 00:04:57.819 --> 00:04:59.759 I'm kind of doing that again this morning because 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:02.399 these two messages are going to overlap. We're 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:04.579 covering basically the same passage and they're 00:05:04.579 --> 00:05:07.180 going to overlap in the details of each message. 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:09.899 I can't fit them into one. The details of each 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:12.379 message are going to, are going to help you if 00:05:12.379 --> 00:05:14.740 you want the full picture of what Paul is saying 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:18.629 in these verses, verses 12 to 20. What I'm going 00:05:18.629 --> 00:05:20.750 to try to do today, next week will be as a family 00:05:20.750 --> 00:05:23.029 service, so our kiddos will be with us. I'm going 00:05:23.029 --> 00:05:25.069 to try to get through as many of the mature themes 00:05:25.069 --> 00:05:27.970 in this passage as I can today, while just you 00:05:27.970 --> 00:05:31.250 adults are with us. Amen? And spare the kiddos 00:05:31.250 --> 00:05:34.310 some of that language for next week. It's not 00:05:34.310 --> 00:05:36.370 been easy this week to do this, but I think I've 00:05:36.370 --> 00:05:38.670 got it figured out, so we'll see. Now, there's 00:05:38.670 --> 00:05:41.550 three words or phrases that dominate this section 00:05:41.550 --> 00:05:44.290 of Paul's letter. The first is the Greek word 00:05:44.290 --> 00:05:47.319 porneia. And we've seen this many times already 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:49.920 in this letter. It is the Greek word for sexual 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:51.540 immorality. We're going to see it three more 00:05:51.540 --> 00:05:55.420 times in our verses for today. Then there's the 00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:59.060 word soma in the Greek, which means body. We're 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:01.759 going to see this, what is it, eight times, eight 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:04.740 times in these nine verses. And finally, we're 00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:06.860 going to hear Paul say multiple times, do you 00:06:06.860 --> 00:06:09.759 not know? As if he's saying to the Corinthians, 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:13.120 why? Haven't you heard me correctly on this issue? 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:17.060 Do you not know this? So let's read the whole 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:19.560 thing as one, verses 12 to 20, and then we'll 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:21.660 start breaking it down. So here's what it says, 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:24.019 beginning in verse 12. Paul says, all things 00:06:24.019 --> 00:06:27.199 are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:30.240 All things are lawful for me, but I will not 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:33.740 be mastered by anything. If you're one of those 00:06:33.740 --> 00:06:35.540 people who likes to highlight or underline your 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:39.740 Bible, underline, highlight profitable and mastered. 00:06:40.410 --> 00:06:44.230 Those are key words. Verse 13. Food is for the 00:06:44.230 --> 00:06:47.670 stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God 00:06:47.670 --> 00:06:50.470 will do away with both of them. Yet the body 00:06:50.470 --> 00:06:54.610 is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and 00:06:54.610 --> 00:06:57.769 the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only 00:06:57.769 --> 00:07:00.790 raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through 00:07:00.790 --> 00:07:03.769 his power. Do you not know that your bodies are 00:07:03.769 --> 00:07:06.829 members of Christ? Shall I then take away the 00:07:06.829 --> 00:07:08.449 members of Christ and make them members of a 00:07:08.449 --> 00:07:13.610 prostitute? May it never be. Or do you not know 00:07:13.610 --> 00:07:16.529 that the one who joins himself to a prostitute 00:07:16.529 --> 00:07:20.629 is one body with her? For he, God says, the two 00:07:20.629 --> 00:07:23.829 shall become one flesh. But the one who joins 00:07:23.829 --> 00:07:28.730 himself to the Lord is one spirit with him. Therefore, 00:07:28.910 --> 00:07:31.529 in verse 18, flee immorality. Every other sin 00:07:31.529 --> 00:07:33.970 that a man commits is outside the body, but the 00:07:33.970 --> 00:07:37.689 immoral man sins against his own body. And again, 00:07:37.709 --> 00:07:40.939 that's a reference. to porneia, sexual immorality? 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:43.620 Or do you not know that your body is a temple 00:07:43.620 --> 00:07:46.879 of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:52.379 from God, and that you are not your own? For 00:07:52.379 --> 00:07:55.639 you've been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:59.819 God in your body. Okay. This could be a whole 00:07:59.819 --> 00:08:02.079 sermon series, right? There's so much here, but 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:04.519 let's go back up to verse 12. I wanna look at 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:07.480 what I call the law of spiritual benefit and 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:10.620 the law of spiritual freedom. These are two principles 00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:14.699 that are a huge help in how we're to walk through 00:08:14.699 --> 00:08:16.839 this life as Christ followers. They're gonna 00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:19.379 give us a ton of direction. So let's look at 00:08:19.379 --> 00:08:22.019 verse 12. All things are lawful for me, but not 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:25.399 all things are profitable. The law of spiritual 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:28.370 benefit. Now, the first thing we have to determine 00:08:28.370 --> 00:08:31.610 with this passage is who is speaking when it 00:08:31.610 --> 00:08:33.769 says all things are possible or all things are 00:08:33.769 --> 00:08:36.470 lawful. It could mean all things are permissible. 00:08:36.690 --> 00:08:39.870 Who is speaking in that? Is that a statement 00:08:39.870 --> 00:08:43.149 that is true for Christians? Everything is permissible? 00:08:43.429 --> 00:08:47.610 Is that true for us? Of course not. Of course 00:08:47.610 --> 00:08:49.669 not. In the verses right before this statement, 00:08:49.889 --> 00:08:52.389 Paul gave us a whole list of things that used 00:08:52.389 --> 00:08:55.659 to mark our lives, such were some of us. But 00:08:55.659 --> 00:08:58.279 now we're not to return to those things. So no, 00:08:58.379 --> 00:09:02.360 fornication is not permissible, right, for a 00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:05.480 Christian. Idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:08.000 thievery, coveting, drunkenness, that whole list, 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:10.679 that is not okay for those of us who've been 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:14.039 transformed by God's grace to go back to. So 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:17.919 no, not all things are permissible, right? So 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:20.149 why would Paul write this then? All things are 00:09:20.149 --> 00:09:22.769 awful. Well, raise your hand if the Bible that 00:09:22.769 --> 00:09:24.889 you're looking at right now has quotation marks 00:09:24.889 --> 00:09:28.769 around that statement. Anybody? Okay, good. So 00:09:28.769 --> 00:09:33.149 you might have an ESV or a CSB or an NIV. And 00:09:33.149 --> 00:09:35.029 so you're going to see there quotation marks 00:09:35.029 --> 00:09:38.330 around that statement. What does that mean? That 00:09:38.330 --> 00:09:41.669 means that the translation committee is not convinced 00:09:41.669 --> 00:09:46.279 that that is a Pauline statement. They're convinced 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:50.019 that Paul didn't say it like that statement lays 00:09:50.019 --> 00:09:53.059 it out. So it's something of an interpretive 00:09:53.059 --> 00:09:55.259 statement that's being made by the translation 00:09:55.259 --> 00:09:58.179 committee, which means what's going on is one 00:09:58.179 --> 00:10:01.539 of two things. Either that is a false idea that 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:03.740 developed there among the believers in Corinth, 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:06.779 the members of the church basically saying, we 00:10:06.779 --> 00:10:10.259 can live as we please. Because we are saved by 00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:13.620 grace, we're forgiven of our sins, so our conduct 00:10:13.620 --> 00:10:17.580 no longer matters. This is called antinomianism. 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:22.080 Look, I've got my fire insurance. I've trusted 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:25.080 in Christ, so therefore now I can go out and 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:29.240 live as I please because it's all forgiven. Antinomianism, 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:32.059 fancy theological word, just two Greek words, 00:10:32.179 --> 00:10:36.409 anti and namas, against the law. And we do see 00:10:36.409 --> 00:10:39.529 this attitude in the first century churches in 00:10:39.529 --> 00:10:42.490 several different places. People had fallen into 00:10:42.490 --> 00:10:45.149 this wrong idea. For example, Paul writes to 00:10:45.149 --> 00:10:48.509 the church in Rome. He says, shall we sin because 00:10:48.509 --> 00:10:51.470 we're not under law but under grace? May it never 00:10:51.470 --> 00:10:55.190 be. We're not to just keep sinning because we've 00:10:55.190 --> 00:10:59.470 been given God's grace. Antinomianism. So we 00:10:59.470 --> 00:11:01.549 have to get the balance here of law and grace. 00:11:01.629 --> 00:11:05.200 We're not justified by keeping the law. We can't 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:07.059 be justified by keeping the law. You know why? 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:10.440 Because we can't keep it. So we're not justified 00:11:10.440 --> 00:11:13.159 by law keeping, but being justified by God's 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:15.820 grace through faith does not eliminate our need 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:19.759 to repent of sin and to pursue holiness. So we've 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:22.100 got to get that balance right. So this statement 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:25.679 in verse 12 could be pure antinomianism or, and 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:28.519 I think this is more likely, The Corinthian believers 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:32.440 had taken Paul's correct teaching on freedom 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:37.980 in Christ and twisted it into a self -gratifying 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:41.620 principle. I think this is more likely. It's 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:43.820 like they look around at their culture, and we 00:11:43.820 --> 00:11:45.539 understand the culture of Corinth, and they say, 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:48.580 well, it all looks pretty enticing. And you know 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:52.279 what? Paul did say we're free in Christ. So they 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:55.230 begin to twist the meaning of his teaching. And 00:11:55.230 --> 00:11:57.350 listen, it's true that you can find statements, 00:11:57.389 --> 00:12:00.049 if you isolate passages in the New Testament, 00:12:00.230 --> 00:12:03.230 you'll find Pauline's statements that could cause 00:12:03.230 --> 00:12:06.370 you to get the wrong impression. If you're looking 00:12:06.370 --> 00:12:09.929 to twist his words, and we know people that do 00:12:09.929 --> 00:12:12.809 this, right? They want something, they see the 00:12:12.809 --> 00:12:14.870 end goal, so they take the scriptures and they 00:12:14.870 --> 00:12:16.789 twist it. We just looked at it last week, right? 00:12:16.889 --> 00:12:19.909 With homosexuality. They twist it to meet their 00:12:19.909 --> 00:12:23.259 agenda. So, for example, in Colossians 2, listen 00:12:23.259 --> 00:12:26.440 to the freedom in this passage. Paul says, nobody 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:29.580 is to act as your judge in regard to food or 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:32.539 drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon 00:12:32.539 --> 00:12:35.460 or a Sabbath day, things which are a mere shadow 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:39.139 of what's to come. Okay? You have the freedom 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:41.019 to do those things. Nobody should judge you for 00:12:41.019 --> 00:12:43.960 it. If you've died with Christ to the elementary 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:47.519 or basic principles of the world, why, as if 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:50.139 you were living in the world, do you submit to 00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:53.700 yourself to its decrees such as don't handle, 00:12:53.820 --> 00:12:56.139 don't taste, don't touch? Why do you submit to 00:12:56.139 --> 00:12:59.279 those things? So again, if you isolate that, 00:12:59.340 --> 00:13:01.460 you could go, wow, look, we can handle, touch, 00:13:01.580 --> 00:13:04.980 taste everything. And we could twist Paul's meaning 00:13:04.980 --> 00:13:07.639 in the freedom of Christ. So it's possible the 00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:09.700 Corinthians had just come to the wrong conclusion 00:13:09.700 --> 00:13:12.159 about their freedom. Or again, they were looking 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:14.919 for a reason to misunderstand Paul's teaching 00:13:14.919 --> 00:13:19.019 and justify their sinful choices. So what Paul's 00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:21.080 doing here, I think, is he's bringing the correction. 00:13:21.899 --> 00:13:25.899 He says, look, you seem to believe that all things 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:29.120 are permissible, but I'm telling you this, not 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:33.740 all things are profitable. So understand that. 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:37.620 It might be permissible, but is it? Now that 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:40.320 word profitable, some pharaoh in the Greek, can 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:42.940 be translated in a whole number of ways, but 00:13:42.940 --> 00:13:45.259 it's all the same idea. Not everything that you 00:13:45.259 --> 00:13:50.279 can do or could do is beneficial for you. Not 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:52.220 everything you could do is to your advantage. 00:13:53.340 --> 00:13:56.639 Not everything you're allowed to do is good for 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:01.720 you. And we better be self -aware so that we 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:03.860 can answer those questions. I can do it, but 00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:06.570 should I do it? That's what Paul's getting at 00:14:06.570 --> 00:14:08.450 here. When it comes to things that are good, 00:14:08.490 --> 00:14:10.649 profitable, or beneficial, there is a higher 00:14:10.649 --> 00:14:13.909 standard for us as Christ followers. It's not, 00:14:13.909 --> 00:14:17.149 well, I want to do it, and I can do it, therefore 00:14:17.149 --> 00:14:19.870 I will do it. It's much more thoughtful than 00:14:19.870 --> 00:14:22.309 that. We have to take into consideration who 00:14:22.309 --> 00:14:26.549 we are, who we belong to, and what are my responsibilities 00:14:26.549 --> 00:14:30.070 to the people I love before we just dive into 00:14:30.070 --> 00:14:32.309 things, right? We have to ask questions. Is this 00:14:32.309 --> 00:14:35.559 thing I could do? Is it good for my soul? Is 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:38.340 it good for my body? Does it hinder my walk with 00:14:38.340 --> 00:14:41.360 Christ? Does it potentially bring harm to others? 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:45.419 Okay, so look, we're not driven by natural instinct. 00:14:45.500 --> 00:14:48.340 We are new creations. We are born again. We're 00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:50.620 not animals that just respond instinctively and 00:14:50.620 --> 00:14:56.019 say, I can do it, here I go. We stop and we think 00:14:56.019 --> 00:14:59.360 biblically. Make sense? So hold those thoughts 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:00.940 for now. Let's look at the second principle, 00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:04.580 what I call the law of spiritual freedom. Paul 00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:07.679 now, at the second half of verse 12, repeats 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:10.320 the twisted phrase, all things are lawful for 00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:13.200 me, and then he brings a second correction. He 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:16.019 says, but I will not be mastered by anything. 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:20.980 I'm not to be mastered, dominated, or enslaved 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:25.620 by anything. Although I'm free to do this thing, 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:28.320 I have to ask the question, if I engage in it, 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:30.320 is it going to take me down a dangerous road 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:34.559 to where I might become enslaved by it? This 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:37.639 is a serious warning, you guys, that we cannot 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:40.419 ignore. If we exercise our freedom in Christ 00:15:40.419 --> 00:15:44.759 without wisdom, without caution, it's so easy 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:48.139 for us to start dabbling in stuff that eventually 00:15:48.139 --> 00:15:50.960 and subtly and quietly and surprisingly just 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:56.139 grabs hold of us and makes us its slave. Jesus 00:15:56.139 --> 00:15:59.460 warned us in Matthew 6, you cannot serve two 00:15:59.460 --> 00:16:03.299 masters. So if you profess the Lord is your master, 00:16:03.379 --> 00:16:07.419 all other masters have to be set aside. All of 00:16:07.419 --> 00:16:11.500 them. In Ephesians 5, Paul gives us this incredibly 00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:15.059 sound advice in regard to making choices. He 00:16:15.059 --> 00:16:20.379 says, be careful how you walk. In your daily 00:16:20.379 --> 00:16:23.259 life. And think about it, as soon as you wake 00:16:23.259 --> 00:16:25.580 up, your feet hit the floor, or as soon as your 00:16:25.580 --> 00:16:28.120 feet cross the threshold of wherever you live, 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:31.659 stop and think, I need to be careful today about 00:16:31.659 --> 00:16:36.879 how I walk. I need to be careful. Notice he doesn't 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:40.600 say, and as you go, avoid the world entirely, 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:45.980 or as you go, say no to everything. Okay, we're 00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:48.480 free in Christ. He doesn't say no to, he says 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:51.309 in your freedom. Just be careful how you walk. 00:16:52.210 --> 00:16:55.850 Walk with wisdom as a wise man, not an unwise 00:16:55.850 --> 00:17:01.029 man. And in other words, and I'm gonna say this 00:17:01.029 --> 00:17:04.869 as an older man who often is counseling younger 00:17:04.869 --> 00:17:08.029 folks in this church, some of that is just, you 00:17:08.029 --> 00:17:12.369 ready? Slow down. Just slow down for a second. 00:17:12.589 --> 00:17:15.829 I know y 'all wanna just run off and just don't 00:17:15.829 --> 00:17:20.539 be impulsive. Don't just rush into things. Don't 00:17:20.539 --> 00:17:23.019 just respond based on your feelings and emotions 00:17:23.019 --> 00:17:29.559 and desires. Slow it down. Be careful how you 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:32.740 walk. Think biblically. Be prayerful. Walk in 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:35.740 wisdom. And then Paul goes on. He says, do not 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:38.359 be foolish, but understand what the will of the 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:41.680 Lord is. To do the will of God is always wise. 00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:44.319 Always. And always the choice that's going to 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:47.259 bring you true peace and joy and contentment. 00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:50.299 We think otherwise in our flesh, right? If I 00:17:50.299 --> 00:17:52.220 choose what I want, that's going to bring those 00:17:52.220 --> 00:17:54.920 things. No. Choosing God's will is what brings 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:57.140 you peace, joy, and contentment. You've got to 00:17:57.140 --> 00:18:00.480 trust the word on that. Now, to choose otherwise 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.359 could bring you temporary pleasure. We all understand 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:06.000 this. To choose sin, to choose your own path, 00:18:06.220 --> 00:18:08.400 can bring temporary pleasure. But what happens 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:13.859 in the long run? It all has consequences. And 00:18:13.859 --> 00:18:16.980 there's a cost to it. Not just to you, but to 00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:20.319 others around you when we choose sin. And there's 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:22.859 that long -term threat that it's going to master 00:18:22.859 --> 00:18:27.099 you. And so Paul then finishes with this thought 00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:29.500 in Ephesians 5. He says, and do not get drunk 00:18:29.500 --> 00:18:32.339 with wine, which leads to reckless living, but 00:18:32.339 --> 00:18:34.259 be filled with the Spirit. And I know that's 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:37.160 a very specific example, but think bigger. It's 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:40.180 not the wine itself. that is the sin, right? 00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:43.220 We know that Jesus and his disciples drank wine. 00:18:43.640 --> 00:18:47.279 It's when you allow the wine to do what? To master 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:52.259 you, to control you, to enslave you. And what 00:18:52.259 --> 00:18:54.240 does this verse tell you that we should be controlled 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:59.140 by? By the Holy Spirit. When you're filled with 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:01.059 the Spirit and you're walking in the Spirit, 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:03.960 he's going to empower you to resist the things 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:08.170 of the world that want to enslave you. What's 00:19:08.170 --> 00:19:11.309 controlling you? When you walk out the door tomorrow 00:19:11.309 --> 00:19:13.950 morning, what is controlling you? Who is your 00:19:13.950 --> 00:19:19.009 master? Being filled and controlled by the Spirit 00:19:19.009 --> 00:19:21.750 of God is the prime example of what it means 00:19:21.750 --> 00:19:24.849 to walk carefully in wisdom. Because he's going 00:19:24.849 --> 00:19:28.569 to give you the power to do that well. And let 00:19:28.569 --> 00:19:31.170 me just say this clearly. Because I know sometimes 00:19:31.170 --> 00:19:34.910 we have a reputation in Bible teaching churches 00:19:34.910 --> 00:19:37.930 that We're just all about prohibitions. Just 00:19:37.930 --> 00:19:40.509 say no to everything and do it with a scowl on 00:19:40.509 --> 00:19:44.529 your face. Right? That's sort of our reputation. 00:19:44.970 --> 00:19:47.329 But that is not the picture the Bible gives us. 00:19:47.589 --> 00:19:50.950 Not only can you enjoy the good gifts that God 00:19:50.950 --> 00:19:53.950 gives us, you should enjoy them because they're 00:19:53.950 --> 00:19:57.150 from his hand. James speaks of good things and 00:19:57.150 --> 00:19:59.309 perfect things that come down to us from the 00:19:59.309 --> 00:20:02.289 Father. We should receive those with gratitude 00:20:02.289 --> 00:20:06.339 and enjoy them. Ignore the modern -day Pharisees 00:20:06.339 --> 00:20:08.140 who try to put you back under a set of moral 00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:10.900 guidelines that are really their preferences 00:20:10.900 --> 00:20:15.259 but not biblical commands. Those folks are common, 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:17.099 aren't they? They're like, well, this is our 00:20:17.099 --> 00:20:18.700 conviction. Now we're going to lay it on you. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:20.880 No, we're looking at Scripture. What does Scripture 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:22.799 say about prohibitions? There are prohibitions, 00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:25.539 right? But we've got to be careful to discern 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:28.119 the difference between a preference and a biblical 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:31.930 command. Only false teachers seek to prohibit 00:20:31.930 --> 00:20:34.269 Christians from freely enjoying God's good gifts. 00:20:34.549 --> 00:20:36.769 Paul talks about these very people. They were 00:20:36.769 --> 00:20:38.829 present back in the first century. 1 Timothy 00:20:38.829 --> 00:20:42.430 4 says the Spirit expressly says that in later 00:20:42.430 --> 00:20:45.410 times, some will depart from the faith by devoting 00:20:45.410 --> 00:20:48.130 themselves, get this now, to deceitful spirits 00:20:48.130 --> 00:20:52.490 and teachings of demons. Through the insincerity 00:20:52.490 --> 00:20:55.730 of liars whose consciences are seared, who do 00:20:55.730 --> 00:20:59.680 what? Forbid marriage. and require abstinence 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:02.779 from foods that God created to be received with 00:21:02.779 --> 00:21:05.400 thanksgiving by those who believe and know the 00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:10.900 truth. Go back again to the verse I quoted earlier 00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:13.759 from Colossians 2. Nobody's to act as your judge 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:17.220 in regard to food or drink or in respect to a 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:19.940 festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day, things 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:22.319 which are a mere shadow of what's to come. If 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:25.279 you have died with Christ to the elementary principles 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:28.309 of this world, why do you do this? As if you 00:21:28.309 --> 00:21:30.630 were living in the world, why do you submit yourself 00:21:30.630 --> 00:21:34.890 to these fleshly decrees that tell you you're 00:21:34.890 --> 00:21:37.170 not allowed to handle that? You're not allowed 00:21:37.170 --> 00:21:40.309 to touch that or taste that. And it's interesting, 00:21:40.410 --> 00:21:43.430 two verses later, Paul gives us the diagnosis 00:21:43.430 --> 00:21:45.750 of this thing. He says, look, he says, these 00:21:45.750 --> 00:21:48.769 are matters which have to be sure the appearance 00:21:48.769 --> 00:21:50.950 of wisdom. Boy, it looks like you're being so 00:21:50.950 --> 00:21:53.750 godly when you say no to everything. It's the 00:21:53.750 --> 00:21:56.609 appearance of wisdom in self -made religion. 00:21:57.670 --> 00:22:00.569 I've created this list of rules based on my preferences. 00:22:00.809 --> 00:22:04.309 You should live by it. It's self -made religion 00:22:04.309 --> 00:22:07.390 and self -abasement and severe treatment of the 00:22:07.390 --> 00:22:10.990 body. But look at this. They're of no value against 00:22:10.990 --> 00:22:15.069 fleshly indulgences. In other words, that brand 00:22:15.069 --> 00:22:18.609 of asceticism, right? This idea that we just 00:22:18.609 --> 00:22:23.210 say no to everything. It's sort of a misplaced 00:22:23.210 --> 00:22:27.329 desire. I have to punish myself. punish myself, 00:22:27.549 --> 00:22:30.210 and in doing so, thinking that I'm pleasing God 00:22:30.210 --> 00:22:34.089 and I'm impressing other people. But what does 00:22:34.089 --> 00:22:36.970 he say? The opposite of this is true. When you 00:22:36.970 --> 00:22:39.289 do that, you fail to receive and thank God for 00:22:39.289 --> 00:22:42.309 his good gifts. And in the process, all you've 00:22:42.309 --> 00:22:44.250 really done is alter your external behavior. 00:22:44.470 --> 00:22:47.970 You haven't changed the inner man. It's just 00:22:47.970 --> 00:22:52.779 external works. Be careful with asceticism. There's 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:55.680 a place for asceticism in the Christian life 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:58.059 where we say no to things that might harm us, 00:22:58.119 --> 00:23:01.099 but be careful that we don't do it for this reason, 00:23:01.160 --> 00:23:05.720 right? These moral guidelines that we think impress 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:09.220 God, think please God, but they're just external 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:13.240 things and they don't change the inner man. So 00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:16.059 the lesson here is enjoy your freedom in Christ, 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:20.289 enjoy his good gifts. But also heed the warnings, 00:23:20.529 --> 00:23:24.890 right? Enjoy these things, but be warned. Things 00:23:24.890 --> 00:23:28.809 can happen. Be careful how you walk with your 00:23:28.809 --> 00:23:32.130 freedom. Be wise about it. Understand what the 00:23:32.130 --> 00:23:35.390 will of the Lord is. Don't engage in things that 00:23:35.390 --> 00:23:37.789 you know are going to grab hold of you and make 00:23:37.789 --> 00:23:40.789 you a slave. Christ freed you from slavery to 00:23:40.789 --> 00:23:42.910 sin, not so that you could go over and become 00:23:42.910 --> 00:23:49.500 a slave of something new. Right? Okay. So can 00:23:49.500 --> 00:23:52.740 we get really practical now? Ooh, grip your seats. 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:56.680 What are some areas of normal everyday life in 00:23:56.680 --> 00:24:00.220 21st century America where we have to apply this? 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:04.579 Where we might engage in something that's permissible 00:24:04.579 --> 00:24:07.900 according to our freedom in Christ, but has the 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:12.440 potential to either be unprofitable or enslave 00:24:12.440 --> 00:24:14.920 us. What are some things? This week I read a 00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:16.940 really great analogy. I forgot who wrote this, 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:18.619 but a really great analogy would be about this 00:24:18.619 --> 00:24:22.200 principle. Think about a mighty river in your 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:24.140 mind. Say, I don't know, the Mississippi River, 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:27.079 okay? Is the Mississippi River a good thing? 00:24:28.539 --> 00:24:31.160 Yeah, it's a powerful and useful tool. It's a 00:24:31.160 --> 00:24:34.859 source of enjoyment as long as it stays within 00:24:34.859 --> 00:24:39.680 its banks. Because when it floods, when it goes 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:43.089 outside of its natural boundaries, What happens? 00:24:43.130 --> 00:24:46.710 All kinds of chaos and damage. It's a great example. 00:24:46.769 --> 00:24:48.990 That's true of our freedom in Christ. Wise and 00:24:48.990 --> 00:24:52.990 careful choices, right? They lead us into the 00:24:52.990 --> 00:24:56.089 fruit of the Spirit. But choices that go outside 00:24:56.089 --> 00:24:57.950 the boundaries that God has laid out for us, 00:24:58.069 --> 00:25:01.990 that's where we cause damage, both to ourselves 00:25:01.990 --> 00:25:05.849 and to those around us. So just think about that 00:25:05.849 --> 00:25:07.569 as we walk through these things. So let's talk 00:25:07.569 --> 00:25:09.410 about a few things. How about entertainment? 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:13.599 How many choices of entertainment do we have 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:16.640 today? All right, I'm going to do the old guy 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:21.839 thing. When I was a kid, we had like, I don't 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:25.880 know, six television stations. Dink, dink, dink, 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:30.500 right? That's it. That's it. So many choices 00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:35.559 today. And some of it's great, right? Some of 00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:38.410 it is wonderful. We can thank God for it. But 00:25:38.410 --> 00:25:41.630 there's a lot of it that can lead us down a really 00:25:41.630 --> 00:25:46.009 depraved path if we're not walking wisely into 00:25:46.009 --> 00:25:50.990 immorality, right? Into just being so overwhelmed 00:25:50.990 --> 00:25:53.109 with choices that we can't even focus anymore. 00:25:53.589 --> 00:25:57.730 Just drawing us in, enslaving us. So be careful 00:25:57.730 --> 00:26:00.130 with your entertainment choices, right? Permissible, 00:26:00.230 --> 00:26:08.220 but could be harmful. Amen? Endless social media 00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:12.480 scrolling, doom scrolling, or just your phone. 00:26:12.700 --> 00:26:14.319 Tanya and I were talking on the way into church 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:17.319 this morning. Try this experiment. Go to a place 00:26:17.319 --> 00:26:20.240 where you have to sit and wait for just a short 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:23.660 period of time. Doctor's office, a Starbucks, 00:26:23.779 --> 00:26:25.740 you're waiting for your drink. Look around the 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:29.220 room and see if anybody's not on their phone. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:35.329 And then keep it in your pocket. Just to stretch 00:26:35.329 --> 00:26:40.089 yourself. Don't look at it. Again, it's permissible, 00:26:40.250 --> 00:26:43.569 but be wise, right? Everybody's looking at their 00:26:43.569 --> 00:26:45.990 phone. Have you ever seen the old videos of people 00:26:45.990 --> 00:26:49.930 in the 1980s? And nobody had phones? See how 00:26:49.930 --> 00:26:53.230 happy people are? You see how they're talking 00:26:53.230 --> 00:26:56.470 to each other? They're laughing. It was a great 00:26:56.470 --> 00:27:00.450 time. Social media scrolling, how much of it 00:27:00.450 --> 00:27:04.190 is truly beneficial? It can make you laugh, sure. 00:27:04.369 --> 00:27:06.309 I mean, right? The memes and all that, I get 00:27:06.309 --> 00:27:09.109 it. It can give you a respite from the cares 00:27:09.109 --> 00:27:11.809 of the world. But man, how many times have we 00:27:11.809 --> 00:27:14.230 looked up and said, man, 30 minutes just went 00:27:14.230 --> 00:27:18.549 by. And I've wasted so much time. Clearly, social 00:27:18.549 --> 00:27:20.990 media can fuel all kinds of things. Our lust, 00:27:21.009 --> 00:27:23.549 it can make us envious. It certainly dulls our 00:27:23.549 --> 00:27:27.069 spiritual focus. So be careful with that little 00:27:27.069 --> 00:27:33.009 computer in your hand. Drinking. In excess or 00:27:33.009 --> 00:27:36.009 drinking too often. Now, is alcohol prohibited 00:27:36.009 --> 00:27:39.470 in scripture? No, it's permissible. It's permissible. 00:27:40.170 --> 00:27:44.069 But is it controlling you? Do you have to have 00:27:44.069 --> 00:27:46.809 it? I can't tell you how many times I've heard 00:27:46.809 --> 00:27:49.609 people go, well, my work's really stressful. 00:27:49.630 --> 00:27:52.269 I get home and that glass of wine takes the edge 00:27:52.269 --> 00:27:58.289 off of it. Be careful. Be really careful. It 00:27:58.289 --> 00:28:00.930 can harm our health. It can weaken our self -control. 00:28:01.799 --> 00:28:04.039 Being drunk, drinking too much leads to all kinds 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:06.519 of terrible outcomes, and it often hurts the 00:28:06.519 --> 00:28:10.599 people around us. Be careful. By the way, I'm 00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:12.339 not going to detail on any of these things. These 00:28:12.339 --> 00:28:15.039 could all be a sermon unto themselves. I'm going 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:16.940 to keep moving quickly. How about this? Becoming 00:28:16.940 --> 00:28:20.640 overcommitted to hobbies. Our hobbies are, for 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:23.799 the most part, permissible, right? Most are not 00:28:23.799 --> 00:28:27.539 impure in and of themselves, but our hobbies 00:28:27.539 --> 00:28:30.339 have the potential to dominate our schedules. 00:28:31.539 --> 00:28:33.920 right? They can throw off our right priorities. 00:28:34.019 --> 00:28:37.059 They can become obsessive. We can end up taking 00:28:37.059 --> 00:28:39.980 precious time away from family and friends and 00:28:39.980 --> 00:28:44.259 even life in the church. Guard your hobbies carefully. 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:50.619 Luxury spending, racking up debt. Yeah, but I 00:28:50.619 --> 00:28:54.400 saw this in a magazine. I saw it on my phone. 00:28:54.480 --> 00:28:59.339 I just, I knew I had to have it. I know I really 00:28:59.339 --> 00:29:02.150 can't afford it. It's not really in my budget, 00:29:02.190 --> 00:29:08.210 but man, it was discounted. I'll never get this 00:29:08.210 --> 00:29:11.190 price again, right? And so we stretch and we 00:29:11.190 --> 00:29:14.509 rack up debt, right? It has the potential to 00:29:14.509 --> 00:29:17.650 promote greed in us and to cause anxiety in us. 00:29:17.650 --> 00:29:19.509 You know, you're like, oh man, I have this, but 00:29:19.509 --> 00:29:23.329 I don't have that. And pretty soon it's controlling 00:29:23.329 --> 00:29:26.670 our thinking. And it can reduce our generosity. 00:29:26.750 --> 00:29:28.549 We're like, ah, I spent so much money over here. 00:29:28.750 --> 00:29:33.430 Now I can't be generous. Be careful. Immersing 00:29:33.430 --> 00:29:37.490 ourselves in political news and commentary. Is 00:29:37.490 --> 00:29:39.289 it permissible? Of course. Is it a good thing 00:29:39.289 --> 00:29:42.210 to be informed? Yes. Is it good to be able to, 00:29:42.269 --> 00:29:44.670 look, I need to know how to respond to the world 00:29:44.670 --> 00:29:48.069 around me. That's all good. But can it be obsessive? 00:29:49.210 --> 00:29:52.069 Yes, it can. Yes, it can. Just go on Twitter. 00:29:52.190 --> 00:29:55.220 No, don't go on Twitter someday. It can become 00:29:55.220 --> 00:29:58.019 an obsession. Politics, pretty soon everything, 00:29:58.259 --> 00:30:01.339 everything in life gets funneled through the 00:30:01.339 --> 00:30:04.380 lens of politics. And it just takes over our 00:30:04.380 --> 00:30:07.279 lives. It leads to anxiety. It leads to worry. 00:30:07.460 --> 00:30:12.140 It creates anger in us. Be really careful with 00:30:12.140 --> 00:30:20.380 politics. Contentious online engagement. Talk 00:30:20.380 --> 00:30:23.569 about a waste of time. I know we'd like to change 00:30:23.569 --> 00:30:25.849 people's minds about things. I know we'd like 00:30:25.849 --> 00:30:29.869 to win hearts. The goal can be noble. It's not 00:30:29.869 --> 00:30:32.230 going to happen online, in case you hadn't noticed. 00:30:32.369 --> 00:30:34.369 Look at a comment section. It's not going to 00:30:34.369 --> 00:30:37.069 happen. It is a waste of your time. Precious 00:30:37.069 --> 00:30:39.069 time, right? That you could be doing much more 00:30:39.069 --> 00:30:42.049 productive things. Loving your family. Serving 00:30:42.049 --> 00:30:45.329 somebody in the body of Christ. This stuff is 00:30:45.329 --> 00:30:48.369 just a waste. I wish it weren't true, but it's 00:30:48.369 --> 00:30:52.339 true. It's unproductive. Next one. Just taking 00:30:52.339 --> 00:30:56.500 on extra work or extra projects. And I get it. 00:30:57.859 --> 00:31:01.059 Life in Santa Clarita is expensive. And we're 00:31:01.059 --> 00:31:03.500 all looking for ways to try to bring in additional 00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:08.119 income. Be careful with your time. Be careful 00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:09.859 that you don't bite off more than you should 00:31:09.859 --> 00:31:13.579 chew. Taking on more has the potential to enslave 00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:15.859 you to income generation. And again, to take 00:31:15.859 --> 00:31:19.160 away precious time. You're so now having to focus 00:31:19.160 --> 00:31:22.220 on this new project or thing you took on that 00:31:22.220 --> 00:31:25.680 you begin to neglect other things. It might be 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:28.640 what you need to do to survive. Just be careful. 00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:34.059 Walk wisely with such things. Oh boy, shopping. 00:31:36.019 --> 00:31:38.039 Shopping and spending. This is a tough balance 00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:41.279 to find, right? Picking up a deal can be good 00:31:41.279 --> 00:31:43.799 for the family. It can be fun, it can be challenging, 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:47.660 but is it wise? Is that purchase necessary? Being 00:31:47.660 --> 00:31:50.460 able to discern those two things, what's necessary 00:31:50.460 --> 00:31:54.000 and what I want is an important part of decision 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:56.859 -making in the Christian life. We can find ourselves 00:31:56.859 --> 00:31:59.779 coveting everything that we see, growing more 00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:03.039 greedy, putting ourselves into unnecessary debt 00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:07.559 because I just had to have that. Be careful with 00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:12.720 your shopping. Only three more. And this is just 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:14.740 a partial list. I could do this. Yeah, we could 00:32:14.740 --> 00:32:19.500 do this all day. Working out. Permissible? Yeah, 00:32:19.660 --> 00:32:21.839 good. Yeah, steward your body. We're going to 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:24.000 look at that more next week. Steward your body. 00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:26.519 Take care of this gift that God has given you 00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:30.319 in your physical body. But it obviously has the 00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:33.680 potential to feed an obsession about how we look. 00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:37.940 Vanity, right? How we look. Everything now is 00:32:37.940 --> 00:32:40.380 funneled through that lens. Am I losing weight? 00:32:40.890 --> 00:32:44.210 You know, am I losing hair, right? I mean, there's 00:32:44.210 --> 00:32:50.930 a, yeah, this is real, right? Be careful, right? 00:32:51.309 --> 00:32:54.150 And you know what? It can lead to two very opposite 00:32:54.150 --> 00:32:57.329 results. Either as I'm working out and I'm feeling 00:32:57.329 --> 00:32:59.329 really good about myself, pride and arrogance, 00:32:59.569 --> 00:33:02.950 and again, vanity, or my diet's not working and 00:33:02.950 --> 00:33:05.980 now I'm into self -loathing. And I'm upset at 00:33:05.980 --> 00:33:08.599 myself because I don't look as good as everybody 00:33:08.599 --> 00:33:11.299 promised I would look once I did this thing. 00:33:14.440 --> 00:33:17.519 It's complex, isn't it? Be careful. Be wise. 00:33:18.619 --> 00:33:24.720 Process well. Gaming. Gaming. Man, I'm glad I 00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:27.920 didn't grow up in the gaming generation. I kind 00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:30.059 of did. It was Pac -Man. Like, you know, it was 00:33:30.059 --> 00:33:37.269 Galaga. Tom, yeah, you get it. And look, I get 00:33:37.269 --> 00:33:39.210 it. We need rest in life. We need relaxation 00:33:39.210 --> 00:33:42.289 at times. Gaming can be a good outlet. What are 00:33:42.289 --> 00:33:46.849 the boundaries? What are the boundaries? It has 00:33:46.849 --> 00:33:49.970 the potential to cause you to put off your responsibilities, 00:33:50.289 --> 00:33:52.890 get engaged in this thing. And man, I forget 00:33:52.890 --> 00:33:55.509 everything because I'm so immersed in this little 00:33:55.509 --> 00:33:58.089 world on the screen. My responsibilities go out 00:33:58.089 --> 00:34:01.630 the window. I waste time. I even destroy relationships 00:34:01.630 --> 00:34:04.849 out of neglect because I'm so focused on this 00:34:04.849 --> 00:34:08.230 game. Be careful. Last one. This one hits home. 00:34:08.250 --> 00:34:13.849 Sports loyalties. Yeah. I could tell you stories. 00:34:13.969 --> 00:34:17.269 When Tanya and I first got married, I'm a UCLA 00:34:17.269 --> 00:34:22.190 grad. Her family were USC people. It was a recipe 00:34:22.190 --> 00:34:23.909 for disaster. We had to work out an agreement. 00:34:24.929 --> 00:34:27.750 It did not help my spirit. Let's put it that 00:34:27.750 --> 00:34:31.050 way. Okay, so it's okay to have a team. It's 00:34:31.050 --> 00:34:33.570 okay to root for them and want them to win, but 00:34:33.570 --> 00:34:37.210 it can become an obsession. Trust me. It can 00:34:37.210 --> 00:34:39.489 get you worked up. It can get you angry. There 00:34:39.489 --> 00:34:42.849 were Saturdays when UCLA would lose in a football 00:34:42.849 --> 00:34:46.210 game. I became a different person. Seriously. 00:34:46.269 --> 00:34:48.269 And this stuff can really affect you if you're 00:34:48.269 --> 00:34:53.769 not careful. Be wise. Be careful. That's just 00:34:53.769 --> 00:34:56.030 a partial list, right? Hopefully you see the 00:34:56.030 --> 00:34:59.900 pattern. Enjoy good things, permissible things 00:34:59.900 --> 00:35:03.719 from the Lord, but be wise and careful. Not all 00:35:03.719 --> 00:35:06.460 things that you are free to do are going to end 00:35:06.460 --> 00:35:09.840 up being profitable. So we grow in self -awareness 00:35:09.840 --> 00:35:13.099 as we process in prayer with the Spirit of God. 00:35:14.059 --> 00:35:17.619 Show me more of my heart. Help me to understand 00:35:17.619 --> 00:35:20.340 why I react to things the way I do. Help me to 00:35:20.340 --> 00:35:22.940 establish good boundaries so that I don't go 00:35:22.940 --> 00:35:25.760 outside of what's permissible and end up being... 00:35:26.429 --> 00:35:30.369 mastered by something. Okay, we have more to 00:35:30.369 --> 00:35:33.809 look at. Look at verse 13. Look at verse 13. 00:35:34.349 --> 00:35:37.409 Again, if you have an ESV or a CSB or an NIV, 00:35:37.590 --> 00:35:39.929 again, you're gonna see quotation marks around 00:35:39.929 --> 00:35:42.920 the first. Again, the translators are telling 00:35:42.920 --> 00:35:45.460 you that what we're about to read had become 00:35:45.460 --> 00:35:48.280 a common slogan among the church members in Corinth, 00:35:48.539 --> 00:35:50.739 and this is likely what it would have looked 00:35:50.739 --> 00:35:53.539 like. Look at the screen for a second. It's likely 00:35:53.539 --> 00:35:56.480 that this is the way the Corinthian church members 00:35:56.480 --> 00:36:00.679 were processing the bodily functions and the 00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:03.280 bodily desires that they had. Food is for the 00:36:03.280 --> 00:36:07.340 stomach, and the stomach is for food, and likewise, 00:36:07.739 --> 00:36:10.900 sex is for the body. and the body is for sex. 00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:17.960 Okay? That's what they were thinking. So here 00:36:17.960 --> 00:36:20.000 comes Paul again. I need another correction. 00:36:20.820 --> 00:36:23.880 First of all, he addresses the food stomach part, 00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:27.900 and this isn't wrong. Food is for the stomach, 00:36:27.960 --> 00:36:30.179 and God designed your stomach to process the 00:36:30.179 --> 00:36:32.699 food that you eat. But then Paul says in the 00:36:32.699 --> 00:36:35.000 second phrase, look at this now, but God's gonna 00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:38.039 do away with both of them. That's important. 00:36:40.659 --> 00:36:43.539 Food. Remember, it's not food that defiles a 00:36:43.539 --> 00:36:45.739 man. Under the new covenant, all foods have been 00:36:45.739 --> 00:36:48.800 declared clean, but still that doesn't mean that 00:36:48.800 --> 00:36:51.199 we should just eat anything that we want or any 00:36:51.199 --> 00:36:55.059 amount that we want. Even food can become a stumbling 00:36:55.059 --> 00:36:58.699 block, right? Even with food, we should ask the 00:36:58.699 --> 00:37:01.360 questions, is this good for me? Is this amount 00:37:01.360 --> 00:37:04.960 of food good for me? Could this food or the amount 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:07.860 of it become an issue of slavery in my life? 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:10.940 That's important. But Paul's greater point, if 00:37:10.940 --> 00:37:13.679 you look at that statement, is the analogy that 00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:15.840 the Corinthians were drawing between food and 00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:20.380 sex is not a valid one. It's what we call a category 00:37:20.380 --> 00:37:23.159 error that they're making with that statement. 00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:26.719 Food belongs to a category of necessary functions 00:37:26.719 --> 00:37:30.340 that purely sustain life. If we don't eat, we're 00:37:30.340 --> 00:37:33.260 not going to live very long. So eating is part 00:37:33.260 --> 00:37:37.019 of an ordinary cycle of life. It is a morally 00:37:37.019 --> 00:37:41.559 neutral response. to physical hunger, morally 00:37:41.559 --> 00:37:44.760 neutral. That is not the same category as sex, 00:37:44.920 --> 00:37:48.059 which we'll get to in just a second. But understand, 00:37:48.219 --> 00:37:51.380 Paul's saying, you guys are drawing this analogy. 00:37:51.679 --> 00:37:56.519 It's invalid. It's not the same thing. And here 00:37:56.519 --> 00:37:58.559 in verse 13, Paul then adds this distinction. 00:37:58.780 --> 00:38:01.539 He says, by the way, understand food and your 00:38:01.539 --> 00:38:04.219 stomach, they're temporary anyway. There's something 00:38:04.219 --> 00:38:07.849 different about sex. But the food is going to 00:38:07.849 --> 00:38:10.530 go away. Food and the stomach are part of the 00:38:10.530 --> 00:38:13.809 present order that's going to pass away. In the 00:38:13.809 --> 00:38:15.829 short term, it's going to pass away because we 00:38:15.829 --> 00:38:19.329 die. In the long term, it'll forever pass away 00:38:19.329 --> 00:38:23.070 once the eternal state is ushered in. It has 00:38:23.070 --> 00:38:26.969 no function in eternity. The necessity of eating, 00:38:27.150 --> 00:38:30.250 the digestive processes of the stomach, all of 00:38:30.250 --> 00:38:33.150 that is going away. God will do away with it. 00:38:33.690 --> 00:38:36.250 But that's not true about your body and sex. 00:38:36.449 --> 00:38:38.969 So let's look at verse 13 and let's figure out 00:38:38.969 --> 00:38:41.250 how this works. So let me see if I can summarize 00:38:41.250 --> 00:38:44.010 this again. So Paul writes, food is for the stomach 00:38:44.010 --> 00:38:46.449 and the stomach is for food, but the body is 00:38:46.449 --> 00:38:52.230 not for porneia, for immorality. The body is 00:38:52.230 --> 00:38:55.170 for the Lord and the Lord is for the body, he 00:38:55.170 --> 00:38:58.289 says. He's making the distinction between food 00:38:58.289 --> 00:39:01.550 and your body. And the Corinthians would say, 00:39:01.630 --> 00:39:03.750 look, I don't understand this, Paul. My body 00:39:03.750 --> 00:39:06.869 wants food, so I eat. My body wants sex, so I 00:39:06.869 --> 00:39:09.849 go to a prostitute. What's the problem? That's 00:39:09.849 --> 00:39:11.849 literally the way they thought in Corinth. And 00:39:11.849 --> 00:39:15.230 again, they lived in a culture that just promoted 00:39:15.230 --> 00:39:19.230 that. It's a common way of life. And you can 00:39:19.230 --> 00:39:21.070 almost picture them justifying, hey, look, Paul, 00:39:21.210 --> 00:39:24.389 we live in this city and it's really hard. When 00:39:24.389 --> 00:39:26.389 I look out and see all this stuff, it's hard 00:39:26.389 --> 00:39:29.389 to resist. And by the way, God made me a sexual 00:39:29.389 --> 00:39:32.769 being, so I'm just meeting that physical need. 00:39:33.010 --> 00:39:35.429 It's like, I can blame God. He made me this way, 00:39:35.510 --> 00:39:38.170 so I just get to go out and meet the physical 00:39:38.170 --> 00:39:41.230 need. And then tacking on this perspective, well, 00:39:41.269 --> 00:39:43.289 look, my body's going to wear out at some point, 00:39:43.309 --> 00:39:45.510 right? Turn to dust. So at the end of the day, 00:39:45.550 --> 00:39:47.230 what difference does it make what I do with my 00:39:47.230 --> 00:39:49.829 body? After all, you ready for this? It's just 00:39:49.829 --> 00:39:55.050 sex. How many times have we heard that in our 00:39:55.050 --> 00:40:00.070 culture? That's all it is. It's biology. It's 00:40:00.070 --> 00:40:04.429 just sex. And if we're interpreting this context 00:40:04.429 --> 00:40:06.789 right, by the way, this helps us to understand. 00:40:06.829 --> 00:40:08.949 Remember back in chapter five when Paul said, 00:40:09.050 --> 00:40:12.250 hey, hey, you've got a guy in your church family 00:40:12.250 --> 00:40:15.349 who is engaged in a sexual relationship with 00:40:15.349 --> 00:40:17.309 his mother -in -law and you haven't done anything 00:40:17.309 --> 00:40:20.809 about it. Well, here's why. What's the big deal? 00:40:22.949 --> 00:40:26.389 Just biology. just meeting physical needs, or 00:40:26.389 --> 00:40:27.590 we're going to find out when we get to chapter 00:40:27.590 --> 00:40:30.530 11, you've got members of the church showing 00:40:30.530 --> 00:40:35.530 up to communion drunk. You're like, how does 00:40:35.530 --> 00:40:38.630 that happen? Well, to them, what you do in the 00:40:38.630 --> 00:40:42.150 body just doesn't matter that much. It just doesn't 00:40:42.150 --> 00:40:46.550 matter. It's just sex. It's just alcohol. They 00:40:46.550 --> 00:40:48.449 don't think of the body as being all that important. 00:40:48.789 --> 00:40:50.969 You're hungry, you eat. Sexual craving comes 00:40:50.969 --> 00:40:53.900 upon you, you go to a prostitute. You're struggling 00:40:53.900 --> 00:40:55.980 in life with something. You just hit the bottle 00:40:55.980 --> 00:41:01.739 and go to communion. I mean, that shocks our 00:41:01.739 --> 00:41:04.739 senses, doesn't it? But if you don't understand 00:41:04.739 --> 00:41:07.739 the importance of the body or the gift of the 00:41:07.739 --> 00:41:09.340 body that God has given to you, if you don't 00:41:09.340 --> 00:41:11.699 steward your body, don't see that it matters, 00:41:11.820 --> 00:41:15.920 you might end up in antinomian. Just reacting 00:41:15.920 --> 00:41:20.639 naturally and biologically. So the reason why 00:41:20.639 --> 00:41:22.840 the Corinthian slogan comparing food to sex is 00:41:22.840 --> 00:41:26.400 so off base is the body doesn't seem to have 00:41:26.400 --> 00:41:30.219 more relevance to this group of people. But that's 00:41:30.219 --> 00:41:35.340 not how God sees it. The sexual capacity of our 00:41:35.340 --> 00:41:40.500 bodies transcends biology. Let me say that again. 00:41:40.599 --> 00:41:43.719 The sexual capacity that God has given us in 00:41:43.719 --> 00:41:48.719 our bodies transcends biology. in the way God 00:41:48.719 --> 00:41:53.039 sees things, is not just a physical action. It's 00:41:53.039 --> 00:41:56.480 far more than that. In God's good design, sex 00:41:56.480 --> 00:41:58.880 between a man and a woman creates a spiritual 00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:03.699 union. Right? A spiritual union. The Bible calls 00:42:03.699 --> 00:42:07.239 it one fleshness. That's why it's precious. That's 00:42:07.239 --> 00:42:09.539 why we put up these sharp guardrails and say, 00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:13.260 only within covenant marriage. Because when you 00:42:13.260 --> 00:42:15.119 sleep with somebody, you're creating a spiritual 00:42:15.119 --> 00:42:17.119 union. Whether you know it or not, you're becoming 00:42:17.119 --> 00:42:22.860 one flesh. So it's never just sex from God's 00:42:22.860 --> 00:42:24.860 perspective. The world thinks that, but we don't. 00:42:24.860 --> 00:42:27.860 Our bodies weren't given to us just so that we 00:42:27.860 --> 00:42:30.059 could serve ourselves, so that we could just 00:42:30.059 --> 00:42:33.559 get our needs met, to satisfy our personal desires 00:42:33.559 --> 00:42:38.139 in an indiscriminate way. The Corinthians came 00:42:38.139 --> 00:42:40.340 at it from this worldly perspective. Well, it's 00:42:40.340 --> 00:42:42.159 my body. How many times have we heard that? It's 00:42:42.159 --> 00:42:44.980 my body. I can do what I want. It's my body. 00:42:45.880 --> 00:42:47.840 But that is not true for the believer, is it? 00:42:48.820 --> 00:42:53.500 Is your body just your own? If you read on, look 00:42:53.500 --> 00:42:58.480 at 1 Corinthians 6 in verse 15 to 17. Paul says, 00:42:58.559 --> 00:43:01.559 no, it's not just your body. Do you not know? 00:43:02.780 --> 00:43:05.840 Do you not know? Haven't you heard this? Don't 00:43:05.840 --> 00:43:08.969 you know this is, Basic Christian teaching that 00:43:08.969 --> 00:43:14.750 your bodies are what? Members of Christ. Your 00:43:14.750 --> 00:43:17.110 bodies are members of Christ. It's not just your 00:43:17.110 --> 00:43:20.309 body. If you're in union with Christ, then your 00:43:20.309 --> 00:43:24.449 body belongs to him. Paul goes on, he says, so 00:43:24.449 --> 00:43:26.429 then should I take the members of Christ and 00:43:26.429 --> 00:43:28.309 make them members of a prostitute? Are you kidding? 00:43:29.329 --> 00:43:32.760 May it never be. He says, don't you know that 00:43:32.760 --> 00:43:35.099 the one who joins himself to a prostitute is 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:38.960 one body with her? Because the two become one 00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:41.960 flesh. Can you imagine sitting, imagine sitting 00:43:41.960 --> 00:43:44.900 next to Jesus. He's sitting there next to you 00:43:44.900 --> 00:43:48.000 on the couch and you say, hey Lord, I'm gonna 00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:52.760 go off now and engage in adultery or pornography 00:43:52.760 --> 00:43:56.860 or just plain fornication and I want you to come 00:43:56.860 --> 00:44:05.039 with me. Can you imagine? May it never be. Your 00:44:05.039 --> 00:44:08.059 bodies are not meant for sexual immorality, Paul 00:44:08.059 --> 00:44:10.820 says. They're meant to serve God and bring him 00:44:10.820 --> 00:44:15.599 glory. Your sexual capacities were given to you 00:44:15.599 --> 00:44:19.840 with a holy function in mind. That's God's design. 00:44:20.559 --> 00:44:22.940 And when we wield those capacities correctly, 00:44:23.139 --> 00:44:25.559 as God intends, within the boundary of covenant 00:44:25.559 --> 00:44:29.460 marriage, it is beautiful, right? It is beautiful 00:44:29.460 --> 00:44:32.460 and it is holy. And yes, it's designed for our 00:44:32.460 --> 00:44:35.820 pleasure and enjoyment within the boundaries 00:44:35.820 --> 00:44:43.000 of the raging river, right? This is one of Paul's 00:44:43.000 --> 00:44:45.019 points here in verse 13. Your body is one of 00:44:45.019 --> 00:44:49.139 God's most precious gifts to you. I know we all 00:44:49.139 --> 00:44:51.099 like, I'm not sure I feel about my body right 00:44:51.099 --> 00:44:53.099 now, right? We all have our little hangups. It 00:44:53.099 --> 00:44:56.280 is a precious gift to you. You've been fearfully 00:44:56.280 --> 00:45:00.039 and wonderfully made, right? You've been designed 00:45:00.039 --> 00:45:03.139 by the great artist of creation. You've been 00:45:03.139 --> 00:45:06.300 knit together in your mother's womb. And so Paul 00:45:06.300 --> 00:45:10.840 says the Lord is for your body. He's pro -body. 00:45:11.380 --> 00:45:14.579 He thinks it's really important. And therefore 00:45:14.579 --> 00:45:16.739 we ought to steward it well because it's precious 00:45:16.739 --> 00:45:20.480 to him. He fashioned it uniquely for you. He's 00:45:20.480 --> 00:45:23.840 counted the number of hairs on your head. Your 00:45:23.840 --> 00:45:25.960 body is valuable and important to him. The fact 00:45:25.960 --> 00:45:28.500 that God the Son took on a human body tells us 00:45:28.500 --> 00:45:30.940 that the body matters, right? God the Son took 00:45:30.940 --> 00:45:34.019 on a human body. He still has it forevermore. 00:45:34.659 --> 00:45:37.360 So the body matters. But look at what Paul says 00:45:37.360 --> 00:45:39.900 in verse 14. He references the resurrection. 00:45:40.500 --> 00:45:43.000 The greatest proof of all that the body matters 00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:45.800 to God and should matter to us is that someday 00:45:45.800 --> 00:45:50.480 I'm going to resurrect your body. Your body. 00:45:52.010 --> 00:45:55.670 It's not a temporal commodity. Ultimately, these 00:45:55.670 --> 00:45:57.989 bodies are not destined just to rot in a grave 00:45:57.989 --> 00:46:01.110 somewhere. If you're found in Christ, your body 00:46:01.110 --> 00:46:04.170 is someday going to be reconstituted by God and 00:46:04.170 --> 00:46:05.909 raised to life. Then it's going to be changed 00:46:05.909 --> 00:46:08.909 and glorified, sinless, perfected. It's going 00:46:08.909 --> 00:46:11.829 to be transformed into a condition fit for heaven, 00:46:11.929 --> 00:46:19.190 but it's still your body. It's still you. So 00:46:19.190 --> 00:46:22.019 it matters. And in the meantime, as we await 00:46:22.019 --> 00:46:24.840 that glorification, today we realize that God 00:46:24.840 --> 00:46:28.099 has given you your unique body as an instrument 00:46:28.099 --> 00:46:31.960 of worship. Try to get your mind wrapped around 00:46:31.960 --> 00:46:34.059 that. Your body is an instrument of worship. 00:46:34.139 --> 00:46:36.039 That's what he means in verse 13 when he says, 00:46:36.119 --> 00:46:39.820 your body is for the Lord. It's given to you 00:46:39.820 --> 00:46:43.119 for worship. That means we have to be intentional 00:46:43.119 --> 00:46:46.019 about devoting our bodies to him, presenting 00:46:46.019 --> 00:46:52.739 them to him as what? A sacrifice. This is really 00:46:52.739 --> 00:46:55.219 high level stuff, right? And man, it doesn't 00:46:55.219 --> 00:46:58.519 fit with what the culture says at all. So understand 00:46:58.519 --> 00:47:02.239 these things. It's important. So in order to 00:47:02.239 --> 00:47:05.019 be intentional about devoting our bodies to him, 00:47:05.059 --> 00:47:07.239 we have to do both of these things. Heed the 00:47:07.239 --> 00:47:10.500 warnings in scripture and take practical steps 00:47:10.500 --> 00:47:14.659 to guard our bodies. To guard them in multiple 00:47:14.659 --> 00:47:17.460 ways. Listen, do not underestimate how dominating 00:47:17.460 --> 00:47:22.519 and controlling sexual sin can be. If you underestimate 00:47:22.519 --> 00:47:29.019 it, you are signing up to be enslaved. Do you 00:47:29.019 --> 00:47:32.059 know how many people today, men and women, by 00:47:32.059 --> 00:47:35.380 the way, who are enslaved to sexual sin, pornography 00:47:35.380 --> 00:47:40.099 in particular? And beware, it starts very subtly 00:47:40.099 --> 00:47:43.469 and slowly. And then it progresses really quickly, 00:47:43.650 --> 00:47:48.010 right? You flirt with it, you play around the 00:47:48.010 --> 00:47:50.750 edges, and pretty soon your mind gives you permission 00:47:50.750 --> 00:47:53.630 to dive all the way in, and boom, you're captured. 00:47:55.449 --> 00:47:59.989 Guard your heart. How accurate is James in the 00:47:59.989 --> 00:48:04.230 first century? He says this, each person is tempted 00:48:04.230 --> 00:48:08.769 when he's drawn away and enticed by his own lust, 00:48:08.889 --> 00:48:12.519 by his own desires. Then after lust is conceived, 00:48:12.860 --> 00:48:16.039 it gives birth to sin. And when sin is fully 00:48:16.039 --> 00:48:18.480 grown, it gives birth to death. Now, why death? 00:48:19.500 --> 00:48:22.000 Listen, friends, the persistent engagement in 00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:27.480 sexual sin over time will sear your heart. It 00:48:27.480 --> 00:48:29.960 will harden your conscience to the point where 00:48:29.960 --> 00:48:32.619 you will continue to engage in it, yet no longer 00:48:32.619 --> 00:48:36.119 feel the conviction over it. You'll no longer 00:48:36.119 --> 00:48:38.099 feel a conviction over something that has actually 00:48:38.099 --> 00:48:42.039 mastered you. as its slave. You just harden yourself 00:48:42.039 --> 00:48:45.739 against it. Soon your vigilance falls away, your 00:48:45.739 --> 00:48:48.760 self -control disappears, and you end up justifying 00:48:48.760 --> 00:48:51.679 your sin just like the Corinthians, who we laugh 00:48:51.679 --> 00:48:55.519 at and mock, right? But we can become that exact 00:48:55.519 --> 00:48:59.539 same thing. If you think you're immune to this, 00:48:59.619 --> 00:49:03.059 if you think you're strong enough, are you stronger 00:49:03.059 --> 00:49:07.550 than Samson? Samson was physically strong, but 00:49:07.550 --> 00:49:09.969 he was not in control of his mind and his body. 00:49:10.010 --> 00:49:12.650 He was a slave to his desires, and it came with 00:49:12.650 --> 00:49:16.650 a heavy cost. David could tell you a few things 00:49:16.650 --> 00:49:20.929 about this, couldn't he? How he failed to discipline 00:49:20.929 --> 00:49:24.829 his eyes and his mind and his body and his heart. 00:49:25.150 --> 00:49:29.550 And because of his sin, he and his family suffered 00:49:29.550 --> 00:49:35.190 so greatly. In Proverbs 7, we come across maybe 00:49:35.190 --> 00:49:38.010 the most blunt language about the enticing power 00:49:38.010 --> 00:49:41.449 of sexual sin. You have this picture of a naive 00:49:41.449 --> 00:49:44.510 young man who wanders through the streets, wanders 00:49:44.510 --> 00:49:46.789 near the house of the adulteress. He's just flirting 00:49:46.789 --> 00:49:49.269 on the edges. Oh, I'm just walking through the 00:49:49.269 --> 00:49:56.849 street. What's gonna happen? Right? And Solomon, 00:49:56.909 --> 00:50:00.469 of all people, who knew something about this 00:50:00.469 --> 00:50:03.239 subject matter. writes this about the end of 00:50:03.239 --> 00:50:07.119 things. He writes this. He follows her, the adulteress, 00:50:07.159 --> 00:50:08.880 because she appears to him and comes to him. 00:50:09.019 --> 00:50:11.500 He follows her like an ox going to the slaughter. 00:50:12.900 --> 00:50:15.659 Like a deer bounding towards a trap, he does 00:50:15.659 --> 00:50:20.579 not know it will cost him his life. Warning, 00:50:20.699 --> 00:50:25.099 warning. And the chapter ends with this. Here's 00:50:25.099 --> 00:50:28.159 the big warning. Now, my sons, listen to me and 00:50:28.159 --> 00:50:30.639 pay attention to my words. Do not let your heart 00:50:30.639 --> 00:50:34.800 turn aside to her ways, sexual sin. Do not stray 00:50:34.800 --> 00:50:38.079 onto her paths, for she has brought many down 00:50:38.079 --> 00:50:41.559 to death. Her victims are countless. Her house 00:50:41.559 --> 00:50:44.880 is the road to the grave, Sheol, descending to 00:50:44.880 --> 00:50:48.360 the chambers of death. Oh, this isn't a big deal. 00:50:49.719 --> 00:50:55.050 Look at the language here. So we have to understand 00:50:55.050 --> 00:50:57.909 how to control our passions, how to become masters 00:50:57.909 --> 00:51:00.530 over our flesh rather than letting our flesh 00:51:00.530 --> 00:51:04.309 master us. We're gonna pick up on this next week 00:51:04.309 --> 00:51:07.670 for sure. Paul will say in 1 Corinthians 9, I 00:51:07.670 --> 00:51:11.349 discipline my body. I make it my slave, not the 00:51:11.349 --> 00:51:13.690 other way around. I discipline my body and make 00:51:13.690 --> 00:51:19.289 my body my slave. We have to steward our bodies 00:51:19.289 --> 00:51:23.039 in ways. that can then be used to glorify God. 00:51:23.119 --> 00:51:26.239 We present them to him as living and holy sacrifices. 00:51:26.699 --> 00:51:28.840 Consider our call to worship passage from earlier 00:51:28.840 --> 00:51:31.679 in the service, from 1 Thessalonians 4. Look 00:51:31.679 --> 00:51:35.099 at this. This is the will of God, friends. Your 00:51:35.099 --> 00:51:38.659 sanctification, your growing in maturity, your 00:51:38.659 --> 00:51:43.320 moving towards control of your body. Your sanctification, 00:51:43.619 --> 00:51:46.420 that you abstain from sexual immorality, that 00:51:46.420 --> 00:51:48.820 each one of you know how to control his own body 00:51:48.820 --> 00:51:51.900 in holiness and honor, not in the passion of 00:51:51.900 --> 00:51:57.300 lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. This 00:51:57.300 --> 00:51:58.960 will be a big part of next Sunday's message. 00:51:59.099 --> 00:52:01.599 How do we do this well? How many of you guys 00:52:01.599 --> 00:52:05.619 know who John Owen is? Okay, great Puritan thinker. 00:52:05.659 --> 00:52:08.159 He's written some of the best stuff on this subject 00:52:08.159 --> 00:52:12.630 of mortifying sin, putting sin to death. Here's 00:52:12.630 --> 00:52:14.510 what he writes in one of his most famous statements. 00:52:14.750 --> 00:52:17.469 Put to death your sin. Make it your daily work. 00:52:18.070 --> 00:52:21.750 Your daily work. Be always at it while you live. 00:52:22.110 --> 00:52:25.690 Cease not one day from this work, he says. And 00:52:25.690 --> 00:52:28.449 then comes his famous statement. Be killing sin 00:52:28.449 --> 00:52:33.670 or it will be killing you. Nothing could be more 00:52:33.670 --> 00:52:39.130 true. So this is heavy stuff, isn't it? It really 00:52:39.130 --> 00:52:44.289 is. So I'm going to close with good news. As 00:52:44.289 --> 00:52:48.309 we saw last Sunday, such were some of you, but 00:52:48.309 --> 00:52:54.750 no longer. Sexual sin is not unforgivable. Sexual 00:52:54.750 --> 00:52:57.869 sin is not unforgivable. God has the power to 00:52:57.869 --> 00:53:02.570 rescue us out of a life of fornication, a life 00:53:02.570 --> 00:53:06.030 of adultery, a life of homosexuality, a life 00:53:06.030 --> 00:53:11.480 of slavery to things like pornography. But we 00:53:11.480 --> 00:53:13.380 have to be intentional about cooperating with 00:53:13.380 --> 00:53:16.539 the work of the Spirit in our inner man. That 00:53:16.539 --> 00:53:20.519 means we always have to be in the battle. That's 00:53:20.519 --> 00:53:22.800 my number one question. Especially young guys, 00:53:22.840 --> 00:53:25.300 they'll come to me and go, man, I have this pornography 00:53:25.300 --> 00:53:27.539 problem. My first question is, are you in the 00:53:27.539 --> 00:53:30.059 battle? Have you given up? Are you in the battle? 00:53:30.659 --> 00:53:33.440 You've got to be in the battle. Maybe to your 00:53:33.440 --> 00:53:36.599 very last breath, but you've got to be in the 00:53:36.599 --> 00:53:40.119 battle. You've got to persevere to the end. walking 00:53:40.119 --> 00:53:43.059 by the Spirit and abiding with your Savior. And 00:53:43.059 --> 00:53:45.300 he promises to give you the power to overcome 00:53:45.300 --> 00:53:48.900 and to get the victory. And I can't tell you 00:53:48.900 --> 00:53:51.860 how many times I've fallen myself. I've given 00:53:51.860 --> 00:53:54.400 in to sin and I've come back so many times to 00:53:54.400 --> 00:53:59.119 1 John 1, 9. Memorize it, put it on your mirror, 00:53:59.260 --> 00:54:02.920 whatever you have to do. John says, if we confess 00:54:02.920 --> 00:54:06.900 our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive 00:54:06.900 --> 00:54:10.690 us our sins. and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:54:12.250 --> 00:54:16.210 What we can't do is hide from it, right? And 00:54:16.210 --> 00:54:19.489 not take it to the Lord because we have the promise. 00:54:19.730 --> 00:54:21.969 And if you believe that promise, apply it in 00:54:21.969 --> 00:54:24.369 your life. Don't stop trusting in the promise 00:54:24.369 --> 00:54:28.510 of cleansing from all unrighteousness. Don't 00:54:28.510 --> 00:54:31.449 let the enemy tell you that that sin is unforgivable. 00:54:32.449 --> 00:54:36.769 Keep coming back to your Savior. God is for you. 00:54:37.679 --> 00:54:41.980 God is for your body. Take him up on it. Amen? 00:54:43.500 --> 00:54:49.159 Let's bow our heads. Lord, thank you for your 00:54:49.159 --> 00:54:52.500 presence here today. Thank you for just the truth 00:54:52.500 --> 00:54:54.780 that you know all of our hearts, our passions, 00:54:54.840 --> 00:54:58.480 our desires, our sins, our victories, and that 00:54:58.480 --> 00:55:01.500 we can come and we can be honest before you and 00:55:01.500 --> 00:55:05.829 lay these things on your throne. What a blessing 00:55:05.829 --> 00:55:10.050 it is that we don't have to hide from you. And 00:55:10.050 --> 00:55:12.510 so I pray that in the short time that we've had 00:55:12.510 --> 00:55:14.550 together today, that this won't be the end of 00:55:14.550 --> 00:55:17.829 the matter, but you will continue to draw us 00:55:17.829 --> 00:55:20.429 to yourself all throughout this next week as 00:55:20.429 --> 00:55:24.250 we bring more of our sin before you, as we bring 00:55:24.250 --> 00:55:27.349 more of our requests before you, as we seek to 00:55:27.349 --> 00:55:32.159 be in the battle over this issue. Father, I'm 00:55:32.159 --> 00:55:34.559 so grateful that you know exactly how to minister 00:55:34.559 --> 00:55:37.579 to each one of us. Help us to cooperate with 00:55:37.579 --> 00:55:42.099 the work your spirit wants to do in us and bring 00:55:42.099 --> 00:55:43.940 us back to your word over and over again. Bring 00:55:43.940 --> 00:55:45.940 us back to these promises that you've given us 00:55:45.940 --> 00:55:48.539 and help us to trust them more and more. Thank 00:55:48.539 --> 00:55:50.800 you for our time together this morning. May we 00:55:50.800 --> 00:55:54.480 now respond well in our singing that your name 00:55:54.480 --> 00:55:56.639 would be lifted up. In Christ's name we pray, 00:55:56.780 --> 00:55:57.019 amen.