Friday, 4 July 2014
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
Paul’s words concerning sexual immorality now result in a direct command – “Flee it!” No stronger words could be uttered. They are direct and specific. Based on what he has already said, and what he will say in the coming verses, this is something of the highest significance and importance. And he gives the reason why when he says that “every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.”
This is a tie directly back to what he said in the previous verse. We are united to Christ and are one with Him in spirit. Therefore, by sinning against our own body, we are sinning against Him directly. The concept of “body” here is inclusive of the entire man, not merely the flesh (as he pointed out in his note about “foods” earlier. Sexual sin is a direct sin against Jesus Christ because believers are “in” Jesus Christ. Let us consider this carefully as we conduct our lives.
It has been said that there is safety in numbers, but in the case of sexual immorality, there is greater safety in running away. This is what Joseph did when he was confronted by Potiphar’s wife. He knew that involvement with her was wrong. And that was at a time before the giving of the law. We have the lessons of the time of the law and we have the New Testament to guide us since the passing of the law. How can we believe we will escape judgment if we are caught up in sexual immorality?
Fleeing from such sin in this manner is imperative and it calls to mind James’ words in his epistle. In James 4:7 it says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” We are to resist the devil, flee from sin, and submit to God. If we do these things, we will be sound in our faith and practice and we will stand approved in our conduct.
Life application: Thoughts lead to action and therefore we should always endeavor to control our thoughts concerning sinful practices. The Bible asks us to rather “fix our thoughts on Jesus” (Hebrews 3:1). By doing so, we will keep from getting side-swiped by the devil and finding ourselves in an unhappy position.
Heavenly Father, You direct us to flee from sin such as sexual immorality and idolatry. But even our thoughts are captured by these things at times. Help us to fix our thoughts on Jesus, direct our eyes to Him, and to be obedient to Your word. This is a tough world to walk in and it is getting more so each day. Give us wisdom to control our eyes and our desires and to live lives which are holy and honoring to You. Amen.