Biblical Marriage & Sexuality - All In The Family Week 2
Pastor Matt Bell
Sermon Summary
In this foundational message for the "All in the Family" series, Pastor Matt explores God's design for marriage and sexuality through the lenses of Genesis 1 and 2, Matthew 19, and 1 Corinthians 6. He emphasizes that human beings are image-bearers of God with a divine mandate to flourish, which is deeply rooted in the complementary, God-ordained distinctions between male and female. Pastor Matt argues that sex is a powerful, spiritual act reserved exclusively for the lifelong, monogamous covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, functioning as a "nuclear reactor" for human flourishing rather than a destructive societal force. Contrasting biblical truth with modern cultural narratives, he concludes by highlighting the power of the Gospel to redeem, wash, and sanctify individuals from all sin, offering ultimate joy, freedom, and contentment in Christ rather than in fleeting earthly desires.
Sermon Transcript
Introduction to the Family Series
And I invite you to open with me in your Bibles this morning to the book of Genesis, the book of Matthew, and the book of 1 Corinthians. We're going to look at three different passages of Scripture this morning. We're in the middle of a series called All in the Family. This summer, we're focusing on the family and God's plan and purpose for the family. This week and last week are foundational messages. Next week, we will focus more in on a family and God's purpose and design for family, but last week and this week are really laying the foundation of that.
This week, we're going to be looking at a subject that's not often discussed in church, but I think it's vitally important for us to understand and is a critical component of family. We are going to be looking at three different passages of Scripture from Genesis, from Matthew, from 1 Corinthians. We're going to start in Genesis chapter 1.
The reason we're focusing in on the family is because the family is God's design to produce human flourishing in the world. God wants humanity to prosper, to flourish. Where families are strong, are solid, and there's cohesion there, there is blessing there. There's prosperity there. There is love there. There's the environment where children can grow up in the fear and admonition of the Lord, where children can be launched to accomplish the purpose for which God created them. Where families are weak, where there's not strong cohesion there, there's poverty. There's sickness oftentimes. There's abuse. All of these ills that plague society go away when there are strong families. But when there are weak families, it invites all sorts of the flood of harm and sin that the family protects humanity from. So God's purpose and design for all of us is that we would be part of a strong family, and each one of us has a part to play in that.
God's Design in Creation
Again, this week and last week are more foundational; we'll move more into the family next week. But I don't want to tell you exactly what we're talking about yet this week before we read our passage. So we're going to start by reading from Genesis 1. If you'll stand with me this morning, we'll read our introductory passage this morning. We'll read from Genesis 1 and 2, and then later on, we'll look at Matthew 19 and 1 Corinthians 6.
Starting in verse 26 of Genesis 1, and we saw this passage last week, God said as He's creating the world:
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"
Moving on to Genesis chapter 2. Genesis 1 is that big picture. Genesis 2 zooms in like a telephoto lens on the creation of mankind. Looking at Genesis 2, starting in verse 7:
"Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
Jumping ahead a little bit to verse 15:
"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.' Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.' Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens, but for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed."
This is the Word of God. Amen.
Father, we do thank you for your Word. I pray that you would, by your Spirit, give us eyes to see and ears to hear today. Lord, I pray that your Word would wash over us today. God, we live in a world that has abandoned your Word, that doesn't live under the authority of your Word or recognize you as the Creator today. And so, Lord, it's so easy for us living out in the world to pick up the ideas of the world, the philosophies of the world, and not even recognize it. God, I pray that your Word would wash over your people today, that you would cleanse us, that you would mold us and shape us into your image. Lord, that we would leave this place touched by you, transformed, to be your agents in the world, to be salt and to be light. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
You may be seated this morning.
The Core of Human Identity
Families are made up of people. Even that statement today, some people would argue with, but let's just all assume today that a family is made up of human beings, of people. I saw a guy recently who married his car. And it wasn't even a good-looking car. It was like a Cavalier from 1990. Now, if you drive a 1990 Cavalier, there's no shame in that, but it is a little bit bizarre if you wanted to marry it. But we're not going to delve into that this morning. We don't have time. We'll just, for the sake of time, assume that families are made up of people, human beings.
Last week, we spent some time on the question, "What is a human being? What is mankind?" We concluded from the Scriptures that people were not accidents. We were not just the result of time and chance acting on matter, the result of purposeless, causeless evolution. No, human beings, mankind—we are image bearers of God. Formed and fashioned by our Creator, made in our mother's womb, endowed by Him with dignity, with purpose, with value, with gifts and callings to be cultivated, to be developed, to go out into the world, and to show forth the glory of the God who made us. That's what mankind is. Not an accident. Not some secondary thing, not just part of creation. We are the crown jewel of God's creation. Yet we are under God, our Creator.
We saw that mankind's purpose—and we see it again here in the first part of our text in Genesis 1—is to fill the earth. As image bearers, we would go out and fill the earth with the true worship of God. That everywhere mankind would go, we would take the glory of God, the worship of God, the relationship that we were all designed to have with God, living under God's rule and God's reign, and that we would turn creation, subdue creation, turn creation into a God-glorifying culture in the world.
God planted a garden in Eden. He put Adam and Eve there, and they were not to live there forever. God planted the garden to show them a pattern, an example of what their work was to be in the world. They were to leave Eden and go out into the wilderness of creation, and they were to form it. They were to shape it, just as God had done in Eden, to turn all of creation into this God-glorifying planet. That was the pattern. Eden was the pattern. When we get into this today, we see that image bearing is at the core of who we are: to bear the image of God, to live for the glory of God, to show forth the nature and the character of God in the world, but also in this idea of being fruitful and multiplying.
Sexuality as God's Creation
This morning, again, a foundational idea: before we can talk about a family, we first need to talk about marriage and sexuality. Family, children—that is downstream from what begins a family, which is marriage. We see that these things are part of God's good design. Marriage and sexuality were part of what God intended when He made the world. We see this here in the first part of our text in Genesis 1: to be fruitful and multiply.
Sorry if this is too PG-13 for you this morning, but we sent the kids out of here. The only way to produce offspring is through sexual intercourse, through the union of a man and a woman. This means that man, from the very beginning, was a sexual being. Man's created purpose is to fill the earth with God's image bearers. He's to do this by being fruitful and multiplying. This means that our sexuality is not an accident of evolution. That is what we would hear out in the world: that there's no purpose to sexuality. There's no purpose. It's all just a social construct. It's things that man made, that man invented. But the pages of Scripture tell us that sex and sexuality are not the result of an accidental evolution. It's part of God's intentional purpose and design. It's not man's idea. It's God's idea. It's not a social convention. It's God's creation.
We also see that sexuality and marriage are not a trivial part of our existence. Like sport or playing cards, some sort of secondary, trivial thing, take it or leave it. No, sexuality is tied to our purpose. Sexuality is at the core of who we are. We are either male or female. We're born that way. When the doctor delivers us, he looks at us, looks at our parts, and makes a declaration: "It's a boy. It's a girl."
We waited with our first child, Faith, until she was born to find out what she was. Heather let me have my way, and I think that was the last time in my marriage I had one. For our next three children, they told us beforehand with the sonogram: "It's a boy, it's a girl." The first one, we did it God's way, and then after that, we pried into the secrecy of the womb because we had to have the right color for the baby clothes. These are things that are important.
The Profound Distinction Between Male and Female
But we are either male or female. One or the other. This is not a social construct. This is God's creation. "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." And this difference between male and female is profound. We are not the same. There is a profound difference between men and women, and it transcends more than simply biology. Biology is a huge part of it, but there's more going on than simple biology. These differences are God's design.
Humanity created in God's image, both male and female, are image bearers of God. It means that we are equal before God in our value, and that we share the same purpose and calling. Mankind is to fill the earth, to subdue it, to cultivate it, to bring glory to God with our lives. That is the purpose of mankind. Both men and women, male and female, share in this purpose. But God has designed men and women differently. In fulfilling that purpose, which we share, we have different roles, different functions to accomplish this purpose, to fulfill this calling. We don't have the same roles. We don't have the same functions. God made us different on purpose. It's not an accident of the evolutionary process. It's in the genius of the mind of God.
God made man and woman different not to compete with each other or to be at war with each other, but to complement each other. That was what God said: "I will make him a helper fit for him." There's a complementation that happens between man and woman, male and female. Not a competition, but a complementation. God said that Adam needed a helper, someone to come alongside him to help him in his calling. He said, "It is not good that the man should be alone."
God designed this task and asked Adam to name the animals. All of the animals, God causes them to pass before Adam. I think this was to show Adam his need for a mate. Here comes Mr. Giraffe and Mrs. Giraffe. Here comes Mr. Cow and Mrs. Cow, and Mr. Horse and Mrs. Horse. I think Adam was looking around saying, "Where's my counterpart? Where's my companion?" to show him his great need. This is why when Adam sees the woman, he says, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." It's kind of funny because how long had Adam been alive? Two days? I don't know, it didn't seem like a lot of time had transpired, but for him, it was all he had known, his whole life. When he sees this glorious creation, woman, presented to him, he says, "At last! At last. I don't have to be alone anymore."
Women are not men, and men are not women. We're distinct, we're unique. We have the same purpose and calling: fill the earth, subdue it, glorify God. Different roles in fulfilling this calling, not to compete with each other, but to complement each other. Men need women, and women need men. There was this saying that developed during the feminist revolution in the '60s and '70s that said, "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle." That was the thinking of feminism: we don't need men. Men are a blight, men are awful. We reject men, we don't want men, we don't need them, we're good on our own. But the truth is that men need women, and women need men.
The distinctions between man and woman can be traced back to their origin. Man was formed from the dirt. Why do boys like to get dirty? They're just going back to where they came from. Man is taken from the earth, from the dirt. And notice his orientation is outward. God sends him out into creation: subdue, conquer, cultivate, work the earth. Man is called to use his unique strength to conquer, to build, to turn the wilderness into a garden.
But the female, she is not taken from the dirt. She is taken from the man's side, from Adam's side. She is much more delicate than a man. Her orientation is not outward towards creation. Her orientation, because of her origin, is inward towards her husband, her family, and her home. Man taken from dirt, woman taken from the man's side. There is a softness, a tenderness, a warmth, and a beauty that women have that men simply do not have. This tenderness, this warmth, this beauty makes life wonderful and special. It gives a man something to work for, something to sacrifice for, something to even die for.
It's been said that the woman was not taken from the man's head that she might rule over him, or taken from the man's feet that he might rule over her, but she was taken from his side so that they might be close to one another, close to his heart. That she would have his heart, have his affection, and have his devotion. Men and women are not to be in competition—in culture, but also down into marriage—but to complement one another. A man can use his rugged strength, his talents, his abilities to build a house, but it is a woman who takes that house and makes it a home. She makes it a place that he wants to be and wants to live in. Or she can also make it a place that he never wants to step into. That's right.
But the Bible says that these differences, these distinctions, are not an accident. The Bible says that these differences, male and female, are good and very good. You see, women make terrible men. It's just the truth. Women make terrible men, and men make terrible women. What we need to do as Bible-believing Christians—where the world is trying to blend the distinctions, erase the distinctions, and turn everyone into this androgynous, sexless, genderless, fluid android—God's people should be leaning into the distinctions so that the things that make us unique can be expressed and used to glorify God.
Sexuality is Reserved for Marriage
The second thing we see in our passages this morning is that sex, the act of sex, is reserved for marriage. We see this in Genesis 2:24. After Adam sees the woman, after God brings her to the man—this is the picture of the first marriage. This is why in our Western culture, which is patterned after the Word of God, the father walks the bride down the aisle in a wedding ceremony. It's patterned after this first marriage, Adam and Eve, as God brings the bride to Adam. Adam says, "At last, bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh." Verse 24 says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
This "one flesh" is describing the sexual union. God designed this, God created sex, and He made mankind sexual beings. But He reserved sex for the confines of marriage. Marriage is a covenant, an institution designed by God for one man and one woman, which is to be a lifelong, monogamous relationship whereby the man and the woman pledge to one another their lifelong fidelity, commitment to love and serve each other and each other alone. This covenant was instituted by God, designed by God, and is unique to mankind. You don't see penguins walking down the aisle. Only human beings, in the image of God, covenant in marriage. No other species bears moral weight for their actions or decisions because no other species is an image bearer of God. Is it right or wrong for a dog to take multiple mates? It's irrelevant because a dog is not an image bearer of God. A dog doesn't have an immortal soul. I don't think our dogs go to heaven. I know that's sad, unless you would be sad in heaven if your dog wasn't there, maybe God will accommodate you. But dogs don't have immortal souls. Their sexual acts are not governed by God's standards of right and wrong and morality. Ours are. Because we're not animals. We're image bearers.
So God confined sex to marriage, this covenant between one man and one woman. Which I think begs the question, why should sex be confined at all? Why place any restraints on it whatsoever? That's the question our culture is not asking, has sort of answered for itself, and has said, "We disagree with God. We don't believe sex should be confined to marriage." But the reason God confines sex to marriage is because we are image bearers of God, which means mankind is spirit; we are spiritual beings. Therefore, sex for man is not simply a biological function. It also carries with it spiritual and moral implications.
And the spiritual force behind the sexual union is possibly the most powerful thing in the whole universe. Why would I say that? I believe the most powerful thing between a man and a woman is because through this sexual union, eternal souls are birthed. You see, dogs run around taking multiple mates, but they are not producing souls that will live forever somewhere in eternity. Through the sexual union of image bearers, eternal souls are birthed into the world. Human beings are created who will live forever. This makes the sex act more powerful than an atomic bomb. Without constraints, focusing that energy in a God-glorifying direction, the power that is unleashed in every direction becomes very destructive.
It's the difference between a nuclear bomb and a nuclear reactor. They're using the same technology, the same kind of energy source. In a nuclear reactor, the energy is confined and focused in a productive direction that ends up being a huge blessing to mankind, an abundant source of cheap energy. But a nuclear bomb does not confine the energy source in any direction. It is unleashed in every direction, and it is absolutely destructive. It is not productive; it does not build, but it destroys. The confines of marriage focus sex in a direction that is productive and lends itself to human flourishing.
Because men need to know who their children are. Without the confines of marriage, men don't know who their children are. And if men don't know who their children are, they will not live for them. They will not sacrifice for them. They will not use their strength to protect them. They will not invest in them. They will not aim them and shoot them like arrows. It leaves women and children open to abuse, neglect, and eventually poverty. The confines of marriage help men focus their strength and their gifts in a productive direction versus a societally destructive direction, which we see today. Our prisons are overflowing today. It's mostly men in prison. Men who are not trained, men who are not focused, men who don't understand God's Word or God's design focus their energies in destructive directions. Marriage domesticates men to focus their energies and sexual energies in productive directions, to be able to invest their lives into the future and to building things instead of being out in the street destroying things. This is why God has confined sex to marriage. It helps it to be a productive force versus a destructive force in the world.
Jesus Upholds the Definition of Marriage
Because God created marriage, marriage is defined by God and God alone. Humanity does not have the right or the ability to redefine what marriage is. Mankind cannot say, "Well, marriage should be between a man and multiple women, or multiple women and a man, or it can be this open thing, or it can be two men, or two women." Humanity doesn't have the right to define that because we didn't make it. We didn't create it. It didn't evolve. It's not a social construct. It didn't come from us; it came down from Him.
Marriage is defined by God and God alone. In Matthew 19, if you'll turn over there with me this morning, Jesus defines marriage. Some people wrongly say that Jesus never said anything about sex or sexuality, that Jesus never condemned any of the other forms of sexual expression, like homosexuality, bisexuality, or lesbianism. They say Jesus never spoke to those things; therefore, He gave them the green light. That's not true, by the way. I know there are a lot of people trying to say that, but here Jesus is so clear about what marriage is.
In Matthew chapter 19, Jesus is asked a question about marriage and divorce. They're trying to trap Him. But Jesus says in Matthew 19, verse 4:
"Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
This would have been Jesus' place if He wanted to redefine marriage. This would have been His great opportunity to do so. This would have been the place to say, "No, you're asking about marriage, you've got it all wrong. Your primitive ideas about gender binary, your repressive, antiquated ideas about sexuality... let me tell you about this new way." No, Jesus didn't do any of that. In fact, what does He say? He starts with, "Have you not read?"
Where does Jesus point people back to for their answers on these things? To the Bible, to Scripture, to Genesis, which we read from this morning. He upholds the Scripture as the Word of God. Therefore, Jesus assumes that because it's God's Word, it is accurate, true, and authoritative. He upholds that there is a distinction between the Creator and the creature. This means evolution is out. We are not animals; Jesus is saying we are image bearers, created in the image of God. He created them from the beginning. This means that marriage is a creational ordinance. It is binding for all humanity for all time. As long as the sun rises and sets, because this was part of God's creational mandate, this is how it is for all people, for all time—Christian, non-Christian, it does not matter. This is God's design for image bearers. This is simply the way the world is. God's design for marriage and sexuality is as hardwired into the universe as the law of gravity itself.
Jesus goes on to say that God made them from the beginning, male and female. Gender, Jesus says, is not a social construct. There is not a spectrum. Jesus upholds the gender binary: male, female distinction. Jesus upholds the institution of marriage. "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother," holding fast to this creational definition of marriage of one man and one woman. And then a man should "hold fast to his wife." This is lifelong monogamy. Not an open marriage, not swinging, not polyamorous, not adultery, not pornography, but lifelong pledging ourselves, including our bodies, to our spouse till death do us part.
"The two become one flesh." This is the sexual union. Jesus not only upholds the definition of marriage, but He reaffirms that it is the only legitimate expression of human sexuality. Only a man and a woman in marriage can have a one-flesh union. But then Jesus adds what was all in Genesis 1 and 2: "What God has joined together." Jesus tells us that in this union, God is involved. God is what unites husband and wife together, which means that sex is not only a physical act, but a spiritual act. Through this sexual act, God is joining the husband and wife together, not only physically, but spiritually.
And then finally, He says, "What God has joined together, let not man separate." Divorce is not an option. Man doesn't get to change what God has done. We don't get a vote in this. This passage goes on to explain certain circumstances under which divorce is regrettably permissible—when the marriage covenant has been broken through sexual immorality. If one partner has been unfaithful, then there is the potential for divorce, but that doesn't have to be the first option. Because I've seen more times than I can remember or count, God restore marriages that have been broken.
Jesus, in this one short little statement, dismantles our current cultural narrative on everything. Scripture, not man's words, is God's words. Therefore, it's authoritative, and we as God's creatures must live under it. The Big Bang? No, Jesus said God was the beginning. Evolution? Nope, Jesus says God created mankind. Gender fluidity and transgenderism? No, Jesus says male and female. Same-sex marriage? No, Jesus says man and woman. The sexual revolution, liberation, hookup culture? Nope, Jesus says one-flesh union, lifelong, monogamous holy matrimony. The idea that man is just protoplasm, that there's no spiritual world? Nope, Jesus said God is a spiritual being who joins man and wife together, that there is a spiritual world, and that our actions have eternal consequences.
What this means, dear friend, is that every other expression of sexuality outside of monogamous marriage is outside of God's plan for human flourishing. Every other sexual expression is outside of God's plan for producing flourishing environments for humanity, stable and safe, where we can grow and fulfill our God-given purpose in the family.
Sexual Immorality and the Kingdom of God
If you'll flip with me to 1 Corinthians 6, this will be the last passage that we look at today. We're going to look at several verses from this passage, but I want to start by looking at verses 9 and 10 of 1 Corinthians 6. The Apostle Paul writes:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
This is a big deal. These are high stakes. Entering into God's kingdom means that first and foremost, we live lives for His glory here on earth. And secondly, when we die or when Jesus returns, we are ushered into the fullness of His kingdom for all eternity. Paul here is saying the stakes are heaven or hell. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Then he has this statement: "Do not be deceived." What does that mean? It means there are other voices saying other things, trying to lead you astray. He's saying, "Don't listen to those other voices. They're spreading lies and deception." He gives sweeping blanket categories for unrighteous behavior. Those having sex outside of marriage, idolaters bowing to idols, adulterers breaking the covenant, men practicing homosexuality, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers.
This is not just confined to sexual sin. I want you to see this. This is confined to all patterns of sinful lifestyle and behavior. Those who reject God, reject His Word, and do not live under His authority will not inherit His kingdom. Remember, Jesus says, on that day, many will say, "Lord, Lord. Didn't we do all these things for you?" And Jesus will say, "Depart from me, I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness." It's possible to make a profession of faith with your lips, but not have Him be the Lord of your life and heart. The profession doesn't matter if it's not the way you live your life under His rulership.
But he does give very sweeping descriptions of sexual sin. The Bible could not be more clear. Every sexual expression outside of marriage, as defined by God, is sin. Sexual immorality is everything outside of marriage. That would be polygamy, incest, forced sexuality (rape), fornication, adultery, pornography, abuse of children, the extreme perversion of man and beast, and homosexuality.
Now, if you're here today and you struggle, you fight, you have the temptation of same-sex attraction, I'm not reading these things to bash you or put you down. I'm telling you this because I love you, not because I hate you. I'm telling you this because I want you to know that God has a better way. The world is going to tell you something different, because this whole system is designed to lead you to hell. But the kingdom of God, the gospel—Jesus came to set us free. Truly, I don't harbor any hate, any animosity, any discrimination in my heart towards anybody who struggles with these sins or faces these temptations. In fact, I have a great deal of compassion towards you because of the lies of the enemy that have been told to you your whole life. But because I love you, I want to tell you the truth that can set you free. Every sexual expression outside of marriage is a perversion of God's good design and gift to humanity.
God is Our Substance and Joy
God's Word stands in distinction against the culture, which says we're just animals, meat sacks, and nothing matters. But sex is not simply a biological function. It's more than a physical action; it touches the deepest parts of our souls. Sexual expression not submitted to God is sin, and all sin separates us from God, who is the only source of true and lasting joy and contentment. There will be no contentment, joy, or peace living a life of sexual perversion. There is no sexual act that will satisfy you for the rest of your life.
The world says you have to live out every desire to be a fully functioning human being. But Jesus says, "To be a fully functioning human being, you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me." Jesus Himself is the great example, who lived as a man, was tempted as we are, yet without sin. He denied Himself. Was the God-man something less than fully human? To be fully human doesn't mean we act on every single one of our urges. That's what animals do. To be human beings means we take those actions and urges, and submit them under God's Word, living in relationship with our Creator. That's the only source of true joy, lasting peace, and contentment. Hallelujah.
This goes to us who are married as well. We don't look to our spouse as our source of joy, peace, and contentment; we must look to Christ. Putting that on our spouse is a burden they were never designed to carry. Jonathan Edwards, the great preacher of the Great Awakening, said this:
"The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends are but shadows, but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean."
All of us here today need to set our affections upon God and God alone. He is our source of joy and contentment. Every bit of love and joy we experience in this life from others is great and wonderful, but it is only a shadow; God is the substance. It is only a drop; God is the ocean. God warns us in this passage that those who live a life of persistent sin, who do not live under His rule and reign, will not inherit His kingdom, but will be separated from Him. God warns us because He loves us.
The Hope and Power of the Gospel
We know we have all sinned. We are all guilty before a holy God. This is why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to bear our sin and shame, to set us free. This is why Paul doesn't stop in verse 10, but goes on to verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 6. He says, "Don't be deceived. Those who persist in this lifestyle will not inherit the kingdom of God." But then he says, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
This is the good news. We were sinners, condemned because of our sin, separated from God. But God, because of His mercy and love, did not spare His own Son, but sent Him to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. We can be washed. There are those who say if you have same-sex attraction, you will always be that way, that that's just who you are and how you have to live it out. But hear me in this: in the first-century church, there were those who were that, but God had set them free. "Such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified."
Listen, the gospel is the power of God to salvation. God can truly set you free. You don't have to live life bound to sin, sexual or otherwise. Christ is the one who redeems us, washes us, sets us apart for His own special purpose, and redeems all of our lives, including our sexuality. Jesus said, "He whom the Son sets free is free indeed." There is redemption for the sexually broken. In John chapter 8, Jesus confronts a woman caught in the act of adultery. His words to her are, "Woman, where are your accusers? Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." We can be set free of the condemnation of the devil and empowered by the Spirit of Christ to go and sin no more.
Christ offers us more than any fleeting sexual experience could give us. He offers us Himself, the only source of true and lasting satisfaction, to everyone who would call upon His name in faith. The Apostle Paul goes on to say that our very bodies do not belong to us. Our bodies belong to God; we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are to use our bodies, our very flesh, to bring glory to God. We do this when we submit ourselves to our Creator, when we choose to live in His image, under His rule, walking with Him daily, denying ourselves daily. And when we sin, sexually or otherwise, we come to Him in repentance and faith. Those who call upon Him, He will never cast out. Those who come to Him broken, leave restored.
I want to encourage you here this morning. Whatever you brought in here, you don't have to leave with it. You can lay it at the foot of Jesus. You can confess your sin to Him. He will not turn you away, but He will receive you into His family. He will wash you, He will restore you, and He will redeem your life from destruction so that you can live a life fully to His glory, fully with joy and peace and satisfaction, fully today and into eternity. Amen.
So Father, we do thank you for your Word. We thank you that you have given us your Word and that it teaches us how to live for you. I pray, God, that you would use your Word to set us free. It is the truth that sets us free. And Lord, your desire is that we would all live and walk in the freedom that you give us. And for that we say, Amen.