Sexual Immorality
2 Corinthians 5
It is interesting to me how Halloween is the time of year where teenage girls and young women are encouraged to dress up like porn stars. What was once known as "whorish" is now called "cute." Our pornographic culture seems to have a high value on such icons. For men, it feeds their lust to know that all that they watch on the computer and TV is now live in front of them - their imagination can do the rest. For women, it feeds their desire to be loved, even if it is on a surface level. Not only is porn becoming just as popular (and acceptable) to watch as a daytime TV sitcom, but in being so, it is affecting the mindsets of people to where the average conversation does not exclude some innuendo, or thought of one naturally occurring. But even more noticeable are the pictures, personalities, characters, encouraged behaviors, and excuses for lifestyles found in film, music, billboards, commercials (even those that last only 10 seconds), and other various advertisements (even those for hamburgers) which promote and demonstrate such a worldview.
Perhaps this kind of porn-infested mindset is the kind of mindset that Paul is writing to in 1 Corinthians. Carson and Moo in their book An Introduction to the New Testament, describe in their chapter 1 and 2 Corinthians that Corinth was probably a place of rampant "pornification" (my word), a mindset that carried over from years past.
But what of the Christians living in Corinth? Didn't they know that they were not supposed to engage in those types of immoral activities?
Going back to the Halloween example, it seems as if many young people in our churches are wearing the same "costumes" of those who do not follow Christ. Even worse, their parents accept it with an unloving, apathetic, shunning-of-responsibility comment like, "Teenagers will be teenagers." Why?
There was a deeper issue going on in the mindset of the Corinthian Christians than a pornified worldview. We see glimpses throughout the letter that they had a bit of a Neo-Platonistic twang to them - that is, bodily matters and spiritual matters have little (if nothing) to do with each other. Perhaps that would translate into our Christian audience as - "I'm saved, therefore what I do doesn't matter." Simply put, those who profess to be Christians and take part in the worldview of the populace have little to no concern for the things of God, and as Paul put it, "And you are arrogant!" (1 Cor. 5:2) This disconnect between body and spirit is never encouraged in Scripture. Rather, what is mentioned is "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (3:16) And also, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." (6:19-20).
How, then, shall we live? What can we learn from this?
It is interesting to me how Halloween is the time of year where teenage girls and young women are encouraged to dress up like porn stars. What was once known as "whorish" is now called "cute." Our pornographic culture seems to have a high value on such icons. For men, it feeds their lust to know that all that they watch on the computer and TV is now live in front of them - their imagination can do the rest. For women, it feeds their desire to be loved, even if it is on a surface level. Not only is porn becoming just as popular (and acceptable) to watch as a daytime TV sitcom, but in being so, it is affecting the mindsets of people to where the average conversation does not exclude some innuendo, or thought of one naturally occurring. But even more noticeable are the pictures, personalities, characters, encouraged behaviors, and excuses for lifestyles found in film, music, billboards, commercials (even those that last only 10 seconds), and other various advertisements (even those for hamburgers) which promote and demonstrate such a worldview.
Perhaps this kind of porn-infested mindset is the kind of mindset that Paul is writing to in 1 Corinthians. Carson and Moo in their book An Introduction to the New Testament, describe in their chapter 1 and 2 Corinthians that Corinth was probably a place of rampant "pornification" (my word), a mindset that carried over from years past.
But what of the Christians living in Corinth? Didn't they know that they were not supposed to engage in those types of immoral activities?
Going back to the Halloween example, it seems as if many young people in our churches are wearing the same "costumes" of those who do not follow Christ. Even worse, their parents accept it with an unloving, apathetic, shunning-of-responsibility comment like, "Teenagers will be teenagers." Why?
There was a deeper issue going on in the mindset of the Corinthian Christians than a pornified worldview. We see glimpses throughout the letter that they had a bit of a Neo-Platonistic twang to them - that is, bodily matters and spiritual matters have little (if nothing) to do with each other. Perhaps that would translate into our Christian audience as - "I'm saved, therefore what I do doesn't matter." Simply put, those who profess to be Christians and take part in the worldview of the populace have little to no concern for the things of God, and as Paul put it, "And you are arrogant!" (1 Cor. 5:2) This disconnect between body and spirit is never encouraged in Scripture. Rather, what is mentioned is "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (3:16) And also, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." (6:19-20).
How, then, shall we live? What can we learn from this?
- We must recognize the culture of the world we live in and how what is acceptable and encouraged in our culture is drastically different from what God has said the conduct of Christians should be. If we are truly God's people, then how can we live as such without building up our relationship with Him? We must be a people of His Word.
- We must realize that our problems do not lie in our pornified culture or mindset, but in the roots of idolatry and autonomy. We were not created with the purpose, or even slightest implication, that we are to live apart from a heartfelt, thriving relationship with our Creator. We must submit to Him only and always. We must submit in every facet of our lives - what we see on the computer, how we talk with our friends (both believers and non), and, yes, even in the darkest recesses of our minds.
- Being founded upon these previous two principles, we must hold our conduct up to the perfect Word of God, up to Jesus, Himself, and be judged, humbled, and repentant. There are two things here:
- The only standard of judgment that we are called to hold ourselves to is the Word of God (1 Cor. 4, spec. v 6). It is sufficient, authoritative, and without error (2 Tim. 3:16-17). That means that we must not look to that which our culture says is acceptable, nor through what our own grid of right and wrong says is acceptable.
- We must not be apathetic or prideful when assessing our conduct. There is not one thing that we have been given that we have not received from God. Therefore, there is not one quality or characteristic or practice or behavior that should be treated with shrugged shoulders, nor with self-glorification. All matters and how we deal with them are indicators of our heart posture. Are we stewards and servants of God (1 Cor. 4:1) or glory thieves?
- We must then avoid any hint of sexual immorality, for such conduct is not pleasing to God, nor helpful to us. Furthermore, when we participate in such immorality, whether through computers, various media, our thoughts and imaginations, or through the sex itself (and its various forms), we fail to image the purity, love, and glory of our Savior. Therefore, "flee from sexual immorality" (6:18) and flee to the forgiving, empowering grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." (6:19-20)
Perhaps I'll post some more on this tomorrow, and some practicalities addressing the question, "How do I flee from sexual immorality? Especially when it is everywhere?"
This post was like a good shot in the arm. Thanks. Also, it took me back to a study I did while journaling through Numbers that I'd like to share.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to your second implication, Paul further warns against idolatry in 1 Corinthians 10, in which he even quotes 6:12. In this chapter, he refers back to OT events that "were written down for our instruction" (v. 11). In one example, he says, "You must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day" (v. 8). Paul saw the correlation between sexual immorality and covenantal relationship, for when Israel whored after the daughters of Moab and accepted their invitation to eat and sacrifice to their gods, Israel "yoked himself to Baal at Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel" (Num. 25:3). Note, this is after God renewed His covenant with them and warned them of this infidelity to Him in Exodus 34.
The correlation lies in the yoke (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1, where Paul calls us a temple of the living God as well as in 1 Cor. 6:19-20). Sex is binding, a seal of permanence. Israel's whoredom was apostasy. Paul recognized this in 1 Cor. 10 and so included sexual immorality in his list of examples that catalyze the imperative to flee from idolatry in v. 14. Furthermore, Paul uses the Lord's Supper to capture our covenantal union with Christ and our union with each other in vv. 16-22. We participate in His body when we eat of the bread, and we are one body because we eat of the one bread. We cannot eat of that bread and eat the bread of demons. It's almost like Paul is asking, "To whom will you give your allegiance?" Like you said, we must submit to Him alone and have no other Lord. Sexual immorality is unloving toward one another, defiles our own bodies, God's temples, and surely grieves God, who has made an everlasting covenant with us.
So then, we should glorify God in sex and food and whatever else. We are His and do not have the right to yoke ourselves with another, nor should we want to. Truly, sexual immorality is idolatry.