REFLECTIONS

Written by Stephen Shead

As we begin the final week of our devotions on growing in holiness, remember the most important truth in the whole beautiful, complex topic: Holiness is a gift of God’s grace from start to finish. Christ is our sanctification. Our devotion to God flows as a gift, on the current of his constant and unrelenting forgiveness, from God the Father to all who trust in his Son.

Today might be an especially good day to remember these things, as we come to the Seventh Commandment:

“You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)

If modern Western culture could have its way with the Ten Commandments, this one would change into: “Love is love.” It doesn’t matter who it’s with, or whether you’re married or not, as long as you truly love one another (whatever that means). The Bible’s rules about sex are too restrictive, we’re told. Even some Christians think that the Old Testament laws were harsh and judgmental, so Jesus replaced them with a better message of love.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Remember what we read yesterday:

9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Romans 13:9)

Do you see what Paul is saying? The commandments in the Old Testament are loving. They explain how to love others in practice.

In fact, the New Testament is just as clear on the issue of sexual sin. Paul says:

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. (Ephesians 5:3)

“Sexual immorality” in the New Testament means any sexual interaction that is not between a man and a woman who are married to each other. God’s Word says that for God’s holy people – for those of us who now belong to God by his grace – even flirting with sexual immorality (pardon the pun) is completely inappropriate.

Why is that? The reason the Bible urges us to flee from sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18) is because we belong to God – our whole self, including our bodies. Paul says:

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

God created us as bodily creatures, with good purposes for our bodies. That means what we do with our bodies matters.

In fact, in God’s design for our sexual selves, both singleness and marriage are concrete expressions or pictures of salvation! They both have value, dignity, and purpose. Marriage is designed to be a lifelong, faithful union of self-sacrificial love and service, which is a picture of the relationship between Christ and his church (Ephesians 5:25-32). Lifelong, faithful singleness is an even more direct picture of what we were saved for: an uninterrupted, undistracted, undiluted devotion to Christ alone (1 Corinthians 7:32-35).

Sexual purity is often very hard. Singleness can be hard. Contentment with your body and your sexual makeup can be hard. Contentment and serving your spouse in marriage can be hard. It’s especially hard because the world bombards us with messages normalising promiscuity and sexual sin. But the Bible urges us to view sex and our bodies and desires from God’s perfect perspective:

3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7)

Of course, many of us have fallen – and badly! – in the area of sexual holiness. That’s why we need to constantly return to the life-giving peace and assurance of the gospel. If you trust in Christ as your Lord, he has sanctified you (1 Corinthians 6:11). You are holy and devoted to God – even if you continue to struggle with the same sins. Don’t stop struggling – but also, don’t get trapped and paralysed by guilt. Instead, remember God’s grace, and keep practising our three steps for growing in holy living:

1. Be real with God. Name your sin or your struggles honestly before him.

2. Rest in the gospel of Jesus.

3. Resolve to live in devotion to God, by his grace and power.

Spend time talking to God about this, and in particular ask him for wisdom and courage in practical steps you should take – and the first practical step might be asking a Christian friend or your minister for help.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen is our senior minister.