The word of God says,

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” Ephesians 5:1-3 ESV

Yes, we are continuing on the topic we started two weeks ago. It is all about sexual purity, what sexual purity means for a born again Christian.

From the above passage, we can see Paul writes to the people of God, to those who are born-again Christians, to show them a proper lifestyle that matches their new names, “beloved children of God:” A lifestyle in which “sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not EVEN be named” in it. (Capitalization added for emphasis)

Paul is pretty much saying that “beloved child of God and living in sexual immorality” is an oxymoron. One can be a beloved child of God OR live in a sexually immoral lifestyle. One person cannot be these two opposing things at the same time.

According to the teaching of the word of God, the holy and godly place God created to meet the man’s (male’s and female’s) sexual desire is called marriage, a one-flesh relationship between one man and one woman. Generally speaking, this one-flesh institution called marriage is created by God for the well-being of man (both male & female). All sexual activities which dishonor both man and the Creator of man are considered an abomination to God whether those activities occur in or outside marriage covenant.

So, Paul is reminding the people of God to glorify God in their lifestyle that is proper to their calling, “beloved children of God.” Any lifestyle that does not bring glory to God and honor and blessing to man should not, cannot, be a lifestyle of “the beloved children of God.”

Hmm! But many studies have shown repeatedly that when it comes to, for example porn use, the difference is insignificant between church goers and people of this world.

Why?

Did the word of God lose its power? Did God lower His standards? The Bible still says God has given us a spirit of “power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7) Where did this spirit go? Is the devil winning the battle? Is the devil getting stronger and stronger every day? But the Bible says believers in Jesus Christ, born-again Christians, are “more than conquerors through” Jesus Christ “who loved” them. (Romans 8:37)

We may ask zillions of questions and speculate a number of possible answers. Here are a few: Maybe many people who profess to know Jesus Christ don’t really know Him. Maybe some thought, “Being a member of a certain church or denomination will seal” their eternal destiny with God while they live life in the here and now as the people of this dark world. Or, some people might be manipulated by different techniques and tactics to sign their names to be a member of a church but didn’t have any “born-again” experience, there is no difference in their lifestyles before and after they became a church member or prayed that “magic prayer” to become a Christian.

And if people thought they were Christians while they were not, teaching them about God and how the life of a Christian should be is like speaking to them in a foreign language that they cannot understand.

They ask, “Did you say a man becomes one with a woman he sleeps with even if he sleeps with her once?”

You may probably say, “Oh, no! Not I, but the word of God,” and you read this passage:

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.”” 1 Corinthians 6:15-16 ESV

From the above passage, we don’t read how many times the man should visit a prostitute to be one-flesh with her. Like, “If he goes to a prostitute every other day for the next two years, yes, he becomes one-flesh with her but if less than two years; he is not considered as one-flesh with the prostitute. He is still one-flesh with his wife only.”

Then why do they ask such kinds of questions?

They may probably have not heard the Gospel yet and they may still be “dead in” their “trespasses (sins).” (Ephesians 2:1, 5)

But they say they still go to church and they actually lead worship in their church and they don’t want to miss any church program.

Really? Why?

They love what they hear from the pulpit every week, messages such as: How to better manage their lives; how they can create meaning to their lives by just confessing positive and powerful statements about them; how their financial struggles came from their small faith and how to increase their faith as well as their saving account at the same time almost in overnight by giving gifts in the offering bag that they have never given before; on and on and on.

You may ask: What? Is this teaching going on in churches? Where is Jesus?  Where is His cross? Where is His resurrection? Where is the Gospel? Where is the hope of eternal life?

None!

And is it then strange to find these people, who listen to these kinds of messages every week, in all sorts of sexually immoral lifestyles?

No, it is not!

Christ’s resurrection power is the power that raises Christians from death every day. If that is missing in Christians, these Christians are still in darkness. They see no light and their fellowship is only with the king of darkness.

Listen to the word of God:

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11 ESV

Do you see that?

A Christian means a person in whose mortal body lives the Spirit of Resurrection, a Spirit which makes them alive to God but dead to this dark world. Do they still struggle with sin? They do but never the Spirit in them let them “dwell in sin.”

So, is it important to preach about the lifestyle that is proper to a born-again Christian to the person who is still dead in sin?

NOPE!

What they need is Jesus Christ who can only wake them up from the dead and make them alive to God’s glory.

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” (- – – cont’d) ///