| Introduction A little over 12 years ago, a well-known Presbyterian pastor took me out for lunch in order to give me some ministry advice. He had two pieces of advice to give me. One was that I needed to watch out for the Westminster Standards because they were the product of puritanical theological narrow-mindedness. This was coming from a Presbyterian minister in a supposedly confessional denomination! The second piece of advice is the one I want to relate to today's sermon. He said that the biggest problem with society and the Church today was antinomianism, that is, a lawless attempt to relate to God. The solution, he said, was to preach the law. Sermons should be filled with commands. At the core of each sermon should be what we must do in obedience to God. According to him, the preacher should emphasize the imperatives of the texts on which he was preaching. I am embarrassed to say that at the time I agreed with him on this second piece of advice. Thankfully, the Lord opened my eyes not too long after this meeting to see that the human problem is exactly the opposite. The human problem is not that man tries to relate to God apart from what he does (antinomianism), but that he tries to relate to God on the basis of what he does. The basic human problem is not antinomianism. It is legalism. I. Why Am I Saying All This as an Introduction to This Passage? A. I am saying all this because when we come to passages like this one where we find lists of what a Christian should and should not do, we tend to forget that we relate to God because of the merits of Christ, not our own merits. 1. It is not the passage's fault. 2. It is the leftovers of our sinful nature that want to be in charge of our destiny. B. Paul is very aware of the human condition. 1. So, he always grounds what we must do on our identity as believers in Christ. 2. Notice that Paul says that we are not to be partakers in these sinful behaviors (v. 7) because we are light in the Lord (8a). Col. 1:13-14 – He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. C. The Scriptures speak of the things we are to do and not do, that is, our obedience to God in terms of what we have become by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. 1. We obey because of whom we are. 2. We don't obey in order to establish a right relationship with God. 3. We obey because we ARE children of God (v. 1). II. This Matter of Identity Is of Utmost Importance. A. How we think and view ourselves will impact what we do and how we relate to God, other people, and the world around us. "Christian experience (who we are), Christian theology (what we believe) and Christian ethics (how we behave) are always interconnected." James Boice B. We all have labels for ourselves. 1. We may think of ourselves as a husband/wife, a teacher, an engineer, a homeschooling mom, a retired person. 2. These are all matters of identity. C. For the Christian, his/her identity, that is, the core of whom he/she is, is his/her union with Christ. 1. John Newton describes the Christian identity beautifully in what is probably the best-known Christian hymn: Amazing Grace. Amazing grace! - how sweet the sound – that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see. 2. Paul describes who we are as Christians even more beautifully in 2:1-10 (turn to it and read it). a. Believer in Jesus Christ, this is who you are! b. You were dead in your sins, but God in the richness of his love and grace gave you life and granted you the ability to believe that Jesus gave himself for you freely so that you could have every last sin that you committed against him forgiven. c. That's whom you and I are who believe in Jesus Christ: God's workmanship created as new creatures because of what Christ has done for us. D. It is when we ground our obedience on the identity God has given to us in Jesus Christ that this list of do's and don't's make sense. 1. We don't practice sexual immorality because we are a new creature in Jesus Christ. a. We are still sexual creatures to be sure. b. But now we able to practice our sexuality in the way God designed it because his Spirit is in us. 2. We don't covet because our identity is not in the material world, but in God who has given us all things in Jesus Christ. 3. To try to follow what Paul says here with any other motivation than what God has done for us and in us through Jesus Christ is equivalent to trying to hold your breath. a. You may be able to do it for a while, some people for longer than others, but eventually you have to take a breath. b. Being sexually obedient and not coveting in this illustration is the holding of the breath – it is not a lifelong, sustainable approach. 4. On the other hand, if you are a believer and ground your identity on Christ, then the holding of the breath are the moments you fall into sin. a. There may be times in which a Christian falls into sin. b. There may be times in which a Christian falls into sexual sin among others, but that is not what characterize him in the same way that not breathing is not what characterize a living human. III. One more Things by Way of Introduction. A. I know that I keep on talking about this passage that we read today but haven't really yet examined it in detail. 1. You are probably getting worried as you see the minutes ticking away. 2. I promise you that we will get to examine it more closely and that we will not go much longer. 3. But I still want to say one more thing by way of introduction. B. If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, don't look at this passage as a checklist of things you must do in order to earn some points with God. 1. It is true that you would be better off, even as an unbeliever, not to be sexually immoral, not covet, not to be involved with the works of darkness. 2. There is a benefit for you in that. 3. But this obedience will not earn you entrance into heaven. 4. If you really want to know what you need to do, listen to what Peter told a crowd of questioning men 2,000 years ago. Acts 2:37-39 – Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." IV. This Passage Is about the Grace of God at Work in Us. A. This is a much more hopeful outlook. B. It is also one that brings much more accountability to our lives because God tells us that we have what it takes to obey what he commands since Jesus Christ died and rose again for us and the Spirit of God dwells in us. 1 Cor. 10:13-14 – No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. C. Paul continues his pattern of put-offs and put-ons. 1. Here the put-off is sexual immorality. 2. Sexual sins are not the ultimate, most heinous, unforgivable sins. 3. The Scriptures, however, do address them quite a bit because they are so common and so exalted by the world. a. We tend to think that we live in the worst time as far as sexual ethics go – everything seems to be upside down. b. But every age has had its challenges with sexual morality. c. The Bible is not interested in prudish, Victorian sexuality – if you want proof of that, read the Song of Solomon. d. The Bible IS, however, about sexual ethics that are consistent with how God designed humanity. e. The things Paul tells us to put off here are not consistent with God's much better and greater design for our sexuality. D. A major biblical premise – sex was designed to be the beautiful and enjoyable symbol of the covenantal union between one biological man and one biological woman. 1. This is human sexuality at its best. 2. In some sense, anything other than that is sub-human. 3. The things that Paul tells us to put away are distortions of God's beautiful and glorious design. E. These sins are organized in three sets of three in vv. 3-5. 1. Set # 1 – the actual doing of if, v. 3. a. Fornication – sexual immorality, particularly sexual relationships outside of marriage between one biological man and one biological woman. b. Uncleanness – pretty much all other kinds of sexual immorality. 1) Wanting something to the point of not being willing to be content without it or willing to sin to get it. 2) Here covetousness is the desire for a sexual experience outside of a biblical marriage. 2. Set # 2 – perhaps not the doing of it, but the way one thinks and talks about sex, v. 4. a. Filthiness – obscenity (the way we talk about sex). 1) Made with the word for moron. 2) Stupid, unwise, uninformed way of talking about sexuality. 3) Coarse jesting – vulgar or crude jokes about sex/sexuality. 3. Set # 3, v. 5a – repeats what was already said, but in the context of the doer. F. Paul tells us to put these ways of thinking and behaving off because they are not consistent with how a citizen of the kingdom of Christ and God thinks and behave. 1. In the eternal state these things won't exist. 2. And those who are identified as such won't be part of the kingdom of God. G. Paul anticipates people saying, "What's the big deal? Why can't we have a little fun? This is not that important as long as it is done in the name of love, or liberation, or self-expression. Don't you want me to be happy?", 6. 1. Paul says that these are empty words. 2. They are devoid of meaning. 4. It is for these very sorts of sins that God will pour his infinite, holy, and justified wrath upon those that don't believe in Jesus. 5. But there is great hope for those who are enslaved by sexual sins! 1 Cor. 6:9-11 – Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. H. So, don't be involved with something that is so inconsistent with whom you are in Christ, v. 7. I. Instead give thanks!, 4b. 1. For God's work of transformation in you. 1 Cor. 6:9-11 – Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 2. For God's good gift of sex. "The only proper way to respond to God for sexuality is to practice it in the right context and give thanks to him for this wonderful gift." Clinton Arnold a. God is not trying to keep fun away from us. b. He is trying to preserve fun for the right and best context. 3. For God's forgiveness even when we act contrary to our identity in Christ.
Brothers and sisters, that's whom we are! People who have been brought to life by the rich love of God through the person and work of Jesus Christ. People who have the grace of God working us to free us from the cheap product of sexual immorality. People who rejoice and acknowledge God's much greater plan for our sexuality.
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