A Much-Needed Sexual Revolution
Today's Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12 - 7:5
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
“ 'All things are lawful for me,” and “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food’ .” (1 Corinthians 6:12,13)
“But not all things are helpful/profitable.” (1 Corinthians 6:12b)
“What then, are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means.” (Romans 6:15)
Main idea: Sex, though a source of great blessing, can also be a source of real harm, and only God can be trusted to define the path to flourishing.
I. Sexual wholeness and flourishing are rooted in believing God’s commands are meant for our good: He is for our bodies!
“The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.” (1 Corinthians 6:13-14)
(John 14:15-17a)
“The body is not meant for sexual immorality." (1 Corinthians 6:13)
“With each viewing of pornography, a person's brain releases a burst of dopamine that strengthens the connection between cells. The more reward released from viewing porn, the stronger the path of communication to repeat that behavior in search of more reward (National Center on Sexual Exploitation, Miller, Ben. 1/7/19).”
II. Sexual wholeness and flourishing are rooted in believing we are united, even married to Christ Jesus.
(1 Corinthians 6:15-20)
“You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast (cleave) to him.” (Deuteronomy 13:4)
“The man shall leave his father and mother and be united/cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
“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.” (Romans 6:5)
“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” (Romans 6:13)
“In a 2011 study, Fisher and her colleagues looked at brain scans of couples who had been married for an average of 21 years and found similar activation in dopamine-rich brain regions associated with intense romantic love.” (How Love Rewires the Brain, Howard, David)
III. Sexual wholeness and flourishing are rooted in believing that married sex is more about what you give, not what you get.
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife.” (1 Corinthians 5:1)
“…submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21)
