...live rightly...

IN A WORLD WHERE YOU CAN BE ANYTHING,

BE FAITHFUL!

3 But sexual immorality and impurity of any kind or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. 5 Be sure of this, that no sexually immoral or impure person or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be associated with them, 8 for once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Walk as children of light, 9 for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord” Ephesians 5:3-10.

Let’s be honest about sex, people throughout the world are so obsessed with sex that the very word attracts people’s attention. Anything associated with it seems attractive as well. Advertisers use the word “sexy” to describe cars, computers, carpets, almost anything. And we all have access to sex via cell phones.

The world of Paul’s day wasn’t much different, particularly in the cities where he spent most of his time. Casual sex and all kinds of curious practices associated with it seem to have flourished. The wall paintings discovered in a house in Pompeii (where the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the whole city alive in ad 79) gave a clear indication of what went on. So do many of the pictures painted on ancient pottery. In that world, as in ours, many people saw no need for restraint. If it seemed fun at the time, why not go ahead?

Even some religions have included sex.

But Paul has a way of cutting to the heart of the issue. “Let no one deceive you” he warns in verse 6. There is a lot of emptiness in sex, emptiness that echos and resonates with our culture. Paul warns us about following the cheap imitations of the God-given beauty of sex. Like everything else, casual sex is filled with ways that demean us as human beings and demean the gift of sex itself. Paul tells us that the best way of moving away from casual and demeaning sex is to take it out of your mind altogether, and the path to that goal is to remove it from your speech and from your visual contact with social media.

Paul warns us to take casual sex and porn out of our minds, because “people who behave in these ways not only won’t inherit the final kingdom — they have no place in the present one either.” Notice that Paul labels sexual greed as a form of idolatry, the worship of false gods, which includes the entire pornography industry.

True religious experience of God, the experience of knowing the Creator God in and through Jesus Christ, produces the true ‘enlightenment’ (verses 8–9). Those who have become light, having formerly been darkness, must behave as light-bearers in God’s world. Once again (verse 10) this will mean learning to think straight. Don’t go with the flow. Think out who God is; who you are; and learn to live in the light of God and His love.

So today, be honest before God about your sexual identity, and if you are stuck in deviant behavior, ask God to help you change your thinking and what you watch on social media.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Today’s Prayer

Oh Lord Jesus Christ, you have provided me a model

of living the Christian life. Help me to emulate Your way of life.

Help me to humble myself so that I may faithfully respond

to living my life as You intended.

Help me to remember that my sexual identity is Your gift to me.

Change my thinking when I am tempted

to live in any way that offends you and hurts me.

And this I pray in Your Name, Jesus Christ, Our Lord,

who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

From the Bible:

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” Matthew 5:8.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” Psalm 51:10.

“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” 2 Timothy 2:2.

“And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” 1 John 3:3.

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” 1 Timothy 1:5.