Sexual Purity (Part 2 of 2)

Guest (Male): Welcome to Truth For Life, and before we get started today, I want to warn parents with small children, we'll be dealing with a topic that may not be appropriate for younger listeners today. You may want to catch this message later on the app or on our website or other podcast platforms. I’ll pause here for just a minute to give you an opportunity to switch. We live in a time when most people, even within the church, view sex between consenting adults as a harmless private matter. In sharp contrast, Alistair Begg illustrates the relevance and importance of pursuing sexual purity, whether you're single or married. Turn in your Bible to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. We’ll be starting today with verse 4.
Alistair Begg: Each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable. Or as Phillips paraphrases it, every one of you should learn to control his body, keeping it pure and treating it with respect. Rather than dragging you into the etymology of it all, for what it’s worth and for the provoking of your own further study, let me simply say that I think the NIV has got it right. And indeed, even if it has it wrong and that the correct translation is "wife," all that that does is specify and particularize the principle which is contained here. For if in learning to control our own bodies, as man essentially, in the matter of sexuality, there will be only one outlet for that, and that will be within the framework of marriage as we will see. What Paul is addressing here is what he has already said in Romans chapter 6, and you may like to turn to it in verse 13, where he says, "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." Very clear and straightforward statement concerning the fact that the redeeming of our lives is a redeeming not simply of our souls, which will live forever, but the totality of who and what we are. And therefore, if our claim to have been radically changed by the power of the spirit of God does not put restraints upon and constrain the whole matter of human sexuality, then we are actually living in a fantasy world, and our statements are unmatched by our lifestyle. Now, although John Stott suggests that this should be read as a "wife," and with that, we choose humbly to disagree, he makes these two very helpful statements which are hard to pass up, and I want to pass them on to you. And they will serve you well if you write these down in your Bible, on the flyleaf of your Bible, in a notebook somewhere, and you take them with you throughout all your days. Statement number one: sex has a God-given context, namely, heterosexual marriage. It is therefore forbidden in every other context. Prior to marriage, it is referred to as fornication, irrespective of whether you're engaged, irrespective of whether you really like this girl, you really like this guy, you really think they’re going to be your only one, la-la, blah-blah. That is absolutely forbidden in scripture. It is referred to as fornication, it is a violation of all of God’s intended purpose for sex. It is also a violation in the realm of adultery, namely, the involvement sexually with somebody other than your marriage partner after you have been married. And it also means that homosexuality, which is an expression of sexuality which the Bible refers to as deviant, which is beyond marriage, also runs contrary to the clear instruction of these verses here. Learning to control his own body within the framework of God’s intended purpose means one thing and one thing only: namely, that the God-given context for sexual fulfillment, sexual intercourse experienced and enjoyed, is and only is, says the Bible, within the framework of marriage. Now, that immediately runs counter to the sex-crazed culture in which Paul was living in Corinth and to which he was writing in Thessalonica. But it obviously didn't daunt him. It certainly is contrary to the crazy environment in which we are living today. So much of what is offered up to us as wonderful literature or wonderful cinematography is nothing other than a deviation from God’s intended plan and purpose. And the great subtlety of the evil one is that he takes that which is poison, and he wraps it in some of the most beautiful concoctions and gildings so that the unsuspecting may eat of it and begin to die. Whatever we may want to say about this, it is hard to deny the clarity of Paul’s expression. The sexual expression of love is within the God-given context of marriage. Well, what about single people? Someone immediately asks. And what a valid and vital question that is. Either someone who remains single having never been married, or someone who as a result of divorce now finds themselves single, or as a result of widowhood is now living alone and does not have the context for this fulfillment of sexual love. Well, helpfully, John Stott has lived as a single man, and he adds a statement concerning this which I noted and quote for you now. Speaking of single people and including himself, he says, "What about us? We too must accept this apostolic teaching, however hard it may seem, as God’s good purpose both for us and for society. We shall not become a bundle of frustrations and inhibitions if we embrace God’s standard, but only if we rebel against it. Christ’s yoke is easy provided we submit to it." It is possible for human sexual energy to be redirected both into affectionate relationships with friends of both sexes and into the loving service of others. Multitudes of Christian singles, both men and women, can testify to this. And then very tellingly, he adds this concluding sentence: "Alongside a natural loneliness, accompanied sometimes by acute pain, we can find joyful self-fulfillment in the self-giving service of God and of other people." That's worth the tape just for that quote, especially if you're wrestling with this issue as a single person. And it comes with greater impact having been written by one who has lived for virtually 70 years in sexual purity himself. So, sex has a God-given context, namely, heterosexual marriage. And his second statement is that sex has a God-given style, namely, honor and holiness and purity. That’s what he says in verse 5. He says in contrast to the heathen who do not know God and who live in passionate lust, the style in relationship to the enjoyment of God’s purposes in this matter is one that is to be touched by and framed by all that is holy and honorable. Incidentally, there is a direct correlation between not knowing God and all of the chaos that follows from that. Paul is here referring not to the fact that somehow or another these people are unfortunate enough to be in this position, but rather he is referring to their blameworthy neglect of the revelation which has been given to them. And to address that, we need to go as we go so many times to Romans chapter 1, and you can read it there at your leisure. But it says concerning man in verse 21 that although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened and so on and so on. And verse 24: "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity." One of the great indicators that a culture has turned its back on the knowledge of God that has been revealed is the sexual morass into which it falls. And it is arguable just whether the framework of Thessalonica or Corinth was any worse than that which we're dealing with in contemporary Cleveland this evening. The application of honor and holiness in the matter of sexuality, in living in purity, is applicable both to the single individual and is applicable within the framework of marriage itself. And for that reason, the writer of the Hebrews says in Hebrews 13 and verse 4, "Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept pure." We fall foul of this if we think somehow or another that once we have entered into marriage, we've passed through the threshold and are now beyond the realm in which a call to sexual purity would have any abiding and meaningful implications for us. The fact of the matter is, marriage is not a form of legalized lust. Marriage as God intended is something that is marked by holiness and honor, and that is to be part of sexual fulfillment within marriage. There is a vast distinction between the desire to possess somebody selfishly to one's own ends and the desire to unselfishly love and cherish and respect and fulfill the needs and the longings of that individual. And honor and holiness and purity are to be the very framework and context and style of love within this physical realm. Back to our imaginary dialogue. Well, says somebody, that is fairly clear, in fact, it's very clear. Isn't though this matter of our sexuality just some personal and private concern? Well, that takes us to verse 6: "And in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him." Phillips again: "You cannot break this rule without in some way cheating your fellow men." It is impossible to engage in sexual sin either in our minds or in actual physical terms without cheating somebody else out of what is rightly theirs. Sexual sin is not only an offense against God, against holiness, against honor, against my own body; sexual sin is an act of fraud against my brother or my sister because in engaging in that, I take what is rightly theirs. And back to the dialogue. Well, isn't God so loving that he’ll just overlook this kind of thing? After all, there’s so much of it going on around us. In listening to a tape of a church far from here this week, the person addressing these verses on the tape said that the people who conducted the premarital counseling within this particular church, well-known significant evangelical church, reported to the senior pastor that of all the young couples interviewed prior to marriage, 75 percent of them had already engaged in premarital sex within the church. And we’re certainly here at 50 and maybe higher. Do you think the Bible is practical? Do you think the Bible speaks to the issues of our lives? It does. And what does it say? Verse 6b: "The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you." Paul has already addressed this issue. Why would he address the issue? Because it was such an important issue. The people who were the believers in Thessalonica had come out of a dreadful background. They had come out of a background where worship involved prostitution, where the contemporary culture of their day was such that the only reason a man had a wife was to bring civility to his existence and to make sure that there were meals and children provided for, but all of his dalliance and his enjoyment was to be found beyond that. And these people had come to faith in Jesus Christ out of that kind of background. And so he says to them, you remember before I told you about this, and I warned you about this before, and I’m writing to you about it again. I want you to know how to please God. If you’re going to please God, you need to live a holy life. If you want to know what it means to live a holy life, you can't evade the issue of sexuality. And if you want to know how to live in sexual fulfillment and freedom, then don't do it before you get married, and only live within the framework of marriage afterwards. We don't need any tommyrot about safe sex. No sinful sex is safe. The issue is God’s way and only his way. And God will punish all who violate his commands. Now, clearly that will happen on the day of Pentecost, but it is already operative. That's the whole issue there in Romans chapter 1, is it not? Part of the punishment of God upon a culture is that he gives people over to their sexual deviances. "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, they worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, and because of this God gave them over to shameful lusts." And that led them into the realm of homosexuality. Men committed indecent acts with other men—now notice this—and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Loved ones, these are solemn, sacred, vital, chilling, necessary, staggering statements. And the fact that they are all so incredibly staggering is an indication of the dire straits in which our culture tonight is to be found. The final phrase in verse 6 makes it clear that Paul, as I say, had to keep coming back to this issue, and so do we. Well, says the imaginary dialogue, can you give it to me in one sentence? Yes, says Paul, I can. Verse 7: "God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." People get all steamed up about what the call of God is in their life. They go from person to person and bookstore to bookstore wondering about what the call of God is in their life. The call of God in our life is really pretty straightforward. You just need to take a concordance and look up "call" and look at all the things he’s called us to. He calls us to salvation, he calls us to sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4). He calls us to suffering in 1 Peter chapter 3, he calls us to service in Romans chapter 12, he calls us to sacrifice. And I’m going to just tell you something in passing, that if you and I begin to focus on the clear things to which God has called us—to salvation, to sacrifice, to suffering, to sanctification, and to service—then many of the other things which are our preoccupation will actually begin to fall into line. Well, is this not a little extreme? Not at all, says Paul, we're at verse 8: "Therefore, he who rejects this instruction doesn't reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit." Phillips again: "Anyone who makes light of the matter is not making light of a man’s ruling, but of God’s command. It is not for nothing that the Spirit God gives is called the Holy Spirit." And the interesting thing in this is that it is in the present tense. He doesn't say, "Therefore he rejects this instruction does not reject a man but God, who gave you his Holy Spirit." It says, "who gives you his Holy Spirit." In other words, in the call to sanctification, he doesn't leave us on our own. He gives us his Holy Spirit. He enables us moment by moment as we live in obedience to his word, he gives us the Holy Spirit. And says Paul, understand that the Spirit that he gives us is holy. Therefore, when we disregard this instruction, we disregard God. It’s God who called us to sanctification, and therefore if I disregard the call, I am not despising man, but I am despising God himself. The prohibition is divine, and the person who treats sexual sin lightly is in effect treating God as one who can be disregarded. I do believe that many of us would do well to take the first few verses of 1 Thessalonians 4 and get away with them and get on our knees before them, and as singles, and as teens, cry to God for the grace necessary to live differently. And some of us within the framework of our marriages need to recognize the awesome implications of this instruction as it relates to honor and as it relates to holiness and as it relates to rightness. And which of us this evening does not find ourselves before these verses struck dumb? Whether as a result of failure in the distant past or in the immediate present, physical or mental, beware the rising spirit of the Pharisee within your heart. If you find yourself saying, "I thank you that I am not as other men are. I thank you, Lord, that this is very interesting, this stuff tonight, but it doesn't seem to have much to do with me," you are in deep difficulty. And come again to 1 John 1: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." There is little doubt, dear ones, that in the arena of sexuality, we declare much about the state of our Christian profession. May God bring secret sins into the open in order that they might be forgiven and forsaken, and that we might go on to learn how to please him.
Guest (Male): You’re listening to Truth For Life with Alistair Begg. Here at Truth For Life, we believe the Bible’s teaching is as relevant today as it has ever been, and that’s why our mission is to teach the Bible with clarity and relevance so that unbelievers will become committed followers of Christ, believers will be established in their faith, and local churches will be strengthened. And in keeping with that mission, Alistair is speaking this weekend at the Worldwide Mission Convention in Bangor, Northern Ireland, starting today in fact. This is an international evangelical event dedicated to promoting and supporting global mission. The theme this year is "Pressing On," continuing the mission work of the global church. So we want to ask you to keep Alistair and the other speakers, those in attendance in your prayers. I know they’ll appreciate you asking God to direct and encourage them and help them be faithful to his will and his word and to be bold in their proclamation of the gospel. Alistair will be speaking at other events during the year. You can view his speaking schedule and continue to pray for him as he travels. If you’d like to see where he is speaking next, visit truthforlife.org and click on the events tab at the top. Thanks for listening this week. We hope you enjoy your weekend and are able to worship with your local church. On Monday, we’ll look at one of the key hallmarks of genuine faith. Can others tell that you’re a Christian? The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth For Life, where the learning is for living.