Beloved, for our Scripture reading tonight, turn with me to 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 6, where we consider verses 12 through 20 in our reading, the text being verses 19 and 20. Paul has been considering different difficulties that have been taking place in the Corinthian church. We begin in verse 12 in our reading through verse 20. Hear now the Word of God. Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food for the stomach and the stomach for food. but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. By His power, God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ Himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that He who unites Himself with a prostitute is one with her in body. For it is said, the two will become one flesh. But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Now the words of our text. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body. Dear people of God, probably more than ever before we live in a day of freedom of expression. Freedom of expression of speech. Freedom of artistic expression. Freedom of religious expression. and this is especially true when it comes to the freedom of bodily expression. We are to have the freedom, they say, to express ourselves through our bodies, whether that be sexually or through the so-called art of body piercing or tattooing or through particular fashions. In fact, just as with the society of Corinth in Paul's day, today anything goes and anything is to go and whatever is accepted by the social majority in essence becomes the law of the land. And don't you dare be intolerant of what I want and what I like because then you infringe upon my constitutional rights. That's the day we live in. And even as Christians, sometimes we fall into the temptation of the what's good for you is good for me or the everybody's doing it so it must be okay philosophies. And therefore, it's important for us to take the time as Christians to tackle the question, what about our bodies? What about our physical bodies? What role do our bodies play in our Christianity and in our faith life? After all, we confess that I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but I belong unto my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. But what does that part about the body and belonging really mean? We are blessed, very blessed on occasion with public professions of faith. So then what is expected of them and what is expected of each one of us as believers when it comes to our bodies? You see, we rejoice that our souls are saved so that at the moment of death, we have the comfort that the believer's soul goes to the very presence of God. But what is our hope for the body and how does God expect us to use our body in this life? Now, in some respects, my intention with this sermon is to go along with what we've considered recently with Romans 12, verse 1, and offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Romans 12, verse 2, the road map towards sacrificial living. And then finally, Galatians 2, verse 20, that we considered last week, that it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me in the life that I now live in the flesh, in the body. I live by faith in the Son of God. And the message of this text that I preach to you is the Christian body, a tool of holiness. First of all, because of what it is. And secondly, because of whose it is. Now in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul also talks about the Christian body, but there he is speaking in reference to the church as a whole. But in this passage and in our text, he is talking about individual believers. Now we need to remember that Paul is writing to a troubled church in Corinth. And this epistle makes it clear as throughout, he addresses different problems that the church was having, including division, abusing the sacraments, disorder during worship services, theological problems, and then extreme immorality, which is the one at issue here. Corinth was the capital city of the Roman province, Achaia. Its location made it an extremely important trade route and business center. But the city was also notorious as a place of wealth and indulgence. And it is reported in the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible that to live as a Corinthian meant to live in luxury and immorality. The temple of Aphrodite, that is, Venus, the goddess of love, was located there and housed more than a thousand priestesses who were considered sacred slaves to engage in temple prostitution. And it's very clear from the passage that we read together that sexual immorality continued to be practiced among some in the church. And this was a serious problem, a serious spiritual problem. How serious? In verse 9, which we did not read, Paul includes fornicators and adulterers in the list of those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. But it is also clear that those in the church who practiced sexual immorality were doing so under the title of Christian liberty. I'm saved anyway. I can do whatever I want. We considered that a little bit this morning. After all, I'm no longer under law, but under grace. That's what Paul preached so many times before. And therefore, they lived under the banner that read, everything is permissible, that is, everything is lawful for me. However, beloved, they were distorting this slogan to justify their immoral way of life. The context of that slogan has to do with things that are indifferent to God, such as Jewish ceremonial laws that had to do with clean and unclean meats. He says, food for the stomach and the stomach for food. However, he also issues a warning that but not everything is beneficial that is profitable and one is not to be mastered by anything. In other words, Christian liberty must seek to love God above all and neighbor as self. And be careful, for example, not to become enslaved to your appetite. But just as a hunger for food is a natural appetite, the Corinthian believers living in a culture that looked at sexual immorality as something indifferent figured that it was also okay to satisfy other natural hungers as well, such as the sexual desire. And therefore, Paul teaches them here that whereas food is indifferent, sexual immorality is not indifferent. It is by its very nature a sin. Now, what is sexual immorality? As believers, I think we would agree that it includes all sexual intercourse and activities outside the holy bonds of marriage. Now, society today would disagree with that. But as believers, that's, I think, what we would say. It includes all sexual intercourse and activities outside the holy bonds of marriage. Sexual intimacy is reserved by God exclusively for the marriage state in which the most intimate of human relationships is expressed between husband and wife And marriage is a covenant, a commitment of mutual loyalty which also represents the relationship between Christ and His church according to Ephesians 5. Within the context of marriage as it represents the covenant between Christ and His church, sexual intimacy is beautiful and it's right, but outside of that covenant relationship, it is destructive and it is wrong. And Paul tells how wrong it is by teaching that sexual immorality is a direct attack on one's relationship with Christ. The Greek philosophy of that day taught that matter, material things, physical things, including the body, was evil and temporary. It really didn't matter. Only the soul and spiritual things are eternal and therefore important. But you notice in the reading that Paul brings up the idea of the bodily resurrection, which he does so more in detail in chapter 15. And he does this to combat this false philosophy. Notice, beginning at verse 14, by His power, God raised the Lord from the dead. And He will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ Himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never. You see, for the believer who has been raised to new life in Christ and therefore is assured of a bodily resurrection like unto Christ's glorified body. His body is a member of Christ. Believers have become one with Christ and Paul compares this mystical union to the mystical union of a husband and wife where the two become one flesh. The believer who is joined to Christ is one spirit with him, which means that the principle of life, The Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us. Notice verse 17, But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Christ's spiritual lifeblood, we could say, flows through the veins of his people. The Christian body is a tool of holiness because of what it is. Which, as Paul says, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God. The body of the believer which is the home of the Holy Spirit is to be a tool of holiness used to glorify God. But Paul teaches here that sexual immorality makes the body a tool of unholiness which is unglorifying to God. Sexual immorality is the most disgraceful use of the body. Notice verse 18. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Now this doesn't mean, of course, that the sins of adultery or fornication are greater than other sins which involve the body, like alcoholism, drug abuse, anorexia, suicide, or any other willful danger that we might subject our body to. But because of one's union with Christ and the fact that the sex act involves union with another, Sexual immorality is a peculiar sin that affects more than just the physical body, but it also affects the moral and spiritual and psychological side of man. When one becomes one flesh with another outside of marriage through sexual immorality, that attacks and that destroys that oneness with Christ. Sexual immorality rips apart the moral and the spiritual fabric of one's being. And it takes that body which is to be a tool of holiness unto the Lord and makes it a tool of unholiness unto sin. Beloved believers are called to flee sexual immorality just like Joseph fled from Potiphar's wife and said, how can I do such a thing and sin against God? We said a moment ago that sexual immorality is the most disgraceful use of the body. And I believe that Paul gives us the worst case scenario here. And by that, we are to understand that every disgraceful or unholy use of the body is in view. And that's because we are called to honor God with our body. Period. In everything. You may remember that in connection with Romans 12, verse 1, and offering your bodies as living sacrifices, that the body includes the whole of life. The physical body is the vehicle through which this life is lived and is expressed. And that body is to be dedicated to the service of the Lord. And Paul calls the believer's body a temple. Now, there are two Greek words that can be translated as temple. And one means temple in the broad sense of the outer courtyard. And the other is more specific and includes the holy place and the holy of holies. And the second one is the one that Paul uses here. We know that the holy of holies represented the place where God dwells among His people. And His people are temples where He dwells in. He dwells in His people. As those united with Christ and raised with Christ, as Paul says in Colossians 3, verse 1, believers have also received the gift of Christ in the Comforter, which He promised in John chapter 16. And we must not forget, beloved, that the Holy Spirit cannot take up residency in something that is profane and unholy. Through justification, Those who believe have the justification of God which includes the forgiveness of all of our sins as well as the imputed righteousness of Christ. And that includes the body because Christ redeemed both the soul and the body. Again, it doesn't mean that we're sinless. God sees us as righteous in Christ, but the Spirit of God works in us to complete that awesome work that He has begun. Yet Paul can say, But the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord. And the Lord is for the body. As temples of the Holy Spirit, beloved, we must not deceive ourselves into thinking that we carry out our duty properly if we fail to devote ourselves wholly and entirely to His service. God, by His Word and Spirit, is to regulate even the outward actions of our lives so that our body must be just as devoted to God as our soul. Our body must be just as devoted to God as our soul. Beloved, God has chosen His church to be His temple and dwelling place. And He lives in His people who are also considered temples for the Holy Spirit. But our God is not simply renting space in us for the Holy Spirit. He owns us. The Christian body is a tool of holiness in the second place because of whose it is. Do you not know, Paul says, you are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body. In order to be told, you are not your own. But you belong to someone else. Flies in the face of the world, doesn't it? It flies in the face of women and men in favor of abortion. It flies in the face of those who favor assisted suicide. It flies in the face of anyone who says, This is my body. I can do with it whatever I want. Young people, have you ever said that to your parents? I think I might have once or twice. All of mankind, every single person, belongs to God by virtue of creation. He created everyone. And therefore, no one really has the right to do what they want with their own body. But believers, Christians also belong to Him by virtue of redemption. The price has been paid. And that word translated price in verse 20 isn't talking simply about whatever price someone arbitrarily decided to give an object like we do at garage sales, that that's worth a quarter, that's worth a buck and a half. No. The Word is talking about a great price. It was a dear rate. Jesus Christ paid a premium to redeem God's people. And that premium was His own precious blood. Ephesians 1 verse 7 says, In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. And Scripture gives a multitude of references to the fact that we have been redeemed by Christ who paid the ransom price. And just as Paul tells us in Ephesians 1, verse 7 that the price was Christ's blood, Peter speaks of the preciousness of that blood when he says, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold, you know, the things that are most precious to us, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. And in the book of Hebrews, you recall that we are reminded that the blood of bulls and goats and lambs was not sufficient to save us, but only the blood of Jesus Christ who was the once for all and final sacrifice for sins. Only He could satisfy God for us. Beloved, we have been bought and paid for. And the word bought has in mind the marketplace of that day where slaves were bought and sold. And it's interesting that in that day, slaves could save money and they could buy their way out of slavery. They would deposit their money, their savings, with the priest at the local heathen temple. And when they had enough money, they would bring their master to the priest. The priest would give the master the money that had been saved. And then the priest would declare that the slave was now the slave of the particular false god of that heathen temple. And it's in that context that Paul says, Jesus Christ, not you or me. Jesus Christ has paid the price and set us free from slavery to sin. So that now, as He also says in Romans 6.18, we became slaves of righteousness and therefore we are commanded to heed the words of verse 13, and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. And this means, congregation, that the physical body is the believer's means of concrete service to God. It's how we serve Him in the world. This body that we walk around in is the vehicle through which we serve God. What a blessing as Peter makes clear that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. You see, as the text makes clear, the ultimate duty of our body is to glorify God. We are not the owners of these bodies that we are using. Because the Father created us, the Son redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit makes His home in us and accomplishes His work of sanctification in us. And therefore, we are also called to be stewards of all that we have, including our bodies, and we must give an account to Him for our use of it. So then, how do we glorify God with our body? For one thing, God's temple is holy and precious, and therefore, we ought to guard its sanctity and protect it from defilement and destruction. Why should young people and adults outside of marriage refrain from sexual intimacy? Not first of all because of the threat of AIDS or the possibility of getting pregnant, but first of all because God commands it and that is pleasing to Him. And because sexual immorality is a sin against the body in that it defiles the body and leaves a stain impressed upon that body. Beloved, we glorify God by the way we care for our bodies, by the way we dress our bodies, through the places we take our bodies, through the deeds that we do to our bodies, but listen up, we potentially dishonor and disgrace God by the very same activities. We are not to be slaves to gluttony or to vanity. We are not to use our bodies for selfishness, but selflessness. Of course, we can make a list of things that do not treat the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit and as something that will be raised incorruptible one day and therefore things that are not glorifying to God. And we could say these things are sin. It's dangerous to do so, but I'm going to do it anyway. Overeating, drunkenness, taking drugs, binging and purging, starving oneself, body piercing and tattooing, augmentation of body parts strictly for sex appeal, Inappropriate clothing? Or how about anything that induces sexual arousal outside of marriage, like certain magazines or movies or TV? Or maybe even activities like some dancing. Anything that puts the body in foreseeable danger is off limits. And of course, we all know that the list is endless. But the point is we are called as believers to think about what we do with and where we go with our bodies. The Christian body is to be a tool of holiness used in such a way that the world may actually see that it would be visible, that they see that our bodies belong to God. Can the world see that when they watch you? I have to ask the very same question of myself. We are to refuse to use them for sinful acts and instead reserve them wholly for obedience to God. Our body is to be consecrated to His worship and employed only in His service. We with our bodies are members of Christ. He uses our physical bodies to advance His Gospel and promote fellowship among His people. We are Christ's hands and feet. He is our head. We are His limbs. And therefore, to participate in sexual immorality or any other sin employing the body is to use that which belongs to Christ to sin. Beloved, we belong to Christ. To belong to Christ is to belong to Him completely with body and soul in life and in death. I hope that's a precious truth for each and every one here tonight. That it is your great desire to be owned by Jesus Christ. There's no greater ownership. The body of the believer is the vehicle through which new life is lived. A life that is lived from the grace of God according to His will, directed by the body's occupant, the Holy Spirit. You see, where the Holy Spirit does not dwell, Satan dwells. And those who live according to the desires of the flesh by the direction of the devil are not members of Christ. And one day they will be separated from God forever. But for those redeemed and washed in the blood of Jesus who are filled to no vacancy with the Holy Spirit, they will glorify God in body and soul forever. That's God's promise. To those who repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. What an awesome promise. Better than anything we could even think about engaging in with our bodies in this life. Beloved, one of the easiest and most dangerous ways to compromise with and blend in with and conform to the world is through the use of our bodies. But being a temple of the Holy Spirit is a divine privilege. And therefore, we are called to treat it as a privilege. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we come before You as Your children. And we thank You for Your care over us, Your love for us, even Your desire for us, that we be obedient to You. we thank you, Father, that you have chosen to take up residency in the hearts and lives of your people. And may we be proud to be called Temples of the Holy Spirit. And even though we may have heard some things tonight that we struggle with, and may not even agree with, and have a hard time swallowing, We pray that each one of us might take this to heart and consider what it means to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. That we must all understand that indeed one day our bodies will be raised incorruptible like unto Christ's glorified body. And therefore it is far from meaningless what we do in this life with these bodies. Father, may it be our every desire to honor and glorify You and may it indeed be our desire as well that the world may see when they look at each one of us that we belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord God, hear our prayer for Jesus' sake and in His name, Amen.