Sex and Grace
“Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9,10). Sexual sins were the first four mentioned in the apostle’s warning against moral laxity. The moral standard given under the Old Covenant hasn’t changed under the New Covenant. Jesus didn’t come to do away with the law, He came to fulfill it. What were commandments in the Old Testament become promises in the New Testament. If we learn to live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit we will not commit sexual sins, nor steal, nor will we be greedy, drunken, slanderous, or swindlers.
I find it interesting that the apostle Paul’s warning begins with “Do not be deceived.” Keep in mind that, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn. 5:18), and that is primarily true because “Satan deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9). The father of lies makes promises that he cannot deliver. You would be fulfilled and affirmed if you had all the sex you wanted. You could pay off your bills and live better if you stole some money. If you connive and scheme to accumulate wealth you would be successful. If you stopped off at “happy hour” after work and had a few drinks your problems would go away. If you slander the other fellow you would appear to be better than him. You could do better than the other guy if you swindled him.
A middle-aged man was thrown out of his house when his wife discovered his porno addiction. He was so angry that he threw a chair into a wall in his pastor’s office. At the time I was doing a conference in that church, and the pastor suggested he attend. One of our staff was taking him through the Steps To Freedom and discerned that something more was going on than just the lust of the flesh. So he led him through the Satanic renunciations. Immediately he recalled a spiritual visitation when he was young and was promised all the sex he wanted if he would just say that he loved the spirit. Selling his soul to Satan for sex resulted in bondage.
The apostle follows the verse above: “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (vs. 11). You are a new creation in Christ; a child of God.
Dr. Neil
For Spanish, see http://www.ficmm.org/blog
