No Hint of Sexual Impurity(2)

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” (Ephesians 5:3)

In my previous post on this topic I briefly looked at the historical, cultural and spiritual context of this warning to the Christians in Ephesus. The vast majority of the  residents of Ephesus lived by a moral code very different from what the Bible is teaching us.

That can be said for us as well. A good part of the problem of our culture with morality is that it has equated “love” with “sex.” Our culture has diluted and perverted “love” because it thinks of love only in terms of sex. Our culture is not giving thought to sexual conduct and its relationship to biblical standards. It is not even thinking of sex in relationship to morality. The Bible speaks with great clarity on the subject of sexual morality, as I will show in this series.

God’s standard for sexual purity is absolute, not relative, and thus is not debatable.

God’s standards for sexual purity are not up for popular vote! He designed the sexual relationship for a man and a woman in a lifelong committed marriage. It is a good gift from God when practiced within these boundaries, not something dirty.

Some people think God is wanting to spoil our fun when He puts limits and boundaries on our sexual expression. Not so! He gave us His commandments for our good. When we violate His standards, it results in short term pleasure (that’s why we’re tempted to do it), but in the long run we experience pain and problems (emotional, physical, spiritual, and relationally).

Keeping God’s commandments is often difficult in the short term, but deeply fulfilling in the long term.

Today’s Truth

Recognize that sexuality is a good gift from God and that Biblical prohibitions are intended to protect something precious not deny something pleasant.