St. Aidan’s Sermons
Winnipeg, Manitoba
The Rev. Canon Dr. Brett Cane, October 11, 2009
17th Sunday after Pentecost; 8:30 Holy Communion and 10:00 a.m.
Issues Facing Christians Today #4: Positive Purity”
1 Corinthians 6:9-20; Mark 10:17-31
Opening Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we come with gratitude today for all that you have given us; help us now, by your Holy Spirit, to grasp how we can use your gifts of our bodies and our sexuality to your glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
On this Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday we come before God with great gratitude for all that he has provided for us. We usually focus on his gifts of the earth and all its bounty but today we are going to do something different. Today, we are going to focus on God’s gifts to us of our bodies and our sexuality. The reason for this is because we have come to chapter 6 in our sermon series in 1 Corinthians, “Issues Facing Christians Today.”
In the first three sermons we have seen that behind the many problems of the Corinthian church was the fact that they had allowed their values to be shaped by the wisdom of the world rather than the wisdom of God. We saw that by following the world’s practice of forming cliques around leadership preferences the Corinthian Christians was causing division in the church. Then we saw that following the ways of the world in matters of discernment and discipline was affecting the health of both the Church and the individuals involved. This week, as we look at chapter 6, verses 9 to 20, we will see Paul speaking to the major issue of sexual values and practices. Paul gets much bad press when it comes to sexuality but what we will see this week, and in the next two sermons, is that, far from being negative and repressive about the body and our sexual nature, Paul is downright positive about God’s gifts of our physicality and sex. With candour and directness he shows that giving thanks for God’s provision of our physical bodies and their purposes will help us make right decisions about how we are to express our sexuality. I have called it “Positive Purity.”
Thanksgiving
We will start by looking at two major notes of thanksgiving which Paul makes at the beginning and ending of this passage.
1. Thanksgiving for our bodies: We are going to begin at the end: in verses 19 and 20 Paul says, “Your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit…Therefore honour God with your bodies.” Please note that he doesn’t say, “Honour God as if you had no bodies” but rather, “Honour God with you bodies.” Some of you may have questioned my statement about Paul’s positvity concerning sexuality. We need to remember that Paul was Jewish and not Greek or Roman. The Old Testament is very down to earth about the importance and right use of the physical world, which includes our bodies and our sexuality. On the other hand, the Greeks and Romans seem to have had two extremes when it came to sexuality – total abstention or total indulgence! In my first sermon in the series I said that Corinth, a city proud of its heritage as a Roman colony on Greek soil, was a rough and tough place with a reputation for debauchery – there was a large temple dedicated to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, which employed 1,000 priestesses as sacred prostitutes, and also the Temple of Apollo which was the centre of homosexual practices. But then, over in Rome, they had a temple staffed by vestal virgins!
These extremes are present in the system of religious thought and practice known as Gnosticism rooted in Eastern thought that developed in the classical world and in parallel to Christianity. Gnostics held that spirit was all-important and that matter was basically evil, the creation of a lesser divine being. This led to two sorts of behaviours regarding the body and sexuality. The first was abstention – seeing sexual activity as an evil to be avoided if at all possible. The other – probably arising as a result of frustration with the first – was indulgence. If the physical was not important, then it did not matter what you did with your body, so why not indulge yourself sexually. These two pagan-inspired views have surfaced again and again throughout Christian history and appear to have existed in the Corinthian church. In chapter 7 (verse 5), Paul tells husbands and wives: “Do not deprive one another…” Due to the false hyper-spirituality that some in the church were advocating as godliness, certain woman were denying conjugal love to their husbands. I am reminded of the title of the 1970’s play, “No Sex please, We’re British”[1] – only in Corinth, they would have said, “No sex, please, we’re Christian!” It is possible this was resulting in some of the male members of the church frequenting the prostitutes in the pagan temples – the situation that Paul addresses in our passage from chapter 6.
We will return to the misuse of sexuality in a moment – but first, we focus on Paul’s affirmation of our physicality. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples 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 honour God with your bodies” (verses 19-20). In chapter 3, Paul spoke of the whole congregation as “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (3:16); here he speaks of the physical body of each individual Christian as the residence of God. We are reminded of the fact that in Jesus, God himself took on a human body. He did not merely appear as a human, as in some Gnostic writings, he really was human. We affirm this when we say in the creed, “Born of the Virgin Mary.” If God himself took on flesh, then we need to receive with thanksgiving and rejoice in our physical nature. First of all, this means giving thanks to God for the bodies we do have – not looking enviously at those of others or despising what we think are our physical imperfections. Secondly, it means treating our bodies with respect and with care. Exercise and healthy eating habits are one way of doing this. Godly sexuality is another. Paul says, “Those who sin sexually sin against their own bodies” (verse 18) and reminds us that our bodies do not ultimately belong to us but God – “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” (verses 19-20). We are to be good stewards of all that God has given us – not only of the natural world around us, but also of our own physical bodies. “Honour God with your bodies” (verse 20). We give thanks for our bodies.
2. Thanksgiving for our salvation: But just as there is a right use of our bodies, so also is there a wrong use of our bodies. We have not treated God’s gifts of our world, including our bodies and our sexuality, in the right way. We have sinned and fallen short of God’s loving plans for us and for our world. This is why Paul begins the passage:Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters 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. (verses 9-10)Sexual sins figure prominently in this list – sexual immorality, adultery, prostitution, homosexual practice – but we note that other sins are right alongside them – idolatry, theft, greed, drunkenness, slander and violent extortion. We may not be guilty of some of the more “spectacular sins” but which of us has not coveted or slandered someone through gossip? In one sense, there is no hierarchy of sin. There might be a difference in the external effects of various sins but the internal effects are all the same – they keep us out of God’s presence. We need saving.
What follows is one of the most encouraging and life-giving verses in the whole of Scripture: “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (verse 11). What a liberating message! “And this is what some of you were…” – there is hope, there is deliverance, there is salvation! This is what the Church in Corinth was made up of – and this is what St. Aidan’s is made up of – and that is what some of you were! And this is also what has happened to us:
- we have been washed – the blood of Christ has cleansed us from the defilement of a sinful lifestyle – the old past has gone
- we have been sanctified – the Holy Spirit has set us apart for God and we are being renewed in the present
- we have been justified – when Jesus died, he paid the penalty for our sin and we have been declared “not guilty” – or “just-as-if-I’d” never sinned and we have no need to fear judgment in the future
This is our salvation and this is that for which we give thanks! Later on in the service, we will be praying together the “General Thanksgiving”[2] in which we say: “We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ.” Whatever our sins – be they sexual or otherwise, we can be forgiven through Christ. We give thanks for our salvation.
Refuting Arguments
But why does Paul now go on to admonish the Corinthian Christians about their sexual behaviour? Because they had rationalized their actions using two sayings as excuses for immorality. He refutes them both.
1. Freedom or license? First, they had mistaken freedom for license. New-found freedom in Christ led some to say (and he quotes from their letter to him), “Everything is permissible for me” (verse 12). This may be an argument from those who thought they were “super-spiritual” and couldn’t sin or they may even be quoting back to Paul something he had said himself to show that he was not limited to Jewish dietary laws or customs such as circumcision. Paul had taught them that obedience to the law could not win them salvation (we all fall short – Romans 3:20, 23) and that Christ has freed us from having to earn God’s love by our actions. They had then taken this new-found freedom and said they were free to do anything they wanted, now they were forgiven! They had mistaken freedom for license.
Paul has two reasons for why they were wrong. In verse 10, he quotes the saying twice and refutes it each time.
a. “Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial.” Yes, all things may be lawful to me in a sense, but not everything is helpful. I am free to use a knife as a screwdriver but it will ruin the knife. God has designed us (and our sexuality) to be used in the right way and we misuse his gifts at our peril.
b. “Everything is permissible for me – but I will not be mastered by anything.” Yes, Christianity means freedom, but freedom to do what is right. “Nothing is allowed to give me orders: not my appetites, not my habits, not the surrounding atmosphere of my culture.”[3] I am free from the penalty of sin – I also need to be free from its destructive power. Freedom is not license.
2. Doing what comes naturally: the second quotation shows they had mistaken their own seemingly “natural” inclinations for God’s design: “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food and God will destroy them both” (verse 13). Here is the “natural” argument – “Sex is for the body and the body is for sex” – or more subtly: “If it feels good, do it!” “I’m just doing what comes naturally!” “It’s OK if you don’t hurt anyone.” Paul doesn’t deny that the sexual organs are there for purposes of delight, union and procreation but he does deny that these purposes “are fulfilled by any and every sexual practice.”[4] God has a design for us and our bodies which is far deeper than what we think is “natural.” Paul’s response is “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 (verses 13-14). By saying this, Paul parallels their saying exactly:
- Yes, food is for the stomach and the stomach for food – so the body is meant for the Lord and the Lord for the body. Our physicality has a higher calling than just satisfying our appetites willy-nilly. God took on flesh in Jesus to restore our physical existence to his loving, healthy design.
- Yes, food and stomach will die – but God has a new plan of resurrection. Just as Jesus was raised with a renewed physical body, so will we be – and this new body will be an outgrowth of the old just as a plant is from a seed (see I Corinthians 15). If you ruin the seed, you ruin the plant. What we do now in the body does affect what will happen to us later. Doing what comes “naturally” is not necessarily God’s design.
Paul’s conclusion is straightforward: “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins people commit are outside their bodies, but those who sin sexually sin against their own bodies” (verse 18). Linda Stokes will now close by looking at the implications of sexual sin and the possibility of restoration to positive purity.[5]
Sexual Sin and Restoration
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. (verses 15-17)
Paul says that he who is sexually joined with a harlot becomes one body with her; he who is joined with the Lord is one spirit with Him. To me, this speaks of sexuality and spirituality at a root level of our personhood, one that touches every part of our being: our minds, our bodies, our emotions and our spirits. Most people don’t think about the spiritual dimension as an important part of sexual intimacy. Most are aware of the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases but they are totally oblivious to spiritually transmitted diseases. Like the Corinthians, they think that sex is only a physical act.
Our society supports this thinking by suggesting that sex is a key to instant happiness. Everywhere you look physical sexuality is prevalent. It is a media-enhanced, socially-accepted, identity-shaping phenomenon. Sexuality sells itself by touching our deep need for acceptance and love. It is a shallow counterfeit answer for the real thing because it misses a major point. We are more than physical beings; we are spiritual beings. Deep down our spirits are seeking life meaning, but on the surface our bodies are greedy for instant gratification. Today, it is common for unmarried couples to live together; it is acceptable to sleep with a partner after a few dates; it is easy to access pornography or pay for a child prostitute. It seems our need for sexual gratification is becoming easier and easier to satisfy. What we don’t realize is that this path of instant gratification has long-term spiritual ramifications.
The subject of sex is a delicate one, rift with mystery and taboos, as indicated by the following quote:
“Life in Lubbock, Texas, taught me two things: One is that God loves you and you’re going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love.”[6]
Sex is a gift from God. It involves our sensuality, our thoughts, our feelings and our spirits, every part of who we are. The act of sex can be an act of love, of giving and receiving, a time of vulnerability and trust. It is an opportunity, which can reflect our life as Christ-bearers within the intimacy of a marriage relationship. Sex can also be a source of sin, something that can separate us from God.
Outside of marriage, sex can be a doorway to spiritual disease, because where there is giving there can be denial; where there is vulnerability there can be judgment; where there is trust there can be betrayal. In the degradation of self-centered sexual gratification, evil spreads like a spiritual cancer. Rooted in words spoken to justify our actions, words like: “It’s OK, I’m not hurting any one;” “Its OK, she’s too young to remember;” “It’s only this time, no one will know;” and on and on. These words open the door to spiritual death! The truth is that self-centered sexual gratification hurts the living Christ, as surely as if you were piercing Him with a spear as he hangs on the cross.
One of the most subtle, insidious spiritual diseases is generational sin. This is when the spiritual brokenness of our families, past and present, attempts to propagate itself in the lives of others. As spiritual beings, anchored in a physical body, we need to realize that every physical act is also a spiritual act. In the spiritual dimension, the act of sexual intimacy provides an opportunity for generational sins to mingle, for two bodies become one and two spirits become one. Another way to say this is that spiritual woundedness is contagious; it attracts and builds on the woundedness of others. Let me share an example.
Recently a prominent well-respected doctor was charged with child pornography. There was a public outcry and a sense of unbelief: How could this be? It made perfect sense to me, when I read that he never knew his father and his biological parents never married. I wondered if a spiritually transmitted disease had been part of his paternal heritage. In my experience as a chaplain, I have heard many stories of abuse in family lines. In my own family, I have witnessed the evil of generational sexual abuse, sexual immorality.
So what is to be done? How can we protect ourselves from being contaminated? How can we treat the symptoms, if we suspect we are already infected? Paul is clear: “Flee from sexual immorality!” (verse 18). We need to be alert to attempts by the evil one to infiltrate our Christ-identity. We need to pray for protection especially for our children, who are the most vulnerable. We need to confess our sins and finally we need to be washed in the blood of the lamb.
Prayer for Healing of Sexual Wounds
Father God, you created us to be in a loving relationship with you. You created our bodies to be temples for your Holy Spirit and you sent your son to die for our sins: sins of our flesh, sins of our minds and sins in our generational lines. Help us to recognize our own weaknesses. Times when we have let personal gratification blind us to our role as Christ-bearers, times when our bodies seem to have had minds of their own. We confess that we are weak, help us Lord.
Heal our spirits wounded in the innocency of childhood. Lord, if we have experienced childhood abuse, help us to trust once again and to start with You. Replace any feelings of shame with your unconditional love. Lord, if we have misused our bodies or the bodies of others, forgive us. Fulfill our need to belong, by restoring us as your sons and daughters, royalty in your kingdom.
Lord if there has been any infiltration of evil through our generations, in the power of Jesus Christ we pray for all such lines to be cut away. We pray for your angels to surround and protect all members of this parish, and their extended families. Wash us in the blood of the Lamb; restore us, as pure and clean Christ-bearers. We claim your promise (Exodus 20:5), that you will bless generation upon generation of those who love you. Oh Lord, we stand as a generation who loves you; unite us in your love and help us to encourage, guide and support each other, for your glory. All this we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
[1] Written by Alistair Foot and Anthony Marriott
[2] Book of Common Prayer, pg. 14; Book of Alternative Services, pg. 129.
[3] N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone – I Corinthians. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), pg. 72.
[4] Ibid., pg. 73.
[5] The remainder of this sermon is from the Rev. Deacon Linda Stokes.
[6] Butch Hancock, The Flatlanders
