Your Body, God's Temple

1 Our body is the creation of God.

Genesis 1:26-27

2. We were created to glorify God.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Romans 12:1-2

3. Anything we do with, to or through our bodies that is destructive or perverts the purpose of God, is to be judged by the Word.

• Smoking.
• Drugs.

1 Cor 3:16-17

16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

• Body piercing.
• Tattooes

Lev 19:28

28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

4. Sexual sins are expressly forbidden by the Bible as destructive to the body.

1 Cor 6:15-20

15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

One of the sins of fornication is that the the relationship between a man and a woman is extremely important and meaningful in the sight of God.

• Two people joined together sexually make themselves into one body.
• One set of values; one character; each share the same sin.

Our society believes that anything you do that doesn’t hurt anyone is totally private and nobody else’s business.

But that’s not what God says.

18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

Fornication is considered by too many people as a momentary sin, a little lapse in character, but otherwise harmless.

You shouldn’t do it, but if you do, you can just ask God to forgive you.

Prov 6:23-28

23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?

Proverbs 7.

Let’s see what really happens when people commit fornication:

You make yourself vulnerable to venereal disease.

• Syphillis
• Gonarrhea
• Herpes
• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

You take risks to become the mother or father of another person.

• If you take protection against pregnancy, it means you are planning on sinning.
• If you have a child, you must face a whole host of problems.
• Will the abortion issue come up?
• Will you marry the father or mother?
• Do you even want to marry this person?
• Are you ready to enter into lifelong relationships with inlaws?
• What will happen to the plans in your life?

Even if no pregnancy occurs, people who commit fornication are still not free and clear.

• The relationship between a man and woman deals with highly charged, emotional forces.
• Fornication is becoming intimate with somebody you really do not know.
• Was it based upon lying statements about love?
• Was it based upon false promises about commitment to each other?
• When it happened, were you pressured, pushed, manipulated, forced?
• Are you ready to grow up as adults and see each other in a non-sexual way?
• Will you tell anyone else what happened?
• Will the other person tell?
• If other people find out, will it be used against you?
• Will you have to face it at the worst moment possible moment in your life?

Anyone who doesn’t respect the marriage vows before they are married will not respect them after they are married. -Robert Trapani

Does God forgive fornication?

• Yes, just like he forgives bank robbery.
• God’s forgiveness does not mean a human cost won’t be paid.

Prov 6:30-35

30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; 31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. 32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

But there is an even greater reason to keep yourself pure.

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Fornication is the commission of sacrilege against God because we defile his temple. We are where God dwells. (How many would come into this church and vandalize it? Throw paint, rip pews, kick holes in walls, etc.)

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

• Fornication is grand larceny against God.
• You are the redeemed possession of God. You have no right to do what you want to do with your body.
• If you resent this or rebel against it, you can steal your rights back.
• But you also take the responsibility.

Review: Does God Care About the Physical Body?

• He covered the physical nakedness of Adam and Eve.
• He placed a mark upon Cain’s forehead.
• He ordered Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.
• He instituted the rite of circumcision for the Jews.
• He demanded physical perfection in the priests.
• He forbid markings or cuttings on the bodies of priests.
• He commanded restrictions in eating, drinking, clothing and sexual relations.
• He entered the world by means of a prepared body.
• He gave his own body to torture and crucifixion.
• He taught us to deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow him.
• He tells us through his Word to mortify the deeds of the flesh.
• Yes, God cares very much about how we regard our bodies.

Lev 21:16-21

16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God.
18 ‘For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long,
19 ‘a man who has a broken foot or broken hand,
20 ‘or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch.
21 ‘No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. (NKJ)

Rom 8:8-13

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Col 3:5-6

5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

1 Tim 2:8-10

8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

5. Your mind and your spirit are also parts of your body.

Protect your mind from perverse and ungodly influences.

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

The helmut protects the head, symbolic of keeping the mind protected against spiritual assaults.

• Books.
• Magazines.
• Tapes.
• Internet.
• Radio.
• Television.
• Video tapes.
• Music. (Music is a potent force for the transmission of culture.)

Amos 6:5

“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion,” 5 “That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;”

• Music is the main vehicle for cultural transference.
• It bypasses the rational mind through melody and rhythm.
• It forms a bond between people and groups.
• It gives a sense of identity.
• It makes history and ideas easy to remember through lyrics.
• These characteristics of music make it powerful for good or evil.
• (Letter to the editor in The Blade, 8-2-00, re: degrading lyrics on popular CD’s that are sold to minors without the sales clerk noticing the parental advisory label.)

Protect your spirit from evil spiritual influences.

Occultism

Lev 19:31

31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

Lev 20:6

6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

Deut 18:9-14

9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

Hypnotism

Hypnotism is an induced sleep that puts one’s mind under the control of another. This opens the door for an evil spirit to come in.

Mind-altering drugs

These are not drugs that cause drowsiness or reduce alertness. These are drugs that manipulate the throught processes in bizarre, frightening or evil ways. LSD-type of drugs surrender the control of your mind to other influences.

Satanism

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Evil communications

Romans 12:1-2

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

6. How are we to regard our body?

• The Temple of the Holy Ghost.
• The Creation of God.
• An Instrument for God’s Glory.
• A Purchased Possession.
• A Trust of Conscientious Stewardship.
• A Resource for the Kingdom of God.
• Dress it modestly.
• Use it wisely.
• Conform it to holiness.
• Crucify its carnal desires.
• Subject it to spiritual discipline.

Heb 12:14-17

14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.  (KJV)