-We are God’s beloved children, the ones He calls holy and has set apart for Himself. We have a higher calling, a higher standard - to be like Him. The bar and example for us has been set way higher than for the rest of those who make no such claim. There are things we must do and when we sometimes fall short and fail to do them, these are the sins of omission. There are also things which we must NOT do - when we do them these are the sins of co-mission. We must definitely walk in love - this is the positive. And inversely we must NOT give off even a hint of several things which Paul mentions here. These must not ever even be named among God’s people. Sadly, the history of the church is more than littered with hints of these among God’s people. There have been incessant prominent examples of those who lay claim to being a follower of Christ and who even hold a position of leadership within the church but who have gotten caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar of nastiness. Let’s take a closer look at each of these...
-Sexual immorality is porneia, that which is done by a porne or pornos, i.e. a prostitute or anyone else who partakes of God’s amazing gift of sexual intercourse in any way other than the way He designed it to be experienced. In other words, any sex outside of the boundaries of faithful covenant marriage between a husband and wife (cf Genesis 1.27-28, 5.2, 2.24; Exodus 20.14; Leviticus 20.10-16). Yes indeed, God has created people with the capacity to experience both incredible pleasure and intimacy in the sexual act, and we cheapen and dirty this beautiful gift when we abuse it. The sexual act in particular not only is uniquely blessed with the intent to carry out the command to multiply and fill the earth (hence the prohibition against things like homosexuality and beastiality), it is also designed to reflect the everlasting love and faithfulness of God towards His people - Christ and His Bride, the Church - a permanent unconditional relationship of love which no man must ever sever. Paul tells us elsewhere that the commands against things like adultery are actually fulfilled when we carry out the command to love our neighbor (Romans 13.9), so it is entirely appropriate that the prohibition against sexual immorality here is once again given in the context of the overarching command to love. The sexual act as designed by the Creator and experienced within marriage is the ultimate consummation of love and trust and intimacy, a wondrous waltz of giving to this one who is my true God-given life-partner - giving away my whole self, my all, pleasuring and pleasing and unconditionally receiving this one to whom I am joined, and faithfully keeping myself all for them and for no other. Mind, soul, AND body. Maximum oneness. So whenever I may allow myself to indulge in thoughts and acts towards another to whom I have not been given, things which are outside of God’s design, I not only deprive myself of God’s best and cheapen the gift, I cheapen the message. In fact, I completely discredit it. I desecrate it. I demonstrate to the world that I cannot be trusted - that I have no self control - and that faithfulness, everlasting love is not a thing. Nothing but a pipe dream, some nice-sounding platitude but not really realistic. Yes, the pleasure is great. It is an incredible gift from our Creator. But love is greater. And our bar is indeed, way higher.
-Defilement. Uncleanness. Dirty. We’re talking about moral filth, any words and deeds as well as thoughts (cf Matthew 5.27-28) which are contrary to God’s design. They do not reflect His image, not consistent with Who He is and what He is like. The world actually has a kind of wicked fascination with being ‘dirty’, does it not? Specifically in a moral sense. Dirty jokes, dirty dancing, dirty deeds, dirty cops. In our hearts we actually know that dirty is wrong, at least as some level, but it is not uncommon for people to fail to connect the dots. It all goes back to bearing the image of God, reflecting what He is like. Sex, for example, is not inherently dirty in the least - it is all the ways we misuse it outside of marriage that make it unclean. When we dirty ourselves with moral filth, when we allow ourselves to be associated with it in any way, we smear the image of our heavenly Father. We render Him unrecognizable. And we display to the world that the faith we profess is a fake, worthless. ‘irty saint’ - a complete oxymoron, this. Integrity, honesty, goodness, purity, clean hands and heart - this is the heritage of those Who God calls (and has made) holy. There is no quarter to be given for any type of uncleanness whatsoever.
-Greed. The thirst for more. It is the appetite unleashed and unsatisfied, never content with enough, the tragic pursuit of things-created in a vain attempt to fill with vapors the infinite abyss, that gaping God-shaped hole in my soul. When I give myself to the pursuit of more - more money, more things, more stuff, bigger and better stuff - I declare to the world that God is not God. That He is insufficient to meet my needs and desires, that He is not glorious, better than anything. For indeed, if He truly is Who He says He is and Who He must be if in fact He is the One True Creator God, this One Who uniquely designed me to be in a forever relationship with Him, then He MUST be better and more satisfying than any created thing. Greed says to the world, God is not enough. That He is not supreme, the utmost. That it is perfectly ok to pursue something first besides Him, to put something else first in our hearts.
-Sex and money are the two things which most often entice and trip up and shatter both the reputations and the hearts of God’s people, are they not? The annals of church history are fraught with the foibles of leaders and followers alike - abuses, affairs, divorce, excess, indulgences, moral failures, corruption. When so-called saints set apart their hearts (and thus their lives and ministries) for something other than God and what He wants, they give unbelievers a multiplied host of reasons NOT to believe. These ‘dalliances’ of those who name the Name of Jesus have inflicted immeasurable damage on the collective efforts to convince the world that Jesus IS the Way, that He IS the Truth, that He IS the Life, that He alone is better. God help us...
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