Mastered By God Alone (Part 2)

Introduction

Well, good evening. I hope our study together will be helpful to you to understand something perhaps that you’ve not understood before and to appreciate a section of Scripture that I don’t know, the explanations that have been given for it, I have wondered about for many years. I said in a class very recently, I like to learn and not pass learning things that I did not know before. And I would say this section of Scripture fits in that. And it is a continuance of what we studied last Sunday morning. So I want to go over very briefly what that lesson was about. And I do mean very briefly. And I know some of you were not here last Sunday morning, Belize, whatever, otherwise detained and did not get to hear this lesson on 1 Corinthians chapter 6.

And it’s interesting that there has to be a point to this as Paul raises this question in this formula over and over again in chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians. And let me just suggest to you that the tentacles of this whole context in chapter 6 reaches back, I believe, to the immoral man of chapter 5, where they’re admonished to not be puffed up, but to actually take action and to remove this sexually immoral man from their midst. I think this all goes back or ties in to that. But these three questions were raised that we looked at last Lord’s Day morning. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? We intellectually know things, but are we really grasping the significance of the role that we shall play?

Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more matters of this life? And that’s the context of don’t go before the courts with minor trivial conflicts. Solve those things among yourselves. And then he comes to the more serious matter of our behavior in terms of morality. And he says, Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? He says, Don’t be deceived about that. And that bleeds down into the context of verses 12 through 20 that we’re getting to tonight. And so we looked at that expression, which was the title of the lesson last Sunday morning, and such were some of you. They were unrighteous in their past, things that would have kept them from the kingdom of God.

But they have now put that behavior in their past. And we looked at those very briefly. Some of them we understand we’ve heard the definitions of many times. And this is their lifestyle in the past. But they have repented. They have come to the knowledge of Christ. And then we looked at verse 11 and sort of separated it with this visual aid to notice the various things that are going on in this verse. He says, But you were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we didn’t talk about that last phrase. And in the Spirit of our God. It is the Holy Spirit who causes our rebirth. According to Titus chapter 3, verses 4 and 5, we are born of water, yes, but we are also born of the Spirit who instructs us how it is that we are saved, being born of water.

And then, as a Christian, one who is walking in Christ, he indwells us. God has designed that the Spirit control our behavior as he instructs us about God’s will and how we ought to live. And he assists in our transformation. He even makes intercession for us, it says in Romans chapter 8 and verse 26. So we concluded the thoughts last Sunday morning by just looking briefly toward the end of chapter 6, where our bodies are the temple of God, and thus we need to glorify God in our body. And we said, as the song that was our invitation song, the sweet will of God, we must yield our will to his. And we’re going to talk more about that tonight. Notice we saw three questions. Do you not know?

In verses 12 through 20, he’s going to repeat, do you not know? Three more times. The first of those is, do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Now that is not saying what you might think at first glance. We are members of the body of Christ. That’s not what that question asked. He talks about that later in 1 Corinthians in chapter 12, about what it means to be a member of the body of Christ when he talks about the hand and the foot and having the same care one for another. But that’s not what he’s saying here. He says, Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? He’s talking about the role our bodies play because we are in Christ or related to him as a result of our obedience and submission to him.

It’s very similar to 2 Corinthians chapter 4, when he says we preach not ourselves but Christ as Lord and ourselves as bondservants for his sake. And he says, we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Maybe one of my top five verses in the New Testament. I have so many favorites, you know. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, and that’s you and me and our physical bodies, this treasure in earthen vessels that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not of ourselves. God is able to use us as earthen vessels to promote his will by his power and unto his glory. And so I sort of think that’s the thought here when he said, Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?

God’s great plan for his people. Listen to this. We are the physical interface. We can use 21st century terminology. We are the physical interface of Jesus with the world. What this question is telling us is our bodies serve as his limbs. If Jesus wants to comfort somebody and give them a hug, he doesn’t send the Holy Spirit in a miraculous way to envelop you in a hug. Now that’d be sort of neat if you were on the receiving end of a Holy Spirit hug. But we are here to bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. We, as we serve Christ, give the hug that people need. Again, we are his interface. If Jesus Christ wants to feed someone, he doesn’t generally drop a hamburger from heaven.

I’ve never had one dropped at my house. I don’t know of anyone who has. But he might use you as a conduit to meet the need of a brother who is hungry or a neighbor who is hungry. So what he’s really talking about here, if I might use another analogy, and this has happened to me. Have you ever had a laptop in this condition? You hit the power button, and you hear the processes, the same sound you always get. You know, you don’t even pay attention to the sound, but if something’s wrong, you notice that the sound has changed. But if you ever hit the button and you get the exact same sound, all the processors are going on, and it should have been booting up, and you look at the screen, nothing.

You know how frustrating it is to have a perfectly working computer with a dead laptop screen. I’ve had one of those. You call and say, hey, can I get that repaired? Yeah, for $300. $300. I’m going to buy a new laptop. We are Jesus’ interface to the world. We’re the laptop screen. People need to be able to see Jesus in us. Lights in the world. A failure to recognize this glorious purpose can happen if our behavior is not what Jesus subscribes it to be. Do you not know? Second time he asks a question. Again, do you not know for the fifth time in this chapter? Do you not know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her? Now that’s an interesting expression.

And suffice it for now to say about that. There is no such thing as harmless casual relations for the Christian. Serious things happen spiritually, and perhaps even in more significant ways than that we struggle to assess, and maybe that’s a discussion for another time. But certainly spiritually, something happens when we don’t use our bodies physically as God has prescribed and intended. He says, the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her. Do you not know in the final question in the conclusion of chapter 6, that perhaps again bleeds over into the context of chapter 7 in marriage? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

The body of a Christian is a sacred sight, and it is not to be violated or profaned. Okay, now I want you to look for those phrases again. And I’ll tell you what I’ve done in my Bible, and I guess you can do this on your iPad. But I have underscored in my Bible in chapter 6 every time Paul asks a question, do you not know? And there’s six times. Two, three, nine, fifteen, sixteen, and nineteen. I’ve underlined, do you not know? Because he’s obviously repeating that question for the sake of effect. Now I want to read with you. Now remember what we’ve just looked at in verses 9 through 11. And such were some of you. Those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

You have repented, you have been, as we saw, washed and justified and sanctified, or washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. Now, what are the implications of you being in Christ, of you being washed and sanctified and justified? Look. Difficult context here. Pay attention. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach. And the stomach is for food. But God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord. And the Lord is for the body. Now, God has not only raised the Lord, but will raise us up through his power.

He has plans for the body. Do you not know? There it is again. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? May it never be. Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her, for he says the two will become one flesh. I thought that was a marriage statement. Hold that thought. But the one who joins himself to the Lord, and that’s most in this audience tonight, and if you’re not, we want you to be that person for your well-being, both now and in eternity. The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him.

Circle that verse, bracket that verse, highlight that verse, mark that verse. So significant. Flee immorality. I love these. You know, really, you don’t need a huge long explanation in some places about some subjects. If it’s immoral, run, Paul says. Flee immorality. Every sin that a man commits is outside the body. Now, some translations supply the word other there. Not sure that’s really the idea. Every sin that a man commits is outside the body. But the immoral man sins against his own body. It’s interesting to me that everything that follows a but in this context is clearly easily understood, and we need to be paying close attention to that. Okay. The immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own.

1. Paul Is Answering the Freedom Enthusiasts

For you have been bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. So tonight I want to talk to you about what God expects you to do with your body. How he expects you to honor it, to take care of it, to reign it in, to use it for his special and high purposes. What’s going on in this context? And I think if we could see that, we can appreciate what’s going on in the specifics of this context. Point number one tonight. What Paul seems to be doing here in the last part, as he speaks to our bodies and their use and what they’re not intended for, and that they need to be mastered by God alone. It seems that Paul is answering, for lack of a better term, those who we might style as freedom enthusiasts.

More on that in a moment.

But I also want to say that if we understand the will of God, what it allows and what it doesn’t allow, we are the real freedom enthusiasts. These are the pseudo enthusiasts that he is answering who are mistaken about some things. And here’s what they’re mistaken about. Rarely is there any such thing as absolute freedom. You know, Paul and the apostles come preaching a message of freedom in Christ, and wow, freedom sounds good. So I can do just about whatever I please because I’m free in Christ. That seems to be what he is answering in this context. Freedom often imposes limits. I mean, just look at the freedom that we have as Americans. We value what? Our freedoms. We’re so concerned that the government is going to take away our freedoms, and they just might.

No, I can. But there are going to be consequences to that. I may be even getting incarcerated for reckless driving for having done so. We’re not free to steal our neighbor’s car or boat or to murder someone. Freedom has limits. And so also does our freedom in Christ. And as we talk about these who are freedom enthusiasts who are influencing the people at Corinth, isn’t it true that a lot of false doctrines promote transgression as acceptable behavior? Not just false doctrines, but a lot of religions in our world promote what the Bible calls as immorality as an acceptable practice in their faith. A lot of the false doctrines that are taught actually encourage or allow immorality. Well, how do these people have an influence among the Lord’s people?

Well, because of some misunderstandings about the message of freedom in Christ. In fact, it was maliciously reported about Paul and his companions that he was preaching, let us do evil that good may come. And when you think about the message of grace covers, grace is an answer for man’s sinfulness. And so it doesn’t take long for somebody to put two and two together. Look, if I sinned more, then grace could do even more. Let’s let grace really work. The more we sin, the more grace can cover. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be. And so Romans 6 works very good with 1 Corinthians chapter 6. And what I mean by answers for the freedom enthusiasts is those who would say, well, hey, let’s let grace really work by sending even more.

Notice what Paul says about freedom, and I’ve hinted all around this in Galatians chapter 5, when he says, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Well, what is it exactly that we were enslaved to? I don’t have this on the slides, but we looked at it this morning. I want to throw it in here at Acts 13. Acts 13 and verse 39. That message about Jesus that was preached in Antioch of Posidia, and through him everyone who believes, Acts 13, 39, everyone who believes is freed from all things. Well, one thing about all things, and we’re going to come to this in 1 Corinthians 6, too. Sometimes all things doesn’t mean all things, but a realm of things.

And the point is, he goes on to say, from which you could not be freed through the law of Moses. And he’s talking primarily about those things that shackled us spiritually. Sin, the guilt of sin, being justified by Christ, as we saw in 1 Corinthians 6, 9 through 11. We have been freed from the tyranny of sin. And really, whatever affects us spiritually, that’s what matters. There is nothing so powerful that we can’t overcome in Christ. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Romans chapter 8. But he goes on to say, don’t misunderstand this freedom in verse 13. For you were called to freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. You see, this is a freedom that relates to man’s spirit. A freedom from the incarceration of sin that brings us into fellowship with God and gives us the hope of immortality where there will be no more sin, but we should not use this freedom as a cloak to do evil.

Freedom is not an absolute, it is limited to those things that shackled men in ages past. Acts 13, 39. It’s interesting. It’s much like the expression in 2 Timothy chapter 2, where, and I wish we had more time to talk about this context, where Paul says the word of God is not imprisoned. And he uses a perfect tense verb there. It says, it was not imprisoned in the past. Continuing to the present is the idea of the perfect tense there. And so, how could you chain up the word of God? We don’t like the message of the word of God. We’re going to throw it in jail. Well, you can’t stop this message. People have tried to destroy it, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

And Paul says, You can throw me in prison, but the word of God is not bound. It is not shackled. And thus Paul is set free. You can throw him in prison, you can kill him, but that’s all that you can do. Jesus says, You can kill the body, but that’s all that he can do. If we endure, we shall live with him. Paul says. And Peter says this. As he talks about our freedom in 1 Peter 2. In 1 Peter 2 and verse 16, he says, act as free men. Okay, yes, there is freedom in Christ. Act as free men, but do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God. Servants of God. We saw that in 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2. Paul Is Constructing a Dialogue

This treasure of earthen vessels. We preach ourselves as bond servants of the Lord. He says, this freedom is not to do whatever you want, it is a freedom to be a slave to Christ and to enjoy eternal benefits and spiritual benefits from having done so. So that’s what’s going on in this context. But now I want to get to some specifics. Verse 12. I have to admit, this was the confusing part. This is why I’m preaching the sermon. When I was younger, this was very confusing to me, and I didn’t know what was going on. What Paul is doing in 1 Corinthians 6 is constructing a dialogue. It’s as if he’s having this conversation with the real, the pseudo freedom enthusiasts. And he’s answering what they would say.

And that’s why the New International Version puts quotes around this statement that’s said twice in verse 12. Now, without those quotes, if you don’t perceive this dialogue as taking place, somebody says, Well, aren’t there quotations in the Greek? The answer to that question is no. And so, if that’s how he intends it, that he’s actually quoting others, you wouldn’t find quotations in the Greek. You’re going to have to read the context and determine whether that’s what he’s doing or not. It could be that Paul is saying, like he’s saying about freedom in Acts chapter 13 and verse 39, that all things are lawful for him because he’s in Christ. I would say that’s unlikely because of the context that we’ve already looked at. Certainly he’s not saying all things are lawful for me, so I can practice homosexuality.

I can practice thievery. I can practice drunkenness. I can practice sexual immorality. He’s just said, those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. So, in what sense? Well, maybe it’s that all things are not all things. You said that before, and that sometimes all things doesn’t mean all things. But there’s something else going on here that makes me think that Paul is not saying, now all things are lawful for me, but I want you to understand this better. Don’t believe that’s what’s going on here. And it seems the same thing is happening in verse 13, and the NIV captures this with quotations too. Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food. And perhaps, and this is the hardest one, perhaps one more time, and I’m going to come back to this in a second, every sin that a man commits is outside the body, or every other sin that a man commits.

Let’s just suggest that the word supplied there, other sin, gives the sense of what the Greek is saying. I’ve never understood it. Okay, if we’re going to exclude sexually immoral behavior, which that’s what the context is dealing with, every other sin that a man commits is outside the body. Well, now, if I sin with my tongue, I’m pretty sure my body’s doing it. And if I steal something with my hand, I think that’s my body doing it. And so I never really got that. And I heard explanations in Bible class. I gave explanations in the Bible class. And I didn’t really get it. But you know, if you put the quotes around it, and again, Paul is having this dialogue with these freedom enthusiasts, then it starts to make sense.

And I’ll tell you, there’s a key word in all of this. Did you hear me emphasize it? Not only do I have underlined in 1 Corinthians 6, all those statements or questions, do you not know? In the last eight verses, I have the word but underlined, because that is a word of contrast, and you’ll see it both times after all things are lawful for me. But means what? Contrast. I’m going a different direction. All things are lawful for me. But food is for the stomach, and the stomach is fruit. But every sin that a man commits is outside the body. But. And I said, everything that follows the but is really clear. Isn’t it? As to what God’s intentions are. And so let’s go back to this.

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient. He’s obviously not saying that any of those immoralities he mentioned in verses 9 through 11 are acceptable behavior. But even in regard to things that are lawful for behavior, lawful behavior for him, he says, it doesn’t always build up. It’s not always good judgment. And he says, I will not be mastered. As he quotes it a second time, I will not be mastered by anything. Now, you might want to go over to chapter 10. He actually quotes this again. When he says in verse 23, all things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good but that of his neighbor.

And so what he may be saying is that, in a sense, depending on how you look at that phrase, he’s not saying we have an absolute freedom to do whatever we wish. But there is a sense in which all things are lawful for me, but even things that are lawful, sometimes I must refrain for the benefit or edification of others. Second one. Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food. I think I get the idea of what they were saying by that. Again, it’s not that everything about that is false. Food is because it is. I mean, you eat food for the stomach, and it gives you nourishment, ideally. We eat the right foods, whatever that is, that it’s going to help you, it’s going to give you energy, going to make you healthy.

Look, if you stop eating, that’s not going to go well for you. The stomach was made for food. On a somewhat regular basis, maybe too regular in our culture. But he says, God will do away with both of them. You know, we’re not going to be eating physical meals in the presence of God. This is a very temporary thing. But God has a plan for our body in the resurrection, he goes on to say. But don’t you get the argument here? Why is he bringing this up about food? Is he talking about Mike’s point that he was making a few weeks ago about our attitude towards food and not being gluttons, that kind of thing? Not really the idea here. Here’s what they were saying sexual desire is like the desire to eat.

It’s simply a bodily urge. It’s simply a bodily function. That’s all it is. And so if you have a sexual desire, you fulfill it just like you have the desire to eat food. It’s just a body thing. And this last point is that whatever you do in the body doesn’t affect what happens in your spirit. Sort of ultimately gives rise to the whole Gnostic philosophy. That whatever you do in the body doesn’t affect the soul. And so you can do whatever you want. And John debunks that in 1 John. But Paul is dealing with that here. Every man, every sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. He’s saying, yes, it does. What you do in the body does affect your soul.

3. Guard Ourselves Against Unholy Union

They were saying the body has nothing to do with sin. Paul clearly labels here that the body engaged in unholy action commits sin. Let me go with three practical points and we’ll be done. Hopefully that’ll help you see what’s going on in this context. But the first practical point of this is Paul is saying very clearly, we need to guard ourselves against unholy union. We should not be surprised that we live in a time that what God labels as an adulterous union is approved. That remarriage under any circumstance is approved, and it must be approved because we love each other, and love trumps everything. Well, again, they’ve not understood the biblical definition of love. They’ve not understand, understood what it means to honor your words and to honor your vows, one who speaks to his own detriment to honor his words.

And the fact is, God who created male and female, who initially said the two shall become one flesh when he instituted that union, he has the right as our creator and as sovereign of the universe to determine what is acceptable behavior and what is it. And the one who joins himself to a harlot. It’s not an innocent casual hookup. Whether we’re talking about an actual person or a virtual relationship.

Much like in marriage, when the one who is married does not have right over his one body or over his body, or vice versa. 1 Corinthians 7 or verse 4. The holy side of that is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 7 and verse 4. In 1 Corinthians 6, he’s dealing with the unholy union of two people that have no right to each other. What we do in the body matters. He could not make that any more clear in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. And we need to guard ourselves against any unholy union. Reigning in our passions and impulses. Boy, that’s not popular in the 21st century. Reigning in our passions and our impulses will require training. It will require significant attention and self-control.

Do you not know those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Adulterers, fornicators, homosexuals. He says, you practice those things without repentance. You practice those things, there are consequences. The two have become one flesh, not in marriage. But you are definitely engaged with them in immoral conduct. And so the very strong message of chapter 6 is very relevant to our doctor. Hey, look at Corinth. It was it was a place of prostitution, temple prostitutes. That was the way it was in Corinth. And people thought, okay, I’m free in Christ, so I can just engage in whatever culture is doing. And it’s only the body, it’s not the spirit. Paul says, absolutely not. So don’t think that the 21st century is going to be any different.

That fornication is going to be okay because we love each other, and one day we’re going to get married. Or that adultery or pornography. That it’s not a big deal because it is.

4. Read the Fine Print

Now, it’s not that God is trying to disguise anything. Sometimes when we say that, read the fine print, certain exclusions may apply. And if you don’t read the fine print, you may think, well, the offer was something different than it really was. But I think we do this with God’s book because we don’t read carefully and thoroughly. We sort of miss the fine print. Because all we see in big bold letters is salvation. Going to heaven. Immortality. Forgiveness. Grace. I want it. And you’d be dumb not to. I think sometimes all we see is the offer. In bold winners.

And we sort of ignore the fine. Let’s make the fine print go away. Can we take 1 Corinthians 6 17, actually, verses 12 through 20? Can we just sort of take those out of the New Testament and be the freedom enthusiast that you talked about? At the very beginning. Certain terms and conditions may apply. Now we talk about this in the Bible, we want everybody to get it. We talk about it in Bible class. We’ve been talking about it in our study of the book of Acts. Yes, grace has been extended to all, but certain terms and conditions may apply. God doesn’t automatically save everybody. You’ve got to respond on his terms and meet his conditions. But beyond the initial salvation that God offers, listen to me very carefully.

And I said this when I read this verse at verse 17. Here’s the fine print of Christianity. And if you’re going to sign on to be a servant of the Lord, you better read the fine print. Terms and conditions may apply. Christianity in one sentence.

In contrast to the one who joins himself to another in an immoral relationship.

And Jesus was very clear about the nature of commitment to him. He says if a person does not hate his own life and carry his own cross and love me more than he loves father and mother, he cannot be my disciple. And you know what he was saying? He was saying that. The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him. And I tell you, in teaching the plan of salvation, I don’t know if we talk about that enough. I don’t know if we ought to bring someone to baptism who is not first seen, 1 Corinthians 6 17. What you’re saying when you become a Christian to receive all those wonderful things that have been promised, the magnificent and precious promises of salvation and immortality.

But you’re signing on to be one mind with Christ. To think like he thinks. About everything, about people. So I said, Well, there’s not much redeemable in them. Well, there wasn’t much redeemable in us when Christ died on the cross for us and for everyone. And so I have to look at people, all people, especially my brethren, even though some of them are difficult. Raise your hand if you’re difficult. Oh, yeah, I got my hand raised. We can be difficult. But we have to look at people and look at them as Jesus sees them. He wants all men to be saved, as we said this morning in 1 Timothy 2 and verse 4, and 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 9. It’s possible if they will repent.

His aims and purposes are mine. And what he says is, I’ve got to refrain from immorality just like he did. I have to have that as my aim and purpose. And I realize there are missteps, and people get caught up in the things. But we need to be preaching the message of stop sinning and be sober minded as you ought. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 34. This is the terms and conditions of being a servant of the Lord. We’ve got to become more like him in the way we think and the way we speak and the way we behave in our lives so that we can truly be a monitor that works. Read the fine print. That’s it. And one more point. I’ll be done. There’s some interesting statement here at the very end.

5. You Were Bought With a Price

The best way I know to describe it is that because you’re in Christ, you’ve been purchased on the auction block. And I tell you, that’s hard for us, I think, to appreciate. We don’t live in a world of slavery. And first century slavery was not the same as slavery in our country, but still, people were sold like commodities. I want you to imagine yourself standing there. Somebody may want to buy you. They look at you, hopefully, you’re a strapping young, strong man. Who do we got out here? Corey in the back. There you are. Ted, somebody says, I want that guy. He could work. He could do a lot of good work for me. Or that woman looks like she could really cook. She could do some house cleaning and laundry.

How much? I give 30 shekels for her. This is the concept, for you were bought with a price. So there we all stand. Not a pretty sight spiritually. And God says, I want to buy you. And I’m looking at me saying, that’s a pretty bad deal. But here you stand on the auction block. And God says, let me assess your worth. Now you know where I’m going, right? We were not redeemed with futile things like silver and gold. Not even a thousand shekels of gold. Hey, if somebody valued you at a thousand shekels of gold, man. A million dollars. A million dollars. That’s how much you’re worth. Even something better. When you’re standing on the auction block, Jesus says, You’re worth my blood. We’re redeemed with the precious blood of a lamb without spot and without blemish.

1 Peter 1 and verse 19. You were bought with a price.

Conclusion

That’s more of the fine print. The one, and maybe this will help us to deal with the sexual sin that is so rampant in our culture that is so enticing to so many, because he says, the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him. You have been bought with a price. Honor God with your body and in your spirit, which belong to him. May we be mastered by God alone. When I was typing in this last little phrase to conclude the lesson, no other better or redeeming way to live. I accidentally typed in leave. And I could have left it that way. There’s no other better or redeeming way to leave this earth than to be mastered by God alone. But there is no other better or redeeming way to live than to be his person.

And God wants that so bad for you that he offered his precious blood so that you might be redeemed.

And would you embrace his wonderful provision of freedom and the hope of immortality? The plans that he has for your body and the plans that he has for your body in eternity, an immortal body to live on in the presence of the King forever and ever. Can we assist you in making that decision? Let’s stand in sin.