Paul reminds us to flee sexual immorality and reminds us that our bodies are places for the Holy Spirit to dwell.
The apostles and elders wrote a letter to the Gentiles, saying: "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well."
Although we do not know what ailed the man whom Jesus healed, verse 14 reminds us that our own sin can result in illness. (Extramarital sex often results in STIs, which may lead to STDs.)
The Greek word for "sexual immorality" is in the following verses: Matt 5:32, 15:19, 19:9; Mark 7:21; John 8:41; Acts 15:20, 15:29, 21:25, Rom 1:29; 1 Cor 5:1, 6:13, 6:18, 7:2; 2 Cor 12:21; Gal 5:19; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5; 1 Thess 4:3; Rev 2:21, 9:21, 14:8, 17:2, 17:4, 18:3, 19:2
Reaching the Abortion-Minded
Because people are more influenced today by science than by the Bible, you may convince them by "proving" the wisdom of God's Word by citing science. Because He created everything, it's no surprise that we "discovered" His design.
v. 12 "but all things are not helpful": Extramarital sex often results in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which can lead to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
v. 12 "but I will not be brought under the power of any": Neuroscience has proven that sex is addictive. In marriage, that's a good thing! Outside of marriage, sex can be a destructive addiction. Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA) is a real organization.
v. 19 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?": Today, "my body is a temple" is a brag on how physically fit we look; however, we do not consider how healthy our private parts are.
Today's sex education touts that sexually transmitted infections are normal, but "normal" means free from disease not prevalent.
Society touts eating healthy foods and choosing natural supplements but ignores the preventable need for prescriptions that ease the pains from STIs or the consequences of getting our hormones out-of-balance by taking the pill or using the patch as birth control (which may have medical consequences).
v. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you”: Extramarital sex often results in sexually transmitted infections [e.g., genital warts, genital herpes, chlamydia, hepatitis B, gonorrhea, syphilis, HPV, HIV], and those infections may lead to sexually transmitted diseases [e.g., pelvic inflammatory disease (which often inhibits desired conception), cancer, AIDS].
The neuroscience, biology, and social science of "hooking up" is covered in The Missing Sex Ed Lessons, currently offered as an online course for teenagers and their parents but soon to be offered for adults. Contact me if you'd like to offer this in whole or part at your church, whether pre-recorded or in person.
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