Ready to run?
So many times we find ourselves in situations that we have no business being in. We often think because no one can see or hear us that we are safe. What we do not understand is that the enemy will plant people and things into our path so that we can not only sin against God, but ourselves.
“Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside of the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body” 1 Corinthians 6:18
Paul says, “Flee immorality!” Flee in the Greek can either mean fey-go: running away, escaping, or simply leaving, or dra-pe-TEV-o. Yet here, flee means pheugete (pronounced fyoo-get-eh—root word pheugo). It means to run away, take flight, or escape. It is an urgent, ongoing command. Something we are called to do, constantly. We should not be trying to stay and fight the sin and see how well we can handle being tempted. Paul gives a clear demand to run and escape the bondage of immorality. But what is immoral? The Greek word for sexual immorality here is porneia. It is a wide range of sexually illicit behavior. Sexual immorality here usually refers to many acts that we perform against ourselves and others, such as masturbation, watching pornography, sex before marriage, just to name a few.
Paul warned us that this is a sin unlike any other sin because we are sinning against our own body. These sins begin to eat away at us, make us think and act differently whether we believe it or not, and we also begin to put unrealistic expectations on our future partners because of the acts that we committed against ourselves.
It’s not “My Body, My Choice!” Do you know you’re not your own and that your body has been bought with a bloody price?
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been brought with a price, therefore, glorify God in your body.”1 Corinthians 6:19&20
Just like Christ, who destroyed His physical earthly temple and rose on the third day, we too are to destroy our earthly temple and rise in Him in order to house the very Spirit He left behind for us to care for. The Holy Spirit is not a spook or some imaginary thing. The Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit is the living Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit guides us, talks to us, warns us, encourages us, and comforts us, but we cannot receive or notice that we have received any of this when we are quenching His movement. Think about it: if your best friend, your partner, or someone you truly respected was coming to your home to visit or to stay, would you want to present a clean, comfortable home, or would you allow them to sit and stay in chaos? Most likely, you would make sure that they are comfortable, felt welcomed, and loved. So how come we do not prepare our temple, our home, for the Holy Spirit to dwell?
Jesus bought us in, reconciled us back to Him by dying on the cross for our sins. He went through a bloody, torturous crucifixion to save us. Christ was spat on, mocked, whipped, and much more to be presented as the sacrificial, sinless Lamb. Therefore, we are called to glorify God in our bodies.
Today, we often say we can do what we want to do when it comes to our bodies. While God has given us free will, He has also given us warning! Warning always comes before destruction. Destruction may not be death, but it could be the difference between entering into a dangerous relationship, bringing a baby into an unstable home, or contracting a disease you cannot get rid of.
“Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteous, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” 2Timothy 2:22
In this text, Paul says to flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness. Our youthful lusts remind us that we are less disciplined when we are younger, and when things are not corrected in the infancy stage, they can become out of control when they grow. Paul reminds us to flee from our youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace in his letter to Timothy. Paul tells us to pursue these things with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart. Paul points out that we should do these things with those people, meaning we are to be in community with people who cause us to draw closer to Christ. Sometimes it is uncomfortable to walk on a path of righteousness when everyone around you seems to be getting away with their sinful nature. Lastly, Paul also says to do it from a pure heart. A pure heart here does not mean that you are without sin and that you have done no wrong. A pure heart here means to be sincere, remorseful, and repentant.
“If you address as Father the One, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth.” 1 Peter 1:17
Finally, I want to remind you that we should conduct ourselves in fear of our Father who is in heaven while we are here on this earth. Fear does not mean to be scared of Him. It simply means to look to Him with reverence, respect, and honor. We will not be here for long. No one knows the day or the time, yet we are promised a place with Him and eternity when we live upright.
As always, I love you, but Jesus loves you more. 🫶🏽
Khidr Alexandria
