Not Your Own
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Toys
This Christmas, children may have been expecting toys as Christmas gift.
Business people promote that idea that the one who owns most toys wins. And insensible children may think that if they can buy all toys they want, they win. Do you wish to buy everything you want? Well, how do you wisely spend money?
Someone bought a motorbike for personal use. The following morning his new bike was gone. Someone drove it away without asking for permission.
Bad elements in the society would steal anything valuable to them, and not just bikes or cars. They might be scheming to steal your favorite toy already.
Everything on earth is just temporary. Like toys, wealth won’t last forever. But pray for godly wisdom to store up eternal treasures using temporal wealth.
Christ admonished us in Luke 16:9-13, 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Teacher
If your monthly budget just a few hundred dollars, how do you allocate it?
Few decades pass by but still it’s fresh in my mind when my teacher prayed for us her students. Last week, friends told us that my teacher is asking about my whereabouts. Her pastor-husband died few years ago. She is almost 100-year old widow now but still, she continues to store up eternal treasures in heaven for herself. We were told that she spends her meager retirement money to buy food and snacks. She gives food and snacks to everyone who visits her at her house.
In comparison, it’s often reported that many celebrities spend their millions of dollars for selfish leisure. Some of millionaires are imprisoned for crimes they have committed; others are charged as sex offenders. Sexual immorality is not exclusive to wealthy celebrities. Anyone can be tempted to commit sexual sins.
What can we do to avoid sexual immorality? How can we flee from it? Who can help us? The Holy Spirit empowers to have firm resolve and avoid sexual sin.
1. Resolve
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
Apostle Paul wrote this godly command to flee from sexual immorality to the church in Corinth and not to people outside the church, why? Those who sin sexually commit sin against their own body. If sexual sin is against the body of the one who sins sexually, sexual sin is never favorable to the self. To flee from sexual immorality is a command for our welfare. We should resolve to avoid sexual sin.
Let’s reflect on what it says in Mark 7:21-22 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.
We have tendency to commit sin; everyone is destined to eternal torture. If we resolve not to commit sin, not just sin of sexual immorality, we need godly help. And, that is the very reason Jesus Christ was born on earth. We celebrate Christmas because Christ came, and all who believe in him and his sacrificial death will be saved from eternal torture and received the gift of eternal life also.
Comics
Someone published a comic strip that painted Jesus Christ carrying a cross and also Santa Claus carrying a huge bag of gifts. Jesus asked Santa Claus, “What’s in your huge bag, Santa?” Santa replied, “These are gifts that I will give to children who behave this year; I hope it will be enough. How about you? Where’s your gift? Why are you carrying a cross?” Christ responded, “Oh, this cross is my single gift for everyone who believes in me and not just for those who behave well this year.”
Many people are very focused on receiving temporal gifts. They hope that if they behaved well, they may receive a gift from Santa Claus, if they are included in his list. So, they sing and tell why, “You better watch out; Santa is coming!”
In comparison, those who behave well and also those who did not, Christ Jesus our Lord invites everyone to accept his gift of eternal life. Together, let us meditate on John 3:16-18, 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
The Lord took and nailed all our sins with Christ on the cross where he died. He was buried, resurrected and returned to heaven. He prepares a place for you and me who trust him as Lord and Savior. Have you recognized your need to be saved from eternal torture, yet? By faith, we recognize and repent of our sins.
2. Recognize
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
To recognize our body as temple of his Holy Spirit is also practical proof of faith in Christ. When by faith we accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, the Lord sent his Holy Spirit into our hearts to guarantee us that when he returns, he takes us into heaven. If his Holy Spirit dwells in our bodies, our body is not our own; our life belongs to God and everything we have. How do you explain that to a child?
When we follow Christ as Lord, he becomes our master; we’re his servants. How can servants serve Christ as Master? We behave in godly righteousness. In contrast, when we follow sinful desire, we obey sin as our master; we are slaves to sin. And the penalty of sin is eternal death. After we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, he saved us from eternal torture and gave us eternal life.
It declares in Romans 6:20-23: 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The sacrificial death of Christ on the cross was the mysterious gift of God that saved all believers from eternal torture. His crucifixion has ransomed and freed us from the control of sin. If Christ bought our freedom from sin, we are his servants legally, and Christ becomes our Master. By faith, we accepted Christ as Savior and Lord; he freed us from slavery to sin; we become slaves to righteousness.
Yet, Christ our Lord chooses to call us his friends, his brothers and sisters. He does not call us as his servants, even so, when we accepted Christ as Lord. And we serve Christ as Master and Lord, when we behave in godly righteousness.
Personally, how do you internalize your relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Master? How do servants respond when their master commands them?
Karate Kid
It is common for Martial Arts student to address his Martial Arts teacher as “Master!” Yet, Martial Arts master won’t call Martial Arts students as “Servants.”
Have you watched the movie, “Karate Kid?” The kid was frequently bullied and intimidated by a group of Karate students. They harassed the kid as practice of their Karate lessons. At one time, the Master saved the kid from the group. What happened next? The kid asked the Master to teach him Karate lessons.
The master taught him to wipe clean his car and the floor of his house. He also told him to brush paint on the fence. What do you think? Right! The kid did not readily understand that wiping clean the car and the floor and brushing paint on the fence were actually effective Martial Arts lessons, exercises and practices.
Likewise, we don’t easily understand that instructions of Christ are actually beneficial to us practically and spiritually. If we trust his instructions as beneficial to us, we eagerly read his word to hear what he says. We obey Christ as our Lord. Indeed, we belong to Christ; his Holy Spirit warrants in Romans 8:14-16: 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
The first four commands in the Ten Commandments were focused on God. The fifth command is the first command toward other people, and also the first command with a promise; it’s a command for children to give honor and respect to parents. And as children of God, how can we show respect to God our Father?
3. Respect
20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
How can we practically honor and respect God with our bodies? When we keep our bodies from sexual immorality, we show respect and honor to God.
How did you react on vandalism they sprayed on the walls of our church building?
Likewise, sexual sin is vandalism that defiles and corrupts our body as temple of the Holy Spirit. We flee from sexual sin as respect to the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Together, let us meditate on Romans 12:2, 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Pray for increase of faith to personally internalize this admonition. It is by faith we believe that the will of God for us is good, pleasing and perfect. While everyone is celebrating Christmas joyfully, we may have personal or family concerns. So, how can transformation by the renewing of our mind happen then?
Together let us sincerely internalize the promise Christ Jesus in John 14:27:
27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Do you sense peace while you have very simple celebration for Christmas? Can peace from Christ be enough for us to celebrate his birth on earth in human form? We can learn from the shepherds. It narrated in Luke 2:8-18, 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
Indeed, the shepherds sensed and cannot contain their great joy when they saw Jesus face to face. The shepherds were considered as the lowliest class in the society, yet their humble status did not stop them from spreading the good news. They have personally proven that peace of Christ was sufficient enough to rejoice.
Our situation in life may not be as glamorous or elegant as others but it should not hinder us to sense joyful peace from the Lord. We celebrate the birth of Christ on earth and remember that he is coming again to take us into heaven.
Despite the problems here and abroad, may the Holy Spirit overflow his joy and peace in our hearts so that we joyfully celebrate Christmas and tell potential believers about how we have found joy and peace in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen!
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