The Sexual Revolution

MEMORY VERSE: “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” —I Corinthians 6:19,20

I CORINTHIANS 7:1-7

OUR memory verse sets forth the real importance of this lesson to the dedicated child of God. There is indeed a sexual revolution going on in the world today, as there is much else that is evil in the world, including war. All these evil things will be replaced by righteousness during the millennial reign of Christ.

The consecrated followers of the Master are given the Holy Spirit as a guide and a comfort; and it is the responsibility of these to keep their body under control so far as possible along all lines in order that the Holy Spirit might accomplish’ God’s work of grace in the hearts and lives of his people. Through his Holy Spirit God dwells in his people, and all who are dedicated to do his will will want him to feel at home in their lives; and they will want to glorify him in their bodies, even though by nature they are fallen and very imperfect.

Sex, as such, is little discussed in the Bible. However, illicit relationship between men and women is forbidden. In our lesson Paul describes the ideal relationship between husband and wife, concluding with the explanation that he had not received any commandment from the Lord on this matter, but wished that all could be free, even as he was, with the thought, evidently, that thus they would be in a more favorable position to devote themselves more completely to the Lord’s service.

Jesus may have expressed a similar thought when he said, “There are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive.”—Matt. 19:12

Within the congregations of the consecrated in the Early Church there was probably greater need for watchfulness along the line of sex than is ordinarily necessary. Many of the new Christians were Gentiles, and in the background of some of these, at least, would be their various religious rituals which included sex. This and other errors of their former associations would not in every case be got rid of at once. There had to be a growth in understanding and in the application of Christian principles.

I THESSALONIANS 4:1-8

Verse 3 of this passage speaks of the importance of sanctification: “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” Sanctification means a setting apart to do the holy will of God in all aspects of life. As we grow in sanctification we will realize that no aspect of our lives should be ignored if we are to be wholly sanctified to God.

In this text Paul mentions but one of these aspects: “that ye should abstain from fornication.” But we are not to suppose that Paul is here implying that this is all there is to sanctification.

Indeed, we might take this in a symbolic manner and apply it to singleness of purpose and purity of devotion to God in all the affairs of life. We are not to become partakers of the world and its spirit. We are to keep the desires of the flesh under control in every respect. In other words, we are to he wholly devoted to the Lord in our every thought, word, and deed. This is true sanctification, and this is the will of God for all who have dedicated themselves to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Paul reminds us in verse 6 “that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter.” The Apostle Paul, in his beautiful lesson on unselfish love, says that love “seeketh not her own.” (I Cor. 13:5) If we are not to seek and possess our own, how grossly contrary it would be to the true spirit of consecration to defraud our brother!

QUESTIONS

Is the Bible designed to regulate the social and moral affairs of the world?

What is true sanctification?

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