For the past few weeks we interrupted our series on 1 Corinthians to celebrate the Reformation and focus on missions. And in just a few weeks Thanksgiving will be here, followed by the Advent season. Naturally we will want to celebrate Thanksgiving and Advent, which leaves us with only a little time to go back to Corinthians. I’m tempted to wait until after the first of the year to resume the series on Corinthians, but the issue Paul deals with in the last part of 1 Corinthians 6 is so relevant to our age that I want to turn our attention to it now. It’s the matter of sex. What is permissible and what is not?

Undoubtedly you have heard the following argument raised by a lot of people, both from those who profess to be Christians and those who do not. If two consenting adults want to have sex, what’s wrong with that? It’s not against the law. We’re still upright, moral, law-abiding citizens. There’s no crime committed when two adults get together and have sex. Who cares? Who are we to judge?

Here’s the short answer. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s moral. Just because the government accepts it doesn’t mean God accepts it. That’s essentially what Paul has to say about it.
But the Corinthians had another argument that sounded reasonable to them. They drew a parallel between bodily appetites and sexual appetites. That is, the body was made for food, so we eat whatever food we want. It's all okay. In the same way, they reasoned, the body was obviously made for sex and so we are equally free to satisfy that "hunger" in whatever way we choose. "Everything is permissible,” they argued. Isn’t the sexual drive and desire just a natural normal biological function? And if it’s just a natural normal biological function, why do we say it’s “dirty”? Why do we say it’s unacceptable? This is just physiology. This is just biology. This is just the body just functioning. It’s my body and I can do what I want with it.

Curiously, these arguments are really not that new. They’re the same old arguments the Corinthians used. “We’re consenting adults!” But you’re acting like children. “Well, it’s a natural biological urge.” You’re not an animal. “Well, it’s my body!” Actually, it’s not. It’s a gift from God on loan. So be a good steward. As Christians we view gender, we view sex, we view marriage, and we view relationship in a totally different way.