Understanding the Spiritual and Moral Implications of Sexual Relationships

SEX GOLF ESTATE GOOD NEWS CLUB. 30TH APRIL 2022

BIBLE PASSAGE +1 Corinthians 6:15 -20 (NLT) + Don t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which belongs to Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don t you know that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, The two are united into one. But the person who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Run away from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Or don t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honour God with your body.

DEFINITION OF TERMS Sex can be defined as the coming together of a man and a woman through physical contact of their private parts. Phone sex or Sexting However, according to the scriptures, sex is beyond physical contact, it is very much spiritual. Biblically, it is considered that the two persons become one as seen from our passage above (verse 16). Sexual Activity Reading or Watching porn The word Hedge is derived from the old English word, Hecg which originally translates to a fence formed by shrubs. It is defined as a fence or boundary formed by closely growing bushes or shrubs. To surround for defence; to guard; to protect; to hem (in). Masturbating Kissing In this context, a hedge is a means of protecting oneself from adverse circumstances by setting up boundaries. Oral, Vaginal, and Anal sex

INTRODUCTION: + Sex outside marriage is known as premarital sex (fornication people not yet married) or extra-marital (adultery people married) sex and it is a sin. (Rev 21:7-8) + God created marriage, and He also gave that privilege of sex to those who have come into marriage. As we see in Hebrew 13:4 (MSG), Honour marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex. , sex in Marriage is pure, but outside of marriage, there is judgement from God. + God s plan is that sex should happen in marriage. Any sexual activity that goes against God s plan or occurs outside marriage is known as sexual immorality. Some examples of sexual immorality includes touching your private parts in other to get a certain satisfaction, touching another person s private parts, kissing someone who isn t a family member or allowing a family member to kiss you rather than give you a peck on the cheek or forehead, looking at indecent pictures, etc. + When a person engages in any form of sexual activity with another person, their spirits and souls become one and there is also a transfer of spirit, curses, and sicknesses as a result of blood transfer during sex (1 Cor 6:16, Gen 2:24). + It therefore becomes very important that you do not just see sex as being physical but spiritual, that whosoever you share your body with becomes a part of you and you also become a part of them.

WHY GOD CREATED SEX From Genesis 1:27-28, we can say that God s major reason for creating marriage was for Procreation to make new human beings, and He decided that this purpose would be fulfilled through sex in marriage. Other reasons why God created sex is to make the husband and wife become one.

CONSEQUENCES OF PREMARITAL SEX + There are many dangers of engaging in having sex outside of marriage, some of them include: + You disobey God: In Deuteronomy 28:15 (NLT), the Bible says that But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you , It shows that whenever we disobey God s commandments, there are curses and bad things that happen to us. + God gave sex to married couples as a gift, and if you decide to engage in sex before marriage, you disobey God and this can lead to suffering, disease, and take you away from God s protection, favour and future blessings. + Unwanted Pregnancy, STDs and Shame: If you engage in premarital sex, it would lead to unwanted pregnancies and children born out of wedlock. The shame associated with this can lead to mental and emotional stress. + Also, there is the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as gonorrhea, HIV, AIDS etc., and some of these diseases are not curable and you would have to live with them for the rest of your life. It opens the door for the devil to wreak havoc in your life: + 1 Corinthians 6:16 (KJV) What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. + One of the major problems with premarital sex is that you do not know the spiritual life of the person you are opening up yourself to. The Bible passage above warns expressly that you become one flesh with the person whom you share your body with. You can come into agreement with unknown evil covenants, leaving your body exposed to the devil s havoc.

ESTABLISHING BOUNDARIES WITH THE OPPOSITE (AND SAME) GENDER - HOW FAR IS TOO FAR? + And when you find a friend, don t outwear your welcome; show up at all hours and he ll soon get fed up. Proverbs 25:17 (MSG) + God wants us to have friends and that includes having friends of the opposite gender. + However, every friendship should come with boundaries. Boundaries are limits you set in order to protect yourself from being hurt, manipulated, or taken advantage of. + Boundaries helps to communicate what is Ok and what is not OK for you. Like in the passage above, if you visit someone uninvited and unannounced, it would imply overstepping your friend s boundaries and it would cause him to dislike you, this goes to emphasize the need to set boundaries as well as respect other people s boundaries. + Never believe that you need to be all things to your friends, and being a good friend doesn t mean agreeing to all issues. Every friendship is different and so might require different boundaries, example you might need to tell one friend that you are not comfortable holding their hands, while for another friend, it might be that you do not watch movies with ratings above your age.

ESTABLISHING BOUNDARIES WITH THE OPPOSITE GENDER - HOW FAR IS TOO FAR? + Some practical boundaries you can set with the opposite gender include: + No holding of hands in private, + No sitting together in seclusion, + No lying down together (even to watch TV), + No arms around the waist (even in public), + No kissing, always stay together in public places as emotions always seem to be uncontrollable in private meetings, no sex before marriage, no use of vulgar words during conversations or while chatting on your devices, etc. + If your friend keeps insisting on any of the above boundaries, then you need to end such friendship as it is now far enough. Talk to your parents the moment they start making such requests, they would let you know how to end such friendships. + Always remember that when you do not set boundaries in relating with your friends and adults around you, it could damage your future and allow others take advantage of you.

Lies of the Devil about Sexual Immorality Once you are involved in the Sin; it is GAME OVER (Matt 1:21) You will outgrow the Sin; once you marry it will not happen again. (James 1:15) It is not that bad if am the only one involved (Rev 21:8) You don t need to tell anyone about it; until you overcome the Sin. (Prov 28:13) Sex is not pleasurable (Prov 9:17-18) No one know what am doing; and no one will ever find out. (Mark 4:22)

CONCLUSION The devil doesn t want you to realize these things, so he makes you think it s normal and trendy to share your body, his intention is to ruin your life. You must therefore avoid sex before marriage.