Stewardship of God’s Gift of Sex: Protecting Sexual Purity II

Passage: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Hebrews 13:4

This morning I am returning to our text from last week to finish my sermon on protecting God’s good and beautiful gift of physical intimacy in marriage.
These sermons are my love for you. I want God’s best for you, I want God’s will for you. This is the pleading of a pastor who loves this flock and wants to guard this flock from Satan’s evil intentions and destructive purposes that are flooding our culture today.

Last week I gave three motivations to encourage us to pursue sexual purity and abstain from and flee from sexual immorality.

The first motivation is because you know God and you know His will.
The will of God for you is to become increasingly sanctified, increasingly set apart from the world, not giving into the lusts of the ungodly who do not know God.
Colossians 3:4-5 If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, … 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire.

The second motivation to encourage you to pursue sexual purity is honor.
Controlling your own body and desires is a matter of honor, of being an honorable person. Sexual purity is the honorable thing to do, as opposed to all forms of sexual immorality which are shameful.
Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled.

The third motivation to encourage you to pursue sexual purity is out of love for others.
Love seeks the good of others and does no wrong or harm to others. Christians are people who don’t use others for their own selfish desires or pleasures, whether that person is physically present with us in the flesh or is being viewed virtually.
I Thessalonians 3:12-13 May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, … so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God.

These are three positive motivations that we could sum up as love God, love yourself and love others. Love God’s good and perfect and best will for you. Love yourself by disciplining and controlling yourself and being an honorable person. Love others more than yourself and your selfish desires.
We turn now to the fourth motivation or incentive to encourage us to pursue sexual purity and holiness. If you will not heed these three reasons, then heed this one.