October 20th
“And live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” Ephesians 5:2-3 NIV
This passage touches on the parallel of the new covenant with the marriage covenant (see more in Ephesians 5:22-33). Jesus (the Groom) gave himself as a fragrant offering so that we (Christians, the bride) would be sanctified and presented as a pure gift to himself. When we place our faith in Jesus, we enter the new covenant through his blood, which brings us into a “holy marriage” with God.
God’s passionate love for us is likened to that of a bridegroom for his bride: “As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5 NKJV). Once we are married to the Lord through our faith, we become his property – body, soul and spirit.
With that in mind, Paul emphasized in Ephesians 5:3 (above) that we must keep away from even the hint of sexual immorality. Our bodies now belong to the Lord, and we are obligated by our “marriage covenant” to remain faithful to God’s commandments (see 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 for more on this). If we use our bodies for sex sin (including pornography), we are committing spiritual adultery against the Lord!
If you have sinned through spiritual adultery, you can return to the Lord in full confidence of forgiveness through faith in Jesus. Consider what Isaiah wrote:
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7 NKJV
Questions for further thought:
When we set ourselves apart for God by keeping our bodies from sin, how does that affect our usefulness for the Master’s work? (2 Timothy 2:20-22)
What special function do our bodies have that brings glory to God? (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Romans 12:1-2)
What has God designed us to do rather than live for sin? (Ephesians 2:10)
Prayer for returning to the Lord:
“Father God, thank you for the honor of being joined to you through my faith in Jesus. Please forgive me for any spiritual unfaithfulness that I’ve committed. Specifically, I confess that I have sinned by ____________(specify). Please forgive me and cleanse my mind from the dead works of sin. I commit myself to following you from this point forward. I ask for your help and strength to live in purity as the bride of Christ. You are worthy of all honor and praise. I will honor you by how I live and I reaffirm that my body is your temple, a vessel for your purposes. Please use me for your purposes. Thank you, Lord. I praise you in Jesus’ name, Amen.”