For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:20
One of the most profound and fundamental understandings a person who is newly saved and forgiven thru Christ must comprehend is that they are no longer free to sin and do as they want, they now belong to God. This was the first great realization I had in 1985 when I finally found faith in Jesus Christ and accepted what He had done for me. I understood that I now belonged to the Living God who made all things and He now “called the shots” in my life. I must confess that I did not know much about the love of God or even His mercy for me, I really responded to the truth that came crashing into my mind and soul that Jesus was the “way, the truth and the life”. In the above verse, Paul is admonishing the very troubled church in Corinth that immorality and “loose living” have no place in a true Christian’s life and that our real purpose is to bring glory to God by how we live and use our body. This is a message that the church in the USA strongly needs to heed: we are not our own and cannot make up our own morality as we do what we want; we belong to the Lord and should live lives that truly reflect His holiness and sacrificial love. The word “love” has really fallen into disrepute in our culture and some now demand that the definition be that everyone else must accept whatever they want to do with their body and we not only have to accept it, but affirm it and promote it. This shows a huge disrespect to God and His Word and makes our faith all about what people want and what makes them feel good. True love is sacrificial and selfless and looks to do what is best for another. We are called is scripture to love God first and foremost, and then our neighbor. This means we do what brings God glory and helps our neighbor to know God and love Him also. To take the word “love” and use it to justify immorality and anything that goes against God is simply horrendous and an affront to God according to His Word. Of course, this is exactly what humankind has done all thru history as they make up religions and rules to justify selfish and immoral living. God will have none of it and judgment is sure to come in this life and then in eternity. Who will we side with in faith and devotion, God and His eternal Word, or the ever-shifting sands of our culture and the ways of people? Each of us must choose for ourselves what authority we will let rule our lives. I hope we all choose wisely and trust in God and the scriptures!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek