Marriage

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What I am about to write is very hard. There are tears in my eyes. My stomach is twisted in knots. However, I must be obedient to the Holy Spirit and write.

The Lord said that once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He comes and resides within us. In essence, our bodies become the Tabernacle of the Lord. We, and not a building, are the church. Romans 12: 1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” 1 Corinthians 3:16 reads, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”

Where am I going with this? The Lord is saying that the born again believer’s body is His home. In the Old Testament, the Temple was where people went to seek and worship the Lord. Once Jesus paid the price to bring salvation to the world, God moved the temple from the confines of the temple walls into us. The Kingdom of God, my friends, is within us, the born again believer. (Luke 17:20-21)

We’ve established that we are the church. Here comes the sobering part. Are you ready?

When a believer in Christ commits adultery, fornication, or sexual immorality, take a guess where the believer is having sex? In a hotel room? No. In the bedroom? No.

In God’s eyes, according to His Word, the adulterer or fornicator is defiling His Temple, His Home, His church… In other words, the believer committing these acts is having sex in church! My hands tremble as I write this. It is as if the believer went into the Temple and had sex right there in the Holy of Holies.

How do we think God would react? How would you react if your children were having sex in your house and in your room? Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about the Lord’s reaction.

Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? God rained Heavenly fire on those who gave themselves to perversion and fornication. Remember Samson? God lifted His arm of protection and allowed Samson to be given over to his enemies. They in turn plucked his eyes out and made him a slave. Remember Belshazzar? He was the Babylonian king that defiled the Lord’s vessels. The Lord stripped him of his kingdom that very hour (Daniel 5).

What is God’s reaction to the touching of His holy things? Read 1 Samuel 4.

Beloved, do not touch the holy things. Even now, out of marriage, our bodies are holy things separated unto God. 1 Corinthians 6:15 reads, “ Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!” Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 6:19, the Lord says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?”

Here’s a sobering warning to all who participate in adultery, fornication and sexual immorality:

1 Thessalonians 4:3-6, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.” [Emphasis mine – JR]

Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and ALL the sexually immoral.” [Emphasis mine –JR]

1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Perhaps, someone reading this may think I may be trying to be pious and holier-than-thou. No, my friend, I’m not in the least. I realized very time I sinned against a brother or sister; it is as if I were sinning against God. When I gossiped, I gossiped against God. When I cussed at some one, I cussed God. When I said angry words, when I spoke venomous hateful words, I spoke them against God. When I gave up on someone, I gave up on God. When I let someone go hungry or homeless, I did it against God. When I smoked or drank, I did it against God. It was as if I went to the sanctuary and defiled the altar.

In God’s eyes, when we were saved, He sees Jesus in us. We are supposed to be Christ-like and see people and things the way God see it. Therefore, when we look at our brethren, we’re supposed to view Jesus in them.

So, it would stand to reason that when we sin, we sinned against Jesus.

Matthew 25:40 and 45 takes on a deeper meaning:

V40. “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

V45. “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

Nevertheless, be encouraged. Jesus is Merciful, Compassionate and wants to restore and bless us. We’ve blown it but He is longing to forgive us.

The Lord says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Go one, beloved. Approach the Throne, ask for His forgiveness and be cleansed. He's waiting to receive you with open and loving arms.

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