by Katie Elmore
Why do we want someone or something to tell us what is right in regards to our sexual behaviour?
Often, since we are unsure and lack conviction about the subject, we look for and seek to implement universally applicable laws declaring that it is okay to hold hands, but not okay to kiss or touch like that. However, the sexual ethic presented by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6 offers fewer legal qualifications in exchange for more responsibility placed upon the individual. Instead of detailing what is appropriate and what is not, Paul simply and clearly sets out a guideline:
“You may say, ‘I am allowed to do anything.’ But I reply, ‘Not everything is good for you.’” (1 Cor. 6:12, NLT)
It is a paradigm shift requiring each one of us to submit that which is permissible to that which is profitable. This sexual ethic prioritises the health, wholeness, and well-being of ourselves and the other person we are involved with above immediate gratification—and that is not easy!
So when it comes to our interface in romantic relationship as Christians, and how we choose to relate to one another [sexually] before we are married, the specifics are undefined but the responsibility is defined – and it is weighty. Instead of an ethic which continually presses the boundaries, the Message Bible makes a clear point in its version of the above verse: “Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it is spiritually appropriate.” We dare ask ourselves – not anyone else – ‘what is most helpful [for both of us] in this situation, both spiritually and physically, both now and in the future?’ It is a high call for you and me – a high price to pay. Then again, Someone paid a high price to purchase our bodies and spirits already, and we are therefore not permitted to do whatever pleases us whenever we want, (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20).
So let us seek His grace to help us avoid selling ourselves, someone we care for, and our Saviour short of true respect and holiness.
What does that look like? You decide.
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