You Must Flee Sexual Immorality – Sexual Purity Sermon Series

Hello and welcome to Social Media Ministries. My name is Spencer Coffman. Thank you so much for being with us today.

We’re kicking off a great sermon series this week. It’s going to be a three-part sermon series. A little word of caution, a little disclaimer as we’re getting into it: it may not be for all children.

So this is a parental discretion. It’s up to you what you want or what age you want for your children to start knowing some of this. We’re not going into any detail on anything, but the sermon series is about purity, specifically sexual purity, and it’s going to be three parts.

We did a sermon about this, oh, probably a year or so ago, on “No Impure Sexual Thoughts.” You can check that out. It’ll be in a card up here, or go to our website and type in “Thoughts” or “Sexual Thoughts,” and you can watch that.

That sermon was provoking, let’s say. People were interested in it. People wanted to know more. There was a little bit more demand, things like that, because it’s not something that a lot of churches talk about or a lot of preachers talk about.

Specifically because when you’re online, these words get flagged because it’s associated with bad stuff like pornography or things like that. So they get flagged, but we’re talking about it based on the Bible, and we’re not going into any details or any graphic stuff. So, in my opinion, this sermon would be great for people of all ages.

Obviously, if the child is a child and they don’t understand these things, let’s keep them innocent. But if they are anywhere from — I mean, it depends on how much you talk about with your kids — but any 10 and up should be just fine.

We’re not getting into anything detailed. We’re talking specifically about the immorality or the purity that needs to happen. We’re going to go through sexual immorality.

We’re going to talk about lust, and we’re going to talk about fornication, promiscuity, different things like that that go through the results of sexual immorality or sexual impurity, and what the Bible says about that. So that’s pretty much what we’re going to be talking about in a nutshell.

So again, it’s up to you what you want to do with your children about that. All right, if you haven’t already, hit that subscribe button, hit the bell icon, hit the like button, wherever you’re watching or listening.

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So, what are we talking about today? Today, the topic is “Flee Sexual Immorality.” What does that mean? It means go away from it. It means you don’t want to be anywhere near that. So sexual immorality — well, what is it? How do we, how can we flee it, or how can we avoid it if we don’t know what it is?

Well, very, very simply, in a nutshell, anything sexual must be within the confines of a marriage relationship. So any type of sexual activity, arousal, pleasure, anything like that outside of marriage is sexual immorality.

Now, you can go check out the Strong’s Concordance, you can look up the definitions, you can look up Webster’s Dictionary, you can type it into Google, you can get definitions. Be careful when you type it into Google because you never know what’s going to come up when you use these words.

So that’s why I say, simply put, in a nutshell, sexual immorality is anything outside of marriage. Sexual purity is anything inside of marriage, meaning, like, when people have a purity ring, they say, “Well, I vow never to have sex until I’m married.” That’s purity. They’re not doing anything until they get into marriage.

But take it even further. That means they shouldn’t be doing anything outside of marriage that relates to a sexual pleasure. What is that? Well, you could take that on any level you want.

Is kissing a sexual pleasure? Is holding hands a sexual pleasure? Depends. So take that at your own interpretation. Use discernment. The Holy Spirit will guide you and lead you into all truth. But today, we’re talking about fleeing sexual immorality.

Let’s go to 1 Corinthians 6:18. “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually sins against their own body.” Sexual immorality is a sin that involves your entire being.

You notice that all other sins are outside the body. Lying, cheating, stealing, gossip, grumbling, complaining, slander — those types of things, that’s outside the body.

Those are happening out. Sexual immorality is something that engages your entire body: your mind, body, and your soul. They’re all completely engaged. Arguably, maybe even your spirit is engaged in that type of pleasure.

Now, the spirit, the Holy Spirit within you, doesn’t need that type of pleasure. But when you are engaged in any type of sexual immorality, your entire being is in. That’s why it’s saying it’s sinning against your own body. It’s a sin against your own body, which is a temple of Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:19, the very next verse, says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” That’s the very next verse. Flee from sexual immorality. Why? Because your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

You were bought at a price. You are not your own. So once you become a Christian, you definitely need to be fleeing from sexual immorality. Now, an excellent way to avoid any sexual immorality is to be married.

We have a playlist, sermon series, called “Married For Life.” You can check it out in a card up here on YouTube or go to our website, type in “Married” or “Married For Life,” and you’ll find it. Watch those.

Because if you are married, and you are engaging in that sexual activity or pleasure within the confines of your marriage relationship, then there is no sexual immorality. But if you step outside of that, then you’re having problems.

Now, that could happen on the TV, could happen on the computer, it could happen at the grocery store. I’m not saying you’re knocking down and having some shenanigans with them right there. What I’m saying is you could have sexual immorality in your mind.

And we’re going to talk about lust later in this series. Maybe next week we’ll talk about that, and you’ll discover that Jesus says it’s even higher. If you even think about any of this sexual immorality, it’s counted against you.

So you can’t think about it. You gotta take all those thoughts captive. Remember, you are a new creation. So the easiest way to avoid any sexual immorality is to be married and keep it within the confines of marriage.

Now, in “Married For Life,” in that sermon series, we did a little defining of what that means. We’re going to do a quick overview here. Marriage, according to the Bible, is between a man and a woman.

Now, we believe the Bible. We believe the Word of God, that is truth. And so, for us, for anyone who claims to be a Christian, that should be their position. Any Christian, any Church of Christ, anything like that, marriage is between a man and a woman.

Let’s go to Genesis 2:24. “That is why a man leaves his father and his mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Because in marriage, you become one. Two become one. You become one flesh. And it is not natural for a male and a male or a female and a female.

Or if someone has a transformation, they have surgeries and change their gender or their sex, and then they marry the opposite, and they’re like, “Well, I’m good now because I was a man and I became a female, so that way now I can marry a man.”

But no, that’s wrong. Because really, you’re still a man. That’s how God created you. Sex, when God created you, was what — that is what God created you to be.

Now, yes, there are stories all the time. We’re not getting into this, but people can be born, and they have both sets, and the doctors choose which one they’re going to be, and then that person, maybe they identify as the other one, and then they find out, “Well, the doctors forced me into that.”

We’re not getting into all that, okay? You can get into that later. You can go to our Discord server. We can talk about it in there in the sermon discussions.

But the point is, marriage is between a man and a woman. That’s how God designed it to be. Let’s do a couple more verses to support this. These are Jesus’s words as He reflects on and states the Old Testament verses.

Matthew 19:4-6, “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

He says, “Haven’t you read, in the beginning, the Creator made them male and female?” Not half and half, not this, not changing. No, male and female. That’s how God designed them to be. So if you believe in God and you believe in the Bible, then that answer is clear for you.

There is no gray area. They are male, and they are female. Marriage is between a man and a woman, a male and a female. The two join and become one flesh.

Let’s go to Mark 10:6-8. “But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh.”

The two become one. They are united in marriage, in the covenant of marriage. You must flee sexual immorality. If you want to do that, and you have trouble, then seek a marriage relationship from God.

Don’t just jump into one willy-nilly, because your bride or your husband, your spouse, is picked by God. He has them designed for you. And when you find that right one, you will know right away.

Because if you are seeking God, and you are a believer, and you find someone to marry, it will be a gift from God. Proverbs says, “He that finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” You could even reverse that. The wife who finds a husband receives what is good and finds favor from the Lord.

Now, it says don’t change the words of the Bible, but I believe that God would say the same thing. There are many Proverbs about a good wife, about the Proverbs 31 woman. In fact, you can check out a book I wrote called “Noble Character” about relationships and between males and females.

Let’s go to another verse. 1 Corinthians 7:2-4. “But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise, the wife to her husband.

The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.” This is an interesting passage.

Paul is saying that in society, since sexual immorality is occurring all over the place, each person must have sexual relations with their own spouse. Notice how he didn’t say “spouse,” because he looked around and said, “I see all kinds of people who claim they’re married — men with men, women with women, all this kind of stuff.

And so, if I say with their own partner or with their own spouse, they’re going to take it to mean that it’s okay. No, I need to be specific. Each man should have relations with his wife, and each woman with her husband.” That’s it, cut and dried.

So if you have a hard time with sexual sin, sexual immorality in your life, if you know that it’s a big temptation for you, like pornography or strip clubs or fornicating or casual sex or sex outside marriage or whatever.

If you’re looking back in your history and you’re like, “Man, I got to get this under control,” then start praying to God to help you with that and ask Him to find you a wife. And dive into the Word.

Because if you crucify the desires of the flesh and you feed the spirit with the Word of God, then all those other things seem to go away. They subside.

And so, Paul is saying that since sexual immorality is a problem, it’s clearly a desire that needs to be gratified for people, then keep it within the confines of marriage so that it does not become a problem.

James says in his book that for a time, husbands and wives can go apart, but then they must come back together so that they do not fall into temptation. What is he talking about with temptation? He’s saying that if a husband and wife do not have sex, then guess what? They might be led astray and fall into temptation.

Because they are sexual beings, they want each other, they crave each other. That’s why they’re married most of the time. They have that attraction there.

And so, if they go without that, or they have a period of abstinence that becomes too long, then they’re going to get hungry, and they’re going to desire something. And oftentimes, that could lead to forms of adultery or pornography or some other means of gratifying that desire. Of course, that’s sinful.

And so, that’s why James says, “Let them come back together so that they will not be led astray into temptation.” Paul is saying that, too, that a wife needs to yield her body to her husband, and that a husband needs to yield the body to the wife.

So, for example, if you’re married, and it’s been a couple weeks, and the husband says, “Honey, come on, I need something,” the wife needs to say, “Okay, that’s fine. Let’s get this taken care of,” because she is the only one that can provide that for her husband.

In addition, if the husband is working all the time, 50, 60 hours a week, and he’s tired, and they got kids and all this stuff, and he just wants to go home and go to bed, but the wife says, “Hey, I need something,” then he needs to yield to the wife. Because if he doesn’t, then the wife might end up looking somewhere else, just like the husband might somewhere else.

They need to yield to each other. Their bodies are no longer their own. Remember, the two became one, which means they are one flesh, united together. Married couples are to use their spouse as a means of relief.

Now, I’ll say as sexual relief, because, you know, there are terms like sexual tension or things like that, and the only way to break that is to have that relief. Well, guess what? In the confines of marriage, sex is a marital duty. It’s something that comes together for them.

And so, the wife does not have authority over her own body, in the same way the husband does not have authority over his own body. They must yield to each other when the time is needed. If they keep those relationships within marriage, then it will be very, very easy for them to flee sexual immorality.

Now, of course, that doesn’t mean temptations aren’t going to happen. Co-workers might be seductive, people dress immodestly, there’s always something on TV, there could be a pop-up on the computer. You could be shopping for a new dress shirt or something, and all of a sudden, the underwear models pop up, and that could be tough for people.

And so, it’s interesting that way, that you must try very hard to keep it within marriage. Because the devil is going to try to pull down marriage. Why? Because it’s something of God. And so, the devil will work very, very hard to destroy marriage.

And a very easy way to destroy marriage is, number one, kill the relationship. When the relationship starts dying, and the bodies are no longer yielded to each other, emotions are no longer yielded to each other, conversations are no longer yielded to each other, and a husband and wife are no longer connecting, then they start to pull away.

And then, once that is accomplished over a period of years, all of a sudden, the devil will swoop in with sexual immorality and cause something to happen — some form of adultery, some form of cheating, some form of, maybe, a secret pornography that all of a sudden gets revealed. And then, divorce. And that’s the devil’s three-step plan to destroy marriage.

Now, of course, there are multiple ways, and other things that happen, but that’s it in a nutshell. The devil will try to destroy marriage like crazy. And sexual immorality is something that is as old as time.

It has been — it’s all over in the Old Testament. If this was a movie, it would be rated X, okay? Because the Old Testament doesn’t leave anything out. Look at Samson, look at Judah, Tamar, look at Rahab.

I mean, tons of people in the Bible had issues with this kind of stuff. David, King David, and Bathsheba. Things were going on. That is not new to today. And so, look at Sodom and Gomorrah.

That was so sexually immoral that they had beds in the public square that they would tie up visitors on — like, it’s just, it’s insane what went on. God says no. We’re going to talk about that in a couple of weeks, on the results of living in this improper way.

So what else do people have? Married couples, use your spouse. If your only satisfaction comes from your spouse, you will be much more able to resist the temptations from other sources. Remember, we have to remember that sermon, “No Impure Sexual Thoughts.” Check that out.

Well, the thing is, you need to remember to keep that in mind at all times. There’s another verse,
2 Corinthians 10:5. This is a very important one when it comes to sexual immorality or thoughts or lust or any of these things, so I encourage you to memorize this.

2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” This is the part to memorize: “and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” Every thought.

So when you see someone walking by that is super attractive, and you think, “Boy, that person looks great.” Good, that’s fine. But when you start thinking, “I’d like to get” — No. Stop. Take captive that thought.

When you see a TV commercial, and you’re like, “Man, that celebrity so-and-so. Boy, they’re really good-looking. I’d like to…” — No. Stop. It’s okay to admire beauty. God created that.

But when you take it to the next level, you pervert that. And that is what you must stop. That is of the devil. God creates, the devil perverts. Do not let the devil pervert the beauty that God has created.

Remember. Keep that in mind at all times. Be fully devoted to your husband or your wife. Let’s go to one more verse, Malachi 2:14-15.

Malachi 2:14-15: “You ask why? It is because you have been lying to the Lord, who is your God, and has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your sister, the wife of your marriage covenant.” I encourage you to read more of that chapter.

The point is, God is saying this: You might say, “Why, why is this important?” But God gave you your husband or your wife as the partner of your youth. You need to be faithful to them. Flee sexual immorality. They are the partner of your youth that God made for you to go through life together.

I really encourage you, check out that sermon series on Marriage. It’s going to be excellent for you to go through and just really understand. God made you guys to become one, to be stronger together.

Do not ruin that. Do not pervert what God has created. And come back for the next couple of weeks. We’re going to continue talking about purity.

Let’s pray.

Father, thank You so much for this sermon. It’s a hard sermon for a lot of people to listen to, to digest, to dive into.

Father, I know that this is a topic that a lot of people don’t want to talk about. It’s a topic that a lot of churches avoid. It’s a topic that a lot of people avoid.

I ask that You would inspire those watching and listening to learn more about what You have to say about these things, and that they would stand on a firm foundation.

That they would no longer be in the mud and mire, but that they would be firmly planted on a rock, and that they would know exactly where they need to stand on these issues.

There can be no sexual immorality. They need to keep it within marriage, between a man and a woman, and they need to know what that means, and they need to stand for that.

Give them the boldness and the courage to stand up for the Bible, for the Word of God. If they claim to be a Christian, help them live that out.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thank you so much for being with us this week. If you want to talk about this more, feel free. We have sermon discussions on Discord, or you can go on to the YouTube channel, comment below the video, and we can talk about it more there.

It’s a very deep topic. There’s a lot that can be said, and marriage is something that is so important, and we must keep it together.

Have a great week, and God bless.