THE CASE FOR HIGH MORALITY

“Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18NKJV).

Our text is not one that is well received in our society today as it addresses the matter of morals. The text is plain and easy to understand, and we need to pay attention to what it says. Thus, we want to note the two important lessons - the command for moral purity and the curse on moral pollution.

Command for moral purity – “Flee fornication.” The word fornication refers to any sex acts outside of marriage. In most cases the word refers to sex among those who are not married. On the other hand, adultery is used for illicit sex between a married person and someone other than their married partner. However, regardless of which word is used, the command here is about moral purity. If we are going to remain pure, we must “flee” not “flirt” with fornication. The idea of fleeing fornication means to run away from it, and avoid it at all costs. It means to do whatever is necessary to keep from committing this sin. This sounds drastic, but drastic action is needed to keep us from defilement.

Curse on moral pollution – “Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.” This statement is basically saying that immoral conduct brings a special curse. There should be no difficulty in understanding this because immorality has given rise to the curse of certain sexual diseases. And the idea of “safe sex” to avoid the curse avails to nothing if one insist on living an immoral life. The prevalence of these diseases emphasizes how great the curse is. The news media and society may try to cover up the truth of these diseases, but that only increases the curse. Ignoring or disobeying God’s command always brings a curse.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Christianity is the only system of faith which combines religious beliefs with corresponding principles of morality. It builds ethics on religion!”

Austin Phelps (1820 – 1890)

American Congregational Minister and Educator

Word Study

Fight

In Jam. 4:2 we read, “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask” (NKJV).

“Fight” is the Greek word máchomai (μάχομαι = makh'-om-ahee). It means to war, quarrel, dispute, fight or strive. This word describes a serious conflict, either physical, especially combat with armed combatants who engage in a hand-to-hand struggle, or non-physical. In classical Greek, máchomai means to fight, contend, a contest, battle; hence, strife, contention, and quarrel. In the Septuagint, máchomai carries the idea of to strive, or to contend; it primarily means to contend with words. In the New Testament, máchomai is used of one-on-one physical combat (cf. Acts 7:26) and of a battle of words, such as to argue (cf. John 6:52), or to quarrel (2 Tim. 2:24). And here in 2 Tim. 2:24, believers are warned against engaging in a “war of words.”

Did You Know…

God knew that the Israelites would eventually want a king to rule them. His command was that the future king of Israel must be one He appointed, that he must be an Israelite, he must not have too many horses, and he must not multiply wives (Deut. 17:15-17).

Bible Quiz

What three body parts did the Lord Jesus suggest we remove and “cast it from you,” if they “causes you to sin?”

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz

In the Book of Esther, what did Mordecai do to anger Haman? He refused to bow to Haman (Esther 3:5).

Prophecies Fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ

To own the title King (Psalm 2:6) - Prefigures the Lord Jesus owning the Title of King (cf. Matt. 2:2)

"Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion” (Psalm 2:6 NJKV).

In Matt. 2:2, we are introduced to a group of wise men coming to Jerusalem and asking the question, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” We are not told how they had learned that the Lord Jesus was “King of the Jews,” neither are we told to whom they had addressed their inquiry. However, this question of the wise men shows that they had definite information that a great King of the Jews was born. Note that they did not ask if a king had been born, but where He had been born. Later, when the Lord Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we have a fulfillment of Zech. 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you.” And when Pilate later asked the Lord Jesus while He was on trial “Are You a king then?” The Lord Jesus promptly answered Pilate, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born” (John 18:37). Thus, the essence of the story is this – the Lord Jesus was born to be King. And although He is King, the Lord Jesus did not assume His throne in His first advent, but rest assured He will be the King in His Second Coming for He will return as “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (cf. Rev. 19:16), set up His Messianic Kingdom and reign from His throne in Jerusalem. The event of the birth of the Lord Jesus has had worldwide impact; the Messiah was coming through Israel as a gift from God to all nations of the world, not just to the Jews.

Did You Know – Christian History

Edward Michael Wigglesworth was born in 1691 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a clergyman, teacher and theologian in Colonial America.

Wigglesworth graduated Harvard College in 1710, and in 1722 he was appointed to the newly created Hollis Chair at Harvard College, thereby becoming the first divinity professor commissioned in the American colonies.

It should be noted that when Harvard College was founded by the Puritans in 1636, they knew well what they wanted from their school. “Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the maine end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, John 17:3, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all found knowledge and Learning...” The school was intended to produce a godly clergy.

However, in less than a hundred years, that high ideal went downhill as liberals won control of the school. It all began on January 24, 1722, when they appointed Edward Wigglesworth to fill the newly created Thomas Hollis chair. And what should have been cause for rejoicing was actually reason to mourn. Wigglesworth had convinced orthodox members that his theology was sound, but it was not. He became one of the first theologians in New England to publicly to challenge the “five points of Calvinism.” His method was not a direct attack on the doctrine, but one of casting doubt in inquiry. As a result, Wigglesworth became a favorite with Harvard students. Along with his son who succeeded him, they had a very great influence on New England theology. It was the Wigglesworths who introduced liberal Christianity to New England, as things shifted from Calvinism to Unitarianism.

When the evangelist George Whitefield came to the United States, he denounced liberal colleges as “abodes of darkness, a darkness which could be felt,” and that the men of Harvard were “Pharisees, resting on head knowledge.” In response, Wigglesworth said that Whitefield was fiscally corrupt, demonstrated bad manners and unleashed dangerous enthusiasm among the masses, destroying the peace of New England’s parishes.

In 1701, Yale was founded to counter Harvard’s drift from orthodox Calvinism. By 1805, Unitarians controlled Harvard. It is believed that if Wigglesworth had a genuine fervent faith, his appointment might have prevented the slide into heresy.

A Little Humor

An ad for a Church has a picture of two hands holding stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments are inscribed and a headline that reads, “For fast, fast, fast relief, take two tablets.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Day one or One day. You decide!”