Scripture
20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Roman 6:20-23
Observation
Paul is urging everyone to realize that what we do in our body effects our spirit. He reminded the church in Rome, a very decadent city much like the US, that the last time they went down the road of sexual freedom it cost them way more than they thought they would have to pay. The toll it took on them they were still walking out. Looking back at that road of supposed freedom is giving them perspective at the cross road ahead. Will they choose the cross road which has been paid and paved by Jesus? There’s not many traveling that road, it’s very narrow and it looks quite restrictive, but it leads to life. The other road is wide and many are taking it and that supposed freedom is not free. The wages of sin is death, both present death and eternal. How can we make sure we choose the right road? Remember, that our bodies don’t belong to us. “12Do not let sin reign in your body which is subject to death; do not give in to sinful desires. 13Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.”(Rom 6:12-13) When we are “all in” with Jesus, body, soul, and spirit we won’t fall for the lie that what we do in or to our bodies is our right.
Application
John Mark Comer in his book “Live No Lies” asks us to step back and look at the results of the road of the sexual revolution in the 60’s and where it has led us today. It always starts small. Just a left turn when you should have turned right and then before you know it you are are really and truly lost. The Genesis roadmap shows that we were made in God’s image, man and woman become one in marriage, sex is Gods invention not only for pleasure in the covenant of marriage but to go forth and multiply. Our body, soul, and spirit are all connected. Then, family becomes the bedrock of a culture. The sexual revolution said we can separate what God has put together and off we went in the name of freedom:
Separating Sex from Marriage = Promiscuity
Separating Sex from Procreation = Birth Control/Legalizing Abortion
Separating Sex from True Intimacy & Fidelity = Legalizing No-Fault Divorce
Separating Sex from Romance = Tinder/Hook-up Culture
Separating Sex from the male-female Binary = LGBTQI+
Separating Gender from Biological Sex = Transgender
Comer points out that amid the revolution nobody seemed to be asking if this was making us a better people? More loving people? Or even happier people? It was just assumed that these ideas that make up our mental map are the new reality when really its a fantasy. It’s a facad. It’s been going on for so long that now its not only assumed it’s demanded your map matches the worlds
Theo Hobson put it this way, “What was universally condemned is now celebrated. What was universally celebrated is now condemned. Those who refuse to celebrate are condemned.” Look at the wages this road has exacted along the way:
-Happiness levels have been in decline ironically in the US since the 60’s
-The trauma of divorce is directly tied to the rising number of people who struggle to develop intimate, healthy relationships in adulthood.
-Rather than divorce being a “liberation from the patriarchy” it disproportionately benefits men
-Those who cohabitate before marriage are less likely to marry, more likely to divorce if they do and often develop long-term trust issues.
-The more sexual partners you have, the less capacity your body has for intimacy.
-There is mounting data on the negative effects of abortion on a woman’s mental and physical health.
-25% of children have seen a portion of their childhood without a father in the home. This is damaging to both boys and girls
-Sex reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for those who identify as transgender do not benefit their emotional health as promised and is resulting in a “detransition” movement
-There’s an epidemic of sexual addiction across the West
-Porn is becoming increasingly violent, misogynistic, and cruel and is now a multibillion-dollar industry, intentionally targeting children
-Sexual abuse and sexual assault are getting worse as one out of four women will now experience this at some point in their lives
-Rape culture is a raging problem even on the most liberal, progressive campuses of elite universities.
16This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’ 17I posted watchmen over you who said, ‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’ But you replied, ‘No! We won’t pay attention!’ Jeremiah 6:16-17.
Prayer
Lord, everywhere I look I see people going full speed down the road that leads to destruction and they seem to having the time of their lives. Yet, the truth of Your Word is born out the wages everyone is paying in their bodies, minds, and spirits. Let my life be like Jeremiah or Paul, a road sign to all. I want people to know that no matter how far they have traveled down the wrong road You provide a way to freedom through Your grace. Give me Your heart for those who have been deceived. “9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:9-10)
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