The apostle Paul gave the church of Thessalonica an exhortation in 1 Thessalonians 4 that I believe strongly is a warning to us today in the modern American church.
We are not separate from the body of Christ. We have not outgrown these biblical passages. These are not old-fashioned just because we have filled our hearts and minds with “Sex and the City,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Modern Family” and every other TV and movie out there that speaks the exact opposite message. There is something here for us all, if we won’t be afraid of the Bible.
We have a lot of issues happening in the American church right now, but the grace of God is here to help us, to deliver us and to bring us into relationship with the Holy Spirit in a deeper way.
From the moment I was born again as a 13-year-old girl, I had a sense that God wanted to use my life for His glory. This is true for all of us. God wants to shine His light and life through each one of us. He wants us to walk with Him. That walking beside Him and intimately knowing Him changes us from the inside out. This is the work of sanctification. We are born again, and then our mind, will and emotions start getting transformed into the image of God. This leads to a daily walk of obedience and great mission for our lives.
We are having a lot of conversations in our culture about transgenderism, the LGBTQ lifestyle, biological men playing women’s sports and the issues of bathrooms and locker rooms being shared by both sexes and the need to protect our daughters and granddaughters. Marriage between one man and one woman is a covenant. Our bodies and souls come together for the purpose of procreation, mission in life and joy in the journey.
When the gift of sex is used outside of that covenant, there is a tearing of our souls that causes deep pain and scars. God is warning us desperately to avoid that, and all its sad ramifications. The world can say it is all fun and games, that it is casual, and it doesn’t affect us, but that is a big fat lie.
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Talk to anyone who has had a long-term boyfriend or girlfriend “with benefits” and ask them after the breakup if they were OK. Talk to anyone who goes from person to person for casual sex and see if deep inside they are happy and fulfilled. Talk to anyone who has gone through an affair—whether they have been the adulterer or the one cheated on—and ask them how they are doing and if they regret it.
Talk to anyone who has experienced an addiction to pornography and can’t seem to break free from it. Talk to any woman who has been domestically abused, raped or sexually abused at the hands of a man and ask them how these wicked and sinful actions have affected their lives.
Talk to any man or woman who has been changed by the sin of abortion—either paying or promoting abortion or having the abortion itself. Talk to any man or woman who is experiencing sexually transmitted diseases, HIV or issues related to pregnancy that are affecting their future.
Tell me why God is wrong that sex needs to be protected for the covenant of marriage and the culture is correct. If you are honest, you can’t. If you really do an honest assessment of the pain, the scars and the trauma of the world’s system—you can’t tell me that God is wrong.
Possessing our own vessel, or body, in honor and not leaning to the passions of lust, in truth, demonstrates our love for God and for each other. We show that we love people by respecting them. We show that we love God by honoring Him.
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Bunni Pounds is president and founder of Christians Engaged, a ministry activating the Body of Christ to pray, vote and engage regularly. Formerly a congressional candidate and 16-year political consultant, she is a motivational speaker and bible teacher. Her book, Jesus and Politics: One Woman’s Walk with God in a Mudslinging Profession comes out nationally on 2/6/24.
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