St. John Lutheran
Burlington, IL
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1 Corinthians 6:12-20 January 15, 2012
“This is the Life”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
On this 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord, we hit some heavy stuff about life as
Children of God in the Epistle lesson. Read. For the joy of your salvation. Amen.
Dear Fellow Temples of the Holy Spirit,
I just finished reading a very interesting book by Erik Larson. It’s called The Devil in
the White City. Unless you are a student of Chicago history the name might not mean
much. The book is about madness, magic and murder as Chicago hosts the 1893 World’s
Fair. History tells us that the fair became a huge success in the face of impossible odds.
Some of the inventions presented at the fair are now household names. Let me list them:
Shredded Wheat, incandescent light bulbs, and the Ferris wheel. But in the midst of the
madness and magic, murder abounded. Dr. H. H. Holmes used the busyness of the fair to
win over young women and children and then murder them. This heinous activity didn’t
come to light until after the fair ended. Authorities arrested Holmes for insurance fraud in
Pennsylvania and there the tragic story began to unfold. Dr. Holmes wasn’t violent in the
sense we normally think of. He did not torture his victims in any physical way. He preyed
on their dependency. He set up elaborate facilities to trap and gas his victims and then
dispose of their bodies. That became his downfall. He didn’t do a good enough job with
the bodies.
That thought connects us to our text today. As children of God, washed clean in
baptismal waters powered by God’s Word, we must ask ourselves, what do I do with my
body? You know what the world thinks. It’s my body so I can do whatever I want with it.
So the world would like parts of our text, as least the first part of verse 12.
“All things are lawful for me…” Verse 12a
Yeah, that part. But Paul gives us the full story.
"All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are
lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything.” Verse 12
Paul tells us this because of who God made us. This is explained in the last two verses of
our text.
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within
you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a
price. So glorify God in your body.” Verses 19-20
There’s the answer. What are we to do with our bodies? We glorify God with our bodies.
So why does God give us this warning about our bodies? Let’s take a look.
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside
the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” Verse 18
So there it is. Flee from sexual immorality. This is the Sixth Commandment. It covers a
lot of ground. But considering our sinful world, there is a lot of ground to cover. There is
no sin that God will not forgive in Christ except for one: unbelief. What protects us from
unbelief? God’s precious gift of faith in His beloved Son. As I said, it is a precious gift that
we are to protect and nourish. What can attack and damage and even kill faith? Sin. Now
the Bible tells us that we can sin in thought, word, and deed. That means that there are
plenty of temptations to deal with every day. Yet Paul tells us that all things are lawful for
me. He goes on to say, but not all things are helpful. I can eat anything I want but if I
become addicted to food and it affects my health and I become a burden then sin is there
in my thoughts, words, and deeds.
That is one example that fits in our world. We all know about resolutions to lose
weight and be healthier. Similar problems pop up with gambling and money and
possessions. Power, fame and fortune are red flag items. Love of body can push us
away from God’s Word in many ways. Not attending worship. Not attending Bible studies
are some examples abundant in our midst. Yet nothing is quite like sexual immorality.
Paul tells us that sexual sins affect the body and personality like no other. He writes.
"Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"—and God will
destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for
the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” Verse 13
We can start with King David. Lust at the sight of a beautiful woman bathing led to more
sexual sin, deception, lies, and finally, murder. Paul wrote to the congregation in Corinth
because of the sexual sins. Today we can throw into the mix such things as broken
relationships; broken marriages which always results in broken families; lies, deception
and murder; sexual crimes; organized crime; sex trafficking, drugs, STDs, and abortion.
Why is all this such an issue? I mean, it’s my body and I’m now hurting anyone. It’s
not your body. It’s not my body. You belong to God. God wants your mind, body and
spirit to remain holy. Sin will damage and can even kill faith. It’s one thing to sin and ask
for forgiveness because you know you sinned and are sorry for it. The biggest danger for
us in this world today is when we live in sin by thinking its okay. That can lead to the
death of faith. God sacrificed His Son to wash away your sin and make you holy. The
Holy Spirit provides Word and Sacrament to keep you clean through the forgiveness of sin
and the nourishing of your faith. Living in sin can make the means of grace ineffective. It
is common for someone who is living in sin to simply avoid the confrontation the Law
demands by avoiding church. Paul says to flee from this. Run to the Word of God where
you belong. Jesus Christ is there to wash you clean again.
The Chicago Word’s Fair with all of its troubles became a huge success to the city of
Chicago and honored around the country and the world. Dr. Holmes was eventually
arrested, tried, and hanged for his crimes. Afraid of what somebody might do with his
body, he paid the funeral home to place his body in a casket, fill the casket with cement
and then bury the casket in ten more feet of cement. People around the world were
stunned that such criminal activity went on for months and months before and during the
fair. That just makes the warnings of Paul that much more important. Yet, in the same
precious pages of God’s Word is the answer to the struggles of life. God proclaims
forgiveness of sins confessed. Jesus was arrested, tried and executed for your crimes...
your sin. Jesus was arrested, tried, and executed for my crimes…for my sin. They tried to
keep Jesus in the grave but He burst forth from the tomb on Easter morning. His life,
death, and resurrection make forgiveness possible and real for you. This is true today
and for the future. Rejoice in your salvation and glorify God in your body. Amen.
May the peace of Christ fill you in mind, body, and soul. Amen.
“This is the Life”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
On this 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord, we hit some heavy stuff about life as
Children of God in the Epistle lesson. Read. For the joy of your salvation. Amen.
Dear Fellow Temples of the Holy Spirit,
I just finished reading a very interesting book by Erik Larson. It’s called The Devil in
the White City. Unless you are a student of Chicago history the name might not mean
much. The book is about madness, magic and murder as Chicago hosts the 1893 World’s
Fair. History tells us that the fair became a huge success in the face of impossible odds.
Some of the inventions presented at the fair are now household names. Let me list them:
Shredded Wheat, incandescent light bulbs, and the Ferris wheel. But in the midst of the
madness and magic, murder abounded. Dr. H. H. Holmes used the busyness of the fair to
win over young women and children and then murder them. This heinous activity didn’t
come to light until after the fair ended. Authorities arrested Holmes for insurance fraud in
Pennsylvania and there the tragic story began to unfold. Dr. Holmes wasn’t violent in the
sense we normally think of. He did not torture his victims in any physical way. He preyed
on their dependency. He set up elaborate facilities to trap and gas his victims and then
dispose of their bodies. That became his downfall. He didn’t do a good enough job with
the bodies.
That thought connects us to our text today. As children of God, washed clean in
baptismal waters powered by God’s Word, we must ask ourselves, what do I do with my
body? You know what the world thinks. It’s my body so I can do whatever I want with it.
So the world would like parts of our text, as least the first part of verse 12.
“All things are lawful for me…” Verse 12a
Yeah, that part. But Paul gives us the full story.
"All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are
lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything.” Verse 12
Paul tells us this because of who God made us. This is explained in the last two verses of
our text.
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within
you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a
price. So glorify God in your body.” Verses 19-20
There’s the answer. What are we to do with our bodies? We glorify God with our bodies.
So why does God give us this warning about our bodies? Let’s take a look.
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside
the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” Verse 18
So there it is. Flee from sexual immorality. This is the Sixth Commandment. It covers a
lot of ground. But considering our sinful world, there is a lot of ground to cover. There is
no sin that God will not forgive in Christ except for one: unbelief. What protects us from
unbelief? God’s precious gift of faith in His beloved Son. As I said, it is a precious gift that
we are to protect and nourish. What can attack and damage and even kill faith? Sin. Now
the Bible tells us that we can sin in thought, word, and deed. That means that there are
plenty of temptations to deal with every day. Yet Paul tells us that all things are lawful for
me. He goes on to say, but not all things are helpful. I can eat anything I want but if I
become addicted to food and it affects my health and I become a burden then sin is there
in my thoughts, words, and deeds.
That is one example that fits in our world. We all know about resolutions to lose
weight and be healthier. Similar problems pop up with gambling and money and
possessions. Power, fame and fortune are red flag items. Love of body can push us
away from God’s Word in many ways. Not attending worship. Not attending Bible studies
are some examples abundant in our midst. Yet nothing is quite like sexual immorality.
Paul tells us that sexual sins affect the body and personality like no other. He writes.
"Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"—and God will
destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for
the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” Verse 13
We can start with King David. Lust at the sight of a beautiful woman bathing led to more
sexual sin, deception, lies, and finally, murder. Paul wrote to the congregation in Corinth
because of the sexual sins. Today we can throw into the mix such things as broken
relationships; broken marriages which always results in broken families; lies, deception
and murder; sexual crimes; organized crime; sex trafficking, drugs, STDs, and abortion.
Why is all this such an issue? I mean, it’s my body and I’m now hurting anyone. It’s
not your body. It’s not my body. You belong to God. God wants your mind, body and
spirit to remain holy. Sin will damage and can even kill faith. It’s one thing to sin and ask
for forgiveness because you know you sinned and are sorry for it. The biggest danger for
us in this world today is when we live in sin by thinking its okay. That can lead to the
death of faith. God sacrificed His Son to wash away your sin and make you holy. The
Holy Spirit provides Word and Sacrament to keep you clean through the forgiveness of sin
and the nourishing of your faith. Living in sin can make the means of grace ineffective. It
is common for someone who is living in sin to simply avoid the confrontation the Law
demands by avoiding church. Paul says to flee from this. Run to the Word of God where
you belong. Jesus Christ is there to wash you clean again.
The Chicago Word’s Fair with all of its troubles became a huge success to the city of
Chicago and honored around the country and the world. Dr. Holmes was eventually
arrested, tried, and hanged for his crimes. Afraid of what somebody might do with his
body, he paid the funeral home to place his body in a casket, fill the casket with cement
and then bury the casket in ten more feet of cement. People around the world were
stunned that such criminal activity went on for months and months before and during the
fair. That just makes the warnings of Paul that much more important. Yet, in the same
precious pages of God’s Word is the answer to the struggles of life. God proclaims
forgiveness of sins confessed. Jesus was arrested, tried and executed for your crimes...
your sin. Jesus was arrested, tried, and executed for my crimes…for my sin. They tried to
keep Jesus in the grave but He burst forth from the tomb on Easter morning. His life,
death, and resurrection make forgiveness possible and real for you. This is true today
and for the future. Rejoice in your salvation and glorify God in your body. Amen.
May the peace of Christ fill you in mind, body, and soul. Amen.