How to live a Clean Life, according to the Bible.

Many people are turned off to Christianity because they see a general hypocrisy among Christians, but I can only speak of my life, and what the bible says about my sexuality and my conversation. There are many warnings in the bible about how Christians are to conduct themselves in this world, and in many passages the warnings are clear, that Christians are to flee these things, and live a holy life in purity. 1 Corinthians 6:13-20 says;

"You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”^b 17But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.^c

18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19Do 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; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."

The power to sin is present in every human being, including Christians, so the question is why would the Lord want Christians to flee sexual immorality? The price was high that Jesus paid for our redemption, and anyone taking their faith seriously knows the destructive power of sin. The bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and this doesn't mean just physical death, it means spiritual death. When we live in spiritual apathy, and don't take the bible or our faith seriously there are consequences to our sin. Yes there is forgiveness when a broken sinner repents of their sins, and God is gracious but God doesn't want us to take advantage of the grace that He gives to us, (Romans 6:1-23 NIV)

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^a that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in^b Christ Jesus our Lord.

These verses clearly indicate that there is spiritual work and housekeeping to be done, not just to become saved, but to stay saved. Our evangelical brothers say that it doesn't matter how we sin, if we repent God will forgive us, but the question is not how we repent, it its a matter of dire consequence that we try to avoid these sins altogether. If someone gives you a gift, like God gave us the gift of salvation, would you treat a gift from a friend with scorn? God offers us eternal salvation, and his only condition is that we remain faithful! It is true that your sins can and will send you to hell, make no mistake about it. A Christian who lives in willful sin, and dies in willful sin will go to hell, (Hebrews 10:26-31 NIV)

This is Mike.