Hello, RPC women!! Just a little introduction: I’m Sabrina, I’m 21, and I’ve been a saved Christian since my junior year of high school. So another Christian friend and I were pondering on this topic and I thought I would start a little discussion about this, since it’s not often talked about in church. The verse I am referring to here is 1 Corinthians 6:18 “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” Would love to hear your thoughts/revelations on it!
[–]ENTPunisher11 points12 points13 points (3 children) | Copy Link
Nothing good comes from fornication.
And worst of all, it precludes you from getting set up with me
[–]sabsz16[S] 2 points3 points4 points (0 children) | Copy Link
Bold, I like it 😂 And yes, I agree with the other points you brought up! Thanks for sharing!
[–][deleted] (1 child) | Copy Link
[deleted]
[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link
I know. ENT uses cocky and funny really well
[–]Red-CuriousMod | 35M | Married 11 yrs5 points6 points7 points (1 child) | Copy Link
I see this misnomer in Christian circles all the time. The verse doesn't actually say sexual sins are worse. It just points out one way in which they're unique. Inevitably, some smart-Alec tries to quip that verbal sins are actually worse because "if anyone can tame the tongue he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check" (a la James 1 or 2). But even that doesn't say it's the worst sin - only that it's the hardest to beat. So, someone else complains that all sins are equal, implied in James where it says that breaking one command makes you guilty of breaking them all ... which it doesn't quite say. It really says that breaking a command makes you a law-breaker, regardless of which command you break, and thus your need of a savior is the same regardless of the severity of your sin. Then there are the sins God calls abominations, which are impliedly worse than those that aren't identified that way.
But I'll cut that rabbit trail off.
Remember that God's first command to humanity was to multiply and fill the earth in number (Genesis 1:28). Malachi 2:15 clarified that God wanted godly, spiritual offspring filling the earth, not merely warm bodies. In this, human sexuality on a physical level is paralleled with spiritual reproduction. Just as sex/raising kids FEELS like the epitome of humanity's physical existence, so also should spiritual reproduction/child-rearing (i.e. evangelism and discipleship) ACTUALLY BE the epitome of humanity's spiritual existence. It is what your soul was created for. It's called the GREAT commission because it's so GREAT and massively important in everything that God has been doing from day 1 and will continue doing until the final day.
So, when something perverts the image of how God intends to accomplish this master-plan of discipler-making across the earth, we should very appropriately FEEL off about it in more significant ways than anything else.
Alternatively, on a more psychological or bio-physical level, one could argue that pair-bonding, hormones, etc. create strong emotional ties that influence our feelings about sexual matters more than other matters, hence the heightened anxiety about sexual sin over other forms of sin - even worse ones.
When you have sex with someone, you become one flesh. Your body and theirs are one. So, just as you sin against your own body in the way you pervert how it is to be used, the way you're perverting the other person's body is also a perversion of our own because their body is also your body in that "one flesh" union.
I usually understand the NT concepts of "sinning against" in a colloquial sense. When Jesus says, "If your brother sins against you," he means that you've been offended and need to reconcile. Similarly, when Paul says that you sin against your own body, he's saying your body has been harmed in some way and why would you do that to yourself?
When David speaks in Psalm 51, "Against you, you only, have I sinned," after killing Uriah, committing adultery with Bathsheba, and getting their baby killed, I believe he is praying, meditating, and speaking introspectively out of great sorrow. I'm sure he felt incredible remorse at the situation, as evident in the way he mourned over his child's life and lamented when hearing Nathan's conviction over him. He wasn't saying this in an emotional burst to avoid responsibility for the harm he caused to Bathsheba's life or his deceased child's life or to Uriah in his slaughter. He was saying it while fully embracing these things, as evident from the rest of the chapter of Psalm 51.
What's significant here is the frame issue David mentions in Psalm 51 itself. To give the completion of that phrase from 51:4, "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." You see, David didn't owe any obligation to Uriah or Bathsheba or his child to follow their standards of morality. It doesn't matter what any of them thought was good or evil because David wasn't a subject of their standards. He was only subject to God's standards, and therefore God's expectations were the only violation that actually mattered.
To be clear, my wife has standards for me. All women do for the men in their lives, otherwise the red pill wouldn't exist. But I know that I am not subject to her standards. If she sets a standard that says, "I believe it is immoral for my husband to tell dad jokes to our kids" and I tell a dad joke, I have violated her standard. But is that sin? Obviously not. Because her standard doesn't decide what is or isn't sin for me. The only things that can decide that are myself (Romans 14:14) and God's standard of faith (Romans 14:23), especially as expressed through Scripture.
But what if my wife has a standard that I shall not beat her bloody? If I choose to beat her anyway, have I sinned? Of course. But was it a sin against her standard? No. Because her standards don't define sin. Only God's do. And God commands me through my faith not to beat my wife (or at least compels me through my own individual conviction of the same), so it would be sin against God's standard, not against my wife's standard. Thus, the sin is against God alone, even though my wife is the victim of my sin.
Now, this sounds like a lot of crazy theology, but it's really quite normal. I'm a lawyer, so I see this constantly. A husband beats his wife. This isn't a "sin" in a legal context. We call it a "crime." What a sin is to God, crime is to the government. The government says not to beat your wife. When a man does this, what happens when the wife decides to drop the charges? The state says, "Too bad, we're prosecuting them anyway." She fights back, "But I'm the victim. The crime was against me. I should get to say what happens to my husband." Yet the reply is always the same: "No, his crime was against the state. If he is a violent person, we have an obligation to protect everyone within our state, not just you. You were the victim this time, but if there is no punitive measure, someone else may be the victim next time and we must pursue charges to ensure that doesn't happen."
This is how it is with God and sins against him as compared with "offenses" against others.
I haven't actually done a word study on this yet, but I'd be curious how the Hebrew of Psalm 51:4 compares with the Greek words that Jesus and Paul use for "sin against." I know it's two different languages, and it wouldn't likely change my end analysis, but it could possibly confirm it.
The point is: sexual sins do distort your own body, but it is God's standard that you have violated which makes it sinful. So, I interpret the passage to mean that we are the victims of our own sin, while the sin itself is still against God only.
Others have already addressed the ways in which we are victimized by our own sexual misconduct, so I won't rehash any of that.
[–]sabsz16[S] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
Oh ok wow, that makes a lot more sense. Thank you so much for your input!!
[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points (1 child) | Copy Link
Though fornication has always been a sin, in the New Covenant it's an image of the desecration of the OT tabernacle and temples. This is due to the Holy Spirit indwelling Christians after Pentecost. See 2 Co 6:14-7:1. Also relevant: Nadab, Abihu and Uzzah.
[–]sabsz16[S] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
Oh huh, I’ll have to look into that! I’ve never heard it said like that. Thanks!
[–]BLUEDIESEL0071 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link
"For the two shall become one"....in a biblical sense it is a beautiful picture because it covers the physical act and the binding of spiritual hearts. Many Christians believe this statement is for marriage but if we think practical, it covers the sex act, the heart bonding, and marriage.
those who give themselves away sexually many times with different partners do have a hard time bonding after a while.
Every time people become one with many "ones", they lose a little bit of themselves. After so many, they have very little to give....this is why I think the sex act sin is a more painful one than say a common lie.
People are just desensitized after so much and we can see that now more then ever. People are disconnected with real passion, truth, and love.... plus, high notch counts contribute to STDs, unwanted pregnancy, single moms, abortions, high divorce rates and overall social degeneration.
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Genesis 2:24 NIV
[–]istruthselfevident0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
i've never had sex so i'm not really qualified to talk about this, but i did form some kind of a soul tie with a woman, when i was 4, i was dissociated from that experience for 28 years, but, the "loss" of my relationship with her, basically caused me to be depressed for my entire life.
basically, the way i understand it is, when you first commit a sin, you are usually deeply hurt by it, but you justify it or ignore it or believe some lie about it, and move on with your life until you come to repentance via the inspiration of the Holy Spirit/God. and this has been happening your whole life, so you get used to it. also, since these people usually don't have a relationship with God, they just get used to hurting themselves and think.. its no big deal.
then you go have sex with someone and your conscience.. Knows damn well you're supposed to remain with that person for the rest of your life. why? because that's the rules.
since this relationship affects another human being.. you "know" it affects them too. if you had a relationship with God, you would have "known" those other sins affected God too.
once you get used to sexual sin its no different than the others.
however there is the issues with being psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually harassed by your past sexual partners, and these issues seem to be unfixable until you do what God needs you to do: which is usually.. pray for them properly, quit committing adultery/fornication, etc.
I found a man who was being spiritually harassed by his ex's demons for 8 to 10 years. he'd been asking God to cut the connection for 8 years.. wasn't working. i told him: been there done that: you need to cast them out of her. within a week he said he'd gotten some relief.