Today Pastor Choi talks about resurrection: Christ was the first fruit of resurrection to give us a hope of resurrection.  He begins with his encounter with deaths and moves onto the importance of believing in resurrection.  He concludes that we believe in Christ’s historical and bodily resurrection not because of scientific proof but because of the integrity of those witnesses of Christ’s resurrection.

  He Has Risen

Following is a summary of today’s sermon:

He Has Risen!               Luke 24:1-12

Luke 24:1-12    New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Resurrection

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; ⁵ and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”⁸ And they remembered His words, ⁹ and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. ¹¹ But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.

Introduction

Have you ever heard of an expression “Atheist Pastor?”  Yup, you heard me right.  A pastor who doesn’t believe in God.   His name is Klaas Hendrikse.  This Dutch pastor wrote a book titled Believing in a God That Does Not Exist.  He is a pastor in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.  In his book he claims that he believes in the idea of God but not in the existence of an actual God (Christianity Today, April 2010, p. 13).

I said, “Whoa!  Can you actually do that?”  Preaching every Sunday on everything about God yet you don’t believe in the very existence of an actual God?  What shocks me more is that the congregation decided to keep him on his preaching post!

Some folks take the same stance as far as resurrection is concerned.  They believe in the idea of resurrection, but don’t believe in the actual bodily resurrection.

This morning, I am going to talk about resurrection.  Let me begin with my encounter with deaths in the lives of my loved ones, because, in my humble opinion, without talking about death no one can take resurrection seriously.

My first encounter with death was through my own father’s.  It was June 1968 in Korea.  I was 11 years old.  My father was 59 years old when he was struck and killed by an American military truck.  When I first heard the news of his death, I don’t remember that I cried: perhaps a few drops of tears caused by a numb feeling in me that my father was gone and no longer going to be around.

We had a wake in our house.  In a room, the casket was kept behind a divider so that it wouldn’t show to the public.  In front of the divider, on a table at the center, my father’s picture was placed along with an incense bowl that filled the room with fragrance.  There, next to the table, my three older brothers stood in a row garbed in sack-cloth with a black band around their arms, properly dressed for mourning.  They wailed each time visitors came into the room to pay their respect by burning the incense to my deceased father.  The next day, they buried my dad at a sunny place on a mountain.  I wasn’t allowed to go–too young to participate in the funeral.

The first time my family took me to my father’s grave was about six months later in January.  We walked a couple of miles in snow to arrive at my father’s grave.  In my young mind at the time, I didn’t fully understand what death meant to me and my family.  Death appeared to be a series of events such as physical separation, funeral, and gravesite visit.  All these memories still linger in me like a summer haze: foggy, distant, dull, yet sad.

Since then, in the next few years, I have seen more deaths: a friend in middle school died two years later followed by my aunt’s.  All these deaths created a yearning in me: I wanted to see them again.  Even though I wasn’t a Christian in those years, I hoped that there has to be something beyond our physical death.   Death shouldn’t be the final.

Contents

The Bible calls such a yearning the hope of resurrection.  In fact, the Bible says, on the Day of Judgment everyone, good and evil, will all come to life again (that is, resurrected) in the presence of God and Jesus the Judge will decide each one’s eternal destination: the righteous will enter into eternal life and the wicked into eternal punishment.  Christ Jesus, the Bible says, was the first fruit of resurrection.  Two thousand years ago, in that early morning on Easter, He showed His resurrected body to the women who went to the tomb: (Matthew 28:9, Mark 16:9, John 20:18, Luke 24:10).  We call that historical event the First Easter.

This morning, I would like to share with you my thoughts on resurrection.

Messengers and Witnesses:

When it comes down to proclaiming and believing in Jesus’ body resurrection, God provides no other means but His angels (messengers) and witnesses.  In other words, neither God nor His Church offers any other proof including scientific evidence than the accounts of 500+ people who personally saw the risen Christ with their eyes and touched His body with their hands (I Corinthians 15:6).

For the next two thousand years, their accounts stood sufficient for the countless believers, including myself, to believe in the resurrection of Jesus.  To many others, including the skeptics, that’s not the case.

C. S. Lewis, one of the prominent theologians in the 20^th century, asserts that the biblical accounts of Jesus’ resurrection are sufficient to believe.  He says that we the Christians believe in the resurrection of Jesus solely based on the words of witnesses.  Lewis takes an example of believing in the existence of NYC.  He says that he’s never been to the city to see it with his own eyes.  However, he argues, the accounts of those folks who have been there are good enough for him to believe in its existence.  Because, he says, he believes in the integrity of those folks who tell him the truth.  Likewise, we the Christians believe in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ, not because we have a scientific proof, but because we believe in the integrity of those witnesses of Christ’s resurrection.   Furthermore, their accounts have been attested through their own lives and the lives of the believers for 2000 years (that is, they gave up their lives for the truth of resurrection).  Their accounts still stand strong as the only reliable source of Jesus’ resurrection.

Think about it.  If the Almighty God chose to make everyone believe in Him, He could take a simple approach to convince everyone of His existence.  Let’s say, if He sends out lightning and thunder for 30 days on the dot of 12 noon every day, then everyone would believe in God, right?   Yet, He never does such a thing, because He is the God of love and love by nature never forces anyone to do anything they don’t want to.  God would never force anyone to believe in Him against their own will.  In other words, God would honor our free will to choose whatever we wish: either we believe or reject even the very existence of God.  God never overrules our free will.

The same principle of free will applies to the beliefs in the miracles.  Whether or not we believe in all Jesus’ miracles in the Bible such as virgin birth, healing, walking on waters, turning water into wine, and feeding 5000+ people with five loaves and two fish, His suffering and death on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension to Heaven, God leaves it entirely up to us.  He simply presents His case, not through scientific proof, but through the accounts of witnesses and leaves the decision to us.

In fact, He has been that way from the very beginning of the creation.   He used this very method of oral accounts to proclaim the truth.   Even in the 21^st century, He still does so for Jesus’ resurrection.  He simply urges you this morning to decide yourself whether or not to believe in the accounts of the women who witnessed Jesus’ resurrection, later those of the Eleven disciples and 500+ witnesses.  Many of them became martyrs claiming that they have seen the resurrected Lord.  I believe in their accounts, because I do believe in their integrity that vouched for Jesus’ resurrection with their own lives.   I believe in what the Bible says, because its truth has withstood the fiery trials for centuries.  I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and mine, because I do believe in Jesus’ integrity who claims that He is the resurrection and the life, the way and the truth.

As far as the seekers are concerned, one thing always comforts me: God is very kind and understanding with our lack of faith.  Here, in today’s text, God showed His patience with the women’s slowness of faith in resurrection.

Please reason with me here.  If the three women had believed without a doubt in Jesus’ body resurrection, why did they bring the spices?  The spices were used for the dead body; therefore, they would not have needed them for the risen body, would they?  Yet, to such forgetful souls, Jesus graciously showed His resurrected body (Matthew 28:9)—the clear evidence of God’s grace and patience in dealing with our human hearts that are often slow and stubborn to believe the unbelievable.

Later, to His unbelieving disciples including the famous Doubting Thomas, Jesus demonstrated the same grace and patience.  Each time they were in doubt, instead of rebuking them for their lack of faith, Jesus showed them one by one His resurrected body.

I am speaking to some of you who are still skeptical of Jesus’ body resurrection, let alone of your own.  I am sure all of you demand the tangible scientific proof of resurrection.  Some of you even would call the resurrection either a myth or wishful thinking.  Whatever your reasons of unbelief in Jesus’ resurrection and mine, I pray that the same Jesus would extend the same patience and grace to you.  May the Lord either grant you the evidence you’re looking for or increase your faith to believe.

One warning, though.  If Jesus ever grants the proof of resurrection, He does so only to those who are genuinely seeking Him in their lives.  He would never grant the proof to those who are not sincere in their search of truth.   Because He never plays by their rules.

If you are one of those sincere seekers, the Lord will speak to your heart this morning that you too come to know Jesus, believe in the resurrection, and eventually claim your own resurrection through faith in Jesus.

Conclusion

Christ has risen first.  We will too someday.  He was the first fruit of resurrection and the rest of us will follow.   Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed!   Amen.

Today Pastor Choi talks about honesty.  Pointing out that we believers are the light and salt of the world, he speaks about three reasons why we ought to be honest: 1. Honesty is to the glory of God  2. Honesty protects individuals from vices.  3. Honesty preserves society.   He also mentions what helps us to lead a life of honesty: Awareness of God, accountability to God, and God’s commandment.

  Honesty

Following is a summary of the sermon:

Grow in Christlikeness (4): Honesty              Leviticus 19:11, Acts 24:16

• Leviticus 19:11  New American Standard Bible (NASB)
• ¹¹ ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.
• Acts 24:16  New American Standard Bible (NASB)
• ¹⁶ In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.

  Introduction

  A fellow in Long Branch went into a fried chicken franchise to get some chicken for himself and the young lady with him.  She waited in the car while he went in to pick up the chicken.  Inadvertently the manager of the store handed the guy the box in which he had placed the financial proceeds of the day instead of the box of chicken.  You see, he was going to make a deposit and had camouflaged it by putting the money in a fried chicken box.  The fellow took his box, went back to the car, and the two of them drove away.  When they got to the park and opened the box, they discovered they had a box full of money.  Now that was a very vulnerable moment for the average individual.  However, realizing the mistake, he got back in his car and returned to the place and gave the money back to the manager.  Well, the manager was elated!  He was so pleased that he told the young man, “Stick around, I want to call the newspaper and have them take your picture.  You’re the most honest guy in town.”  “Oh, no, don’t do that!” said the fellow.  “Why not?” asked the manager.  “Well,” he said, “you see, I’m married, and the woman I’m with is not my wife!”  (Dallas Times Herald, September 23, 1966)

  In the past three Sundays, we focused on Christ-like character such as love, humility, and purity.  Today, we are going to think about growing like Him in honesty.

  If there’s one area where we all can do a better job, it would be honesty.  In our society, there is plenty of corruption in leadership (political, religious, and financial), cheating in marriage, cheating at work and in school (especially high school and college).  It gets worse every day; we suffer from poor work ethic and performance, distrust, manipulation, and more corruption.  Left undealt with, in the end, dishonesty will bring down our entire nation.  And, God calls us to stand in the gap on behalf of our society.

  Let’s do some numbers first around the world.

1. The least corrupt countries in the world (2012):  Every year Transparency.org ranks nation’s integrity on a scale of 0 to 100 (0 the most corrupt, 100 the least corrupt) “based on a number of surveys that seek to gauge hard-to-find metrics like bribes paid to government officials or transparency in corporate reporting.”  Denmark, New Zealand, and Finland are tied for least corrupt (90/100).  The United States is 19^th (74/100)  (http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results)

1. The most honest cities in the world:  some years ago Reader’s Digest did a project in 16 cities around the world.   The magazine asked “its reporters to ‘lose’ the wallets in public places, such as shopping centres, car parks and on pavements.   Each wallet contained a contact number, a family photo, business cards, coupons and the equivalent of $50 or £31.”  Helsinki, Finland, was the most honest city in the world with 11 out of 12 wallets handed in, while Lisbon, Portugal was the most dishonest with only one wallet being returned to its owner.  New York City came on third (8 out of 12).  (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/the-most-honest-cities-in-the-world-8839046.html)  Where would Manahawkin stand?   E.g.  My lost umbrella at Home Depot was never returned to customer services.

    

2. How honest are Americans at work?

“Anyone looking for an honest man or woman in the U.S. today would have lots of problems, according to Lousig-Nont and Associates, Nevada.  Out of 7,443 people it tested for honesty in 1993, 52% were ranked as low desirability for employment because they admitted to stealing or thinking about stealing regularly or said they would steal if they thought they had a good enough reason.   14.5% stated that the temptation to steal can be too hard to resist; 12.2% admitted to prior job dishonesty and rationalized this behavior; 11.2% said they would not give lost money back to the owner even if they knew who he or she was; 10.7% indicated that they would steal if they knew for sure they would not get caught; 9.3% admitted that they would bribe a police officer; 6.8% believe you can have a good reason to steal from work; and 5.9% feel they have a good reason to steal from work.” (http://www.thefreelibrary.com/How+honest+are+Americans%3f-a016227269)   (You can’t be honest in one way and dishonest in another.)

In 2013, another survey, “How focused are you during the workday?” found that almost one third (29%) visits Facebook each day while they’re at work.   (http://mashable.com/2013/10/02/facebook-workday/)

Contents

Definition: Let’s check out a standard definition of honesty.  Honesty is “the quality of always telling the truth, and never stealing or cheating” (Oxford Dictionary).  Here’s a biblical definition: the quality of being truthful to God and people in word and action.

Why Be Honest?  If your child asks you why she needs to be honest, especially when many others at school cheat on tests, how would you answer her?  We would answer it is wrong to cheat.  We would say God wants all people, especially His children, to live an honest life.  For those who want to know more than just “it is God’s command,” here are three reasons I found in the Scriptures for why we should be honest.

1. Honesty is to the glory of God:  dishonesty is to the glory of Satan.  God commands us to deal with each other with honesty so as to please Him and to bring Him the glory.  Remember our God is the God of truth.  He is the God of light.  He cannot stand dishonesty, falsehood, or darkness.  Imagine every Christian in our society tells a lie.  Our Heavenly Father wouldn’t be pleased with us at all, would He?  Dishonesty has no place before God.  It has no place in our family or church, either.  Why?  Because, it belongs to darkness and we the children of light must have nothing to do with it.  If we are dishonest, it will actually honor our enemy Satan and help him to gain more territory over our society.  The Bible says it right about the devil: he is a liar and the father of all lies (John 8:44).

    

2. Honesty protects individuals from vices.   It keeps us from unwanted troubles such as more lies, cover ups, slanders, and future embarrassments.  Honesty morphs us into a character of virtue.  It also builds more trust and credibility around us among peers.  Furthermore, God will reward you when you walk uprightly.  He will withhold no good thing from you (Psalm 84:11).   E.g.  My IRS refunds.   Honesty is a best policy.  E.g. “which tire was flat?” the professor asked when two cheating students rescheduled the test due to “flat tire” on their way to school.

3. Honesty preserves society.  It keeps our society healthy and sound.  Honesty strengthens our families.  It also protects us from God’s judgment.  E.g. Jeremiah 5:1.  God looks for ONE person honest and upright to spare the entire city of Jerusalem.  E.g.2. Abraham’s plea for Sodom and Gomorrah / 10 righteous people would have prevented the divine judgment (Genesis 18:32).  Christians are the light and salt of the world.  We are standing in the gap on behalf of our society.  We are called to keep our society from getting darker.  We are called to preserve our society from corruption.  Honesty does that job.

How can we be honest?  Before we ask how we can be honest, perhaps we need to ask what makes people dishonest?  What makes people cheat?

• Fear: My first lie about my brother’s necklace.
• Greed: Jacob lied to his father to steal blessings from his brother (Genesis 27:19).
• Hatred/Envy/Jealousy: Joseph’s brothers (Genesis 37:9, 32) lied to their father after they sold Joseph to slavery out of hatred.
• Desires (ambition, lust) for success without hard works (e.g.  students cheating on tests).

   

  What would help us to live a life of honesty?   Three things.

  1. Awareness of God: God watches over you.  E.g. Joseph—how can I do evil to fellow people and sin against God (Genesis 39:8, 9)?

  2. Accountability to God.  God is my witness in all I do and say.  On the Day of Judgment, He will hold me accountable for whatever I have done.  Think before you act.  Begin with the end in mind.

  3. God’s commands: Love God?  Obey His commandments.  Follow the principle of honesty in every intent (Genesis 20:5—everything in the integrity of heart and the innocence of hands), words (Proverbs 12:17—be a truthful witness), life style (Acts 24:16—maintain a blameless conscience both before God and before people) and business practices (Leviticus 19:36—use honest scales and weights).

   

  What if I struggle with honesty?  Check on those fear factors that keep you from being honest.  Trust in God.  God will take good care of you.  Be content with what you have (E.g. Wall Street bankers).  Do no harm to others.  Love others and stick to God’s principles.  Ask for God’s help.  Repent if you haven’t been truthful to your loved ones.  Practice being honest on small things first.  Do it again and again.  Before long, you will become a character of honesty and be able to be honest in everything to the glory of God.  One more thing.

   

  Don’t despair.  You are not alone.  You are not any worse than many people in the Bible.  God will teach you throughout your life and help you to grow up, one lesson at a time until you get it.  Embrace His training with gratitude and trust.  E.g. Abraham: trust over fear.  Jacob: stop being manipulative and start being truthful to others.  God will train you through and through in your life until honesty becomes a part of you.  You can count on His faithfulness and patience.

   

  Conclusion  

  God commands us, “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.”  Let us honor Him by being truthful always in all we do and say.  Amen.

   

Pastor Choi talks about purity today which we the believers are called to pursue in our lives.  Examining the biblical and historical background of Greek word porneia (which was translated as sexual immorality, fornication, sexual promiscuity, and adultery in various translations of the Bible), he urges the congregation to avoid sexual immorality by all means, let no vulgar talk or greed be among the saints.  Instead, honor God with body, be thankful, and be content, he exhorts them.

  Purity

Following is a summary of the sermon:

Grow in Christlikeness (3): Purity                     Ephesians 5:1-7

5 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. ² Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

³ Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. ⁴ Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. ⁵ You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God.  For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

⁶ Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. ⁷ Don’t participate in the things these people do.   (New Living Translation)

Introduction

As children of God, we do have a promise and assurance of being in Heaven.  We are invited to the wedding in Heaven between Christ and His Church.  We are Heaven-bound with the wedding invitation (that is, salvation) in our hands.  As you have guessed right, our enemy Satan makes every effort to snatch it from us.  We are fully aware of such schemes so we need to be very careful not to lose our salvation.  If the Devil fails to snatch it away from us, then he tries his next strategy: making us unfit for the occasion. 

Here’s how:  I am sure most of us have attended a wedding or two before.  Imagine that you are ready to go to the wedding.  You are all washed up and dressed up to spit and polish.  Then, out of nowhere, as you walk to the church, someone throws dirty water on you so as to stain your clothes entirely.  You know that you are no longer acceptable at the wedding with such soiled clothes.  Your day is totally ruined!   In the same way, on your way to Heaven, the Devil throws dirty water on you.  He wants to defile you in every possible way so that you may be unfit for the Heavenly wedding of Christ and His Church.  Beware of the Devil who wages a constant war against your soul. 

Contents

Let’s recap: it is God’s will for us to be holy, pure, and blameless (Leviticus 19:2).  Yet, our enemy would make sure that the opposite is true.  He employs and deploys all kinds of sins to defile us.  In today’s text, three contaminants of our soul and body are identified: sexual immorality, vulgar talk, and greed.

1. Sexual immorality (v. 3): In various Bible translations, Greek word porneia (πορνεια) was translated as sexual immorality, fornication, sexual promiscuity, and even adultery.  From this word English words such as pornography or pornographer originated.  Here’s a little background information how the word was understood in the 1^st Century when Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians.  I am going to quote a paragraph from the commentary by Gordon D. Fee:

“The word porneia (“sexual immorality”) in the Greek world simply meant “prostitution,” in the sense of going to the prostitutes and paying for sexual pleasure.  The Greeks were ambivalent on that matter, depending on whether one went openly to the brothels or was more discreet and went with a paramour.  But the word had been picked up in Hellenistic Judaism, always pejoratively, to cover all extramarital sexual sins and aberrations, including homosexuality.  It could also refer to any of these sins specifically, as it does here (meaning 1 Corinthians 5:1–mine).  In the NT the word is thus used to refer to that particular blight on Greco-Roman culture, which was almost universally countenanced, except among the Stoics.  That is why porneia so often as the first item in the NT vice lists, not because Christians were sexually “hung up,” nor because they considered this the primary sin, the “scarlet letter,” as it were.  It is the result of its prevalence in the culture and the difficulty the early church experienced with its Gentile converts breaking with their former ways, which they did not consider immoral” (The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Gordon Fee, p. 200).

My research on the same word in the New Testament reveals that porneia covers prostitution, adultery, and sexual indulgence (1 Corinthians 10:8: 23,000 perished in the desert after an orgy and debauchery provoked God to anger).  Basically, it means any sexual activities outside God-defined/sanctioned boundaries, that is, marriage between a man and a woman. 

The same porneia became an issue at the Church of Corinth in the first century.  Back then, the Church of Corinth was a hip church.  It took pride in being open-minded, sometimes even more progressive than the secular culture.  Here’s an example:

One day, Paul received the news that a member of the church was living with his father’s wife (1 Corinthians 5:1).  It wasn’t even a “one-night stand” but continuous living with her sexually (it’s not clear whether it was the mother or step-mother).  When Paul heard about this, he couldn’t hide his dismay because it was unheard of even among pagans: such a practice, cohabiting of father and son with the same woman was forbidden by all ancients, both Jewish and pagan (G. Fee, ibid.).   Paul lamented that such a life style was accepted among the saints.  He was even more horrified that the church didn’t do anything about it! 

Comparing the two cultures, I am not sure America in the 21^st century is any better than Corinth in the 1^st century in terms of sexual morality.  Our sexual standards today are so lax and low that many people even believers fall into this trap of fornication.  The sex revolution in the 1960s started it and the following decline in morality has broken too many individuals, marriages, and families to count.  E.g. Some years ago, one marine “was in a hut of forty-eight fellows.  Over ninety percent of them then or in the past had venereal disease.  The whole unit was shot through with an illicit lifestyle” (Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes, p. 292).

E.g. 2.  The Lost Children in Rockdale County (pbs special, 1997: many young affluent white teenagers acquired syphilis):

Here are some alarming statistics:  In 1996, the U.S. had the highest rate of sexually transmitted disease (STD) among industrialized countries.  12 million Americans would acquire a STD every year; 1 out of 3 Americans will acquire an STD in their lifetime (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/georgia/outbreak/stats.html)

The 2010 CDC (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) estimated 19 million new infections every year in the United States (http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats10/trends.htm).

“According to The New York Times, a new study has found that American youth have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among wealthy nations. The U.S. also ranked highest in teen pregnancies.  According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans between ages 15 and 24 are diagnosed with nearly 50 percent of all new STDs in the nation in a 2009-2010 study, though young people only make up a quarter of the national population” (http://www.stdtestexpress.com/std-news/us-has-highest-std-rates-among-developed-countries-800943204/).

We must guard ourselves against sexual immorality.   Here’s why.  (You are about to hear of the consequences of fornication.)   When it comes down to fornication, God commands us to repent, abstain, avoid, shun, flee, and put it to death (Colossians 3:5).  Why guard against sexual immorality?  Because, it has no place before the holy God.  God judges those who practice fornication (Hebrews 13:4).  Furthermore, the Bible repeatedly says that those who practice fornication will not enter the Kingdom of God (Ephesians 5:5, 1 Corinthians 6:9).  In fact, the final destination for those who practice fornication (along with murderers and sorcerers) is Hell known as “the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).  That’s why I would avoid fornication by all means.  And, I urge you to do the same.

One more thing before I move on.  As much as we blame Satan for the sin of sexual immorality, and as much as forgiveness is available when we repent of this sin, Jesus also points out that we need to curb the desire for fornication in our own heart (Matthew 15:19, Mark 7:21): out from what we have stored up in our hearts, the desire comes and says ‘YES’ to the Devil’s temptation.  So, we need to diligently watch what goes in and comes out of our hearts daily so that, when tempted, we may be able to control the desire of the flesh. 

Consider the case of pornography.  Many a people are addicted to pornography and easy access to the Internet makes things worse.  E.g. Ted Bundy’s warning 2o years ago (one day pornography will invade your living room and lure so many vulnerable souls into this sin) has been fulfilled.

One of the children’s Sunday school songs: 

O be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little eyes what you see

There’s a Father up above

And He’s looking down in love

So, be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little feet where you go

O be careful little feet where you go

There’s a Father up above

And He’s looking down in love

So, be careful little feet where you go

2.  Let there be no foolish/vulgar talk and things that are inappropriate for the children of God.  Rather, let there be thanksgiving.  Be careful about what you hear and say.

O be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little ears what you hear

There’s a Father up above

And He’s looking down in love

So, be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little mouth what you say

O be careful little mouth what you say

There’s a Father up above

And He’s looking down in love

So, be careful little mouth what you say

3. Greed:  “a strong desire for more wealth, possessions, power, etc. than a person needs” (Oxford Dictionary).  Our society promotes greed big time: you deserve it, you are entitled to more!   Greed is an act of idol worship.  Why?  “It takes ownership of the love and trust that belongs to God” (Matt Katzenberger).  Anyone who worships wealth, possessions, and power beyond their needs fits this category.  Like idol worship, greed is violation of the first Commandment.    Alternative is contentment.

Conclusion

The Bible says that those who partake in those things (fornication, vulgar talk, greed) will have no part in the Kingdom of God.  God has called us not to impurity but in holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:7).  Honor God with your body.  Be thankful.  Be content.  That will help us to stay pure and blameless until the Day of the Lord.    Amen.