You are Not Your Own | 1 Cor. 6:12-20

In our culture, we're constantly told that our bodies are our own—to do with as we please. "My body, my choice." "Be true to yourself." "Live your truth." These mantras echo through social media, entertainment, and even into our churches. But Scripture presents a radically different vision: our bodies are not our own. They belong to Christ, purchased at the highest price imaginable.

The Corinthian church struggled with this truth just as we do today. Living in a city saturated with sexual immorality and temple prostitution, many believers had adopted the cultural mindset that spiritual life and physical life were separate. They reasoned that what they did with their bodies didn't affect their souls. Paul confronts this dangerous dualism head-on in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, dismantling their slogans and recalibrating their understanding of Christian liberty. True freedom, he argues, isn't permission to indulge every appetite—it's the freedom to belong completely to Christ without being enslaved to anything else.

Paul addresses three critical truths about our bodies. First, the body has purpose—it's designed for the Lord, not merely for pleasure. Unlike food that passes through our system temporarily, sexual sin affects the whole person and leaves lasting marks on body, mind, and soul. Second, the body belongs to Christ. When we're saved, we're spiritually united to Jesus, and our bodies become members of Christ himself. What we do physically cannot be separated from who we are spiritually. Third, the body displays glory. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, sacred dwelling places purchased by Christ's blood. This means worship isn't just what we sing on Sunday—it's what we do with our eyes, hands, and desires every day.

The statistics are sobering: over half of practicing Christians view pornography, with many consuming it regularly. Modern technology has made sexual immorality more accessible than ever, creating a $100 billion industry that enslaves millions worldwide. Yet Paul's command remains clear: flee sexual immorality. Not manage it, not negotiate with it, but run from it like a house on fire. This requires building walls and protections before temptation arrives, refusing to trust our willpower alone. It means asking not "Is this allowed?" but "Does this honor the One who bought me? Does this look like worship?"

The gospel offers something far better than what sin promises. Christ provides true intimacy—not the counterfeit communion without commitment that our culture peddles. He redeemed every inch of us, and through the Holy Spirit, we have the power not to sin. Our bodies will be physically resurrected, making what we do with them eternally significant. So the call is twofold: flee what destroys, and glorify God with the very body He will one day raise. Real freedom isn't doing whatever we want—it's being owned by Christ so completely that nothing else can master us.