At The Well, we are doing a two-part series on the letter of Jude. In this short book, Jude reminds Christians of the seriousness of sin, the mercy of God, and the need to contend for the faith by believing and preaching the gospel. A few verses in, Jude hammers on the ungodliness of sexual immorality, and how it should have no place in the church.

WHAT IS SEXUAL IMMORALITY?

Sexual immorality is any kind of sexual activity outside of God’s will for sex. God designed sex as a gift for us to enjoy. He also set up parameters and boundaries for us, so that we don’t hurt ourselves or others, because He is a loving Father. Here is what the Bible tells us about sex:

Sex is exclusively for marriage, which is defined by God as:

• A covenant (Gen. 2:24, Mal. 2:14)
• for one man and one woman (Matt. 19:4-5)
• until death (Matt. 19:6)

So anything outside of these safe, loving boundaries that God designed for us is considered sinful, and needs to be repented of. That includes:

• Fornication (sexual activity before marriage, 1 Cor. 6:9, Heb. 13:4)
• Adultery (sexual activity outside of marriage, Ex. 20:14, Matt. 5:27)
• Homosexuality (sexual activity with the same gender, Rom. 1:22-32, 1 Cor. 6:9)

Jesus also made it clear that God doesn’t only look at our actions, but deeper into our hearts. He said that even lusting after someone is an act of adultery and breaks the 7th commandment. This includes:

• Looking at pornography or other images,
• fantasizing about someone,
• fooling around with your boyfriend or girlfriend

THE GOOD NEWS

Truly all sin, including sexual sin, is an issue of the heart (Matt. 15:19). Our thoughts, words, and actions all reveal that we have sinful hearts. We aren’t sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. The penalty of sin is death. We deserve death, judgment, and hell because of our sin. This is the bad news.

The good news is that no matter how sexually immoral we have been, what our sexual orientation is, how deeply immersed in sexual sin we are currently… God loves us. 

God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to us. Jesus died in our place, for our sins, on the cross, and took the wrath of God for us! All the sin, all the shame, all the darkness… God’s wrath against sin was satisfied, once for all, in that moment. When Jesus rose again, victorious over sin, death, and hell, he won eternal life for all who believe in him. This is the good news, the gospel: that we can be forgiven, saved, and righteous before God through trusting in Christ. Our God is a rescuer.

WHAT NOW?

We should listen to Jude’s warning, and take seriously the words of Paul in 1 Cor. 6:19, “You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”. When we become Christians, we get new hearts, and God’s Spirit indwells us to give us new affections and desires, and empower us to turn from sin. We should glorify God with our bodies. It is God’s will for us to abstain from sexual immorality (1 Thess. 4:3); to flee from it (1 Cor. 6:18).

That means we don’t see how close we can get to the line, we turn away from the line, flee from the line, and pursue Jesus.

Flee from sexual immorality. Pursue Jesus, get help, and get back in the fight to push back darkness because there are people who need to hear about Jesus.

1. Trust Jesus for forgiveness of your sins
2. Get involved in a Community Group for godly fellowship and accountability
3. Contact us for prayer or additional help (info@wellsbranchchurch.com)