The New Testament never considers sexual conduct a matter of purely private concern between consenting adults. According to Paul, everything that we do as Christians, including our sexual practices, affects the whole body of Christ.
Come to Christianity, where your sex life is a matter of public interest.
Not quite. In fact not at all, at least in my experience of church life. But for the apostle Paul, dealing with sexual ethics was part of the challenge he faced at Corinth. A son was sleeping with his mother-in-law, and some members of the church were making the most out of the high prostitution levels at Corinth. If something like that came out in a church today I'd imagine the building would be burned down along with everyone in it. But what did Paul do? Well he sent a letter, explaining that our sex lives matter to Christ and to those who belong to Him, so how about reflecting that in our behaviour people!? He put it more eloquently and more theologically than that, but his point was, as Hays wrote above,
"...everything we do, including our sexual practices, affects the whole body of Christ."
The consequences of this are legion, but to finish this late-night post here's one that springs to mind: When dealing with any kind of sexual misconduct within the church, love for a fellow member of Christ should be the motivation behind the words said and the actions taken. It's just unfortunate that that is not always the case.
Not quite. In fact not at all, at least in my experience of church life. But for the apostle Paul, dealing with sexual ethics was part of the challenge he faced at Corinth. A son was sleeping with his mother-in-law, and some members of the church were making the most out of the high prostitution levels at Corinth. If something like that came out in a church today I'd imagine the building would be burned down along with everyone in it. But what did Paul do? Well he sent a letter, explaining that our sex lives matter to Christ and to those who belong to Him, so how about reflecting that in our behaviour people!? He put it more eloquently and more theologically than that, but his point was, as Hays wrote above,
"...everything we do, including our sexual practices, affects the whole body of Christ."
The consequences of this are legion, but to finish this late-night post here's one that springs to mind: When dealing with any kind of sexual misconduct within the church, love for a fellow member of Christ should be the motivation behind the words said and the actions taken. It's just unfortunate that that is not always the case.
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