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Margin - Week 4: Moral Margin

March 22, 2015 Series: Margin

Topic: Margin Verse: 1 Corinthians 6:12–6:20

Margin — Week 4
“Moral Margin”
Jason Phelps | Director of Worship & the Arts

Common Response: “I never thought it would happen to me…”

 

NO MORAL MARGIN

 

WHAT IS MORAL MARGIN?
“Creating s p a c e between ourselves and temptation.”

 

13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. James 1:13-15 (NLT)

 

ENTICE // δελεαζο
Greek: deleazo (del-eh-ad’-zo)
“It means to entrap, to allure, to entice, or very literally it means to hook; it's a fishing term used to catch with bait.”

 

Satan wants us - HOOK - LINE - & SINKER - believing that as long as we don’t cross “that line,” we will be okay.

 

12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.

15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.”[a] 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (NLT)


RUN/FLEE // φεύγω
GREEK: pheugo (fyoo'-go)
to run away; it means to shun; it means to escape; it means to distance oneself. To put MARGIN between you and temptation.

 

19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)

 

YOUR BODY WAS NOT MADE FOR SEXUAL IMMORALITY.

 

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[a] 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. - Ephesians 5:1-3 (NLT)

 

But among you there must not be even a HINT of sexual immorality.

 

NORMAL: pain, betrayal, guilt, shame, regret

 

NO MORAL MARGIN.

 

STEPS TO CREATING MORAL MARGIN:

STEPS TO CREATING MORAL MARGIN:
#1: Dress for Spiritual Success

STEPS TO CREATING MORAL MARGIN:
#1: Dress for Spiritual Success
#2: Keep 4 Feet on the Floor

STEPS TO CREATING MORAL MARGIN:
#1: Dress for Spiritual Success
#2: Keep 4 Feet on the Floor
#3: No Sleep-Overs or “Playing House”

STEPS TO CREATING MORAL MARGIN:
#1: Dress for Spiritual Success
#2: Keep 4 Feet on the Floor
#3: No Sleep-Overs or “Playing House”
#4: No “Making-Out”

STEPS TO CREATING MORAL MARGIN:
#1: Dress for Spiritual Success
#2: Keep 4 Feet on the Floor
#3: No Sleep-Overs or “Playing House”
#4: No “Making-Out”
#5: Avoid Dangerous Places

STEPS TO CREATING MORAL MARGIN:
#1: Dress for Spiritual Success
#2: Keep 4 Feet on the Floor
#3: No Sleep-Overs or “Playing House”
#4: No “Making-Out”
#5: Avoid Dangerous Places
#6: Monitor Internet Activity

STEPS TO CREATING MORAL MARGIN:
#1: Dress for Spiritual Success
#2: Keep 4 Feet on the Floor
#3: No Sleep-Overs or “Playing House”
#4: No “Making-Out”
#5: Avoid Dangerous Places
#6: Monitor Internet Activity
#7: Avoid the Wrong People

STEPS TO CREATING MORAL MARGIN:
#1: Dress for Spiritual Success
#2: Keep 4 Feet on the Floor
#3: No Sleep-Overs or “Playing House”
#4: No “Making-Out”
#5: Avoid Dangerous Places
#6: Monitor Internet Activity
#7: Avoid the Wrong People
#8: Guard Your Eyes, Mind, & Heart with EVERYTHING you Have

 

NORMAL ISN’T WORKING. SO LET’S NOT TRY TO BE.


GOD BOUGHT YOU WITH A HIGH PRICE

GOD BOUGHT YOU WITH A HIGH PRICE:
HIS ONLY SON.

 

1 Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!

2 Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

3 When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.

4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.

5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. - Psalm 32:1-5 (NLT)