WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)–In a call back to Christian ethics and away from popular culture’s rampant sexual immorality, Daniel Akin urged students at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary to use their bodies in a manner that rightly attributes “maximum praise and glory to Jesus Christ.”
“The sexual revolution that was birthed in the 1960s did not deliver what it promised,” said Akin, Southeastern’s president. “It promised liberation and freedom, but it actually gave us shame, suffering, disappointment and devastation. If we would simply do sex God’s way — one man and one woman within the context of marriage for life — virtually every one of these consequences would disappear within this generation.
“What has caused this insanity? We have forgotten a basic biblical truth: My body belongs to God.”
Speaking from 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 in the first chapel message of the semester Feb. 1, Akin acknowledged it was an unusual topic for a seminary convocation but said he has felt the burden of this message on his heart for many months.
“I prepared for this sermon as much or more than any other sermon I’ve delivered in my life,” he said. “The message I bring to you this morning is actually more of a burden.”
Underscoring his concern that Christians not use their liberty in Christ as license to sin, Akin referenced the issue of pornography and drugs and alcohol inside and outside the church. Having observed the devastation these practices can cause to lives and families, Akin did not mince words in his warning to students about the consequences of such sins.
“Some people will parade about, professing to have liberty in Christ,” Akin said of those who use their bodies as instruments of sin. “I will tell you, they are nothing less than fools. Pornography is a form of fornication for singles, and it is a form of adultery for the married.”
Akin went on to outline six basic principles for the Christian’s use of his body, principles he said should serve as guidelines for decision-making. The five questions a Christian should ask before engaging in an activity are: Will this action edify self? Will it enslave my soul? Will it exalt the Savior? Will it encourage other saints? Will it evangelize sinners? Will it emulate the Savior?
“God has principles for my body, and He put them there for His glory and for my good,” Akin said. “God is now owner of your body, and you belong to Him. You don’t belong to you; you belong to Him.”
Akin also marveled at the truth of verse 19, which informs Christians that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, a truth which, when apprehended, should impact the way they live their lives.
“God is God,” Akin said. “He can live anywhere He wants to, and yet He chose to live inside of you and me. What amazing grace!”
The result of that realization, Akin said, is that the Christian should not do anything, think anything or put before his eyes anything that he would not also want the Lord Jesus to partake in.
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