A synopsis of the sermon delivered by the Rev. David L. Hicks at St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church on Sunday, March 7, 2004, Lent II. Please read I Thessalonians 4:1-8.

One can hardly escape the discussion of human sexuality that is taking place in our society today. Last summer, the controversy centered on the election and consecration of a practicing homosexual man to be bishop of the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire. More recently, we have seen a number of cities and towns across the United States approving marriage licenses for same gender couples. As both the church and the community at large are wrestling with these issues, Christians may be attracted to the notion that such things are incidental to the Christian faith. Some one may say that such matters are of a private nature, and they have no bearing on the public testimony of the church and its doctrines. The Scriptures, however, indicate that God is very interested in how Christians conduct their lives, and sexuality is not excluded from God’s concern.

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Saint Paul addresses the manner in which Christians ought to conduct their lives so that they are pleasing to God. Moreover, he indicates that his instruction is not of human origin, but stems from the authority of Jesus Christ himself: “For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication…for God hath not called us to uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit” (I Thes. 4:2-3, 7-8). Our lives are to be characterized by holiness, that is, the dedication of our bodies to God and for such use as he has determined. That standard of holiness forbids sexual relations outside of the context of marriage between a man and a woman. There may be objection raised at this point by someone who would want to discuss the nature of human sexuality. Many are suggesting that attraction to someone of the opposite sex or the same sex is determined by one’s biological make-up; and consequently, provision should be made for the expression of whatever orientation is inherent to a person. The difficulty here is that Christians are called to a life of self-denial when our desires conflict with our calling to holiness. “The said Jesus unto his disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me’” (St. Matt. 16:24). Jesus’ death on the cross was not something “natural” or gratifying to some innate human desire, rather, his life of obedience to the Father demanded it.

These standards of holiness and self-denial encompass the whole of the Christian life, and we should be aware that everyone has failed in one way or another to fully dedicate himself or herself to God’s holiness. For this reason, the Scriptures not only talk about holiness and self-denial but also God’s grace and forgiveness. All of this comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of our holiness and love for God, and he is also the source of forgiveness for our sins. May he give us the strength to daily take up our cross and follow him. Amen.