The Temple of the Lord

Despite what most people think, the temple of the Lord is not a chuch or catherdral.

It is in fact the body of a saved person. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their savior, by believing he died for their sins, God indwells that persons body. It is actually the Holy Spirit that indwells the persons body. Once a person is saved their body is no longer their own. They can choose to sin with their body, but it will not be without consequences.

I Corinthians 6

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

A person who is saved and going to heaven, can by all means go to the bar and get drunk, or have sex with a prostitiute, or do any other sinful activity. People still have the same free will they did before they got saved. They can commit any sin they please. The problem is that God does not like it when his children sin and by him living in that person's body, he is involved in it too. If a Christian habitually sins, then God will have to step in and chasten that person. This is an incredibly painful expirience, that no one wants to go through.

Hebrews 12

7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

A Christian should live their life as though Christ were standing next to them or better yet, living inside of them. When Christians sin, they are sinning against the very God that lives inside of them. It is best for a Christian to honor their body as the temple of God, which is what it is. They should live a life of sanctification or holiness. This means seperating themselves from the world, which is not an easy thing to do.

Titus 2

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

We are to live seperate from the sinful things of this world. This means we must deny ourselves the things we like and even crave. This is a very difficult task for most people to bare. This sanctification process is refered to by some as starving the flesh. It literally feels like you are starving. This may require a person to give up an addiction they wave had for years or even decades, such as smoking cigarettes, gambling, drugs, etc.. This process can be very smooth for some and a nightmare for others. The pain of going through this process can be crippling for some. The consequences for not going through it will be far worse. Really Christians do not have a lot of choice in the matter. Once a person gets saved, they are no longer calling the plays in their own life. They can choose to disobey and then deal with the consequences. The best thing for them to do is to submit their body to the Lord.

Romans 12

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

A Christian should make a promise to themselves to live for the Lord everyday, take stock of their life, and see what sins they need to get rid of. Every day should be actively spent living for the Lord and taking care of their body. By honoring their body, a Christian honors the Lord. Pleasing the Lord should be our number one priority, not pleasing the body. Living a holy set apart life, will bring the blessings of the Lord. I don't think there is a better life than one blessed by God.

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you are not a Christian, I invite you to get saved now. Tomorrow may be to late. To get saved all you have to do, is admit that you are a sinner and that Jesus Christ died for your sins. The only way to take away sins is with the pure shed blood of Jesus Christ. Good works can not take away sins. If they could, then Jesus Christ died in vain. Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead as payment for all sins. Once you believe that, you are saved forever. You did nothing to earn it and you can do nothing to lose it.

Romans 3

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Revelation 1

5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Ephesians 2

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.