Lasciviousness I. Introduction A. There is perhaps only one thing that unites all people 1. It transcends racial, cultural, and political borders 2. It's something that even sworn enemies can agree on! B. That thing is sexual desire 1. Sexual desire is quite powerful 2. Empires have been made or destroyed by it 3. More has probably been written about it than anything else C. Sexual desire not inherently sinful 1. Part of God's creation, called "very good" (Genesis 1:31) 2. Something for humans to enjoy (Song of Solomon) 3. Means of establishing the human pair bond (Genesis 2:24) 4. To be enjoyed in the bonds of marriage (Matthew 19:4-6, 1 Corinthians 7:1-9, Hebrews 13:4) D. The difficulty is found in the abuse of sexual desire! 1. Sexual desire is often taken out of its rightful place 2. Temptation exists in many places and forms E. Modern society has not helped 1. One thing is clear: marketers understand that "sex sells" for many 2. Advertisements for everything from gum to clothes involve sexual innuendo 3. People dress in ways so as to be noticed-- this often involves sexual desire F. As with all things, thought comes before action 1. The NT indicates clearly that we can cleanse our conduct by cleansing the mind (2 Corinthians 10:5, Philippians 4:8) 2. The only way that we can conquer sexual immorality in practice is by striving to conquer sexual immorality in the mind G. Such sexual desire-- lust-- is encompassed under the idea of lasciviousness in the NT H. Let us investigate what the Bible teaches about lasciviousness II. Lasciviousness A. Lasciviousness condemned in many passages 1. Galatians 5:19-21 2. Mark 7:22-- defilements coming out of a man 3. 2 Corinthians 12:21-- present in Corinth 4. Ephesians 4:19, 1 Peter 4:3-- mark of Gentile conduct 5. Jude 1:4-- false teachers turning the Gospel into lasciviousness B. But what does it mean? 1. Looseness; irregular indulgence of animal desires; wantonness; lustfulness 2. Tendency to excite lust, and promote irregular indulgences (Webster's) C. Greek aselgeia: unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence (Thayer's) D. Lasciviousness, therefore, describes lustful behavior beyond the bounds set by God, and anything that promotes such lust E. Consider Matthew 5:27-28 1. The difficulties with adultery are known and understood by most people 2. Jesus takes it a step further and speaks about intentions of the heart 3. To mentally consider sex with someone other than your spouse is "adultery of the heart"! 4. It is not enough to just not act on desire-- one must also control the desire F. That is why diligence in matters of lust/lasciviousness is so important 1. Sexual sin is something from which one should flee (1 Corinthians 6:18) 2. It's a temptation quite difficult for humans to control-- it is best to avoid it altogether 3. Lust opens the door, and gets us that much closer to committing sexually deviant behavior (James 1:14-15) 4. Let us work to keep that particular door shut! III. Lascivious Behavior A. What, then, are some forms of lascivious behavior? B. Sexual Intoxication 1. In 1 Peter 4:7, we are told to be sober-minded and self-controlled 2. Many times people get intoxicated with different things-- not just drugs and alcohol, but also things like money, fame, and even sex 3. When sexual desire dictates your thoughts and feelings, when you think endlessly of sex and its fulfillment, you may be intoxicated with sex 4. As Christians, we are to be intoxicated by nothing (1 Thessalonians 5:1-10) 5. Such intoxication will leave one more liable to commit other forms of lascivious behavior 6. It also hinders us from focusing on what is truly important! C. Pornography 1. There is a large and growing industry of pornography, entirely designed to promote lust 2. Pornography can take different forms 3. Pictorial pornography is a large section of the industry, involving videos or photographs of people engaged in sexual behavior 4. Pornographic literature-- also called erotica-- also has a large following, involving written stories involving sexually explicit behavior 5. Such has become prevalent in society, especially on the Internet, ensnaring many souls D. Strip clubs and other such places exist to incite lust also E. Dancing 1. Many forms of dancing also are designed to promote lust 2. Many of the movements of modern dance styles emulate sex 3. Even if some of the participants do not understand the problem, others have no problem enjoying the lascivious conduct F. Immodest clothing 1. Lasciviousness, by definition, is either the lust itself or anything that promotes lust 2. Clothing worn-- especially the strategic lack thereof-- easily incites lust in members of the opposite gender 3. 1 Timothy 2:9 4. It is important to consider whether one's presentation will cause others to lust, thereby leading both viewer and viewed to condemnation! G. Other forms of conduct could be listed, but these suffice to show the nature of lascivious behavior IV. Avoiding Lasciviousness A. How can we avoid lasciviousness? B. We cannot change how those around us conduct themselves 1. We cannot rid the Internet of pornography 2. We cannot change what others around us wear or presentations of women on magazine covers 3. By ourselves, we cannot change our hypersexualized culture C. We can, however, change how we conduct ourselves! D. We must resolve to work on matters of lust 1. We cannot wait until we get into situations involving lust to make up our minds! 2. Proverbs 7:1-5 3. Will we determine to not let lust dictate our lives? E. We must make agreements with our eyes 1. Job 31:1 2. We cannot help but to see, but we can help whether we will dwell and consider 3. We return again to James 1:14-15 4. We cannot help but see lasciviously presented men and women around us, but we can decide that we will not dwell upon it, gaze upon it, and incite lust within ourselves F. We must keep our mind busy with good things 1. Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does our brain 2. We cannot rid ourselves of lustful thoughts if we do not replace them with something else! 3. Philippians 4:8 4. We can always decide to pray in the midst of temptation, to redirect our minds to God Himself (1 Thessalonians 5:17) G. We must keep our bodies busy with good things 1. Titus 3:8 2. If we go out and do the work of God and His Kingdom, we won't have the time to dwell upon sexual sin and to accomplish it! 3. We must also conduct ourselves amongst each other in purity (1 Timothy 6:2) H. In all things, 1 Corinthians 10:13 1. The way of escape is always there 2. It may not be easy to find, and it may be hard to swallow 3. But we can overcome lasciviousness! V. Conclusion A. It is hard to stand against lasciviousness in a highly sexualized age B. Nevertheless, we are charged to stand for sexual purity, in mind as well as in body! C. Let us strive to avoid all lascivious conduct D. Let us also strive to conduct ourselves in ways that do not provoke lust in others E. Let us strive to be holy as God is holy! F. Invitation/songbook