When worship is warped, sexuality follows—but in Christ, God realigns our hearts to worship Him and walk in holiness
FOCUS TEXT: Exodus 20:14; Romans 1:21–32
This Sunday at Anchor Church, we continued our series Ten Commandments: Law That Leads to Life, returning to the seventh commandment: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Last week, we saw that God’s design for sex and marriage is good, holy, and meant to display His covenant love. This command isn’t just prohibition—it’s protection and invitation. God’s law is a guardrail to preserve joy, intimacy, and covenant faithfulness. But today we asked: What happens when God’s design is rejected? Romans 1 shows us the painful pattern—idolatry, disordered desires, dishonored bodies, and the fallout of sin. This is not just a problem “out there.” It’s the story of every human heart apart from grace.
Truth #1: Idolatry is the Root of Sexual Brokenness — Romans 1:21–23 teaches that before sexuality is disordered, worship is disordered. Humanity knew God but did not honor Him or give thanks. Worship turned inward, and idolatry followed. What we exchange at the altar shows up in the body. Sexual sin is not first a behavior problem but a worship problem. Porn, affairs, distorted identity, and betrayal all grow from misplaced worship. But in Christ, conversion is not mere behavior change—it is worship realignment. When God is re-centered, desires begin to be reordered.
Truth #2: Disordered Desires Are God’s Judgment on Disordered Worship — Romans 1 repeats three times: “God gave them up” (vv. 24, 26, 28). When we persist in idolatry, God removes His restraining hand and lets us taste the path of our false gods. What is exchanged in worship gets expressed in dishonor. Paul names same-sex behavior here as one example of rejecting God’s created design, but his larger point is that all sexual sin flows from exchanged worship. Whether lust, fornication, adultery, pornography, or identity confusion—the problem is deeper than behavior. It is worship gone wrong.
Truth #3: Sexual Sin Promises Pleasure but Delivers Pain — Proverbs 5 unmasks temptation. What looks sweet turns bitter. What seems freeing leads to bondage. Sexual sin drains honor, years, and strength. It leaves groaning regret, broken trust, fractured homes, and hollow souls. But God’s alternative is covenant joy: “Rejoice in the wife of your youth… be intoxicated always in her love” (Prov. 5:18–19). God is not withholding joy—He is protecting it. Purity is not deprivation; it is devotion to something better.
Truth #4: No One Is Innocent; All of Us Need Rescue — Romans 1:29–31 widens the lens: envy, strife, gossip, pride, cruelty. Sexual sin is one fruit on the tree of self-worship—but the whole tree is rotten. Paul’s goal is not to condemn “those people” but to level the ground: “None is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). This humbles the self-righteous and comforts the broken. All have sinned, and all need grace. The hope of the gospel is that Christ, the faithful Bridegroom, bore the penalty for covenant-breakers and offers cleansing, power, and hope to all who repent and believe.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
• Where have I exchanged God’s glory for lesser glories?
• Do my desires flow from gratitude and worship, or from self-centered idolatry?
• Where has sexual sin promised life but left me empty?
• Am I willing to confess honestly, repent decisively, and run to Christ repeatedly?
PRAYER OF RESPONSE: Father, You alone are worthy of worship. Forgive us for exchanging Your glory for lesser loves. Forgive us for disordered desires, false promises, and broken trust. Cleanse us through Christ, reorder our hearts by Your Spirit, and restore our joy in You. Heal wounds, strengthen marriages, guard minds, and empower us to walk in holiness. Make our lives—married or single—testimonies of Your covenant love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
MEMORY VERSE: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” – Romans 1:21 (ESV)
