Sexual Purity a Call to Holiness - 4448 Words

Sexual Purity: A Call to Holiness INTRODUCTION The world in which Christians live today is very similar to the world that Paul taught, lived, and traveled in. Christians are surrounded by and struggle with the issue of sexual purity that believers struggled with in Paul’s day. Sexual immorality is a result of a much larger problem: the refusal of God’s call to be holy. The pagan Gentiles during the New Testament had a skewed picture of moral issues, including sexuality. F. F. Bruce provides a unique look into Greek culture and morality when he quotes Demosthenes who lived during this time period: â€Å"We keep mistresses for pleasure, concubines for our day-today bodily needs, but we have wives to produce legitimate children and serve as†¦show more content†¦4:7 For God did not call us for the purpose of impurity but to holiness. 4:8 For that very reason then, the one who rejects this is not rejecting man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to be put in you. GR AMMATICAL, SYNTACTICAL, THEOLOGICAL COMMENTARY 4:3 Verse three begins with the emphatic position of the near demonstrative pronoun ÃŽ ¤ÃŽ ¿Ã¡ ¿ ¦Ãâ€žÃŽ ¿ which acts as the subject of the clause and is a reference to the noun in apposition á ¼ ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ±ÃÆ' µÃ¡ ½ ¸Ãâ€š. Gordon Fee makes a crucial point that ÃŽ ¤ÃŽ ¿Ã¡ ¿ ¦Ãâ€žÃŽ ¿ is â€Å"defined by a series of appositives, each one becoming more case specific† as Paul’s discourse continues.4 Although ÃŽ ¤ÃŽ ¿Ã¡ ¿ ¦Ãâ€žÃŽ ¿ is written first in Greek, the explanatory conjunction ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¬Ã  is translated first, â€Å"For this,† in order to communicate the anaphoric use of the conjunction in reference to Paul’s statements in 4:2. The 3 4 Chart created from information in Gordon Fee’s, NICNT, 142-143. Gordon Fee, NICNT, 144. 3 following phrase ÃŽ ¸ÃŽ ­ÃŽ »ÃŽ ·Ã‚ µÃŽ ± Ï„Î ¿Ã¡ ¿ ¦ ÃŽ ¸ÃŽ µÃŽ ¿Ã¡ ¿ ¦ (â€Å"God’s will†) functions as the predicate nominative; which is suggested by 5:18, where this phrase is used again (á ¼ ÃÆ'Ï„Î ¹ÃŽ ½ is understood in the context).5 ÃŽ ¸ÃŽ ­ÃŽ »ÃŽ ·Ã‚ µÃŽ ± remains anarthrous in both verse references (4:3; 5:18) and the omission of the article followed by the subjective genitive has been a point of contention among scholars. F. F. Bruce suggests the article was absorbed by the emphatic ÃŽ ¤ÃŽ ¿Ã¡ ¿ ¦Ãâ€žÃŽ ¿ in which the clause began. Other scholars,Show MoreRelatedSummary Of The Lord Jesus 2777 Words   |  12 Pagesthat you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4  that each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor, 5  not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. 6  In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly. 7  For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8  Consequently the one who rejects this is notRead MoreThe Book of Leviticus: An Overview1693 Words   |  7 Pagesthe tasks of priests, the sexual, the calendar of the liturgy, the dietary as well as, the economic practices the Israelites were practicing not forgetting the ritual and the moral holiness. 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