Our Bodies as Temples of Worship

 Nehemiah 13; Malachi 1, 2; Acts 4 

“Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, and he had provided him with a large storeroom formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes…”

Nehemiah 13:4, 5

“…Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god…guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.”

Malachi 2:11, 15

Our lives – our bodies - are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We can bring defilement to the worship of God in our lives, or neglect to worship by giving place to the enemy through yielding to temptations related to greed, idolatry, lust, and other temple-defiling sins. Pornography is “marrying the daughter of a foreign god” and disqualifies us from true worship until we are cleansed. We must guard ourselves and apply Christ’s victory on the cross over sin. We must stand on his authority against temptation in our spirit. The temple of our body belongs to God; but like Eliashib, we have been put in charge of it. This is a sacred trust; we must honor God with our bodies.

“Lord Jesus, you have given me all I need for life and godliness. I offer my body to you as a temple of your Spirit and yield my all as an instrument of righteousness, for your worship and glory.”