Should Christians Ever Say "My Body, My Choice"?

I Corinthians 6:18-20

I'm not even going to touch the topic of abortion directly on this. So, if you tend to be a pro-choice person, relax and please keep reading! In the book of Judges, twice the writer says, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6; 21:25). Another way of saying that, "my body, my choice". It is my life so I will worship who I want to worship. It is my life so I will do what is best for me. If I want to cheat on my spouse, I will. If I want to steal from my neighbor, I will. If I value my life above that of someone else's, then why not kill them? There is no end to how far this line of thinking can take someone, and indeed it does. Just look at this crazy world in which we live. This type of thinking is why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire, and why He destroyed the whole earth with the flood.

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“Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

I Corinthians 6:18-20

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I am only talking to Christians here. If you are saved, or as Jesus said, "born again", then your body is not your own. In other words, "My body, my choice" is a very unGodly statement. The child of God was purchased with a price. That price was the precious blood of Jesus that was shed on Calvary. God did not purchase you from off the slave market of sin and then set you free to your own devices. He purchased you, His Holy Spirit set up residence within you, and He set you free from the condemnation of your sins. From that moment you became His temple (I Corinthians 6:19), His child (II Corinthians 6:18), and His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).

I did not take creative liberty when I said we were bought off the "slave market of sin". Paul said in Romans 6:6, "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin". God did not purchase us to place us under some heavy burden. He purchased us to set us free. Jesus said, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). Freedom comes from living in God's will, not in our own. When we do what we think is right (my body, my choice), then we will inevitably act contrary to God's will. We find ourselves right back in slavery to sin.

Your body, and everything about it is to be a Temple of worship to the Lord. When you work, you work for the Lord (Colossians 3:23). You offer your body as a living sacrifice to the Lord in worship (Romans 12:1) You use your voice to praise God and proclaim His holy name (Psalm 81:1). The point is, EVERYTHING about our lives should be God honoring. We are to use our bodies as God designed them. Men need to be God honoring men, filling their God given role in the home, church, and society. Women need to be God honoring women, filling their God given role in the home, church, and society.

My body, my choice is selfish. It says, "I am unwilling to suffer anything that I did not plan." It is faithless. You say that you do not trust God to redeem even the worst of circumstances and to work them for good (Romans 8:28). Peter wrote "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (I Peter 4:12-13). Everything you are called to go through may not be fun or pleasant. However, if you will go through it with grace and in a God honoring way, God's glory will be revealed in you. The word translated "fiery trial" literally speaks of metal being refined. It is heated in the fire, which causes it to lose its form. In that process the impurities rise to the top and are skimmed off. Then the master forms the metal into what He desires.

Father, there is a part of all of us that wants to be sovereign over our own lives. Help us to surrender to You. Strengthen our faith to trust You with the plan that You have for each of our lives. Refine us and make us into something that glorifies You, and reveals You to the world, even if it hurts for a little while.