Temple of the Holy Spirit

[1 Cor. 6:18] “Sexual sin is not the worst of sins, but in some respects we may consider it the most complicated of sins. All dirt should be washed off our hands, but pine sap is harder to get off. Sexual sin entangles in a way that others do not . . . Paul mentions that we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. That phrase, lifted out of context, has been used to urge Christians to refrain from refined sugar, sedentary lifestyles, and, of course, big stinky cigars. But Paul says specifically that he is only talking about sexual sin here. Other sins are outside the body, but fornication is not. This would include chapping a finger off with an axe. Poor stewardship, bad idea, and all that, but it is not a defilement of the Temple. That is accomplished by fornication” (Fidelity, pp. 43-44).