A previous version of LIFETEEN.com featured questions and answers from the one and only Bible Geek, Mark Hart, (in a section called “Ask the Bible Geek”). When a teen asked Mark about drinking, partying, sexuality, an temptation in the St. Paul’s letters in the New Testament, he put together a great list of passages from the New Testament to help focus us on these issues. While there are other passages to be found, but these citations from St. Paul are a great place to start…
Q: Hey Bible Geek – thanks for all these answers here. My question is this: since it’s the year of St. Paul, me and my friends from Life Teen are trying to read more stuff he wrote. What did St. Paul say about sex, drinking, partying, temptation and everything? There’s so much stuff he wrote and we don’t know where to look?
A: My sister – I am so glad you asked this question. I’m even happier that you and your friends are taking this year of St. Paul so seriously and are trying to hard to take advantage of it. Good for you.
To answer your question, though, more specifically. St. Paul had a great deal to say on these subjects because he lived in a time, like we do today, when many people had lost their consciousness of sin and many others didn’t believe in God at all, much less in sin or in truth.
So, when you read and pray through these verses together, take time to read the footnotes in your Bibles, the Introductions to the Books and other commentaries (in fact, you can cross reference these verses with the index in your Catechism of the Catholic Church). You’ll be blown away with what you can learn.
So, here is what St. Paul (and more specifically, God) had to say about the following topics:
Sexuality/Chastity
• Romans 6:12-13: “Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness.”
• Romans 12:1: ” appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
• Romans 13:13: “let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.”
• 1 Corinthians 6:9: “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites…”
• 1 Corinthians 6:15: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!”
• 2 Corinthians 12:21: I fear that when I come again, my God may humble me before you, and that I may have to mourn over many who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.”
• Galatians 5:19: “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness…”
• Ephesians 4:19: “They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion…”
Drinking/Partying
• Romans 13:12-13: “…the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.”
• 1 Corinthians 4:5: “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the pur-poses of the heart…”
• 1 Corinthians 15:34: “Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more; for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:8: “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breast-plate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”
• Galatians 5:19, 21 “Now the works of the flesh are obvious… drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
• Ephesians 5:8,11: “For once you were dark-ness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as chil-dren of light… Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
• Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Dating
• 2 Corinthians 6:14: “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there be-tween light and darkness?”
• 2 Corinthians 7:1: “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.”
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor…”
• 1 Thessalonians 4:7: “For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness.”
• 1 Timothy 2:9: “(I desire) also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing…”
• 2 Timothy 1:7: “for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”
Temptation
• Romans 7:19, 21: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No testing has overtak-en you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
• 1 Corinthians 14:20: “Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults.”
• Galatians 6:1 “My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.”
• Ephesians 6:12-13: “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done every-thing, to stand firm.”
• Colossians 3:5: “Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).”
• 1 Thessalonians 3:2-3: “…we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions. Indeed, you yourselves know that this is what we are destined for.”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:22: “…abstain from every form of evil.”
• 2 Thessalonians 3:3: “(Pray for us) that we may be rescued from wicked and evil people; for not all have faith.”
• 1 Timothy 6:9: “But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
• 2 Timothy 4:18: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
I hope this helps…
Keep praying and KEEP READING!
be God’s.