SEXUAL IMMORALITY
In his book, A Fellowship of
Differents, Dr. Scot McKnight describes an eye-opening walk he once took down
the Roman roads of ancient Pompeii. The volcano erupted there in 79 A.D.
preserved a vivid snapshot of Roman culture in the century when the Church was
born. “It is not an exaggeration to say the city was swamped with erotic
images,” writes McKnight. Explicit pornography was everywhere. “The sexual
reality across the Empire, of which Pompeii was a typical example, was a total
lack of sexual inhibition.”
The standard order of things in the
first century was for most men (and some women) to have procreational sex with
their spouses and recreational sex with others. Those others often included
young boys and slave girls. Pederasty (or the practice of sex with children)
was widespread and accepted. Lesbianism was well known but nowhere near as
common as recreational same-sex liaisons between men, many of whom were still
married to women. And relations with paid sex workers formed such a major and
enduring industry that Rome’s most famous orator, Cicero, asked: “When was such
a thing not done?”
Las Vegas or Bangkok has nothing on first-century
Roman society. This was the World in which the Church was born and introduced a
more constrained sexual ethic.[1] The Apostle Paul founded
the Church in Ephesus, where people were given to sensuality and practiced
every kind of impurity. We are at the halfway point of the letter of Ephesians.
The first three chapters of the
letter deal with who we are in Christ. The second half deals with how we are to
live in this World because of our position in Christ. Watchman Nee, in his
book, observes, “Though the Christian life begins with sitting, sitting is
always followed by walking.”[2] In Ephesians 5:1-14, we
are warned about certain pitfalls that Christians must avoid.
From both the O.T. and N.T. references,
it is clear that the symbolic use of the English verb “walk” refers to conduct
or behavior that should support one’s verbal testimony. The word “walk” is
about how a believer lives or conducts their life, in stark contrast to that of
the unbeliever. In the book of Ephesians alone, the word walk appears eight
times. It means “to walk around” or order one’s behavior. We will examine the
basis for our Christian walk in love, what sins we must avoid, and what new
ways we are to cultivate when walking in the way of love.
I.
The Basis of our Christian Walk in Love.
Ephesians 5:1-2, “Follow God’s
example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of
love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God.” “Therefore, be imitators of God, as
beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you
and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant
aroma.” (NASB). These two action verbs, “Be imitators of God, and walk in love,”
are not simple suggestions; they are commands from God. They are not for
individual believers only but for the whole Church of Jesus Christ. They are
not for one-time action but for continual action.
Let us pause and think of the
implications of what it is to be imitators of God in a secular world that has
little or no regard for God. The early disciples, too, have lived in a world
like ours, yet they took imitating God seriously. For that reason, they were
called Christians.
When I shared with my wife that we are called to imitate God, she
responded imitating God when dealing with difficult people all day at work is
challenging. I get it! Yet, that is what we are commanded to do. We have heard
the idiom, “Like father, Like son.”
A son or daughter shows similarities to
his/her Father in mannerisms, interests, behavior, etc. As God’s dearly beloved
Children, we must reflect God’s nature through our words and actions. What
would people say about us? Here is a godly man or woman or something else?
The
basis of our Christian walk of love is twofold: Firstly, our God, our heavenly
Father, is love. Secondly, we are His dearly beloved children. Therefore, we
want to obey His commands out of our love for God. As the children of
God, we are called to a higher standard of living. Paul says to walk in love, we must avoid certain sins that
affect our relationships. He warns all believers to stay away from Two
Gateway Sins, which might trip them up in their walk of love.
II.
God’s Children must avoid two gateway sins: Sexual Immortality and Greed.
Ephesians 5:3, “But among you there
must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity, or of
greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” Writing to the
Colossians, Paul emphasizes these two deadly sins. Colossians 3:5 says, “Put to
death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality,
impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.” Let us look at Sexual Immortality and
Greed. I call them gateway sins like gateway drugs; they may lead people to
commit a variety of other sins.
III.
The Gateway Sin Of Sexual Immorality.
We seldom talk about Sexual
Immorality from the pulpit. Why is it such a devastating sin? What are its
implications on people’s physical, emotional, and spiritual lives? And how does
Sexual immorality affect society and the Church in general? Let’s explore these
questions.
In the New Testament, the word most
often translated as “sexual immorality” is porneia. This word is also
translated as “whoredom,” “fornication,” and “idolatry.” It means “a
surrendering of sexual purity,” and it is used in premarital sexual relations. From
this word, we get the English word pornography, stemming from the concept of “selling
off.”
For a few moments of pleasure,
people surrender their God-given sexual purity by getting involved in
premarital sex, pornography, extra-marital relationships, homosexuality, and
other forms of sexually immoral activities. They ruin individual lives and the
lives of their loved ones.
Why is sexual immorality a
devastating Sin? It amounts to Idolatry. “Flee from Sexual Immorality. All
other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually
sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of
the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not
your own; you were bought at a
price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.” I Corinthians 6:18-20
Pagan idol worship often involved perverse and immoral sexual
acts performed in the temple of a false god. When we use our physical bodies
for immoral purposes, we are imitating pagan worship by profaning God’s holy
temple with acts He calls detestable. Apostle Paul sternly warns that there not
be even a hint of Sexual Immorality among God’s people.
Hearing
these warnings, some might think God is punitive, a spoiler of fun, and doesn’t
want us to enjoy sex. The truth is, it is God who gifted humanity with sex. God
wants us to enjoy sex within the confinements of marriage between a woman and a
man. Sex before or outside of marriage and among same-sex people is a sin and
not God’s order of life.
As
God’s children, we want to do what is right before God. This is how Jesus
affirmed God’s intentions. “Haven’t you
read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them
male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason, a man will leave his Father and
mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh So they are
no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no
one separate.” Matthew 19:4-6
God
invented and intended sex for our pleasure and procreation of the World. The
devil perverts this beautiful gift by tempting people to get involved in Sexual
Immortality. As a result, people and our society are suffering. As God’s
children, we want to avoid Sexual Immorality. Our loving Heavenly Father is
here to set you free from all forms of sexual immorality. When we repent, he is faithful and just, forgiving and cleansing us from all
unrighteousness.
