Immorality and the Church

Carl Emerson said:

A time for cleansing….​

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In this late hour, Satan has a plan to dis-empower God’s people and weaken His Church by ‘normalising’ immorality.​

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Godly hatred of sexual sin is considered ‘old testament’ by many these days, and the ‘New Covenant’ is seen as a soft option as if God has somehow relented of His staunch moral position.​

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Infidelity among institutional church leaders is common and parents are finding it harder to argue the case for moral purity, when state run education provides all the tools for a ‘safe’ and guiltless immoral lifestyle.​

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Casual sex is expected of today’s youth and this pressure is impacting the Church.​

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Clearly there is grace for those who err and seek God’s forgiveness with repentance, but often this is not sought, as if somehow Jesus will ‘understand’.​

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What does the Bible say about keeping pure and saving one’s self for marriage.​

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Firstly, Marriage needs to be defined, as young people can consider themselves married simply by committing to an exclusive immoral relationship.​

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If marriage is not defined then Adultery and fornication are equally vague terms.​

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Marriage has four essential elements, the spiritual, the social, the legal and the physical.​

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Marriage includes the exchanging of vows before God and friends, entering a contract under law and adopting an exclusive ‘one flesh’ relationship.​

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Marriage is a God ordained institution within which He intended children to be raised.​

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Jesus acknowledges the place of marriage in Matt 19: 4-6. and adultery as unfaithfulness in marriage in v9.​

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Adultery then is sexual behaviour that violates the exclusive marriage covenant.​

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Fornication is a sexual act without having a married relationship. Pornography is commonly an associated sin and is derived from the same Greek word (Porneia).​

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Now many of us are aware of the Ten Commandments handed to Moses on a Stone Tablet.​

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Commandment Seven is not to commit adultery.​

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Jesus referred to these commandments saying’ Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments and so teaches others shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven’.​

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In fact the requirements of Jesus are more strict than the Commandments, as Jesus said the desire of the heart to commit adultery, is as serious as committing the sin physically.​

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Jesus said ‘depart from me you who practice lawlessness…’ (Matt 7:23) so the rejection of Law and adopting an amoral world view is a serious spiritual offence.​

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Clearly Jesus broke the power of the law through the cross (Eph2:15) but the law remains Gods standard to expose sin. (Rom 7:7) In fact sin is lawlessness (John 3:4)​

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In Hebrews 10 we read “For if we go on sinning wilfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a certain terrifying expectation of judgement…. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses, dies without mercy on the testament of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the Spirit of Grace?​

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So the consequences of casting aside New Covenant Grace is more severe than casting aside Old Testament Law.​

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What then does the New Testament say about Adultery and Fornication?​

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Jesus said “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders…. these are the things that defile... (Matt 15:20)​

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The disciples as Fathers of the early church were equally clear about the sin of fornication. They included sexual sin among the top four sins to avoid, along with the drinking of blood. (Acts 15:29) All the sins on this list resulted in personal spiritual defilement.​

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When Paul wrote about the sins of the flesh, fornication (in the Greek text) was at the top of the list… Gal 5:16-21 “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”​

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The New Testament writer of Hebrews gives similar warnings: “Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Heb 13:4​

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So the Gospel of Jesus is not a soft option allowing some more liberal approach to sexual sin, rather the opposite, we are called to purity – not in action only, but also in thought.​

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How then do we respond when falling short of these higher standards?​

Paul tackles this issue in detail in Romans 7.​

It will be an intense personal battle, and we all fail in some measure.​

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Firstly “There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus… “​

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Secondly, we have been given all the spiritual tools to break the power of sin and be fully restored - through confession, repentance, renunciation, cleansing and healing by the power of the Holy Spirit in the Name of Jesus.​

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We have been talking about two threads of Gods Grace that work together. God’s Law that exposes sin and God’s Kindness that leads us to repentance. (Rom 2:4)​

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Lets walk together in the light, renouncing secret and shameful ways (2 Cor 4:2) and restore power to His body so we can be fit for the battle in this late hour.​

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Agree I have only seen very few that did adhere to it. The most "christian" men I have had the unfortune to meet, with a look to date, tried to get one thing or did not live it at all, trying all ways to go straight to the line too. I have only met ONE that did not and even he had issues with p. This spans over a period of 20 years! I am saying this to highlight what a problem it is. So it is very rare to find people that really do live a clean life. Unfortunately. Of course we are never without problems, but it is scary that you don`t know and the attempts too. For not talk about everything else. It is not just these things but so much else. Like, are they really a good person and not a narcissist for example. After having been exposed to them you almost get ptsd and start to fear who is who. They hide well. Some,you don`t see after years.
I have seen, and heard of extremly high demands on looks and money in the churches regarding dating and few to choose among, leading to many eventually found an ungodly outside church to be married at all. I have seen men burning up because they don`t find.
I thought that it was never the old testaments meaning that we should go over 30 not being married, as back then everyone was married young or arranged. As such they never few at least experienced the problems with dating as dating was non existent and as such fornication like it is today. another society totally. No wonder we run into problems. It is almost tempting to suggest arranged marriages. I have heard and seen many good people rejected for silly reasons or superficical too.
apparently some of the jewish communities still do it

Not that God`s laws and rules have changed.
We are all sinners that fall short daily. Mentioned issues is at least not my struggles. He spared me in that regards.

I think we are entering a time of reflection. So much bad stuff has happened I don't think the church can have any moral leg to stand on today. So it cannot go much lower and surely it can only be up from this low.

Sometimes it takes doing things the wrong way to realise the truth and the right way. Today we can honestly look at church history and acknowledge the many mistakes and abuses. Realise how we went wrong and go back to the basics.

This is a fundemental principle in learning and hopefully Christians more than anyone can realise this as they are suppose to be the ones who know better and set the example.

In some ways I believe the point at which secular society and the world has come to today with so many problems is part of the church also coming to reflect on itself. We have seen anti semetism rise up again and now willingness to use violence and kill others with different beliefs.

So really its a trying time for everyone and not just the church. But it is usually in these times that people turn to the church and God. So it makes sense that as part of coming to such a pivotable point in time that God will come to the rescue and rise up Christs church again as a powerful example and give hope.

I think this is happening now. Younger people are seeing all the chaos and returning back to the fundemental ways of following God. We are seeing Christians reflecting and reproving their faith in response to the horrors of what has been happening.

We are seeing groups coming together in peace such as in once again celebrating Christs birth at Christmas and showing a different example to all the fighting and chaos on the streets.

This is the exact time Christs example of purity is needed to show the world. Being the complete opposite of all the violence and chaos it will stand out like a lighthouse in a dark stormy harbour.

I agree, and I think it’s happening, that the church is being purged, cleansed at this time. It will always be full of sinners because we all sin but its members and more so it’s leaders are called to a higher standard of course. And we must never forget the awesomely good fruit the church has produced down through time as well.

stevevw said:

This is the exact time Christs example of purity is needed to show the world. Being the complete opposite of all the violence and chaos it will stand out like a lighthouse in a dark stormy harbour.

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Another reason for hope, if i'm not mistaking, is the violence you mention might come from the world loosing its temper facing christianism, as it did with Jesus about 2000 years ago.
I mean :
May be are christians standing more firm and virtuous than in the past facing temptations.
Namely, may be a virtuous circle has begun

peter2 said:

Another reason for hope, if i'm not mistaking, is the violence you mention might come from the world loosing its temper facing christianism, as it did with Jesus about 2000 years ago.
I mean :
May be are christians standing more firm and virtuous than in the past facing temptations.
Namely, may be a virtuous circle has begun

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In some ways this is true. They say underneath all conflicts its a spiritual battle. I know for progressive ideas the political has become the personal. We see this in how the State has encroached into the private life with policies and laws that now affect parenting and families and other private issues. Even belief itself.

So if the political has become the personal then it has also become the spiritual because this is part of the private. That is why people are more passionate and angry. Because its personal, its life and death, its how people order society and the world as to their very existence.

So in that sense it comes down to who is god of our lives, society and the world. Is it humans or is it God. A God who we are subject to. For many who are angry and act out their rights even at the expense of others. This is about human ideas over other human ideas at war. No one want to bow to anyone let alone a god or the Almighty God.

I think Gods truth is known. You don't have to say its Christian. The truth is the truth and when it comes to what is moral it is Christ. Just speaking the truth that exposes lies and sin is enough to upset those who reject God.

stevevw said:

No one want to bow to anyone let alone a god or the Almighty God.

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You probably mean no worldly person want to do so. As for christians, looks to me yes