August 11
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, not idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality…drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you and have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19, 21)
There are many verses in the New Testament and the Old Testament warning about immorality, adultery, and perversions of the flesh. Paul tells us to FLEE IMMORALITY, to run from it, as Joseph fled from the clutches of Potiphar’s wife, to just get out of those situations, and FAST!
But because immorality has become ubiquitous and even celebrated and promoted in our culture, I am concerned that we have become callous and indifferent toward these sins. We have allowed the culture to change our definitions of what is repulsive and and what is acceptable behavior, to the point where the Bible is set aside for more “enlightened” ideas. If young people in our churches are behaving immorally and having sexual relations, are we deeply concerned and grieved about this, or do we think that it is somehow normal or even expected? And I have read of young single people repeatedly engaging in immoral and impure acts, and just because they stop just short of intercourse, they think that they are keeping themselves from sin and holding to their abstinence pledges!
Divorce and remarriage is by some reports as common among Christians as it is unbelievers. What a poor testimony Christians are having to the world they are supposed to be winning to Christ! But Jesus was very clear that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery (unless the reason for the divorce was immorality on the part of the wife; Paul also tells us that if a believer is married to an unbeliever, and the unbeliever wants to leave, the believer can let them go and is “not under bondage in such cases”) (Matthew 19:9, 1 Corinthians 7:15).
Churches, along with the culture and the whims of our government, are now more and more embracing homosexual behaviors. Personally, I respect it more when people just say, “I don’t care what the Bible says, I am going to do it anyway,” than when they try to twist the Bible and distort it or try to prove that such and such a writer (usually Paul) was a ______ (fill in the blank with the favorite label of the day that enemies of the Bible use to make weak-minded and worldly Christians change their opinions because they don’t want to be mocked or thought of as simple-minded), or that the Bible actually supports the things that it so strongly condemns. And then on top of all of this there are the infidelity and pedophilia scandals that are rocking churches and discrediting the Name of Jesus. No wonder the influence of the Body of Christ is diminishing in today’s culture!
My exhortation to you is to trust what the Bible clearly says about the behavior in question, DO NOT trust what others, even so-called Christians, may say to the contrary, and FLEE immediately all sins of the body that the Bible prohibits. Sensual pleasures of the body are reserved for marriage between a man and a woman. Any sexual activity outside of that relationship is immorality and is sin.
Heed the warnings of Paul, that “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals….shall inherit the kingdom of God.” This is an extremely serious warning. To flee these sins and stop doing them is within your power and ability if you are a Christian. God will certainly give you the ability to remove yourself from these sins if you ask Him and seek to do what the Bible clearly tells you to do. Flee! Immediately! Without delay! Your own eternal destiny and those who are being influenced by you, both those you know and those you may never meet, may very well hinge on your obedience in this area.