“ And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye -break my covenant-
: I also will do THIS unto you....
.... -( scary list follows )- ....
.... If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies;
if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
....... And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. ”
- : Leviticus 26:15-44 ( KJV )
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BIBLICAL LIVING 101 - Immorality
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Last week, we saw that Marriage ( and Human gender ) were concepts very intentionally created by God, to show us His plan of Redemption.
We walked away with the amazing revelation that once the work of redemption is accomplished, these concepts will no longer hold!
Till that time, Marriage ( joining together -physically- ) is both a picture of THE Covenant ( God to man ) and A covenant ( man to (wo)man ).
Evil goes after this picture, and ranked right next to human disobedience of Gods commands , are crimes we see committed against the institution of marriage ( both physical and spiritual dimensions ).
It’s why our text this week focuses on Gods views towards - covenant breakers and why covenants are broken -, as we look at a really primal drive of man - Sex, and the old fashioned KJV word much beloved by fire and brimstone preachers ... Fornication!
We have spared you the f & b, by excerpting just a few verses from the full passage we referenced in our text this week - if you want to know how He REALLY feels about -covenant breaking- ... read it .... but do it while sitting down...
Just from the excerpt, please note - “despising His statutes”, and “abhorring His judgments” , are what lead to disobedience to the commandments. Covenant breaking is the ultimate outcome/result of that disobedience - and everything in the list happens because of a broken covenant !
We think we are better than God, and basically thumb our noses at what He says ...it’s the way He sees it! ( We are almost literally quoting Him verbatim! ) The amazing thing about this passage is that even after Man ( /Israel ) breaks covenants , God is faithful to still keep His part in them !!!!! Hallelujah!
Sex/marriage is an outcome of the intentional creation of human beings as male/female. God ordained it as the natural means of procreation, and designed it to be pleasurable.
Think about how much the human race is driven by it.
Art and Advertising. The Clothing and Glamour industry. Media and Movies. Music and Song, Music Videos. Porn and “Adult” entertainment. Abortions and Designer drugs (Viagra). Sex tourism and Prostitution! Talk about kids being fascinated with their wee-wee’s... ? ... we need to grow up a little ...
Seriously though , our God-given appreciation for the opposite gender has given us so much beauty!
Let’s look at how Evil is represented. We have already looked at adultery in the context of marriage and divorce in last weeks post .
Spiritually, divorce is covenant breaking, and committing adultery ( marrying another ) is going after false gods and religions. In particular, False religion is portrayed as a harlot/prostitute in the Word and adultery and idolatry are equated.
Physically - apart from divorce and adultery - Incest, homosexuality, rape, bestiality, prostitution are prohibited sins related to sex and all lumped under the term Fornication/unchaste living.
The NT Greek - πορνεία porneı́a, and πορνεύω, porneúō (Mat 5:32; Mat 15:19; Joh 8:41; Act 15:20; 1Co 5:1; 1Co 6:13, 1Co 6:18; 1Co 7:2; 1Co 10:8; 2Co 12:21; Gal 5:19; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5; 1Th 4:3; Rev 2:14, Rev 2:20, Rev 2:21; Rev 9:21; Rev 14:8; Rev 17:2, Rev 17:4). The intensive ἐκπορνεύω, ekporneúō = “to be utterly unchaste” is found in Jud 1:7. Every form of unchastity is included in the term “fornication.” ( ISBE ) So now we know what Porn truly is. Not just images and videos.
Side note: Hard as it is on Spiritual and physical adultery, The Word is compassionate to those that are actually compelled to sell their bodies for their livelihood - Rahab, the 2 prostitutes that came before Solomon, and the woman who wiped Christ’s feet with her hair ( Luke 7:36-50 ) are just a few OT and NT examples.
What are the spiritual impacts of these sins?
They are all sins against either Gods image or His commandments - basically despising Him!
Adultery is prohibited in the 10 commandments (Covenant keeping is SUPER important !) , and the Mosaic Law contains the prohibitions on the others.
There is NO restraint on enjoying sex, and what God has given us within the sanctity of a committed relationship! God is no prude, He designed it...
We give you New & Old Testament ...
“For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such (!), as we also have forewarned you and testified.
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. ”
- 1 Thess 1 4:2-7 ( KJV )
“Drink water from your own cistern and flowing waters from inside your own well. Shall your springs be scattered outward? In the streets, shall there be streams of water?
May they be yours alone, and not for strangers who are with you. May your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a deer of love and a doe of grace; may her breasts satisfy you ⌊always⌋; by her love may you be intoxicated continually.
Why should you be intoxicated, my child, by a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a foreigner? “
-Proverbs 5:15–23 ( LEB )
So why do these things have power over us? It’s because we turned from God to our own ways...
“Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the likeness of an image of mortal human beings and birds and quadrupeds and reptiles.
—-Therefore—— -God- gave them over in the desires of their hearts to immorality, that their -bodies- would be -dishonored- among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God with a lie, and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed for eternity. Amen.
—Because of this— , -God- gave them over to degrading passions, for their females exchanged the natural relations for those contrary to nature, and likewise also the males, abandoning the natural relations with the female, were inflamed in their desire toward one another, males with males committing the shameless deed, and receiving in themselves the penalty that was necessary for their error.
And just as they did not see fit ⌊to recognize God⌋, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things that are not proper” - Romans 1:22–28 ( LEB )
Now you know why and where all these problems come from — messing with God’s image causes Him to let you “literally” mess with it ( your body ). And that’s why we avoid immorality in our body as it’s way more serious than drugs/alcohol/foods.
“Now the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will raise us up by his power.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Therefore, shall I take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For it says, “The two will become one flesh.”
But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him.
—- Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a person commits is outside his body, but the one who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.—— (!!!)
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:13–20 (LEB)
The Temple of the Holy Spirit is not profaned by drugs or alcohol or movies and pork - as most of you may have heard those last two lines preached in the context of abstinence or recovery from xyz ....
It is profaned by a turning from God to idols, by breaking Gods covenants and commandments - and it is just of God to give such over to acting out their spiritual sins in the flesh.. the good news? .... what we opened with ... Forgiveness is available, and the capability to sin no more!
Leviticus 26:11–12 (LEB): “And I will put my dwelling place in your midst(!), and my inner self shall not abhor you(!!!). And I will walk about in your midst(!), and I shall be your God, and you shall be my people. “
It costs Him a lot to indwell us, let’s not grieve Him by being sexually immoral with our body!
Hallelujah!!!