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Christians and Sexual Immorality |
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Written by Science Versus Evolution
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Monday, December 01, 2008 |
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Christians and
Sexual Immorality What Has Gone Wrong
The Bible says, (2 Th 2:3 KJV) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
First of all, the Bible says that many Christians will no longer acknowledge Biblical truths and will no longer obey God's commandments. This is the great falling away that we are seeing today. Christians are also becoming callous to their own sin problems. Often times Christians do not admit and recognize the seriousness of their individual sins. We are often too busy criticizing others for what we think they're doing wrong.
Here is the perfect example of what I am saying. There is a man that is on the a particular protestant church Board for Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, and Idaho. This man stated that in one of their board meetings that it was said that 67% of a particular denomination of preachers in the United States are addicted to pornography. Even though I am not sure how this percentage was calculated, I still have a tendency to believe this statistic due to the way Christians are falling away from the Lord.
(Mat 5:28 KJV) But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
The more you commit adultery in your heart, the more likely you are going to commit the act physically.
According to the radio talk show VCY America there are now for the first time entire counseling ministries being started for pastors who are addicted to pornography.
I remember when I was a little boy I would go along with my mom and dad to the Tri-Cities about once a month and pick up groceries. On the way to our favorite restaurant we would drive by a pornographic (adult) movie theater. This theater was way out in the country. This movie theater existed before VHS tapes, video stores, and satellite TV were popular. At that time if you wanted to view pornographic movies you would have to go there to see them. This kept most Christians from seeing a lot of nudity or partial nudity unless they were looking at magazines and other literature. I am saying that pornography was not as easily accessible as it is today.
From my recollection, I was a sophomore in high school when satellite dishes started becoming popular in my hometown. One of the favorite TV stations to get was HBO. It then became a lot easier for people to bring explicit sexual scenes right into their living rooms. Around this same time VCRs came into existence and became very popular. Then video stores opened where one could go and rent any type of movie. You could rent movies with pornographic scenes, profanity, and foul talk. After the video stores became popular, movies with sexually explicit scenes were no longer looked at as pornography. Instead, they were labeled entertainment. The VCR along with the video stores made pornography readily available to anyone who wanted to rent a video and take it home. Now it is not unusual to see Baptist deacons with adulterous movies right in their own homes such as the movie Top Gun. I know of one personally. Then we wonder why Christians are having so much trouble with pornography in their own lives.
(2 Chr 7:14 KJV) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
The main reason why adulterous relationships are on the rise is because so-called Christian people do not want to take responsibility for their actions as the above verse states. Most Christians who watch adulterous videos or subscribe to a TV channel that shows movies with even semi-nudity or total nudity rationalize that it is ok for them. They do not feel like it will affect their lifestyle. It is unfortunate that they do not have a close enough relationship with Christ to see their own hypocrisy. These kind of Christians lack self-evaluation, perseverance, humility, and integrity. Any Christian who makes a practice of watching or bringing this kind of trash into their home is worse than an infidel.
(1 Tim 5:8 KJV) But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his
own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
We are not providing the right things for ourselves and our family to meditate on and fill their minds with when we allow this type of material in our homes. We are corrupting our own minds and the minds of those around us.
Pastors should be examples to their flock. I believe it is not right for a pastor to condone going to the movie theater. He is being a stumbling block to those around him. There are definite qualifications for pastors in God's Word.
It is interesting to note the hypocrisy of Christians who have no conscience towards nudity on TV, but yet they would not dare subscribe to magazines like "Playboy."
(Mat 5:14 KJV) Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
(Mat 5:15 KJV) Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
(Mat 5:16 KJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
I remember a time when non-Christians would apologize to Christians when they cursed in front of them because back then they had some type of respect for Christians. Those days are mostly gone.
When I was a reserve police officer we had to make bar checks every night. This helped to keep any problems or fights to a minimum. One night when I made a bar check I saw someone I knew in the bar. I had witnessed to him and talked to him about the Lord many times. When he saw me he was very ashamed to be seen by me in a bar. No one else was ashamed because they did not know me. The point is that at one time the Christians were the light of the world and we had the influence. Now it has changed for the most part because most Christians have compromised with the world. The world no longer respects Christians. Now ignorant so-called Christians are embarrassed to be separate from the world. They are embarrassed if they don't go to bars and feel as though they are being judgmental toward others. The world does not see a difference in Christians and is no longer ashamed of their own sinful ways.
(Isa 5:20 KJV) Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
(Isa 5:21 KJV) Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
(Isa 5:22 KJV) Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Our light is dimming down and darkness is naturally manifesting itself.
There is only one way for Christians to fight the infiltration of adultery and immorality in their churches and homes. Someone might say, repentance is the key. Yes that is true, but there will be no evidence of repentance until Christians start taking responsibility for their own personal actions.
This is where we need to start defining some terms.
According to Mathew 5:28 if a man so even looks at a women and thinks sexual thoughts about her, then he has committed adultery in his heart already.
So, in God's eyes you have committed adultery already. You have fornicated with a woman or man with whom you are not married. In other words, you had an affair with another woman or man.
King David said:
(Psa 101:3 KJV) I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
David experienced this first hand. He looked upon a woman who was not clothed and ended up committing adultery with her. Notice, first he had unclean thoughts and committed adultery in his mind which led him to commit physical adultery with Bathsheba.
None of us are above David in our spirituality. David was even considered a man after God's own heart and yet was still vulnerable to sin and gave into his impure thought life.
I hear people say all the time, "we need to repent of our sins to cure this problem of adultery." Actions speak louder than words AND THE PROOF OF REPENTANCE IS A CHANGED LIFESTYLE AND CHANGED ATTITUDES AND A CHANGE OF MIND. WE DO NOT HAVE REPENTANT HEARTS IF WE ARE IMPATIENT WITH OTHERS WHO ARE GOING THROUGH SINFUL STRUGGLES. WE NEED TO HAVE COMPASSION FOR OTHERS WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH BONDAGE TO ANY SINFUL LIFESTYLE. AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE NOT PLEASING TO GOD IF WE WATCH DIRTY MOVIES AND JOKE ABOUT SEXUAL MATTERS. WE ARE THEN FILLING OUR OWN MINDS WITH UNCLEANNESS.
A person who has truly repented and has integrity, humility, and responsibility will not joke about sex, will not intentionally bring home a sexually suggestive video, will not bring home a video with nudity in it, will not bring home any kind of sexually suggestive material, and will not subscribe to TV stations like HBO, Showtime, etc. If you do, you are part of the problem and not the solution. If you are married, then you are not being faithful to your spouse, if you have kids you are an irresponsible parent, if you are single then you are irresponsible to yourself and to God and to your future mate.
Both men and women should be concerned about dressing modestly so as not to influence impure thoughts from the opposite sex. We should all be honest with ourselves and realize that none of us are above having impure thoughts. We need to focus on pure things in order to keep our thoughts pure.
If you are a Christian girl and you intentionally wear sexually suggestive clothing then you have the mind of a harlot because you are trying to seduce others in their thoughts toward you. I understand that some girls may not realize the thoughts that they are influencing in men and boys but they need to be taught the concept that the way they are dressing is influencing unclean thoughts in others. In these days it is important to be specific about the definition of immodest clothing. Here are some examples: mini-skirts, shorts, low-cut tops or short tight tops that show your belly button, hip-hugger jeans that show off one's hips, skin-tight jeans, or any tight fitting clothing that is designed to purposely show off your form to offend (sexually excite) someone of the opposite sex. When you purposely dress to attract the opposite sex then you are offending people around you, influencing them to stumble by thinking impure thoughts. Although this does not excuse men or women for thinking impure thoughts about others because each person is responsible for his/her own thought life. If we are having struggles then we need to ask God's forgiveness and then focus on pure things. This is the very reason we are not to look upon things that would cause us to think impure thoughts.
(Rom 14:21 KJV) It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbled, or is offended, or is made weak.
A HUMBLE CHRISTIAN NEVER NEEDS TO DRESS TO ATTRACT THE OPPOSITE SEX IN A SEDUCTIVE MANNER OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A MATE, THE LORD CAN PROVIDE, AND HE CAN PROVIDE SOMEONE WHO MAY BE ATTRACTIVE PHYSICALLY BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY HAS GODLY CHARACTER.
By behaving in an irresponsible manner, we as Christians can cause another brother to become weak and stumble through temptation. According to the Bible it is especially wrong when we offend children since they are so impressionable.
(Mat 18:6 KJV) But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
I am not necessarily focusing on soft or hard-core pornography. The problem is gateway pornography. Some examples of gateway pornography (immorality) are sexually suggestive dressing, magazines that have girls and guys immodestly dressed, and TV programs or movies that have sexually suggestive content.
Something to remember: Satan does not deceive by using the obvious, he deceives by using subtlety.
(Gen 3:1 KJV) Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Remember that which is closest to the truth is often the most deceptive.
If you can only detect obvious deception, then you are already deceived.
I believe that we Christians are like the frog that is put into lukewarm water. It is a biological fact that if you put a frog into lukewarm water and slowly turn up the heat on the stove that the frog will boil to death not knowing what happened to him.
In 1982 when I was a senior in high school we had to read the book, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway. The teacher would read to us publicly in the classroom. While she was reading one day she came across the phrase "while making love standing up." Although the girl sitting in front of me was not a Christian, she along with the rest of the class was very embarrassed. I will never forget what she said. She exclaimed, "If my mom knew we were reading a book like that she would come down here and take care of it." Back then, even the unsaved blushed. Compare that scenario with today's classroom settings. See how we as Christians have been cooked slowly like the frog I mentioned earlier. Most likely, reading the above phrase did not even embarrass the majority of us because in these days we are used to hearing things a lot more explicit and yet at one time this even embarrassed the unsaved. This is indicates that we as Christians are becoming immune, or callous to sinful things. When sin no longer shocks us or makes us feel bad then we are more likely to let our guard down.
LOOK AT WHAT THESE VERSES SAY.
(1 Tim 4:1 KJV) Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
(1 Tim 4:2 KJV) Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
SO WHAT HAS REALLY GONE WRONG???
Most intellectuals think that our society is getting better because of our increase in technology in this world. This is far from the truth - technology has in many ways been used to accelerate wickedness in our society. Technology has gotten out of hand. What we idolize is destroying us. Since the Industrial Revolution, education, Science, technology, and materialism are some of the things that have become our gods. Sadly, the above-mentioned things are also idolized by many Christians. Then we ask why we are not seeing very many revivals today. Humanists trust in what they can see with their eyes. Unfortunately many so-called Christians have become just like the humanists (trusting only in what they see) because they have put their trust in TVs, satellite dishes, the internet, VCRs, DVD players, etc. to make themselves content. This is called the sin of idolatry. Trusting in something other than God to make oneself content and happy is idolatry. This is one of the factors that has stunted Christians' spiritual growth and in turn has brought adultery and immorality into our local churches causing much confusion and disillusionment. Christians have allowed the entertainment industry to devour them in the spiritual sense. We as Christians have forgotten that we are in a battle against not only Satan, but also against our fleshly, carnal nature. It is man's nature to want to please the flesh.
(Mat 26:41 KJV) Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
DAVID SAID:
(Psa 101:3 KJV) I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:
A lot of bad things happened during and after World War II. The first problem was that during that time era many Christian parents did not view the world as a threat to their children. It seems that a lot of Christian people back then did not take the commandment seriously in the Bible about being unequally yoked together in marriage. The second problem - World War II was the first time in American history when the U.S. government encouraged both mom and dad to go out and work for the war effort. When the war was over, both mom and dad found out that if they both worked then we they could afford bigger houses, more cars, more frequent and extravagant vacations and on and on the list goes. So "mom and dad" left their kids with a baby sitter and let someone else raise their kids. Many of these kids were the same ones who went off to college and became hippies, protested the Vietnam war, overdosed on illegal drugs, rebelled against authority, brought in the Beatles (who hated Jesus Christ with a passion) New Age music, and burned the American flag. Then many of these kids had babies born out of wedlock. When their babies grew up many of them became our gang members that have taken over our streets. I have come face to face with a lot of these situations because I work with a lot of these kids at our local juvenile detention center. Now we have worse gangs then we did back in the 80s. We now have organized gangs that are more belligerent than ever with their rap music cranked up.
We now enter the modern day "Christian" movement - the post-hippie movement. Have Christians really been corrupted that much by the hippie movement? What does all this have to do with Christians and sexual immorality? Let's take a look. Remember former President Bill Clinton. He claims to be a "born-again Christian," which I doubt. It is a fact that he was a real hippie and still is today. He has carried on his hippie beliefs into the White House. He ran this country based on his hippie beliefs. Bill Clinton was a womanizer, a draft dodger, a liar and he rebelled against God's authority in the White House just as he did on the college campuses when he was a student. He was the first president of the United States that never grew out of adolescence.
Now enter the local New Testament Churches. In them we have adults who like to lead out in youth groups, who like Bill Clinton have no real backbone and very few, if any, convictions. Many of them give into the flesh because the flesh rebels against strict Bible doctrine. They don't challenge spiritual growth in the youth. Instead they retard spiritual growth in the youth by treating them like children. They insult their intelligence by encouraging them to take important Bible teachings lightly, teaching them that you have to always have fun, rewards, competitions, and oh yes, let's not forget the music, it always has to be rocky, sensual music. Many times this is because the youth leader never grew out of adolescence himself and because he is more afraid of what his youth group thinks of him than he is of God's viewpoint. Therefore, most things that are taught to the youth group are done in a joking, laughing, lighthearted manner. There is not a whole lot of seriousness and depth to their teachings.
Here are some examples. I have gone to a lot of youth rallies in my life. And it seems like many times when the "youth" do something in the name of Christianity like a play, skit, or song the Bible is taken as a joke and is not taken seriously. We especially see this in the Veggie Tales series. So now we are raising youth in our churches who are learning in a very subtle deceptive way not to take the Bible seriously.
Now, let's look at the music. Youth are often encouraged to sing songs with a rock beat that is also very loud which destroys the seriousness and sanctity of the worship service.
This type of behavior came out of the hippie movement. The hippie movement taught the young that their parents and pastors were not COOL. Unfortunately many youth leaders, parents, and pastors began to compromise the Bible because they did not want to be thought of as un-cool. Many young people started believing that if they were going to be cool then they needed to rebel against their parents, pastors, Sunday school teachers, etc. and disregard their strict teachings. They learned that If they were going to be COOL or HIP then they needed to be independent and stay out late at night, listen to rock-n-roll, dance, take drugs, drink alcohol, and chase the opposite sex.
I once heard a Christian mother defending her teenage daughter who likes rock music. The mother criticized an elderly pastor for his strict beliefs in the Bible. This mother said to her daughter "that pastor is just old fashioned; you don't really have to listen to him." She was not teaching her daughter to respect the elderly who are often wiser than the young. She criticized that pastor because she was more fearful of what her daughter thought about her than what the Bible teaches. This mother wants to be cool and does not want to be thought of as un-cool by her own rebellious daughter. Up-date years later this same daughter got pregnant out of wedlock
The hippie movement started at the same time as our involvement in Vietnam in the early to mid-sixties. The hippie movement was against parental, governmental, and Biblical authority. From the hippie movement, the charismatic movement started the "Jesus movement" in 1967. Out of the hippie movement the rock group Petra was formed. This is how the hippie movement began to influence the churches in a very negative way. Since then we have seen a lot of church splits and church divisions over issues that were hardly ever debated before these beliefs started infiltrating our churches. Around this time the divorce rate escalated in churches. Some of the other negative impacts on our country were: college students rioted at their colleges, premarital sex and sexually transmitted diseases increased, and illegitimate pregnancies became the norm and no longer the exception. These things began to apply not only to the world but also to churches.
I have come face to face with some of this by ministering at the Juvenile Justice Center. There are so many kids in that institution with whom I have counseled and some even claim to be Christians, yet they are having children out of wedlock. Most of them do not even realize that what they are doing is wrong because they have not been taught that their lifestyle is against God's Word.
Let's talk about the AVERAGE modern day Christian male in the 21st century. What has he seen with his eyes in just the past 10 years? What does he think about and dwell on? Well, most Christian males have seen a lot of movies at the theater or by way of the VCR or just simply right off the TV, via antenna, cable, or satellite dish. The majority of movies watched by Christian males are either PG-13 or R rated movies, because these movies have all the action and suspense. Guess what else is shown on these movies...pornography, disguised as entertainment. Remember the definitions of pornography according to the Bible. The Bible touches on our thought process and our hearts condition not just on our actions. For the first time in American history, pornography labeled as entertainment, is now readily available to every Christian male and female.
I will never forget an experience I had one Sunday morning in about the late 1980s. I was in church and I heard a bunch of high school girls and guys talking about a new movie they had just gone to see the night before. The girls were talking about Tom Cruise - a real "hunk." The movie was called Top Gun. I knew nothing about the movie. I don't go to movies and I personally believe that going to movies is wrong. Many years later I learned from another individual who had seen the movie that there was a sex scene in the movie. So, this is what happened on that Saturday night: a group of church kids went to see a movie hours before going to church. They watched a suggestive sexual scene and in their own minds they dismissed it as being ok because it was just fun entertainment. This affected their thought pattern and many of them committed sexual immorality in their minds because of the sex scene. After watching so many movies like this, their consciences were seared as it talks about in I Tim. 4:2. Then, the next morning they went to church feeling as if they were doing their duty to God, not realizing that they should be evaluating their own heart's condition.
(1 Tim 4:2 KJV) Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
I want you the reader to understand that this type of hypocritical behavior happens on a regular basis and some people are so deceived that they think it is not affecting them in a negative way. Remember God sees everything even if it is done in secret.
(Prov. 15:3 KJV) The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
It is not surprising that it seems like pastors are fighting a losing battle with their congregations. Sometimes it is partly the pastor's fault because he has not been the "watchman on the wall" that he should be and warn his people of specific sins and lifestyles. It does not matter how fundamental a church may be, this is going on in almost every church where members are dwelling on impure thoughts almost on a constant basis causing them to commit sexual immorality in their minds and hearts.
About the time I was in the sixth grade, I remember Jerry Falwell making his appearance on prime time TV. He warned people that Planned Parenthood was an abortion clinic. I remember how much criticism he took from mainstream Christians for saying that about Planned Parenthood. Many of the naive Christians made remarks like "Falwell is a radical - how could a place named Planned Parenthood ever do such things." I discussed this at church with people and many of them laughed at me for considering what Jerry Falwell was saying. Then about 5 to 10 years down the road the truth came out and people started believing this about Planned Parenthood. The same Christians that were making fun of Jerry Falwell in the beginning were then fighting against Planned Parenthood and abortion. People are not educating themselves about the conditions of our world. For the most part Christians are in the dark on a lot of issues because they do not want to be too different from the word and look strange.
(Hosea 4:6 KJV) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me:
We are living like it was in the days of Noah!
(Mat 24:37 KJV) But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
I promise you that if someone in this country would have said before we defeated Hitler that Germans were murdering Jews by the thousands everyday, then he/she would not have been believed by most people.
(Mat 24:38 KJV) For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
This problem of sexual immorality in our churches is of epidemic proportions today. It is not just because of soft or hard-core pornography, it is because of main stream TV, video stores, internet, satellite TV, movie theaters, and because the magazine stands today look like something that you would only find in an "adult" book store.
Yet that same old naive attitude is still there among mainstream Christianity. Many of you are probably laughing at me and thinking that I am going overboard on these issues. Most Christians do not learn from the past just like the world. We do not study our Bibles like we should. The Bible says that we are fighting a daily battle against Satan and our carnal nature.
(Eph 6:12 KJV) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
(2 Tim 2:4 KJV) No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
When a Christian man looks at nudity or semi-nudity from either the screen, magazine, internet, or whatever the source, he falls prey to one of Satan's greatest, craftiest lies. This lie may cause him to become dissatisfied with his wife or his future wife. This can cause many hardships in a marriage relationship. Many husbands compare their wives against the Hollywood-type women. These superficial, paint-brushed women are made to look so glamorous, but do we as men ever consider what is on the inside of their hearts. After getting to know one of these women, one might end up disliking her because her true self is made known and then she does not look as glamorous. Some men think that they are missing out on something sexually if they do not have one of these women. No, that is not true. If a husband has the right relationship with God and is trying to keep his mind pure, he can have a wonderful, sexual relationship with his wife that has some depth to it and is not shallow like the world's relationships which are many times only based on the physical.
The average Christian male that watches or looks at immoral things thinks that it will never affect him. He thinks that because he understands that such things are wrong and since he is fundamental that it will not affect him. He feels that he can be discreet and get away with his actions. He does not realize that he is destroying himself. He has no fear of God and forgets or does not believe that God sees his actions and thoughts even in secret. We as Christians need to evaluate our own thoughts and actions and repent toward God. This seems to be one of the reasons why there is no evidence of true repentance in America because most people are judging those around them instead of evaluating their own lives.
Parents that allow sexually suggestive material into their homes like videos, TV stations, internet sites, or magazines are cursing and defiling their home. If a father brings sexually suggestive material into his home then his children most likely will take it one step further. His grandchildren and great grandchildren may not have any real concept of God and how He views sin.
(2 Cor 5:10 KJV) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
I hope that these things have challenged our thinking as Christians. Please do not disregard these things, but go to the Word of God and study with a sincere heart. Ask God to show you the truth and don't be deceived by your own opinions or what others think. God expects us to allow the Holy Spirit to affect our thoughts and to be our guide.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, February 12, 2009 )
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