CASUAL, EXTRA-MARITAL SEX AND THE CHURCH

 

 

If we trust in the Savior, we will do what He tells us to do. However: 

·       According to a Pew Research poll, more than half of mainline Protestants in the U.S. say casual sex is sometimes or always okay. Fully 36 percent of Evangelicals says the same thing, the poll revealed. https://onenewsnow.com/culture/2020/09/14/mcfarland-when-will-church-separate-from-world

How are we to act like Jesus if we don’t think like Jesus; and how are we to think like Him if we refuse to live according to “every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4)

The cultural consequences of this betrayal are immense, according to Christian apologist Alex McFarland:

·       “Part of the reason that the Church, I think, has almost zero credibility before the lost world," McFarland says, “is because we talk about Christ, we go through the motions of religion, but we don't have the Bible as our authority.” (Ibid.)

The consequences are even worse. If we fail to abide in the Words of God, we fail to honor Him and to experience His blessings:

·       If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. (John 15:7-10 (ESV)

Jesus had likewise counseled us that His teachings would liberate us if we’d continue to seek His truths and to live by them:

·       “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

However, we remain in bondage because we refuse to abide in His Word. This is just! In essence, we are telling God, “I know what’s better for me. I trust in my own decisions rather than in your teachings.” Consequently, God will give us what we want and allow us to reap their consequences (Proverbs 1:29-32).

What are the consequences of our sexual promiscuity? Destruction:

·       Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Romans 1:27; Ephesians 5:3)

According to Jesus, this also includes pornography:

·       “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)