Fornication Nation
Sex Scandal in Camp Acacia Grove
Temptation came upon the children of Israel while camped in Shittim. These men of Israel who demonstrated valor, courage and vigilance on the battlefield, these men who had no problem conquering their enemies, allowed their defenses to come down when Moabite women came to seduce them with their music, dancing and their beauty. As the barriers of self-control were broken down, thus entered the sins of idolatry and fornication, which was then brought over into the midst of their camp.
Just to think, Shittim was the last stop before entering the Promised Land, so close to the Promised Land, yet they stumbled and fell to temptation and as a result 24,000 Israelites were killed for engaging in such practices!
Why would God allow this story in the Bible? Is it any different today? Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it
There is no doubt we are living in a sex-crazed society. Like Israel of old, this generation is also faced with such a great and numerous temptations unlike any other generation before this one. We are bombarded by sexually explicit content everywhere we go…in movies, TV, music, billboards, magazines, websites...all seducing us for our time and attention. One will go as far to say that we are visually over-exposed to sex!
We are living in a fornication nation. Fornication comes from the Greek word: porneia = where we get the word pornography – the dictionary defines as sexual intercourse between people not married to each other, or unlawful sexual intercourse.
My concern is not how prevalent fornication is in our society today, but more so how prevalent it is among those in the church!
Sex in the Church
A recent article on CNN entitled, “Why Young Christians aren’t waiting anymore” mentions a study of sexual activity of single Christians. 80% of unmarried evangelical young adults (18 to 29) said that they have had sex; slightly less than 88% of unmarried adults, according to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Association.
In the article, a Christian girl that went by the name Maria said during an interview, “It seemed everyone in my life, older and younger, had “done it.” In fact, I waited longer than most people I knew and longer than both of my sisters, even though we were all Christians and came from a good home.”
I find it interesting that even though this girl was raised in the church, raised in a good home, yet what “impelled” her to it was because everyone else, including her sisters have “done it”…and she felt left out. What happens when there is no longer a distinction between the world and the church regarding the issue of sexual purity?
No one is immune; we hear stories of ministers, elders, deacons who have also engaged in illicit affairs, sexual misconduct, child abuse. And what is the result? Broken marriages, devastated families, churches divided, the name of Jesus dragged in the mud…all due to one act of infidelity.
Her name was Sandy (name changed for this article) and she just became a baptized member of the SDA church and was happy in her newfound faith. Unfortunately, Sandy had to move to another state because of a new job. Often, I would check on her to see how she was settling in her new surroundings as well as her newfound faith. She mentioned how she felt alone and missed being away from her family in Hong Kong. I tried getting her plugged into a church around the area with people I knew, but don’t know if she went. Sometime later we talked again and I learned that she was now seeing a guy she met at work. I asked if he was SDA and she said he wasn’t. As we talked, it was apparent that she was in this relationship not because she was interested in him, but because she was lonely. I counseled her, being new to the Christian faith that it would not be wise to be in a relationship with someone that was not Adventist, solely because she was lonely. She dismissed what I said and I didn’t hear from her for a few months. Some time later, I learned she had gotten pregnant and dumped by the same guy. Sandy’s story is an example of the sad consequences that result from deviating from God’s original plan for sexual relations to be practiced within the marriage.
There are many Bible quotes that I can offer you that shows fornication is wrong—but I will just share this:
“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 in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 7:19, 20
Our bodies are to be the very vessels, the temple that houses the Holy Spirit. What an honor! But how can we keep our bodies in dishonor unto the Lord, desecrating what He is deeming holy? Many are susceptible to engage in private sexual sins or with another partner due to factors such as loneliness and the need to be loved. When you’re lonely and desiring of being with someone, what you’re really longing for is an emotional connection. And unfortunately, while the word “love” is bandied about so easily, is your sexual partner truly loving, forsaking others, and committed everlasting? God doesn’t want you to have sex, He wants you to experience an aspect of love that He designed. They call it "making" love because it's the physical act of the emotional love between husband and wife. Making love the way God intended and blessed, between a husband and wife; in a committed, trusting relationship. When the two of you come together, you truly become one.
Any deviation from God’s original purpose for your sexuality to be expressed in a marriage, will leave you feeling cheated and cheapened in the process. Love that is sought out apart from God’s plan, will lead to guilt, shame and pain. Jesus has bought you so that you can be free and never feel these!
So often young people hear that being a virgin is a disease that they need to get rid of. That abstinence before marriage is something to be ridiculed for. These are among the many lies that Satan has circulated to pressure God’s people to cave in, by blurring the lines of morality: “It’s okay what you choose what you want do with your body,” “if something feels so good, can it really be bad?”
But your virginity is a gift that you exchange with your future spouse. You have never loved anyone, the way you love your spouse. No one has seen or touched your rare beauty. Value your worth and save your love for the person who will truly appreciate that gift.
Have you noticed the growing trend in Korean dramas and movies often depicting extramarital affairs to seem glamorous and exciting? You may not be married yet, but when you have sex with 1 or 2 or 5 other people before your spouse, you are also cheating your future spouse of your body, as well as your feelings due to the emotional damage from those previous broken relationships.
If you have engaged in promiscuous activity, if you have a past that you are ashamed of and want a clean slate, God is ready to forgive. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.
God is calling you back into a love relationship with Him. Regardless of your tainted past, regardless of what you’ve done…He loves you and wants you back. Isn’t it time that we return to the ideal of God’s perfect plan for our lives? Will you trust God to lead you to experience the true joy of sexual intimacy that He ordained before sin began? Jesus is offering liberation from guilt, liberation from shame, liberation from sin! This is true freedom, to live the life that God intended for you: to live with pleasure that has no sin. The choice is yours…
How to survive a fornication nation?
Like Israel of old, the same seductions await for God’s people today. So how can we survive in a world where sex is so rampantly seeking to stir up those carnal, fleshly passions? Paul tells us that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal...” 2 Cor. 10:4, “Overcome evil with good!” (Rom. 12:21) Here are practical ways to combat such temptations.
1. Remember who you are
- Many people young and old are identifying themselves with the world, forgetting their identity as a child of the King, rather than an animal with uncontrolled passions
Peter in his second epistle mentions how Christians who once knew the truth turned back to the ways of the world, the lusts of the flesh and describes them as brute beasts. Remember, if you are truly a Christian and truly love Christ and want to follow Him, you will be true to the identity that God gave you. Never compromise your identity of who God says you are and who God will make you become, and pray that God will give you the power to overcome moment by moment.
2. Starve the eyes
- Avoid looking at billboards, ads on Internet of suggestive nature. Turn away from them, do not linger or dwell on such images. Avoid watching things of suggestive nature with sexual innuendos. Men are visual by nature, thus must be on guard lest they sin in their heart. Job understood this when he said, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?” (this may limit what you can watch, but ask God to help you find a better replacement and He will if you honor Him by making a commitment in this area.) Girls, be aware of how you dress (yes, you may think you’re being validated and admired when you get attention from guys, but dressing provocatively as a follower of Christ is conflicting lifestyle that can be a stumbling block for your brothers).
3. Guard the mind
- Dwelling on imaginations, leads to acting on them. When a suggestive thought comes, don't dwell or linger upon it, pray at that very moment and ask Jesus to take captive that very thought. Rehearse scriptures or sing spiritual songs. Believe me, it works.
“Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:5
4. Flee temptation
- Don't go seeking for or linger in places that may lead to compromising situations (anywhere from going to porn websites or to a strip club to “evangelize” to them).
- don't be alone with a girl or boy of the opposite sex...it leads to temptation (even if nothing happens, you want to avoid the very appearance of evil, lest other people see that as reason to follow your example).
5. Do not let environment shape who you are, let who you are on Christ shape the environment.
When someone says something sexually demeaning towards women or cheapens them, when someone wants to watch a movie that you know has sexual content in it, when conversations in a chat room lead to inappropriate conversations…say or do something and be the voice of opposition. It’s time the world see an unique and peculiar people that stand for what is morally right, sexually pure, those who demonstrate a Christ-like character. Let’s be like Daniel (now some of you might say, it was easy for Daniel to resist sexual temptations…he was an eunuch! But he purposed in his heart to make the right decisions from the very beginning. As a result, through his influence, God used him to change Babylonian and Persian history!)
I submit to you that there are many in the church that struggle with the hidden sexual sins such as masturbation, sodomy, homosexuality, illicit activities and fantasies which strengthen the carnal passions that war against the Holy Spirit. Such people need hope, encouragement and help. We as a church cannot pretend that this is not an issue anymore. We cannot pretend that sins committed sexually behind closed doors is none of our business…Jesus tells us, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.” Luke 12:2
This is a growing problem and it’s not going to go away or taper off. Satan is trying to bombard God’s people with so much sexual stimuli that it’s only a matter of time until someone falls in a moment of weakness.
If we are not vigilante to educate our children or young people of the true meaning and intent that God had for sex based on the Bible and spirit of prophecy, you can be sure that the devil will do the educating due to our negligence. It’s time for us to form a counterstrike to combat Satan’s assault upon our the church, perhaps in our churches there needs to be an awareness, there needs to be support, there needs to be accountability. Hold seminars about love and purity for families, or pastors can preach about this topic in a biblical fashion. Perhaps there can be men’s support groups – women’s groups - teen groups to gather and frankly discuss the reality of the sex driven society we are living in, how to overcome sexual struggles, or hold a group fast from movies, entertainment and internet so that we can pray for the Holy Spirit to help us to walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. We need to address such issues or else our children, our members, our families will seek to learn it from the world. Which alternative do you prefer?
Currently an MDiv student at Andrews and pastoring at Living Word Fellowship in Berrien Springs with his wonderful, supportive godly wife, Miae and daughter, Chloe.