Greetings homies!! Praise God almighty for His excellence, mercy, truth, and grace! What manner of love has Father God bestowed upon us in sending Himself, in the arm of flesh through His anointed Son the Messiah Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior who was and is God. Jesus the man, whom is our pattern and example was without sin yet made sin on our degenerate behalf. Such a joy being called by God and removed from death, decay, corruption, and darkness; being deposited into the light, life, mercy, and favor of Jehovah God!
In today’s true I want us to briefly examine
fornication from both the male and female perspective, but a more keen focus from the position of the man. For a second point of emphasis I would like to make a bold statement that, “fornication is equivalent to idolatry!” Or put another way, when a man fornicates rather married or unmarried he/she is also committing and breaking the commandment of idolatry.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Now you may ask how can I draw a comparison of the two? Well of course Gods word will provide insight and let’s keep an open mind that I am humanly speaking and of course in faith I am being led fully by Gods direction in this. As it is God who has given me the wisdom, understanding, and insight; in addition to the innate ability to construct such writings.
Fornication is defined from a theological view as a male prostitute; a man who prostitutes his body to another’s lust for hire. This is a man who indulges in unlawful sexual intercourse, the term fornicator is also used to depict him as a whoremonger, hence “whore.” Now the same applies to women, but in different terms, meanings, and situations. My writing this is not to per se speak on fornication from a women’s role, but to shed light to men on the importance of purity and it’s connection to idolatry. For the sake of argument from both perspectives of male and females I will kill the noise by stating that, “ALL SEXUAL IMMORALITY IS SIN, NO MATTER WHAT GENDER COMMITS THE ACT!”
I would like us to dive into a bit of history from Gods Word, all the while providing some added information to the related topic I’m writing about. Now quickly it’s imperative that I share with you some key terms, their meanings, and origins. Fornicator is derived from the Greek meaning πôρνοσ pôrnos, πορνεîα porneîa [prostitution, fornication],πορνεθο porneùô [to commit fornication]. It is clear to see the relationship with these words is where we get porno and pornography from. When a man is engaged is unlawful sexual relations with a woman that is being filmed for the eventual selling of videos and DVD’s; that man is being paid for his service, thus making him a prostitute. Same for a man (young, old) who is doing it out of pure lust and desire with a woman (young, old) the sexual act, and even a man or woman who is even just watching a porno, but not physically committing the act is the same as committing the sexual act. This is prostitution and idolatry both physically and more importantly spiritually; I will go into detail on this later.
Another key term that I must shed light on is,
“harlot.” which traditionally is ascribed to the woman. A harlot having a verb meaning similar to a male fornicator is a female prostitute. The relationship with the meanings of
fornication-(or) and idolatry-
(or) can be directly pinned to a harlot and/or harlotry. The biblical definition of harlot is its connection with prostitution of Gods people, both ancient and today. The meanings are as followed: “to go a whoring, commit fornication, be a harlot,
serve other gods.” The term harlot was used to describe sexual misconduct on the female not the male partly due to the differing attitude in ancient Israel concerning sexual activity by men and women. This term in relation to both sexes was most intermittently used to construe
“spiritual prostitution!” Both men and women can be dubbed as harlots because of is conjoined meanings. As I stated earlier I would share some of Gods Word to argue my stance that fornication is equivalent to idolatry, even possibly to demonstrate that committing both acts of sin at the same time is plausible; and that your are exclusively disobeying the first commandment,
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Now let us take an ocular view into some Old Testament passages of scripture:
Jerusalem’s Harlotry
Then it was so, after all your wickedness—‘Woe, woe to you!’ says the Lord God— that you also built for yourself a shrine, and made a high place for yourself in every street.You built your high places at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry. You also committed harlotry with the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to provoke Me to anger. “Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminished your allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior.You also played the harlot with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. Moreover you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied. “How degenerate is your heart!” says the Lord God, “seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot. Ezekiel 16:23:30 (NKJV)
In this passage the prophet Ezekiel being used by God is saying that Jerusalem has committed “spiritual prostitution,” the same as a man fornicating when placing sexual desire above Gods desire, and/or also the the worshiping of other gods in relation to the scripture. Keep in mind Gods people were not just having a spiritual affair, but were also physically having sex with the abominable people of heathen nations as you see, “Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord! 36 Thus says the Lord God: “Because your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotrywith your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them,”. The people of Israel were cheating on their first love, their only husband; the Lord God. Just stay with me I will bring to light how these things tie together.
Ezekiel 23:1-21 speaks about the two harlot sister; that being Samaria and Jerusalem. I would encourage you to read this passage as it details the women committing acts of harlotry (female fornication) and lusting for the men and their idols, worshiping their gods (idolatry).
Ezekiel 23:7 (NKJV) “Thus she committed her harlotry with them, All of them choice men of Assyria; And with all for whom she lusted ,With all their idols, she defiled herself.”
Jeremiah 3:8-9 (NKJV) “Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. 9 So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.”
My reason for using these scriptures was to correlate my stand and bring about a comparison on a few things. Those things being fornication (prostituting) from the male point of view, harlotry and it’s relation to fornication (physically, spiritually), in addition from the female point of view, and idolatry in the sense of it being “spiritual adultery,” better put cheating on God with idols. Now idols can come in many forms it doesn’t have to just be things made and created from the hands of man, but it can be worshiping of self, money, women, addictions, greed, gluttony, etc. Idolatry is simply allowing something to take the place of God in your heart. Our dear brother in the faith John and of our Lord made this clear in his epistle,
“ Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” Another translation says,
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols (false gods)—[from anything and everything that would occupy the place in your heart due to God, from any sort of substitute for Him that would take first place in your life]. Amen (so let it be).
So what does any of this has to do with fornication being tied to idolatry? I’ll attempt to bring it home! We know that fornication and harlotry is the prostitution of the body engaging in unlawful sex with another in lust, passion, and desire. We also know that fornication can be combined with harlotry from male and female and that in this case it is symbolic for “spiritual adultery,” against God which comes by “playing the harlot” with idols or things (money, sex, job, objects, drugs, habits, TV, music, celebrities, sports, video games, porn, etc) taking the place of God in the heart. So for men to fornicate, the practice of being impure and unclean; to prostitute themselves seeing they belong to God and their bodies are not their own is a form of idol worship. How so? We’ll let’s look at a few scriptures first:
Do you not know that your bodiesare members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” 1 Cor. 6:15-16 (NKJV)
Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own,You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.1 Cor. 6:19-20 (AMP)
When a man takes it upon himself, especially a man professing Christ; to fall away into fornication using members of his body that are not his to engage in sex, that man is also committing idolatry. He has allowed his flesh and its cravings to take place of God in his heart. This is a form of self-worship being acted out in unlawful sex. In this moment of heated lust that man has chosen his god, that being sex and its pleasures. That man has said in heart what I desire is what I want, and has also made clear that what God desires and wants to be of no importance. It’s very essential that an understanding be made that sexual immorality is sin; it is sin against the body, impure, a form of idolatry, and crime against God. This form of idolatry doesn’t stop there, even though we know the root of idolatry is bowing to and worshiping lifeless pagan idols, but its also what you devote your precious time to the most. If the very first thing you do in the morning is not give God the very first of your morning, then your committing idolatry the first of your morning. Granted I know that’s a bit extreme given how our mornings can go, but we are to make our time to fit Gods time, not squeeze or pencil God into our time. I believe by being extreme in this case would heighten our sensitivity to reverent fear of God. We wouldn’t treat God so common and trample the Son of God underfoot as much as we do. I’m speaking to the believer and sinner simultaneously. I want to take an extreme position again. So even when your not engaging in the unlawful conduct of having sex outside of Gods covenant in marriage, but let’s say you watch things on tv that practice such things. The sensuality of our culture is sexually charged and we are constantly surrounded by sexual enticements. If you are Christian professing Christ and to have direct fellowship with Him, yet you watch tv shows that promote homosexuality, adultery, fornication, and all types of lewd unbecoming behavior, then let me be extreme. Its not good for you nor is it okay. Why you ask? Well let’s looks at scripture first:
-Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.- Romans 1:32
What this is saying is that if you watch and view these things that the Apostle Paul is referencing to in the previous verses you know that it is wrong and those who commit these shameful acts is worthy of the penalty due. Not only do you know but by your viewing support you condone such things of those who practice them and even though your not engaging in that fornicating scene, or that homosexual themed show by it being your viewing pleasure it’s no different if you was actually doing it. Pretty extreme huh? But with this attitude and approach we must exercise ourselves to the extremity of godliness.
To wrap up I beseech my men and women by the authority and power of God to refrain from sexual sin, fornication, harlotry, and idolatry as it is all types of commandment breakers. God did not call nor ordain us and He definitely didn’t send His only begotten Son to shed righteous blood for us to be defiled and unclean. Or do you not know what the scripture says, “be ye holy, for I am holy!” Men no longer be “whoremongers” prostituting your souls and inheritance for fleshly cravings (sex, porn, masterbaution) being like that of Esau who prostituted his birth right for a pot of flesh. Women no longer be like those women of ancient times who chased men uncovering their nakedness, bringing shame to themselves and husbands by committing adultery (physically and spiritually), defiling their beds, and worshiping idols who were consistently playing the harlot! We are to discipline ourselves to godliness which takes toil and agony to produce spiritual sweat.
Father God I humbly come before you as a servant, simply desiring to be pleasing and acceptable in Your sight. Lord I have done what You have asked of me in sharing Your word and truth, I would pray Father God that this be Your will and that You allow this to be seen by eyes that needs to see it. Lord I thank You that You have graciously given me such wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of Your word to share with the world. Lord I petition that I be used by You at whatever cost and that by Your grace and strength I make good on that proclamation. I pray for the lost and those ignorant of You who like I used to be until I submitted to You being regenerated and transformed daily into the image of Your dear Son Jesus Christ. May You be blessed and honored for ever and ever. Amen!
“I dictated a covenant (an agreement) to my eyes; how then could I look [lustfully] upon a girl?” Job 31:1 (AMP)
Grace and Peace,
Phillytf
