Ask the Bible Teacher Blog: Why Should I avoid Sexual Immorality?

Most people know already that God prohibits sexual immoral behavior, but did you know that it also addresses the reasons why you should avoid it altogether?
Of all the justifications people give for indulging in these activities, they really can be categorized into three main excuses that I will list below.

Excuse 1: Sexual Immorality is only natural?

As sexual creatures, we were born for breeding. So why not enjoy and embrace our biological impulses? Why fight the feeling? Or as the Ancient Greeks would say ‘Food for the stomach and the Stomach for Food…” I Cor 6:13.

Excuse 2: Sexual Immorality is really a form of Love?

What is wrong with two people wanting to love each other? Who are you to repress people who simply wish to love one another? As the adulteress tells the naïve boy in Scripture “Come, let’s drink deep of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with Love! “ Prov 7:18

Excuse 3: Everybody is doing it, why should you miss out?

Popular culture loves to paint the picture that sexually liberated people somehow live these great care-free lives. God is somehow all about repression and guilt. So it would somehow not seem fair if you were left out of the party.

What would God's response be to all three of these excuses? He warned the children of Israel through Moses not to adopt the sexually immoral behavior of the surrounding nations. The reasons He gave for making these prohibitions were actually brief and to the point. They also happen to adequately address each and every one of the excuses I previously outlined.

Argument 1: Sexual Immorality is a Perversion

When we say something is perverted, we are implying that someone has twisted something from it’s natural intended purpose and warped it into something that is bad. This would stand in direct contradiction to the thinking that sexual immorality is somehow natural. I will develop the Biblical case for why sexual immorality is a perversion in a later post.

Argument 2: Sexual Immorality is an Abomination

To say something is an abomination is to imply the practice creates feelings of repulsion, disgust, and loathing in people. Such sentiments would arouse feelings of hatred rather than love. So the Bible appears to refute any notion that those who indulge in the practice are filling themselves with love. Again, I will develop the biblical case for the differences between lust and love in a later post.

Argument 3: Sexual immorality will defile you.

To defile something simply means to ruin it. The Bible clearly teaches that the person who sins sexually will degrade himself by such activity. There are natural consequences that plague anyone who indulges in this activity. The prohibitions are really a matter of protection and not repression of one’s liberties. So nobody should feel compelled to fling themselves off a bridge to their death just because everybody else is doing it. I will catalog the natural cause and effect one could expect from of these activities in a later post.

To summarize, if sexual immorality really perverts the natural into the unnatural, stirs hatred rather than love, and destroys those who indulge in it spiritually, emotionally, and physically, then who in their right mind would really want to practice it? The answer is surprisingly simple- only people who do not know any better. My prayer is that you would let God’s truth convince you of these arguments.

Ask the Bible Teacher Blog

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Why Should I avoid Sexual Immorality?