Walking In The Spirit Part (2)
Fornication
Fornication. Unchastity, sexual immorality. The word “fornication” is used in the Scriptures to mean several different things.
Its general meaning refers to every kind of illegal sexual intercourse, that is, any intercourse except that between a husband and wife.
For example, in 1 Corinthians 5:1 (KJV) the word is used twice to refer to a sin which was being tolerated by the church: a man apparently was living with his stepmother as though with a wife.
In a list of terrible sins in Romans 1:29, the apostle Paul included fornication, apparently intending the term to mean all acts of sexual immorality (KJV)
In 1 Corinthians 7:2 (KJV) Paul used the plural Greek word for “fornications” to imply the various ways in which the sin may manifest itself. He thus gave a reason why people in Corinth, should marry and live together properly. One of the sins included in the word’s general sense is adultery.
“Fornication” also has a more limited sense of immoral sexual activity between unmarried people. Such a meaning is implied in those biblical lists where both fornication and adultery come together. Jesus’ list of the defiling sins that proceed out of a person’s heart includes “fornication” and “adultery” (Mt 15:19; Mk 7:21).
Paul’s list of those sinners who will not inherit the kingdom of God also contains both fornicators and adulterers
A figurative use of the word “fornication” appears in both the OT and NT. Originating in descriptions of Israel and the church as the Lord’s wife or the bride, apostasy from God and idolatry are called fornication
Ezekiel 16 uses marriage and unfaithfulness to marriage vows as a symbol of God’s relation with sinful Jerusalem, which had become an “unfaithful wife” to him. The first three chapters of Hosea use the relationship of the prophet Hosea and his unfaithful wife Gomer as an illustration. The nation Israel was guilty of fornication against its “husband,” the Lord, by going after other gods. In the Book of Revelation the same figurative use of “fornication” and “impure passion” appear (Rv 14:8; 17:2, 4; 18:3; 19:2).
Fornication is a category of sin that the Christian must continuously shun and persistently avoid
The apostle Paul even counseled against carelessly talking about it and other sins
Actual cases in the Bible show incest to be a fruit of a flawed character. Lot’s daughters sleep with their drunken father and both become pregnant (Gn 19:30–38). And, in 2 Samuel 13:1–22, the deceitful Amnon shows no shame in forcing himself upon his sister Tamar. Paul’s strong rebuke in 1 Corinthians 5:1–5 demonstrates that neither the act nor its wickedness is limited to OT times.
PROSTITUTION Trading of sexual services for pay. It is the result of a double standard whereby men insist on the sexual purity of their wives and daughters, while desiring access to other women. This dynamic is seen clearly in Gen. 38. Judah, thinking that his daughter-in-law Tamar was a prostitute, had intercourse with her; but upon hearing that she was pregnant as the result of “playing the harlot,” he demanded that she be burned. Hosea criticized the attitude which called for the punishment of prostitutes (and women committing adultery) while tolerating the men with whom these acts were committed (Hos. 4:14). Because of this double standard, the prostitute or harlot, as she is also called, has had an ambiguous status in society. She was tolerated in ancient Israel—as long as she was not married—but her profession was not socially acceptable. The children of harlots suffered from social biases against them (Judg. 11:2).
Although the OT records no laws prohibiting men from visiting prostitutes and making use of their services, there are strong counsels against such behavior
Jesus told the religious leaders of His day that harlots would go into the kingdom before they would (Matt. 21:31) not because He condoned prostitution but because harlots did not have the self-righteousness which kept the religious leaders from repentance. Paul reminded Corinthian Christians that their bodies were the temple of the Holy Spirit; therefore, they should refrain from immorality, including sexual relations with prostitutes (1 Cor. 6:15–20).
The term “cult prostitution” is frequently used to refer to certain practices in Canaanite fertility cults, including the cult of Baal. This practice and the beliefs on which it was based were incompatible with monotheism and with the nature of Israel’s God. The terms qadash (masc.) and qedeshah (fem.), from the word meaning “holy,” are generally translated “cult prostitute” (or “sodomite”). The masculine term is probably also used in a generic sense to refer to both male and female cult prostitutes. Such prostitutes functioned in the temple in Jerusalem at various times in Israel’s history and were removed during periods of religious reform (1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; 2 Kings 23:7). Cult prostitution is outlawed by the Deuteronomic law code (Deut. 23:17–18).
RAPE Crime of engaging in sexual intercourse with another without consent, by force and/or deception. Mosaic law required a man who had seduced a virgin to pay the bride price and offer to marry her (Exod. 22:16–17). The rape of an engaged woman was a capital offense (Deut. 22:25–27). In other cases of rape, the offender was required to marry his victim and was not permitted to divorce her (Deut. 22:28–29)
The Mosaic code highlighted the victim’s rights, both to monetary compensation and to recovery of dignity. This quest for dignity was a driving force behind acts of retaliatory violence recorded in the narrative texts. These texts, however, suggest the ease with which the victim is forgotten in the spiral of vengeful violence
So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.