An Adulterous and Perverse Generation

Glorifying a deadly sin

Jesus Christ referred to the generation He encountered in Israel 2,000 years ago as "wicked and adulterous" (Matthew 16:4). How would He refer to today's generation that's gone way beyond the wickedness and perverseness of that ancient civilization?

He would likely use much stronger language because today's generation is not only exponentially more wicked than that generation, but it glorifies and celebrates wickedness. In what ways? Specifically in the ways of sexual sin such as adultery, fornication and sexual perversion.

Today is Valentine's Day, a day when sexual sin proliferates. Millions of folks will commit adultery and fornication, completely oblivious to the fact that sexual immorality is one of the worst sins in God's eyes, and a sin that can bring curses upon those who are sexually immoral.

The apostle Paul expressively warned the early church to avoid sexual sin like the plague because "all other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

To the church in Ephesus, Paul issued this caveat: "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them." (Ephesians 5:3-7)

How prevalent is adultery? According to some studies, it's become very common. Lisa Penn, of Yourtango.com, claims that about 70 percent of married men admitted to cheating on their wives! Another study found that 2/3 of women are not aware of their husband's affair...What about the women? Most statistics found that about 50 to 60 percent of women admitted to having an affair. This one really shocked me. Are there really millions of cheating women in the states? I never even imagined these statistics.

The seventh of the 10 commandments says this: "You shall not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14) Adultery encompasses more than just having sex with another person's spouse; it also encompasses fornication because sex was meant for marriage only.

Thus, anyone who's guilty of breaking that commandment--and that includes professing Christians--is in danger of eternal damnation unless they confess their immorality to Christ and repent of it. And repentance means permanently turning away from sexual immorality.

What about those who've married and divorced, and remarried again? Christ said this: "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." (Matthew 5:31-32)

Thus, millions of folks who divorced and remarried for reasons other than infidelity, are guilty of adultery. Does that condemn them to eternal damnation? Only if they refuse to repent of that sin. And repentance means confessing the sin of adultery to God and pledging never to commit that sin again. Otherwise, they will suffer eternal punishment. 

Concerning the danger of adultery, the Book of Proverbs says this: "Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished." (Proverbs 6:27-29)

And so, avoid sexual sin like a deadly plague. Because it can afflict you with more than just a sexually transmitted disease. It can afflict you with eternal damnation.

Immorality and Eternal Damnation

A prostitute bargains with a potential customer

The Bible tells us plainly that all sin is bad and separates us from the Holy God who created us in His image (Genesis 1:26) to have fellowship with.

That's why God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to pay the price for our sins that we could never pay ourselves. As the apostle John so aptly wrote: "And the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

Unless we're cleansed of our sins, we have no hope of eternal life. All those who die in their sins are condemned by God to the spiritual prison that's called Hades or hell. And they'll stay there until Judgement Day when they'll stand before Christ and have to explain why they treated His laws and commandments with contempt. I sincerely doubt that apologies will prevent them from being condemned to the eternal lake of fire (Isaiah 66:24, Revelation 20:15).

How can we avoid such a terrible fate? By repenting of our rebellion against God; confessing our sins to Christ and dedicating the rest of our lives to serving God and Christ. Nothing else will do. Sadly, many people foolishly believe that they can please God by wearing religious clothing, (crucifixes, crosses, pendants, scapulars, yarmulkes etc.) and attending churches, mosques or synagogues on a regular basis. That's delusion of the worst sort. 

I'm occasionally asked what sins I believe put us in the greatest danger of hell and eternal damnation. Though most folks believe that murder is the worst sin, it isn't. Certainly, murder is a heinous act that unlawfully robs another human being of his or her life. 

However, murder is often--but not always--committed under the influence of evil passion. It isn't always premeditated as other sins. Such as? Such as sexual immorality that encompasses adultery, fornication, bestiality, pedophilia, incest, rape and homosexuality. While sexual sin certainly involves passion, it's almost always premeditated. In other words, it's planned and conducted, usually in violation of a person's conscience.

And sexual sin begins in a person's heart. Christ explained: "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28) 

That means that in God's eyes, a person who looks at another person lustfully has committed the sin of adultery. Now you can understand why it was necessary for Christ to come into the world and die for our sins on the cross. If He hadn't, we'd all be doomed, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

The apostle Paul expressively warned Christians to stay out of sin, especially sexual sin that he declared the worst of all sins. Here's what he wrote: "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them." (Ephesians 5:3-7)

To the early church in Corinth, Paul issued this caveat: "Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Paul didn't issue his own opinions. His writings came directly from God via the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Through Paul, God warned the early Christians that even though they confessed Christ as Lord and attended church, they would never gain eternal life if they willfully violated His laws and commandments. And Paul's warnings debunk the heretical eternal security doctrine that's preached in many churches.

And so, if you're living in sexual immorality, you need to repent of this sin immediately. If you've ever divorced and remarried, you may have committed that sin. Christ said this: "But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." (Matthew 5:32) 

Why is sexual immorality so detestable to God? Because it's the worst expression of debauchery and unfaithfulness. The spiritual equivalent of sexual immorality is idolatry and the worship of false gods. That's why God punished ancient Israel because the Jewish nation violated the covenant He established with Israel by corporately turning her back on Him to worship the false gods of the surrounding pagan nations.

Thus, when a person cheats on their spouse, or engages in any sort of sexual activity outside of marriage, they're guilty of the same sin of unfaithfulness that ancient Israel committed against God. And that brings judgment against everyone who commits sexual sin.

If you don't believe that, then just wait and see what's going to happen to you. I guarantee that you will live--and die--to regret it.  

The Harder They Fall

Jimmy Swaggart

It's been 27 years since the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart brought scorn and ridicule upon himself when he was caught in the company of a prostitute. Swaggart was a fiery, charismatic preacher who was one of top-tier ministers in the Assemblies of God Church (AOG) for several decades.

That was until he got caught in the company of a prostitute in 1988. He was subsequently suspended by the AOG, but not before he offered his famous tearful apology in front of his stunned congregation and a TV audience. At the time, Swaggart's confession seemed genuine. 

He looked and sounded like a broken man who had sinned against God and heaven. In fact, this is what he said during his apology: "I have sinned against You, my Lord, and I would ask that Your Precious Blood would wash and cleanse every stain until it is in the seas of God's forgetfulness, not to be remembered against me anymore."

Swaggart's fall was truly stunning. He became a laughingstock to those who believe all church ministers are hypocrites. To add insult to injury, Swaggart was the man who had accused fellow AOG minister Marvin Gorman of sexual immorality in 1986. After Gorman admitted his sexual sins, he was defrocked and his career as an AOG minister was over. 

Now, the table was turned on Swaggart, and there were rumors that Gorman had his son and son-in-law get the goods on Swaggart by trailing him to his fateful rendezvous with a hooker at a motel in New Orleans.

Whether Gorman was the man who pulled the proverbial curtains on Swaggart is debatable. What isn't debatable is the fact that three years later, Swaggart got caught in the company of another prostitute, this time in Indio, California. Swaggart was caught by the police when he drove his car over to the wrong side of a street to proposition a hooker named Rosemary Garcia. When Garcia was asked to describe her conversation with the reverend, she replied: "He asked me for sex. I mean, that's why he stopped me. That's what I do. I'm a prostitute."

After the second incident, Swaggart was anything but contrite. There were no televised tearful apologies and no pleas to God for forgiveness. He told anyone who asked about the Indio incident that it was none of their business. And then he reportedly stepped down from his church to seek help for his overactive libido.

I'm told that Swaggart's a much different man today than the man he was nearly 30 years ago. Though he's now 80, he retains that charismatic fire-in-the-belly style of preaching that made him one of the most recognizable faces in the Christian church until his fall. I hope that he's changed because his faith and biblical knowledge are extraordinary.

However, the damage that he inflicted upon the church and the name of Jesus Christ doesn't easily go away. True Christians are required to forgive those who've sinned against them and the church. And Swaggart's been forgiven. I also believe that Swaggart's sincere these days when he admits that what he did was wrong. 

But there are those who will inevitably point to Swaggart or Jim Bakker or David Loveless or other ministers who embarrassed themselves and their churches by getting caught in sexual sin. That's the real damage. While sexual sin prevails throughout the world, it's toxic when it surfaces in the church. And it's become one of the main reasons why so many people view the church so skeptically these days.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul warned the early Christians to avoid sexual sin like it was a deadly plague. Here's what he wrote: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

Surely, Jimmy Swaggart knows that verse today. Surely, he knew that verse 30 years ago. He knew it well enough to expose Marvin Gorman's sins. Unfortunately, he didn't apply that to his own life. Though he does now, is the church better off for that? I certainly hope so.