“Porneia”
and same sex issues in the Corinthian church
In Meditation 92, we wrote that in the Greco-Roman society
in which the New Testament churches lived, most expressions of sexual activity
(specially for men) were completely acceptable. Only sex with someone else’s
wife was forbidden. Civil marriage was protected by law and custom.
The dominant view in the Greco-Roman world was that hetero-
and homosexual intercourse were activities of the body and had nothing to do
with one’s spiritual life. Having sex in whatever way one wanted was perfectly
normal and natural, like having a meal.
This pagan view on sexuality is very different from God’s
creation order which He revealed to us in His Word [the Bible].
In
Genesis 1:26 we
read that our Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) said: “Let us make man in our image, in our
likeness... And in verse 27 we
read: “ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
he created him; male and female he created them.”
Based on this creation order in which heterosexual marriage
is the norm, we want to see what God says with regard to same sex issues in the
Mosaic Covenant and in the New or Messianic Covenant.
a) The Sinai or Mosaic Covenant on same sex issues
At Mount Sinai, after
God rescued His people Israel from bondage in Egypt, God made the Mosaic or
Sinai Covenant with His people and God said: “If you will obey me and keep
my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the nations of
the earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be to me a kingdom of
priests, my holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6)
As part of the Sinai covenant, God gave His people these
commandments regarding homosexual
behaviour:
-- “Do not lie with
a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” (Leviticus 18:22). The New
Living Translation reads here: “Do not practice homosexuality; it is a
detestable sin.”
-- “If a man lies
with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.
They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” (Leviticus 20:13). The New
Living Translation reads here: “The penalty for homosexual acts is death to
both parties. They have committed a detestable act and are guilty of a capital
offense.”
In the light of these
commandments, we read in Deuteronomy 22:5 "A woman must
not wear men's clothing, and a man must not wear women's clothing. The LORD
your God detests people who do this.” Of course, this command would not
forbid women to walk in Levi jeans, but it forbids men to dress like women and
live as travestites.
With two specific laws
regarding hetero- and homosexual temple prostitution, God warns His people not
to copy the fertility rites of the surrounding pagan nations:
-- “No Israelite
man or woman is to become a shrine-prostitute.” (Deuteronomy
23:17). The New Living Translation reads here: “No Israelite man or woman
may ever become a temple prostitute.”
-- “You must not
bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the
house of the LORD your God to pay any vow, because the LORD your God detests
them both.” (Deuteronomy
23:18). The New Living Translation reads here: Do not bring to the house of
the LORD your God any offering from the earnings of a prostitute, whether a man
or a woman, for both are detestable to the LORD your God.”
Why
did God give His people such rigorous laws at Mount Sinai? In Meditation 87, I
mentioned two main reasons. I will repeat them here:
a.)
The apostle Paul says about God’s Mosaic Law: “The Law was our
guardian and teacher to lead us until Christ [the Messiah] came...” (Galatians
3:24)
In
other words, the Law prepared us for Christ’s coming. The Law kept us on track
towards Christ’s future.
Paul
explains to the Christians in Rome: “No one can ever be made right in
God's sight by doing what his Law commands. For the more we know God's Law, the
clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it” (Romans 3:20) or as the New
International Version translates:“... through the Law we become conscious of
sin.” It is through the Law that we come to understand what ‘sin’ is in
God’s eyes. And it is also through the Law that we become aware of the need for
the sin offering of God’s Son at the cross of Calvary to receive forgiveness
and reconcile us with God the Father.
b.)
As God used His Law as both guardian and teacher to lead His people until the
Messiah would come, He also used it to separate His people from the
lifestyle and customs of the nations around them.
We
read in Exodus 19:3-6: “Then
Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The LORD called out to him
from the mountain and said, 'Give these instructions to the descendants of
Jacob, the people of Israel: 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You
know how I brought you to myself and carried you on eagle's wings. Now if you
will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from
among all the nations of the earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you
will be to me a kingdom of priests, my holy nation.' Give this message to the
Israelites.'”
Furthermore,
God says in Leviticus
20:22-26: “You must carefully obey all my laws and regulations; otherwise
the land to which I am bringing you will vomit you out. Do not live by the
customs of the people whom I will expel before you. It is because they do these
terrible things that I detest them so much. ... I, the LORD, am your God, who
has set you apart from all other people. ... You must be holy because I, the
LORD, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.”
b) The New or Messianic Covenant about same sex issues
Based on His earlier-mentioned creation
order (see Genesis 1:26-27), God makes it clear in the entire Bible that He
only sanctions sexual intercourse within the context of heterosexual marriage.
The Greek New Testament uses even one word, “porneia”, to define all
(forbidden) extra-marital sexual activity, be it of hetero- or homosexual
nature. Here follow some examples of the use of this term:
-- “porneia” as marital unfaithfulness:
In His teaching on divorce, Jesus uses the
word “porneia” for marital unfaithfulness: “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife,
except for marital unfaithfulness (“porneia”), and marries
another woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:9. See also Matthew 5:32) (See also Meditation 91).
-- “porneia” as an extreme form of fornication:
The apostle Paul writes to the church in
Corinth about an extreme form of sexual immorality: “I can hardly believe the report about the sexual
immorality (“porneia”) going on among you, something so evil that
even the pagans don't do it. I am told that you have a man in your church who
is living in sin with his father's wife.” (1 Corinthians 5:1) (See also Meditations 87 and 88).
-- “porneia” as a definition for any kind of sexual sin:
With an allusion to
the Greek view that having sex is like having a meal, Paul uses the word “porneia”
when he denounces any kind of hetero- or homosexual activity outside marriage: “You
say, ‘Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food.’ This is true,
though someday God will do away with both of them. But our bodies were not made
for sexual immorality (“porneia”). They were made for the Lord,
and the Lord cares about our bodies. ... Don't you realize that your bodies are
actually parts of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 6:13 and 15a)
By mouth of His servant Paul, God’s Spirit
teaches the church in Ephesus to stay away from any kind of sexual sin
(“porneia”): “Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord
Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You are doing
this already, and we encourage you to do so more and more. For you remember
what we taught you in the name of the Lord Jesus. God wants you to be holy, so
you keep clear of all sexual sin (“porneia”). Then each of you
will control your body and live in holiness and honor -- not in lustful passion
as the pagans do, in their ignorance of God and his ways. Never cheat a
Christian brother in this matter by taking his wife, for the Lord avenges all
such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to be holy,
not to live impure lives. Anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not
disobeying human rules but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8)
The apostle Paul
explains to the Christians in Corinth and to us that it is none of our business
to judge the lifestyle of people outside the church: “It isn't my
responsibility to judge outsiders ... God will judge those on the outside...”
(1 Corinthians 5:12-13)
God wants that Jesus’
followers show to the world around what a Christlike lifestyle is. Therefore,
Paul writes to the church in Philippi: “Dearest friends, you were always so careful
to follow my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away you must
be even more careful to put into action God's saving work in your lives,
obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you
the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him. In everything you
do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of
blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in
a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly
before them. Hold tightly to the word of life, so that when Christ returns, I
will be proud that I did not lose the race and that my work was not useless.”
(Philippians 2:12-16)
Nowhere in the New
Testament is same sex activity set apart as a specially wicked sin. It is
included in the definition of “porneia” and in Paul’s letters it is
summed up together with many other sins. Here are two examples:
-- “Do you not know
that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male
prostitutes (Greek: malakois = effeminate men, probably men who play
the role of the female in same sex acts) nor homosexual offenders
(Greek: arsenokoitai = those who lie with males as with females;
probably men who play the role of the male in same sex acts) nor thieves nor
the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom
of God.” (1
Corinthians 6:9-10)
-- “... We know these
laws [from the Mosaic Covenant] are good when they are used as God intended.
But they were not made for people who do what is right. They are for people who
are disobedient and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider
nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who murder their father or mother or
other people. These laws are for people who are sexually immoral (Greek:
pornois = men who prostitute their bodies to another's lust for hire,
male prostitutes; universally, men who indulge in unlawful sexual intercourse,
fornicators), for homosexuals (arsenokoitai, see 1 Corinthians
6:9-10) and slave traders, for liars and oath breakers, and for those who do
anything else that contradicts the right teaching.” (1 Timothy 1:8-10)
Based on God’s creation
order for heterosexual marriage and Jesus’ application of it, the apostles warn
the followers of Jesus to stay away from any kind of extra-marital
sexual activity (“porneia”).
Jesus teaches that “from
within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality
(Greek plural of “porneia”), theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness,
deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.
All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you
unacceptable to God." (Mark 7:21-23)
The apostle Paul
cautions the Corinthian church members: “Flee from sexual immorality
(“porneia”). All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he
who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is
a temple 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 honour God with
your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
Writing later again to
the Corinthian church, Paul laments: “I am afraid that when I come again my
God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned
earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin (“porneia”)
and debauchery in which they have indulged.” (2 Corinthians
12:21)
Paul teaches the
church in Ephesus (modern Turkey): “Live a life filled with love for others,
following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice
to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like
sweet perfume to him. Let there be no sexual immorality (“porneia”),
impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's people.
Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes-- these are not for you.
Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral (Greek:
singular of “pornois”, see earlier 1 Timothy 1:8-10
), impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For
a greedy person is really an idolater who worships the things of this world.” (Ephesians 5:2-5)
The apostle spurs the
church in Colossae on: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your
earthly nature: sexual immorality (“porneia”), impurity, lust,
evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God
is coming.” (Colossians
3:5-6)
In the decadent
Greco-Roman world of the first century, God’s ambassadors (the apostles) had
great problems to keep the churches free from the invasive culture of hetero-
and homosexual immorality. They spurred the churches on to break out of it and
pursue Christlike holiness, allowing God’s Spirit to transform them
individually and collectively into the likeness of Christ. God’s people should
follow their high calling. They should be a counter-cultural demonstration to
the world of God’s transforming power and prepare themselves for the awaiting
wedding feast of the Lamb!
Therefore, Paul urges
the Corinthian church to stay away from blatantly and unrepentantly immoral
people who call themselves Christians: “When I wrote to you before, I told
you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin (“pornois”,
see earlier 1 Timothy 1:8-10).
But I wasn't
talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin (literally in the
Greek text: “pornois of the world”), or who are greedy or are swindlers
or idol worshipers. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like
that.
What I meant was
that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a Christian yet indulges
in sexual sin (literally in the Greek text: “who is a pornos”) , or
is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler.
Don't even eat with such people.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-11)
In the same letter
Paul warns the proud Corinthian Christians: “Do not be misled: "Bad
company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
As we said earlier,
from all these biblical texts and many more it is clear that from God’s point
of view there is no place for any kind of sexual activity outside heterosexual
marriage. The creation order for marriage, revealed in Genesis 1:26 and 27 is
God’s grand design for marital love and procreation to safeguard the human
race.
* * *
What might God want to
say to me and my church through His dealings with the New Testament churches?
May these questions for reflection encourage you to reflect on many other
aspects this immense and delicate subject:
-- Is there any comparison between the place of God’s new covenant people
in modern Western society and the place they had in the Greco-Roman society of
the first century?
Ø
Since the sexual revolution of the 1960s, we see that the Western world
is consciously rejecting the moral teaching of God’s Word. Wikipedia writes the
following about this revolution:
“The sexual
revolution (also known as a time
of "sexual liberation")
was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to
sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the
1960s to the 1980s. Sexual liberation included increased acceptance of sex
outside of traditional heterosexual, monogamous relationships (primarily
marriage). Contraception and the pill, public nudity, the normalization of
premarital sex, homosexuality and
alternative forms of sexuality, and the legalization of abortion all followed.
... The
sexual revolution can be seen as an outgrowth of a process. ... It was a
development in the modern world which saw the significant loss of power by the
values of a morality rooted in the Christian tradition and the rise of
permissive societies, of attitudes that were accepting of greater sexual
freedom and experimentation that spread all over the world and were captured in
the concept of “free love”. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_revolution)
-- Is my church a minor reflection of this anti-Christian unravelling of
God’s sexual ethic in modern Western society? Or does my church, as part of “a
true counter-cultural messianic movement” faithfully follow the directions of
God’s Spirit and His Word?
Let us reflect for a moment on some phenomena,
resulting from this earlier mentioned sexual revolution and how our churches
respond to them:
Ø Concerning the devaluation
of the institution of marriage and the growing acceptance of ‘committed sexual
relations outside marriage’ and ‘sex before marriage’:
-- It seems that more and more churches in the West fall prey to this
phenomenon amongst young people, ‘mid-lifers’ and even pensioners.
-- How is my church scoring in this matter? If my church, based on God’s
Word, disagrees with these modern unions outside marriage, how does it cope
with church members and visitors who are in favour of it or even practise it?
Ø We have already spoken in
Meditations 91 and 92 about the fast growing trend in Western societies of
adultery, divorce and remarriage, also in Christian circles.
Ø
The positive valuation of a same sex lifestyle is like a wildfire that
rapidly spreads throughout the Western world and even within churches. The
Western culture of tolerance forbids us to disagree with this viewpoint. Those
who dare to do so, are often unjustly ‘shot down’ straight away with
accusations of bigotry, homophobia, hate speech, extremism and fundamentalism.
-- Does my church disagree, based on God’s Word, with this contemporary
view on same-sex lifestyles? How would my church respond if it was singled out
for accusations of bigotry, homophobia, hate speech or a lack of respect,
tolerance and compassion for those of other persuasions? Does my church remain
faithful to God and his Word in this gathering storm in the West?
Ø
In various countries in the Western world, same-sex marriages are now
legally valid. In many countries the process of legalising same-sex marriages
is in progress.
-- If my church wants to be faithful to God’s
Word [the Bible] and serve God in a country where same-sex marriage is legal,
how does it cope with this changing political reality? Is my church willing to
suffer because of its faithfulness to God and His Word?
-- Does my church prepare its members for the political changes which
are taking place? Why or why not? Does my church encourage its members to take
a public stand against these changes in society? Why or why not?
-- Are members in my
church losing their jobs because of their biblical point of view on same-sex
attitudes and marriage (e.g., pastors, teachers, marriage counsellors,
physicians, psychologists, foster parents, etc.)? If yes, does my church
provide care and counselling for those members?
-- What is my church’s outlook on people who live a same-sex way of life? Does
my church indeed have a homophobic attitude? Does it criticise these people?
Does my church respect them but disagree with their lifestyle? Would those
people be warmly welcomed in my church if they were ‘seekers’? Would my church,
based on God’s Word, stay away from blatantly and unrepentantly immoral people
who call themselves Christians?
Ø
The apostle Paul reminds those
Christians in Corinth who had indulged in all kinds of sexual sin (“porneia”),
that “there was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your
sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been
made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our
God have done for you.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)
-- Do you think these
people were truly and completely healed from their sexual sin after being saved
by faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and reborn by God’s Spirit (Acts
2:38)? Or, do you think that after being saved and reborn, God’s Spirit had to
teach them and empower them to control their sexual appetites? This is a theme
we will struggle with in later meditations.
-- Does my church have
teaching, counselling and care programmes to help those who want to break free from
former sinful lifestyles and want to follow Jesus? Does my church have special
care and counselling programmes for Christians with a hetero- or homosexual
‘make-up’ who have decided to follow Jesus and live a celibate lifestyle?
Genesis 1:26 and
27, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus
20:13, Deuteronomy 23:17 and 18, Matthew 19:9, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, 2
Corinthians 12:21, Colossians 3:5-6, 1
Corinthians 15:33 are quotes from the New International Version. All
other quotes are from the New Living Translation.
