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Tag: Promiscuity

Bible promiscuity

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Sexual Sin, What’s new?.

What does the Bible say about promiscuity?

A promiscuous person is one who engages in many sexual liaisons with a number of different people. In the days when purity and morality were commonly considered virtues, promiscuity was frowned upon. In our current cultural environment, however, promiscuity is promoted in television, movies, and music. Kids feel the pressure by early middle school to have a boyfriend or girlfriend and are taught in the classroom about human sexuality without biblical morality. So it is not surprising that, before American teens reach adulthood, more than half have already had at least one sexual encounter. A large number of those could be considered promiscuous. Our culture calls this progress; the Bible calls it sin (Hebrews 13:4).

Scripturally speaking, promiscuity is the repeated violation of God’s standards for sex. God created sex as a beautiful expression of love that would propagate the species, but He also knows the devastation that results from abusing His gift. When God put limits on our sexual expression, He did so for our own good. Promiscuity is an abuse of the power of sexuality. It robs those who practice it of the ability to understand true intimacy. It steals its participants’ self-worth, dignity, and purity of heart.

Even a casual glance at global issues reveals that promiscuity is at the heart of many of the world’s problems. Consider the social ills brought about by promiscuity: abortion, STD’s, single mothers in poverty, AIDS, fatherless children, adultery, divorce, the rape culture, and the proliferation of related issues such as welfare fraud, overcrowding, starvation, and pornography. Billions of dollars and thousands of hours are invested in resolving those issues, but most of the problems would disappear if people simply followed God’s instructions about sex.

While the world may consider promiscuity a normal way to live, God’s warnings punctuate the pages of Scripture (1 Corinthians 6:9; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:3). Sexual immorality is a sin that separates us from God. Galatians 5:19–21 says, “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery . . . drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” We may try to redefine promiscuity to exclude whatever behaviors we are engaging in, but our definitions don’t count. Only God’s definitions matter, and we would be wise to submit to them.

Anyone can make a mistake and sin sexually. God’s solution is repentance and forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Those who are sexually promiscuous need a radical lifestyle change. Those who continue to violate themselves by having sexual relations with multiple people do not have a heart transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Psalm 24:3 asks the question, “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” The answer should be the goal for everyone who desires a right relationship with God: “The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god” (verse 4). It is impossible to have clean hands and a pure heart when living in sexual promiscuity. Those who believe they can sin all they like, ask God’s forgiveness, and then do it again the next day are deceiving themselves. That is false religion, not reality. However, the radical change of heart that we all need is available in the cross of Christ. Those who come before God in brokenness and repentance will find His mercy and power ready to transform their lives (Psalm 51:16–17).

Whoremonger

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Sexual Sin, What’s new?.

What is a whoremonger in the Bible?

The word whoremonger in the Bible is a reference to those who associate with prostitutes or who, in general, exhibit wanton sexual behavior. Whoremonger is an old-fashioned word found mainly in the King James Version and the Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible. In modern language, we would say the person is a “fornicator” or “adulterer.” Broadly speaking, a whoremonger is anyone who engages in sexual intercourse outside of marriage.

An example of the word whoremonger is found in Ephesians 5:5 in the KJV: “For this ye know, that no whoremonger . . . hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Most other translations simply say “immoral person.” The Greek word in this verse is pornos, related to porneia, from which we get the English word pornography. Essentially, all sexual immorality falls into this category, but the word changes depending on the person committing the act and his or her gender. For example, a woman who engages in sexual immorality is called a “whore” (porne) in the KJV, but a man who does the same is called a “whoremonger” (pornos).

These Greek words are interesting because they draw no distinctions among a) sexual immorality for monetary gain, b) sexual immorality for the sake of lust, and c) sex outside of marriage between two loving partners. This is difficult for us to comprehend because our culture considers paying a stranger for sex to be quite different from a dating couple “going all the way.” We tend to categorize a man who uses a prostitute (and the prostitute herself) entirely differently from a boyfriend and girlfriend living together. But God classifies both as porneia. A man sleeping with his longtime girlfriend is just as much a “whoremonger” as the man picking up prostitutes, according to the Bible.

Unrepentant, continued sexual immorality is an indication that a person is not saved (Ephesians 5:5). The sexually immoral in the church—those who claim to be saved but who live as whoremongers—must face church discipline, biblically: “Now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral. . . . Do not even eat with such people” (1 Corinthians 5:11). Sexual sin brings serious consequences, and there should not even be a hint of immorality among God’s people (Ephesians 5:3).