Fornication (Part 2 of 3) - an article by Dan Richardson
The World's Promotion Of Fornication
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John 2:16). The world (referring to that evil realm opposed to God) has done much to promote the acceptance of fornication today. Consider some ways this has occurred.
Atheism. The belief of some that there is no God has made it relatively easy for many to engage in the immoral practice of fornication. If one convinces himself that God doesn't exist, he simultaneously does away with an objective standard of truth by which one determines moral practice. Therefore, he doesn't have to feel accountable and becomes his own standard, to direct his life by his appetites rather than truth. Of such scriptures speaks: "And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (Romans 1:28).
Of course, such people are deceived and remain accountable before God whether they acknowledge it or not. For such, an eternity in hell awaits (Revelation 21:8).
Evolution. The theory of evolution - the belief that
man gradually developed (evolved) from lower life forms instead
of being created by God as recorded in Genesis - is a fruit of
atheistic thinking. It is a mere theory unsupported by evidence,
but taught and accepted by many as fact. And, with great fervor,
has been taught as fact. Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary
thought, had a predetermination to reject the supernatural, leaving
him to seek a naturalistic cause for the origin of the universe.
Aldous Huxley, grandson of Sir Thomas Huxley (associate of Darwin),
clearly stated the connection between atheism and immoral conduct:
"The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is ...
concerned to prove there is no valid reason why he personally
should not do as he wants to do ... The liberation we desired
was ... from ... a certain system of morality. We objected to
the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom."
("Confessions of a Professed Atheist." Report: Perspectives
On The News. Vol. 3, June 1966, p. 19).
When one is led to believe he is nothing more than an animal he
will likely behave like one, with no moral standard other than
his own appetites. Scripture warns of such: "...creatures
without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed ...
men who count it pleasure to revel in the day-time ... having
eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing
unsteadfast souls ... they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by
lasciviousness" (2 Peter 2:12, 13-14, 18). Such are the consequences
of rejecting God.
Alcohol & Drugs. Actually this is a societal distinction. In reality, alcohol is a drug - perhaps the most dangerous one we face. Of all the detriments that can be considered on this subject, we will focus on just one. It is a well-established fact that among the first effects of drugs on the brain is the breaking down of one's inhibitions. The minimal effects of alcohol, according to AAA's Traffic Engineering and Safety Department, are "changes in mood and behavior. Judgment and restraint are somewhat impaired, thinking dulled" (pamphlet, "Alcohol", p. 5). Another educational pamphlet states that the first effects of alcohol (an amount as minimal as .01%), are "removal of inhibitions, loss of self-control, weakening of will-power, feeling of well-being, false confidence, impaired judgment, loquaciousness, dulling of attention" (published by the United Tennessee League). God spoke long ago regarding the moral impairment of intoxicants, saying, "they stumble in judgment" (Isaiah 28:7) and "regard not the work of Jehovah, neither have they considered the operation of his hands" (Isaiah 5:11-12).
When the liquor and beer industries tell the public to "Drink Responsibly", their only concern is to avoid intoxication. But, as noted above, one doesn't have to get drunk to make immoral choices (those who defend "social" drinking should take this point to heart). The connection of alcohol/drugs with the practice of fornication obvious, and even freely admitted by many who practice such. God warns that we "be sober" and "abstain from every form of evil" (1 Peter 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:22).
Immodesty. Another factor contributing to fornication is the manner in which many choose to display themselves before others. Men and women, young and old alike, parade themselves publicly with no sense of shame nor propriety, wearing clothes purposefully designed to expose the body and arouse sexual desires from those of the opposite sex. Such clothing reveals the hearts of those who wear them, and Solomon instructs us of the connection of character to clothes when he refers to "the attire of a harlot"(Proverbs 7:10). The instruction of God's word is clear for those who have ears to hear: "that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety" (1 Tim. 2:9).
TV & Internet. Moral filth is literally pipelined into the homes of America (and the entire world) by modern means of communication. Hollywood continues to push the limits regarding what's to be allowed for public viewing in the name of entertainment. One recent example of this is the highly praised television series, "The Shield" which has tested its prime time viewers with unprecedented nudity and vulgar language. Rather than a public outcry against such, the people love to have it so.
Equally disturbing is the blatant display of pornography that can be accessed by computer on the Internet. Such mind pollution is a powerful influence to the deterioration of decency in our society, adversely affecting how one views and behaves toward others.
Should we be amazed to discover, within a culture given a steady diet of such "entertainment" which brazenly condones fornication and presents marriage in a derogatory light, that immorality is so common? Fornicators and adulterers God will judge (Hebrews 13:4).
Marriage by Kenny Chumbley (KLChumbley@aol.com)
"He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'
and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what
God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matthew 19:4-6).
From the Institute for American Values comes these findings from
a study conducted by a team from the University of Chicago, entitled,
"Does Divorce Make People Happy?"
* Unhappily married adults who divorce are no happier, five years
later, than equally unhappy married couples who stayed married.
* Two-thirds of the unhappily married people, who remained married,
reported that their marriages were happy five years later.
* Among those who rated their marriage "very unhappy,"
80% said they were happily married five years later. ("Very
unhappy" included problems such as alcoholism, infidelity,
verbal abuse, emotional neglect, depression, illness, work, and
money troubles.)
* Unhappy couples that divorced were slightly more depressed five
years later.
* Couples who divorced reported much higher alcohol consumption
than the married group.
Contrary to what is called "the divorce assumption"
- the notion that people in an unhappy marrriage will be happier
if they divorce - "the study found no evidence that unhappily
married adults who divorced were typically any happier than unhappily
married people who stayed married." It seems the difference
is not bailing out of an unpleasant situation but rather learning
how to cope with it.
What enabled the couples to so dramatically turn their marriages
around? More often than not, it was endurance. Happiness eventually
came because they were willing to stick it out. The emotional
notion that "romantic love conquers all" isn't true.
If anything conquers all, it's loving patience. Couples who choose
to stick together learn that even if they do not solve their problem,
they can transcend them, to where the "problem" ceases
to bother them. I've seen this happen so many times: couples,
who in the first half of their marriage were very unhappy, eventually
became tender, loving, inseparable companions-because they stayed
together. True love, learned from God, is seeking the ultimate
good of the spouse. It is tough enough to endure. "Love is
patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and
is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its
own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures
all things. Love never fails" (1 Cor 13:4-8a NKJV)
The grass that looks greener on the other side of the fence is
Astroturf; it's fake, don't fall for it. Stay with your spouse
and patiently choose to love them anyway. And get ready for some
wonderful times ahead.
How much time does it take to read from Genesis to Revelation?
If you would read the Bible at a standard pulpit speed (slow
enough to be heard and understood), the reading time would be
seventy-one (71) hours. If you would break that down into minutes
and divide it into 365 days, you could read the entire Bible,
cover to cover, in only 12 minutes a day.
Is this too much time to spend reading about God? - selected
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34748.
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This Months Bible Reading: 1 and 2 Samuel.
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