What is the sin of fornication?

Occasionally, there are many things that we would like the Bible to speak more explicitly about than it does. For example, with baptism we should dive or sprinkle, women can be old, where does Cain's wife come from, all dogs go to heaven, and so on? Although some passages leave a little more room for interpretation than most of us are comfortable with, there are countless other areas where the Bible leaves no ambiguity. What fornication is and what God thinks about it are issues in which there can be no doubt about the position of the Bible.

Paul did not waste words when he said: "Consider the members of your earthly body as dead from immorality, uncleanness, passion and wicked desire and greed that equate to idolatry" (Colossians 3: 5), and the Hebrew author warned: "Marriage it is to be celebrated in honor of all and the marriage bed must not be contaminated: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge ”(Hebrews 13: 4). These words mean little in our current culture where values ​​are rooted in cultural norms and change like a moving wind.

But for those of us who hold the authority of the scriptures, there is a different standard on how to discern between what is acceptable and good, and what is to be condemned and avoided. The apostle Paul warned the Roman church "not to conform to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12: 2). Paul understood that the world system, in which we live now while we await the fulfillment of the kingdom of Christ, has its values ​​which are constantly seeking to "conform" everything and everyone to their own image, ironically, the same thing in which God it has been doing since the beginning of time (Romans 8:29). And there is no space in which this cultural conformity is seen graphically more than it refers to sexuality issues.

What should Christians know about fornication?
The Bible is silent on sexual ethics issues and does not leave us to understand what sexual purity is. The Corinthian church had a reputation, but not what you would like your church to be. Paul wrote and said: “It has been reported that there is immorality between you and an immorality of that kind which does not exist even among those Gentiles (1 Corinthians 5: 1). The Greek word that is used here - and more than 20 times throughout the New Testament - for immorality is the word πορνεία (porneia). Our English word pornography derives from porneia.

During the fourth century, the Greek text of the Bible was translated into Latin in a work we call Vulgate. In the Vulgate, the Greek word porneia has been translated into the Latin word fornicated, which is where the word fornication is obtained. The word fornication is found in the King James Bible, but modern and more accurate translations, such as NASB and ESV, simply choose to translate them into immorality.

What does fornication include?
Many Bible scholars teach that fornication is limited to premarital sexual interaction, but there is nothing in the original language or otherwise that really suggests such a narrow view. This is probably why modern translators have chosen to translate porneia as immorality, in most cases because of its wider scope and implications. The Bible does not do everything to classify particular sins under the title of fornication, and neither should we.

I believe it is safe to assume that porneia refers to any sexual activity that occurs outside the context of God's wedding plan, including, but not limited to, pornography, extramarital affairs or any other sexual activity that does not honor Christ. The Apostle warned the Ephesians that "immorality or any impurity or greed need not even be named among you, as is right for the saints; and there must be no filth and stupid chatter or coarse jokes, which are not suitable, but rather thank you "(Ephesians 5: 3-4). This snapshot provides us with an image that expands the meaning to include the way we talk to each other.

I am also forced to qualify that this does not presuppose that all sexual activities within marriage honor Christ. I am aware that many abuses take place within the framework of marriage and there is no doubt that God's judgment will not be spared simply because a guilty person sins against his spouse.

What harm can fornication do?
It is very reassuring that the god who loves marriage and "hates divorce" (Malachi 2:16), in effect, provides for tolerance for a covenant marriage that ends in divorce. Jesus says that anyone who divorces for any reason "except for the reason of unchastity" (Matthew 5:32 NASB) commits adultery, and if a person marries someone who has been divorced for any other reason other than inconstancy he also commits adultery.

You probably guessed it already, but the word unchastity in Greek is the same word that we have already identified as porneias. These are strong words that contrast with the grain of our cultural views on marriage and divorce, but they are the words of God.

The sin of sexual immorality (fornication) has the potential to destroy the same relationship that God created to reflect his love for his bride, the church. Paul instructed husbands to "love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25). Don't get me wrong, there are many things that can strike a marriage to death, but it seems that sexual sins are particularly atrocious and destructive, and often inflict such deep wounds and wounds and eventually break the alliance in ways that can rarely be repaired.

To the Corinthian church, Paul offers this chilling warning: “You do not know that your bodies are members of Christ. . . or do you not know that whoever joins a prostitute is one body with her? Because he says: "The two will become one flesh" "(1 Corinthians 6: 15-16). Again, the sin of immorality (fornication) is much broader than prostitution alone, but the principle we find here can be applied to all areas of sexual immorality. My body is not mine. As a follower of Christ, I became part of his own body (1 Corinthians 12: 12-13). When I sinned sexually, it is as if I were dragging Christ and his own body to participate in this sin with me.

Fornication also seems to have a way of taking our affections and thoughts hostage in such a formidable way that some people never break the chains of their slavery. The Hebrew writer wrote of the "sin that so easily entangles us" (Hebrews 12: 1). This seems to be exactly what Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Ephesian believers that “they no longer walk while the Gentiles also walk in the uselessness of their mind obscured in their understanding. . . having become insensitive, yielding to sensuality for the practice of all kinds of impurities "(Ephesians 4: 17-19). Sexual sin creeps into our minds and leads us into captivity in ways we often can't discern until it's too late.

Sexual sin can be a very private sin, but the seed planted in secret also bears destructive fruits, publicly causing chaos in marriages, churches, vocations and finally robbing believers of the joy and freedom of intimacy with Christ. Every sexual sin is a counterfeit intimacy designed by the father of lies to take the place of our first love, Jesus Christ.

How can we overcome the sin of fornication?
So how do you fight and win in this area of ​​sexual sin?

1. Recognize that it is God's will that his people live a pure and holy life and condemn sexual immorality of all kinds (Ephesians 5; 1 Corinthians 5; 1 Thessalonians 4: 3).

2. Confess (with God) your sin to God (1 John 1: 9-10).

3. Confess and trust also in trusted elders (James 5:16).

4. Try to retrain your mind by filling it with scriptures and actively engaging in the very thoughts of God himself (Colossians 3: 1-3, 16).

5. Realize that Christ, alone, is the one who can free us from the bondage that the flesh, the devil and the world have designed keeping in mind our fall (Hebrews 12: 2).

Even as I write my thoughts, I realize that for those who bleed and pant for another breath on the battlefield, these words may appear empty and rather detached from the horrors of real-life struggles for holiness. Nothing could be further from my intent. My words are not meant to be a checklist or a simple solution. I simply tried to offer the truth of God in a world of lies and the prayer that God would free us from all the chains that bind us so that we can love him more.