Sunday, October 30, 2016

On Sexual Morality in the Church




Nowhere in the New Testament does it tells us that the moral law of the Old Testament is superseded by freedom from morality in the New Testament; even though it is clear in the New Testament that the Old Testament sacrificial system is fulfilled in Christ. We have from many quarters in our contemporary Church an illusion that if the Old Testament said, “Don’t do it,” that this no longer applies specifically to sexual behavior.[i] It doesn’t take much of a reading of St. Paul to discover that St. Paul agreed with the moral prohibitions of the Old Testament.

Even as St. Paul says, “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law,” He immediately says, “Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” [Galatians 5:18-21].[ii]

Of the commandments of the Old Testament, Jesus says, “Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” [Matthew 5:19].

In the Church today we have many, who from fear of the anger and rejection of those who want freedom from morals, or from their own sexual drives, will approve of things the whole of Scripture disapproves; even though Christ Jesus and St. Paul stand witness against those very things.



[i] A Semi-Marcion theology.
[ii] See also: Romans 1:24-32; I Corinthians 6:9-11.

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