Shepherd’s Voice on consequences of sexual immorality

Norman Edwards has the following in an edition of Shepherd’s Voice magazine:

This is the first commandment God gave to Adam and Eve:

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:24-25).

Mankind has, to a large degree, obeyed this command through the centuries, though too often out of order. Today, it is common for young people to do it backwards: get naked and have sex (“one flesh”), then think about getting married and/or being able to afford to leave mother and father. Such a practice is absolutely devastating to family and future. But it essentially taught in most public schools. Most secular counselors today teach sex between consenting adults (and maybe teens) is fine as long as love is involved. But what does God say?

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Ob – scene 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, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do (Ephesians 5:1-7, NLT).

The goal of public school sex education is to help teens make “informed choices” and practice “safe sex”—avoiding diseases and unwanted pregnancy. But after decades of that kind of education, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention tells us there are still 110 million Americans with Sexually Transmissible Infections. Also, in round numbers, there are about 2 million unwanted babies born in the USA each year. Half of them are aborted, the other half are raised by somebody who may or may not love them: maybe both parents, but more likely one parent, a grand parent, a friend, a foster family or a combination of the above.

The Tough Lessons of Reality

These unplanned children are the focal point of family fights, custody battles, child support cases, abuse, government assistance cases, and so many other things that make their lives and our lives unhappy. This writer has worked in a ministry to homeless people for the past four years and has experience first-hand the children—some now adults—who grew up knowing they were unwanted by one or both parents.

In our brief experience helping homeless single women with unplanned pregnancies, we have experienced nearly the full spectrum of difficulties: The mother wants to keep her baby and her family wants him (babies are “him” for clarity) aborted. Her family wants the baby but her mother wants him aborted. The mother wants the baby and the father does not—and vice versa. A women wants a baby so bad they are willing to get pregnant by almost anyone—because she wants someone to love and hopes the baby will love her. The mother wants a baby to get his government assistance and child support. A woman wants a baby, but frequently leaves him with family and friends for extended periods of time— sometimes without warning. Some men do not care about child support because they never planned to work. Our courts often do become wise to these situations and terminate current and future parental rights to these irresponsible parents.

We have known people who told partners they were infertile so that they could have unprotected sex—but were actually lying. Our homeless ministry once housed three women who were all told a similar story by the same man—and who had all gotten pregnant by him. On the opposite side, we have seen women claim to be pregnant when they were not—either hoping a man would marry her thinking she had his baby, or simply because others would give things to a poor single mom. All of these lies just make it more difficult for people to practice the truth of God and to care for the real babies and mothers who honestly want help, and who often got into such a mess without knowing what they are doing. Indeed, some of them grew up with their parents frequently lying to them and having sex with whoever was convenient at the moment.

Men have long-term consequences as well as women. Once a court orders a man to pay child support, if he gets behind in his payments, he is likely to have his wages or bank account garnished or his driver’s license suspended—anywhere in the country. This is in some ways like the biblical requirement for a single man who has sex with a single women—me must pay the “bride price” no matter what, but the woman’s father can refuse him as a husband (Ex 22:16- 17). Needless to say, immoral men who are able to earn a good living do not like the prospect of paying child support for 18 years to someone they do not really care about.

One future-thinking immoral man we knew, when a girl friend told him she was pregnant by him, committed a burglary and used the proceeds to pay for their baby’s abortion. He was sentenced to a couple years in prison for the burglary, but the abortion was legal. Another woman who previously stayed with us had an immoral boyfriend who was not so future-thinking. She obtained court- ordered child support, so he moved to another state hoping to avoid it. When back child support payments caught up with him, his solution was to come back and kill their baby. He is now doing a life sentence in prison. This is just part of the mess that grows out of unmarried sex. Our nation, legislature and our courts will some day be judged for telling our mothers and fathers it is all right to kill their babies—as long as they do it before they are born. But so many young people simply do not think about any of these complications when they want sex without commitment.

Almost as sad, are some of the parents who decide to keep and love their unplanned children, but simply are not able to. Some of them have so little knowledge of the things they need: how to build good relationship, why a lifelong marriage is important, how to get a job, how to work hard at a job, how to keep their home organized, how to teach and train a child, etc. Most of them are running on the media’s teaching that sex and relationships are fun, and the “sex education” they had in high school.

Sex education teaches “informed choices”, but sometimes all of the choices are bad. A parent with an unwanted child is often left to choose between:

1) Abort (kill) the baby.
2) Raise the baby knowing one or more people will likely be forever angry at the baby (because of child support payments or because the baby will remind them of someone’s illegitimate sex).
3) Put the baby up for adoption (which may be a disaster for the parent who loves the baby—and a future nightmare when the child later decides to find out who are his or her real parents and who abandoned him or her).

The “sex education” method to prevent this problem is to better educate them to practice “safe sex”. But that goes against the nature of sex. It is so powerful; it is so emotional. When sex is awesome, one’s logical processes give way to one’s passion. And that is good. People should experience sex to the fullest. God said it was very good (Genesis 1:31). But that is why He said sex belongs in marriage—where there are loving, committed parents to raise any babies that come along— planned or not. But when sex is outside of marriage, when powerful passions cause people not to remember the pregnancy prevention they learned in high school, the result is millions of unplanned pregnancies and STIs. Sure, there are many birth control methods that boast over 95% effectiveness. This writer has met individuals who claimed to have gotten pregnant while using nearly every one of the different available “foolproof” methods.

Even if sex education programs had 10 times the budget and could become 10 times as effective, they would still be failures. 11 million Americans with STD’s and 200,000 unwanted babies born every year would still be way too many.

Many of those stories Norman Edwards relates are heartbreaking. (Norman Edwards was once in the old WCG and was on the board of the old GCG.)

All need to heed the following from the Apostle Paul:

13 Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body… 1 Corinthians 6:18

18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:13,18; KJV)

8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:8-13)

Jesus taught:

27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)

10 I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

The body and mind are not for fornication. That is a way that leads to misery and destruction.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Love, Marriage, and Sex It is important to get them in the right order.
Pornography: A scourge on society Is pornography harmless fun? Does the Bible teach anything about it? What are the views of some involved with it? A related sermons is titled: Pornography, False Comfort, and False Religion. Here a shorter YouTube video Pornography: Harmless Fun or a Scourge on Society?
Ashley Madison: Your Sins Will Find You Out A website promoting ‘secret’ affairs (adultery and fornication) was hacked. This video discusses some of the Bible’s perspectives on that.
Making Your Marriage Work Marriage is not also easy, but it pictures a divine relationship. How can you make your marriage work? Here is a link to the video sermon: You Can Make YOUR Marriage Work.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free draft/unedited pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil Some feel that the ten commandments are a burden. Is that what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John taught? For a more detailed discussion of the first four commandments, please see the video The Ten Commandments: Loving God. For a more detailed discussion of the last six commandments, please see: The Ten Commandments: Loving Your Neighbor. Here is a link to a related article in Mandarin Chinese 十条诫命显示爱，违反诫命的就是邪恶的
 Can those in the USA/UK see the Handwriting on the Wall? Is everything fine in the USA/UK or is it like the days of Noah? Can we learn from the handwriting that appeared on a wall thousands of years ago? Here is a link to a related YouTube video Can you see the ‘Handwriting on the Wall’?
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free draft/unedited pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.