PT-1 "Sins of Perverted Love" (Col. 3:5b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/19/2017 9:13 PM

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  PT-1 “Sins of Perverted Love”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:   Colossians 3:5b

            Message of the verses:  “immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”

            Look at the list from greed back to immorality and you see that first greed comes, then you move to evil desires, and then to passion, and them impurity, and finally immorality.

Immorality:  4202 πορνεία porneia por-ni’-ah  from 4203; n f; TDNT-6:579,918;  {See TDNT 654 }

1) illicit sexual intercourse

1a) adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.

1b) sexual intercourse with close relatives; #Le 18:6-23

1c) sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman; #Mr 10:11,12

2) metaph. the worship of idols

2a) of the defilement of idolatry, as incurred by eating the sacrifices offered to idols

           

            You will probably notice that our English word “pornography” is derived from the Greek word porneia.  MacArthur writes that “pornography derives from porneia and graphe, which means a writing.  Pornography is thus a writing (or picture) about sexual sin.  Porneia originally referred to prostitution (the related word porne is the Greek word for ‘prostitute’).”  You can see from the definitions above that this word speaks of any kind of illicit sex.  Let us look at what the Jerusalem Council writes at the end of their letter to the Gentile believers:  “20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.”  “29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell."”  (Acts 15:20, 29)  There are other places in the NT that speak of this such as 1 Cor. 5:1; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 5:3 and the biblical view of immorality is summarized in 1 Thess. 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.”

Impurity:  “167 ἀκαθαρσία akatharsia ak-ath-ar-see’-ah

from 169; n f; TDNT-3:427,381;  {See TDNT 342 }

1) uncleanness

1a) physical

1b) in a moral sense: the impurity of lustful, luxurious, profligate living

1b1) of impure motives

           

            MacArthur writes “It is a more general term than immorality, going beyond the act to the evil thoughts and intentions of the mind.”  We can see the truth of this when Jesus said the following in Matthew 5:28 “but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Jesus is saying that thinking of committing a sin is sinful in itself.  Mark 7:21-22 tells us “21  "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.”  Now in Paul’s letter to the Galatians he gives what are called the deeds of the flesh and impurity is one of them as seen in Gal. 5:19 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality.” 

 

            Sin, especially sexually sin begins in the mind and then it goes to perhaps meditating on it in the mind, to making a plan to do something in the mind to actually doing the immoral sexual act, but it all began in the mind, so the key to overcoming it is to stop it while it is in your mind.

4/19/2017 9:37 PM