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Introduction:
I am not sure I have ever been shocked by Bible reading like I was
when I first read chapters such as Ezekiel
16 and 23. The word pictures are sexually graphic
and abhorrent. But there is a reason for that. God wants us to
know exactly how abominable He sees it when His children do not
follow His rule. Consider this, God chose to describe disloyalty
to Him as a spiritual version of the one sin for which He lawfully
allows a husband or wife to divorce their spouse (Matthew
19:3-9). To Him it is adultery and not just the “I was
tempted and made a mistake one night stand” kind of adultery. It
is harlotry. But it is not the “I am trying to make some money
so I am selling myself” kind of harlotry. It is even worse than
that. It is one so given to immorality that the harlots are paying
others to commit immorality with them (cf. Ezekiel
16:33-34). It is disgusting. It is abominable. And yet,
the Israelites didn’t seem to know they were committing such
lewdness and debauchery. They appeared to think they were not all
that bad. In Hosea
8:2, a book which most deeply looks into the harlotry of
Israel, despite their harlotry, they still cried out “My God, we
of Israel know You!” But Hosea
5:4 said they did not know the Lord.
This is where I get concerned today. How easy it might be
for us to cry out, “My God, we of Your church know You!” while
we do not really know Him. I don’t want to be that person. Then
I look around at all the churches and all the differences. Even
among those who claim to be nothing more than a local body of
Christ’s people, I see amazing differences. I have heard of
churches so restrictive as to use only one cup during the Lord’s
Supper and not allow Bible classes. But I have also heard of
churches so permissive as to claim the Lord’s Supper can be
taken on Saturday and baptism for the remission of sins is not so
necessary to salvation as our own feelings about whether or not we
are saved. I have heard about every size, shape and variation in
between. When I see this, I fear that many of the Lord’s people
today are in the same situation as Israel during the time of
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea and we don’t even realize
it. Let’s examine some scriptures and see what spiritual
adultery is and what leads to it. Then, let us examine ourselves
and our congregations and see if we need to affair-proof our
relationship with God. Discussion: I.
What is spiritual adultery? A.
Hosea
1:2
says, “The land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the
Lord.” Spiritual adultery is forsaking the Lord. B.
As Hosea
2:13 says, it is forgetting God to follow other lovers. C.
Hosea
6:4
describes the problem showing that Israel and Judah had no
loyalty. That is, though they took marriage vows one day, the next
day they had forgotten them. They could not be trusted. How would
you like to be married to someone like that? II.
Proverbs
7:6-23
provides a great word picture for us regarding this. Here is a
young man who is walking through the harlot’s street. The harlot
comes out and begins to entice him. She drags him off to be her
lover for the night. While this is the story of literal adultery,
let’s think of this along the lines of spiritual adultery. Who
are today’s harlots that strive to tempt us away from Jesus, our
groom (cf Ephesians
5:25-32)? A.
Materialism—Colossians
3:5 says greed amounts to idolatry. Both individuals and
churches can follow after the harlot greed, when they stray from
the Bible pattern for the sake of money. How many Christians have
forsaken the kingdom way because they first wanted to pursue money
and material goods, setting their financial life in order and then
one day getting to the spiritual (cf Matthew
6:33; I Timothy 6:10). How many churches have compromised
the biblical pattern to appeal to the wealthy who might give (cf. James
2:2-3)? B.
Pleasure—Philippians
3:18-19 speaks of enemies of the cross whose god is their
appetite. That is, the driving force behind all they do is their
own desires and pleasures. The events of John
6 are a good example. The people were more than willing to
follow Jesus when they thought He was a king who would provide
bread and circuses. However, when He pointed out that the
miraculous feeding was not about feeding the crowd but about
showing a sign, they didn’t like that. He pointed out His
kingdom was not about eating (see also Romans
14:17). When He began to teach them about who He was—the
bread of life—and that they should be more concerned about
eating His body and drinking His blood, they were no longer
interested. 5000 men left, not counting women and children. How
many Christians have forsaken the Lord to follow after momentary
pleasures (cf. Hebrews
11:24-25)? How many pursue alcohol, drugs, immorality and
lasciviousness because it makes them feel good? How many churches
have abandoned the pattern of God seeking to draw people in with
food and fun instead of drawing them with the teaching of the Lord
(John
6:44-45)? C.
Popularity—John
12:42 tells of synagogue rulers who believed in Jesus.
Yet, they refused to confess Him because they feared being put out
of the synagogue. What was the issue? They were courted by the
harlot of popularity. They wanted to fit in. How many individual
Christians turn their back on the Lord for the sake of fitting in?
Even Peter succumbed to this temptation when he denied the Lord (Matthew
26:69-75) and then again when he got caught up in his
hypocrisy regarding the Jews and Gentiles (Galatians
2:11-14). How many individuals will laugh at the dirty
jokes, spout a few curse words, go along to the bar or drinking
party just to fit in and be popular? How many churches have
abandoned the biblical pattern of the Lord to fit in and be
popular? The mainstream churches of the world have turned worship
into entertainment, fellowship into eating, ministry into
recreation. For them, the church’s work is not about drawing
people closer to God through His word. It is about social, secular
entertainment and well-being. They have diverted the money which
should accomplish the Lord’s work to accomplishing social
welfare? Is benevolence to the poor and needy good? Certainly.
However, it is not the church’s mission to lift up the poor from
their material needs. The church’s mission is to lift up the
poor in spirit with the message of Christ’s gospel. But when we
are involved in these social programs, the denominations like us.
We look more like them. We can fit in. When we are spending our
time teaching Acts
2:38, we look different and they will “put us out of the
synagogue.” How many individuals and churches have compromised
God’s pattern so they can fit in and be popular among the
mainstream religions of our day? D.
Self—In
James
4:3, James rebuked the Christians because their prayer
worship wasn’t about God, but about seeking selfish pleasure.
Sadly, most of the time all the other harlots which allure us are
bound up in this one. We are allured by the harlot of self.
Instead of serving God, we want to do what we want to do. Have you
ever wondered why idolatry was so alluring to Israel and Judah?
Think about it. If I make up the god, who gets to make up the
rules? I do. Idolatry is alluring because in the end, all idolatry
is the service of self. All spiritual harlotry is doing what I
want, because I want. But Christianity is about self-sacrifice (Romans
12:1-2). It is about taking up the cross and following
Jesus (Luke
9:23). It is about being crucified with Christ (Galatians
2:20). But how many Christians have forsaken the Lord to
pursue their own wants? How many churches have abandoned the
biblical pattern to pursue a fun course of more popular religion?
How many have decided that if in their own mind they think
something is good it is alright? How many have abandoned the
demand for book, chapter and verse Bible authority for all they
do? II
Timothy 3:16-17 says the Scripture provides us with
equipping for every good work. Too few today demand scriptural
authority for their work. Instead they simply demand that it feels
good. Who are they following? God or the harlot of self? Conclusion: Why do we do what we do? Is it because of God’s rule or something else? We must take care that we, the bride of Christ, are maintaining our faithfulness to Him. We must be involved in dalliances on the side or in on-going affairs with worldliness and the flesh. We must not be enticed by the harlots of materialism, pleasure, popularity or self. We must be enamored with Jesus, devoted to Him with pure love. In our next lesson, we will examine how Christians and churches fall into spiritual adultery and how to overcome if we do. For now, the warning against spiritual harlotry will suffice. Let us take care to be true and faithful to the Lord.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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