Abusive and Dehumanizing || Boundaries of Your Sexuality || Part 5

Welcome to Part 5 of the “Boundaries of Your Sexuality” Bible study! This series is about taking a deeper look at what sexual immorality looks like in our world today through understanding the original Greek, the legal perspectives, and primary denominational views. Our working definition of it is this:

Sexual immorality: committing sexual acts or being nude with someone(s) outside of the boundaries of a healthy, God-led romantic relationship with the intent to accomplish sexual satisfaction, obtain money, satisfy lustful desires, or obtain gratification in a noncommittal manner in a way that can involve a variety of forms of abuse, force and/or inhuman treatment of those involved.

Part 4 taught us to put away the old lifestyles and understanding of what we understood about sexual activities. Stop chasing the oxytocin and start building critical relationships with life-long partners, with God at the center of it.

Part 5 takes us to the book of Judge to talk about the sexual perversion found in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jude 1:5-7

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5 Now I want to remind you, although you are fully informed once and for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe [who refused to trust and obey and rely on Him].	5 So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful.	5-7 I’m laying this out as clearly as I can, even though you once knew all this well enough and shouldn’t need reminding. Here it is in brief: The Master saved a people out of the land of Egypt. Later he destroyed those who defected. And you know the story of the angels who didn’t stick to their post, abandoning it for other, darker missions. But they are now chained and jailed in a black hole until the great Judgment Day. Sodom and Gomorrah, which went to sexual rack and ruin along with the surrounding cities that acted just like them, are another example. Burning and burning and never burning up, they serve still as a stock warning.
6 And angels who did not keep their own designated place of power, but abandoned their proper dwelling place, [these] He has kept in eternal chains under [the think gloom of utter] darkness for the judgment of the great day,	6 And I remind you of the angels who didn’t stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belong. God has kept them securely chained in the prisons of darkness, waiting for their day of judgment.
7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the adjacent cities, since in the same way as these angels indulged in gross immoral freedom and unnatural vice and sensual perversity. They are exhibited [in plain sight] as an example in undergoing the punishment of everlasting fire.	7 And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.

The sexual immorality mentioned in this passage refers to Sodom and Gomorrah and what went on there. We’ll cover that later in this blog. First, let’s discuss why this is important for this study.

Jude gives us three examples of rebellion here. The nation of Israel, who were delivered from Egypt because of the acts of God, wouldn’t trust that same God and entered the Promised Land. The angels were once pure, holy, and living in God’s presence. In contrast, some would later rebel, giving into pride and joining Satan. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, where the inhabitants were so full of sin that God removed them from the face of the earth. If God’s chosen people, the angels, and the sinful cities were punished, how much more would these false teachers be judged?

Many people don’t want to believe that God sentences people to Hell for rejection. The Scripture clearly states that he does (see Matthew 25:41-45.)  AUTHOR’S NOTE: I will be doing a series on the different terms for Hell at the beginning of October. Sinners who don’t seek forgiveness from God will face eternal separation from him. Jude wants to warn everyone that rebels again, ignores, or rejects God.

Sodom and Gomorrah were named because of their rebellion and rejection against God, due to their sinful nature and sexually immoral behavior. Let’s look at Genesis 19 to talk about the story of the cities, their behavior, and the lesson we can take away from that in our discussion of sexual immorality.

Angels came to Sodom, and Lot welcomed them in and invited them to stay at his home. After some hesitation from the angels and insistence from Lot, they joined him there for dinner. Before they called it a night, every man from Sodom came and surrounded Lot’s home. They shouted this in verse 5:

Genesis 19:5

5             They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out so you can have sex with them?” (AMP translation of 5b: “…Bring them out to us so that we may know them [intimately].”)

All the men of Sodom wanted Lot to give the angels over to them so that they could gang-rape them. This wasn’t about sexual desire or homosexuality. The Jewish people at the time viewed men having sex with other men as demeaning, stripping the men of their pride and masculinity. (Some important to remember when churches/people try to clobber you about homosexuality.) Lot, in an effort to protect the angels, responded to the mob in verses 6-8.

Genesis 19:6-8

6             So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him.

7             “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing.

8             Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and under my protection. “ (AMP translation of 8a: “…I have two daughters who have not known a man [intimately]; please let me bring them out to you [instead]; …”

This doesn’t seem right by any stretch to offer this as a compromise. However, women were often viewed as property at this time. For them to be traded like this was not uncommon. I’m sure that Lot had a lot of guilt, grief, and hurt to offer his daughters in his context because his reputation and position were at stake here. For this to even be an option, the sinful lifestyle was rampant and present.

The crowd had nothing of Lot and were ready to break the door down to get to the angels. The angels ended up blinding all the men, leading the men to give up. The angels then went to Lot and told them to get his relatives and leave the city so that they could destroy it. God had enough of their outcries and sinful behavior. Mindset-wise, think back to why God sent the flood in Genesis 6. So, Lot told his family what the angels said, but the young men thought Lot was joking. Lot hesitated to leave, but the angels rushed Lot, his wife, and two daughters to safety outside the city. The angels commanded them to run and not look back, or they would be swept up in that direction. After a conversation about where to run, they reached the village. When they were safe, this happened in verses 24 and 25:

Genesis 19:24-25

24           Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.

25           He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation.

Lot’s wife looked back, against the angel’s command, and turned into a pillar of salt. Abraham was what was going on and worked out a plan with God to keep Lot safe and intercede for them.

That’s the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was about people who were using sexual as a way to exhort their power and humiliate those that they didn’t like. It was about gang rape. It wasn’t about homosexuality. The sexually immoral nature was the highlight of the downfall and destruction of the city. While we don’t often think about how our society could crumble under this fire and brimstone punishment, the idea is that it could happen. That possibility should help get right in our sexual nature to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself.

Matthew 10:15

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15 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of [a]Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city [since it rejected the Messiah’s messenger].	15 I tell you the truth, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off than such a town on the judgment day.	15 You can be sure that on Judgment Day they’ll be mighty sorry—but it’s no concern of yours now.

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire from heaven because of their wickedness. They didn’t have Jesus’ teaching or the disciples’ warning. Those who reject the Good News when they hear it will be worse off than the wicked people of those destroyed cities who never heard it.

We hear that those who hear the teaching of Jesus and ignore it and continue their wickedness will be worse off than those who were destroyed in the past and never got to hear these teachings. We can take this to mean, for the purposes of this study, to learn from the mistakes of Sodom and Gomorrah’s sexual immorality and not use it as a tool of humiliation and dehumanization.

2 Peter 2:10

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10 and especially those who indulge in the corrupt passions of the sin nature, and despise authority. Presumptuous and reckless, self-willed and arrogant [creatures, despising the majesty of the Lord], they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,	10 He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings[a] without so much as trembling.	10-11 God is especially incensed against these “teachers” who live by lust, addicted to a filthy existence. They despise interference from true authority, preferring to indulge in self-rule. Insolent egotists, they don’t hesitate to speak evil against the most splendid of creatures. Even angels, their superiors in every way, wouldn’t think of throwing their weight around like that, trying to slander others before God.
11 whereas even angels who are superior in might and power do not bring a reviling (defaming) accusation against them before the Lord.	11 But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord[b] a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings.
12 But these [false teachers], like unreasoning animals, [mere] creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed, reviling things they do not understand, will also perish in their own corruption [in their destroying they will be destroyed],	12 These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed	12 These people are nothing but brute beasts, born in the wild, predators on the prowl.

The “supernatural beings” can refer to God’s angels, all the glories of the unseen world, or, most likely, the fallen angels. Whomever it is, the false teachers slandered spiritual realities they did not understand, taking Satan’s power lightly and claiming to be able to judge evil. Some people today mock the supernatural. They deny the reality of the spiritual world and claim that only what can seem and feel is real.

Ephesians 6:12

Ephesians 6:12              For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits 

I often reflect on this passage. The fights we have in the world, whether political, religious, economic, familial, or anything in between, are against the people themselves. They’re against stances, positions, perspectives, and ways of life. Typically, people on opposite sides of an argument have a similar end goal but massively different routes to getting there. Our battles of the world are against the spirits, energies, and entities that cause division and dissension.

These powers are intense and not something to be taken lightly. Even though we know Satan is defeated in the end, that doesn’t mean we should be arrogant about it now. We shouldn’t fear Satan, but we mustn’t underestimate his cleverness and influence. Don’t scoff at these powers, but use God’s word to counter them. Even Satan knows Scripture, but he will use it to manipulate you. He’s clever and convincing enough to render us complacent and ineffective.

What does this have to with sexual immorality? Our sexual desires can lead us down a dark path. Prying into deep recesses of our brain to think inappropriate thoughts that we might not expect or to encourage us to act in a morally or even legally wrong way. It can lead us to manipulate those around us just to receive that dopamine and oxytocin. It can lead us to harm those in our path because we crave and are addicted to those chemicals. Satan wants us to destroy our sexual integrity because we chase the highs, but God wants us to be respectful. God wants us to take it seriously, submit those thoughts and desires to him, and lead us down a path of a healthy sexual life and relationship with our significant other.

That wraps up Part 5 with how sexual immorality is often an abuse of power and dehumanizing in nature. We wrap the study series up by landing in the book of Revelation to discuss the lack of repentance of the people who committed such acts. Until then, stay blessed!