| Women and Sexual Sins
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| This is a study of what Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-28 (from his so-called "Sermon on the Mount"). This article will attempt to answer the following questions:
What does "lust" mean? Is "lust" a temptation or a sin? Is temptation a sin? Did Jesus teach something new, or did he teach what was from the beginning? Did Jesus "add to" or "take away" from God's Law? What is adultery? Is it a sin to lust after an unmarried woman? Is it a sin to have sex with an unmarried woman? Do all sins require a blood sacrifice? Are spiritual truths represented by physical truths? What are all the sexual sins listed in scripture? |
| Analogy of Eating
Some people are vegetarians because they claim eating meat is a sin. Some people are celibate because they claim having sex is a sin. Is eating a sin? No. Can eating be a sin? Yes, if we disobey the laws regulating eating. Is sex a sin? No. Can sex be a sin? Yes, if we disobey the laws regulating sexual acts. God lists the meats that are a sin to eat in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. God takes the time to tell us which kinds of animals cannot be eaten. God lists the sexual acts that are a sin to do in Leviticus 18 and 20. God takes the time to tell us which kinds of sexual acts cannot be done. It would be cruel of God if, an animal is unclean to eat, He does not tell us that it is unclean in His Word. It would be cruel of God if, a sexual act is unclean, He does not tell us that it is unclean in His Word. Now, If God takes the time to list all the animals that are unclean, and not to be eaten, would it be right if we lumped all meats into this category and said eating all meats is a sin, regardless of what God said? No, this would be wrong, because only the meats that God said are unclean are unclean. God does not say all meats are unclean, he specifies which meats are unclean. Likewise, If God takes the time to list all the sexual acts that are unclean, and not to be done, would it be right if we lumped all sexual acts into this category and said all sexual relations are a sin? No, this would be wrong, because only the sexual acts that God said are unclean are unclean. God does not say all sexual acts are unclean, he specifies which sexual acts are unclean. God does not say eating all meat is a sin. God does not say all sexual acts are a sin. If something is unclean, if something is a sin, then God will tell us. If something is a sin against God, it is inconceivable that God would not tell us about this sin in His Word. And it would be equally wrong to claim something is a sin, when it is not defined as a sin by God in His Word. Sexual Sins Defined Leviticus 18 lists all the sexual acts that God considers a sin. Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy father (Leviticus 18:7). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy mother (Leviticus 18:7). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy father's wife (Leviticus 18:8). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy sister (Leviticus 18:9). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy son's daughter (Leviticus 18:10). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy daughter's daughter (Leviticus 18:10). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with the daughter of thy father's wife (Leviticus 18:11). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy father's sister (Leviticus 18:12). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy mother's sister (Leviticus 18:13). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy father's brother (Leviticus 18:14). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy father's brother's wife (Leviticus 18:14). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy daughter-in-law (Leviticus 18:15). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy brother's wife (Leviticus 18:16). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter (Leviticus 18:17). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with a woman and her son's daughter (Leviticus 18:17). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter's daughter (Leviticus 18:17). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy wife in addition to her sister, as rivals (Leviticus 18:18). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with a menstruous woman (Leviticus 18:19). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with thy neighbour's wife (Leviticus 18:20). Thou shalt not have sexual relations with the same sex (Leviticus 18:23, Romans 1:26-27). A man shalt not have sexual relations with an animal (Leviticus 18:23). A woman shalt not have sexual relations with an animal (Leviticus 18:23). How do we know these are sins? We know these are sins because, after describing these acts in Leviticus 18, God says those who do these things are “defiled” (verse 24), and “the land is polluted” (verse 25), and calls these sexual acts an “abomination” (verse 26) and says they are “abominable practices” (verse 30). But wait a minute. In order for something to be a sin, there must be a shedding of blood! Is there a penalty of blood associated with the above acts? Yes, there is. And here is proof of how God explains to us whether something is a sin or not, by telling us the sin, and its penalty. After God describes these sexual acts, he goes on to say, concerning all of these sexual acts: Leviticus 18:29, “For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people.” Or as the Septuagint says, “destroyed.” Lest anyone think that “cut off” does not refer to execution, I give these witnesses that it does mean execution. Genesis 9:11, "And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." Exodus 31:13-14, "Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people." Leviticus 20:2-3, "Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name." This last verse is from Leviticus 20. If anyone doubts that the penalties for all the above sexual acts mentioned in Leviticus 18 is not the shedding of man's blood (death), Leviticus 20 goes into even further detail about their penalty: For sleeping with another man's wife, they were both sentenced to death (Leviticus 20:10); For sleeping with his mother, they were both sentenced to death (Leviticus 20:11); For sleeping with a daughter-in-law, they were both to be put to death (Leviticus 20:12); For homosexuality, both were executed (Leviticus 20:13); For sleeping with a woman and her mother, all three were burned with fire (Leviticus 20:14); For sleeping with an animal, both the man or woman and the beast were to die (Leviticus 20:15-16); For sleeping with his sister, both were to die (Leviticus 20:17); For sleeping with a menstruous woman, both were to die (Leviticus 20:18); For sleeping with his father's sister or mother's sister, both were to die (Leviticus 20:19); For sleeping with an uncle's wife, both were to die (Leviticus 20:20); For sleeping with his brother's wife, both shall die (Leviticus 20:21). If God considers something to be a sexual sin, it will be listed here in Leviticus 18. The other sins mentioned in the beginning of this article are also covered in Leviticus. For example: A man must not have sexual relations with a woman betrothed to another man (Deuteronomy 22:23-24). This falls under the penalty of adultery, and both were executed (Leviticus 18:20; Leviticus 20:10). A man must not have sexual relations with his ex-wife after she married and divorced a second man (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). This falls under the penalty of adultery, and both were executed (Leviticus 18:20; Leviticus 20:10). A man must not rape a betrothed woman (Deuteronomy 22:25-27). This falls under the penalty of adultery, and the man was executed, but the woman was blameless (Leviticus 18:20; Leviticus 20:10). In other words, every sexual sin in scripture can be associated with the sins listed in Leviticus 18. If it is not found here, then it must be found somewhere else in scripture in order to constitute a sin. If it is not found in scripture, and God does not say it is a sin, how can we call it a sin? And if an act is a sin, it will have a corresponding penalty attached to it. This is important because sometimes a sexual act would be a sin, and sometimes it would not be a sin. Even in the case of adultery! For example, Leviticus 19:20-22 is a situation where a man can sleep with another man's wife, where both of them have sex willfully with each other (yes, both engage in adultery willfully), yet neither party will be executed! Why? Because, in this particular case, the woman was a slave, and she is supposed to have less self-command, and therefore less guilt. However, since she did not make any resistance and consented to it, they were to be scourged. But only the man was to bring a ram for a trespass-offering. Since the woman did not need to make a blood sacrifice, it was not considered a sin for her. It was a sin for the man, however. The reason for this difference is not from any respect which God gives to persons, for bond and free are alike to him, but because bond-women were scarce wives, and their marriages were scarce true-marriages, being neither made by their choice, but their masters authority, nor continued beyond the year of release, but at her master's or husband's pleasure. You see, if somebody makes general statements about God's Law, and says, “all who commit adultery, or any sexual act with someone besides one's own wife, is guilty of sin,” then that is wrong. Because if something is a sin, there will be a specific penalty attached to that particular act. In the above case, the man had to make a blood sacrifice, because it was a sin for him. However, because the woman was a slave, even though she performed adultery willfully, it was not a sin for her. And those who believe that God considers all willful sexual acts, outside of one's marriage, sins, would be wrong. This is why it is so important not to “assume” a sexual act is a sin. Scripture must plainly tell us if it is a sin or not. Here is a question for you. If a man “desires” to marry and spend the rest of his life with a woman, and he is not lusting after her sexually in any way whatsoever, but this woman is listed in Leviticus 18, would it be wrong to “desire” her? Yes, it would. Why? Because God prohibits having sex with these women. Now, would it be wrong to “desire” to marry an unmarried woman who is not listed in Leviticus 18? No, it would not. Now, think about this. If the reason why we cannot desire a women in Leviticus 18 is because God prohibits having sex with them, then why is it we can desire a woman not mentioned in Leviticus 18? Can it be because God does not prohibit having sex with other types of women not mentioned in Leviticus 18? Now, someone may say, “But God prohibits sex before marriage with unmarried women!” Where does God say sex before marriage is prohibited? Does God consider it a sin? Does God consider it unclean? If so, then how did someone “cleanse” their sin, and atone for it, in the Old Testament? Was their blood shed? Did they shed the blood of an animal? What “offering” was this animal shed under? If there was no sacrificing of blood to atone for that act in the Old Testament, how can the blood of Christ atone for this act in the New Testament? The sacrificing of blood for sins in the Old Testament were a shadow of the sacrificing of Christ's blood for sins in the New Testament. Look how God tells people when they sin: Ezekiel 22:11, "And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter." All these above sins are listed in Leviticus 18. But no where do you see where God said, "And one has committed abomination by humbling an unmarried woman." And think about this! If it is a sin to have sex with any woman who is not one's wife, why did God go into all this explicit detail about sexual relationships in Leviticus 18-20? God could have easily summed everything up in one sentence, instead of taking up chapter after chapter after chapter, by making this one, easy to understand, statement: “Whoever shall lie with any man, woman, or beast (except one's own spouse), has committed sin, and the penalty is…” That one sentence would cover all of the sexual sins listed in Leviticus 18 and 20, and throughout the entire scripture. And it would also cover any sexual sins not mentioned in scripture. Why did God not say that? If it is a sin to have sex with any woman who is not one's wife, why did not God say that, instead of going into explicit detail of all these many different sexual acts? The reason is clear. Because only those sexual acts that God said are a sin in His Word are a sin to Him. Therefore, since God does not say it a sin to lie with an unmarried woman, then God does not consider it a sin to lie with an unmarried woman (as long as she is not blood related). If it is a sin, why did God not tell us it is a sin? Why is there no penalty mentioned for this sin? Why is it not mentioned in the list of sexual sins? Someone may object to Leviticus 18 being the chapter that lists all forbidden sexual acts, by saying, "But in this list of sexual sins, it does not prohibit a father or mother from sleeping with their son or daughter! Therefore, there are sexual sins that are not listed here, for it is obviously wrong for a man to sleep with his daughter (especially when Leviticus 18:10 says it is a sin to sleep with his daughter's daughter!)." Actually, it does say it is a sin to sleep with your son or daughter (Leviticus 18:7). First of all, the sins in Leviticus 18 work both ways. It takes two to have sex. For example, when Leviticus 20:17 prohibits a brother from having sex with his sister, it also prohibits the sister from having sex with her brother. Likewise, when Leviticus 18:7 prohibits a son from having sex with his mother, it also prohibits the mother from having sex with her son. |