{"id":47890,"date":"2022-05-29T14:46:33","date_gmt":"2022-05-29T19:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=47890"},"modified":"2022-05-29T14:46:33","modified_gmt":"2022-05-29T19:46:33","slug":"sex-preachers-and-the-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sex-preachers-and-the-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Sex, Preachers, and the Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

“The Bible does not hide from or obscure the power of the temptation to illicit sex. In language that is refreshingly clear and direct without itself indulging in titillation, the text warns the reader of the debacle that awaits him should he succumb in this area and at the same time promises profound sexual joy to those whose hearts are chaste and loving. If the church is to do its duty, it must be no less clear in its teachings. To assume that nice, Christian young people do not struggle in these areas or to speak only in whispers and innuendo on the grounds that they are inappropriate for the Christian pulpit is no less than gross neglect of duty on the church’s part. Whether one is dealing with the ritual prostitution of a fertility cult, the ordinary prostitute on the street (or in a magazine), or the simple lure of extramarital sex, the temptations and dangers are the same.” [Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs: The New American Commentary, vol. 14 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993), 90.]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; that you may observe discretion and your lips may reserve knowledge. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold of Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life; her ways are unstable, she does not know it. <\/em><\/p>\n

“Now then, my sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house, or you will give your vigor to others and your years to the cruel one; and strangers will be filled with your strength and your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; and you groan at your final end, when your flesh and your body are consumed; and you say, ‘How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to my instructors! I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation’<\/em>” (Proverbs 5:1-14).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The Bible does not hide from or obscure the power of the temptation to illicit sex. In language that is refreshingly clear and direct without itself indulging in titillation, the text warns the reader of the debacle that awaits him should he succumb in this area and at the same time promises profound sexual joy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[66,1572,156,226,683,63,451],"class_list":["post-47890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-adultery","tag-fornication","tag-lust","tag-pornography","tag-prostitution","tag-sex","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31273,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-sex-outside-of-marriage-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":47890,"position":0},"title":"Why Is Sex Outside of Marriage Wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall \"I've been told sex outside of marriage is wrong. Why?\" That is a question I got asked recently. \"God said so\" is one answer, but not as meaningful as others. Why did God say so? Is there a \"why\" behind the \"what\"? Surprisingly, two answers are different\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20125,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-for-a-lonely-single-man-to-use-the-services-of-a-prostitute\/","url_meta":{"origin":47890,"position":1},"title":"Is it wrong for a lonely single man to use the services of a prostitute?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am 29 years old, single, no kids, and most of the time lonely. I live in an environment surrounded by peer pressure. This is not a perfect world. Even media and entertainment promotes sex. The people around me talk about sex often. When I'm lonely, and my budget\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41747,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/there-is-a-difference-between-immorality-and-sex\/","url_meta":{"origin":47890,"position":2},"title":"There is a difference between immorality and sex","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You answered a question on your site regarding men seeking prostitutes and quoted Proverbs 7:24-27 as the answer. However, that verse was denouncing an adulterous woman behaving like a prostitute. Why didn't you offer a better example as the young man asking the question had a very serious dilemma\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43729,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ive-been-involved-in-pornography-and-prostitution-while-attending-church-does-that-mean-i-need-to-be-kicked-out-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":47890,"position":3},"title":"I’ve been involved in pornography and prostitution while attending church. Does that mean I need to be kicked out of the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I'm writing because I don't know what else to do. I grew up in a Christian household, always going to church. I would spend hours reading Bible and saying my prayers. 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Being a Christian, I have mixed feelings as I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36998,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-have-sex-with-a-woman-who-is-willing-and-cannot-get-pregnant\/","url_meta":{"origin":47890,"position":5},"title":"Can I have sex with a woman who is willing and cannot get pregnant?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I got married to an unfaithful woman. I guess having it her way counts as unfaithfulness? My dad and others where we were living did not want us together as she: Had 16 boyfriends before me Did not pay her rent or telephone bills Had a lot of medical\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}