Praying with the Prophets: sexual sin and the Church today
Background
Recently the Anglican diocese of Perth has experienced conflict over the fitness for ordination of people with a recent history of homosexual practice or living in a long-term de facto relationship. Our archbishop has taken these men at their word concerning future chastity. Trust is of the essence here. At the time of the first draft of this teaching, no one had called the diocese to prayer over this controversy. Mercifully, this has now changed. In this context the Lord’s Spirit has me going deeper than surface issues over sinful sexuality and reflexive responses, to discern that deception marks the hidden near universal idolatry going on in the Church today.
Biblical Parameters
The majority of Bible-focussed Anglicans, the Evangelicals, think the archbishop is misled in trusting people with a history of sexual sin. Arguments like, “if it was me, I could not keep out of bed with someone I loved”, or, “it doesn’t pass the pub test”, lack all biblically authority. 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” comes much closer to the mark. Ephesians 5:3 is even more conclusive, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” Yet how many contemporary believers would, for the reputation of the Church, intentionally live only with those with whom intercourse was virtually impossible? As the Word is prophetic it has greater depth on the vital subject of sexuality and honesty.
Idols and Sexual Confusion
The Bible sees in all sexual immorality, especially same-sex practice, the power of idolatry (Rom 1:18-32). To covet another’s wife is idolatry (Ex 20:17=Col 3:5). Idolatry is the ultimate in “adultery” and “fornication” (Ezek 22:13-23:37; Hos 4:12-14; Rev 14:8; 17:2). Since an idol is essentially a distortion of God’s covenantal order it is “what is false” (Ps 24:4), idols are “a lie/lies” (Isa 44:20; Amos 2:4). That the innermost being of sexual deviation is a spiritual act of idolatry is expounded in the most detailed biblical passage about this subject, “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Rom 1:25). “therefore God gave them up to impurity…dishonourable passions…a debased mind…” (Rom 1:24, 26, 28). Sexual sin is a manifestation of God’s judgement on all who fundamentally disorder the nature of reality by worshipping things other than Himself! Pope Francis correctly says, “Idolatry, then, is always polytheism, an aimless passing from one lord to another.” (Lumen Fidei 13). Recent archives of Bob Hawke’s sex addiction witness to the ugly truth that we still live in a world where “gods many and lords many” penetrate every level of our society (1 Cor 8:5 cf. 1 John 5:21) In his vision of the final state of judgement “in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur”, John links “the sexual immoral…idolaters…all liars” together as excluded from the divine presence (Rev 21:8). According to the witness of the Spirit (Rev 1:10), all these sins are essentially one.
Basic Trust
In scripture the Holy Trinity makes so much of genital deviation from heterosexual marriage because this covenantal form of humanity uniquely points us beyond this world to the eternal marriage of Christ as Bridegroom to the Church as Bride (Eph 5:31-32; Rev 19). The created marital order (Gen 1-3 cf. Matt 19:3-6) must now be interpreted through the new covenant (Rom 5:14; 1 Cor 15:45; Col 1:16) in the light of the final all-holy consummation of Christ and the Church. This revelation requires much more from us than the original order of creation. Paul, for example, sees the union of Corinthian Christians with prostitutes as sinful in the light of the resurrection, “God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power” (1 Cor 6:14). Knowing that our body will be raised for the perfect Marriage we must keep it pure. Those who trust idols become “like them” (Pss. 115:8; 135:8). Likewise, the “one flesh” union with anyone not your spouse (1 Cor 6:16) brings conformity to the lie that sex outside marriage is equivalent to sex inside the divine order. Non-covenantal sex is an especially powerful form of idolatry that is essentially a lie (cf. 1 Cor 6:18). Therefore those who have been in long term committed sexual relationships outside God’s express command (Gen 2:24; Eph 5:31) and have not openly repented of past unholy behaviour cannot and must not be trusted. Without such open confession (Matt 3:7-8; Acts 19:19) and the radical change of mind it brings (Rom 12:1-2) there can be no union between their word and the Word of God. This brings me to the matter of prophetic insight to guide prayer so largely lacking amongst Western Christians.
Prophets and Prayer
The old covenant prophets are classic intercessors (Gen 20:7; Num 12:13; 14:13-19; Isa 37:4; 51:9-10; 62:6; 63:7-64:12; Jer 18:19-20; 28:6; Ezek 9:8; 11:13; Am 7:2, 15). The climax of biblical covenantal prayer is recorded in Revelation (5:8; 8:3), a prophetic testimony inspired by the Spirit of Jesus (Rev 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 19:10; 21:10), to communicate to the Church-Bride the words of her Bridegroom (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3: 6, 13, 22) so she can join intimately with his prayers for the coming of his Kingdom (Rev 22:17, 22). Wholescale repentance, reformation and revival is always a movement of prophetic prayer that leaves behind accepted images of Church and ministry to find “the true God” through “true faith”. Luther is the classic example of this, but you will find such prophetic idol shifting energy in every major move of God. Such Spirit-led movements conform to the Pauline witness, “neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,3 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But…you were made holy…” (1 Cor 6:9-11). Inside the holy Marriage any form of transformation is possible.” Why then do we live in a Church whose prayer-life is generally so non-prophetic, imprecise and ineffective? What I am hearing from the Lord is very painful for most of us to receive.
The Most Hidden Idol
Years ago, in prayer, I felt the Lord telling me that the most potent idol in the Church is herself. Anglicans, Baptists, Catholics, Pentecostals etc. almost invariably love their own “brand” more than the whole Bride of Christ. The Bride may seem hopelessly abstract and ideal to most of us, but to Jesus she is fully real (Eph 1:22-23). Having fallen in love with the fragmentary image of the Bride which our “brand” represents we are guilty of a very hidden form of idolatry. Such “ecclesiolatry” i.e., worship of the Church, diminishes the glory of Christ as Husband in our midst (Eph 3:21). Only when a mass of the people of God repents of this hidden idol will we see a major move of the Lord for those in sexual disorder and every other form of sin that clings so close (Heb 12:1). Lord Have Mercy Christ Have Mercy Lord Have Mercy .