After I had published a few blogs, this week, about prostitution and marrying, I received some comments in which, more or less, I was accused of being too legalistic and judgmental concerning these topics. It was argued, Was Rahab not a prostitute, but is, nevertheless mentioned with honor in the Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11? Did not the Lord say to religious leaders that prostitutes and tax collectors would go into the kingdom of God before them? Is it, also, not unnecessary to write about such themes? Will the Lord not protect those who are His from all evil, anyway?
About these objections I would like to write a comment or two.
The Scriptures, in general and Paul’s letters, in particular, speak quite frequently about marrying, marriage and prostitution. The first question that must be considered is, What, by definition, do these words mean? A word means nothing when we have no idea what it stands for. For this we turn to the concordance (a list of keywords of the Bible), so we can compare Scripture with Scripture. It is not my business to condemn anyone. Freedom is a precious commodity and every believer is privileged to live his own life without being hassled by interference and meddling from fellow believers. But is this in conflict with a clear answer to the question of what exactly a word means? What people do with it, does not concern me, but as a Bible teacher, I have the facts of Scripture to present. That is why I wrote an article about “prostitution” and one about what it means “to marry”. Regardless of culture and “the spirit of the times” it is important to know what Scripture reveals about these. Only that provides solid guidance!
And then the other objection that it would not be necessary to speak about prostitution and marrying, anyway, because the Lord guides the lives of believers and also protects them from all evil. If you ask me, this is a very transparent fallacy. For how would the Lord keep and lead His own otherwise than by informing them from His Word?! The Scriptures speak about these topics and Paul presents them, at various times, as being important; not by imposing law, but by giving instructions. As “a lamp to the feet” (Ps.119:105) shows the path and points out where dangers lie; so the Lord leads our life and so He protects us from stumbling blocks and other perils.
Through His Word and through nothing else.
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Translation: Peter Feddema
