Pornography does not honour God and does not honour marriage. It destroys relationships!
The word pornography historically comes from the Greek words porni (“prostitute”) and graphein (“to write”). Originally the word was used to describe any work of art or literature depicting the life of prostitutes.
In more modern use, pornographie appears in an 1800 French treatise on prostitution, and this French usage is the likely basis for our use of it in English today. Today it has taken on a wider and different use.
During the time of the “Romans,” people practiced pornography, or obscene paintings, with the grossest license. This practice prevailed, especially in Greece, though not at any specific period, and people apparently tolerated it to a considerable extent at all times.
Turning to scripture, we see and know that porneia is a sin. The definition of πορνεία, porneia, in Strong’s Greek 4202 (coming also from other roots) will be known by some but is worth repeating “harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively – idolatry, fornication.
Fornication being illicit sexual intercourse, adultery, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals, etc., and sexual intercourse outside of marriage.
According to the world model, it is natural/right for pre-marital sex, co-habitation. For some people it is a “try before you buy attitude”, others because it is “love” or just because it is what others do! We only need to look at some of the current advertising to see how “sex- saturated” the world is. It is no wonder that without correct equipping, many people, particularly teenagers, feel the need to be sexually active. The current tendency to delay marriage may not help this - the median age for marriage of 31.2 for women and 32.7 for men (2025 figures per ABS). Within the marriages that occurred in 2017, 81.3% of couples had cohabited before marriage. (This is the latest figure published by the ABS in its annual Marriage statistics).
The temptations are great, and the reasons may be many, but there is consistency in scripture in teaching self-control rather than indulgence [see Galatians 5:19-24, 1 Corinthians 10:13]. Scripture also shows us that God designed sex to be undertaken within marriage, between husband and wife. [Matthew 15:19-20, 1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 6:9-11, 6:16-20, 7:36-38, Ephesians 5:3-5, Colossians 3:5-6] All too often there is a price paid where sex occurs outside of marriage, such as the unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and even emotional pain which can even surface at a later time e.g. on marriage.
Some might even say that there is no specific prohibition in scripture against sex between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman, and they would be right. But, in the New Testament, “sexual immorality” or as translated in the King James, “fornication” is denounced some 25 times.
“Then Jesus said: What comes from your heart is what makes you unclean. Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness. All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God.” [Mark 7:20-23]
We also see in the writings of the Apostle Paul the following: “Don’t be immoral in matters of sex. That is a sin against your own body in a way that no other sin is. You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own. God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God.” [1 Corinthians 6:18-20]
“People’s desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God’s kingdom.” [Galatians 5:19-21] “God wants you to be holy, so don’t be immoral in matters of sex. Respect and honor your wife. Don’t be a slave of your desires or live like people who don’t know God.” [1 Thessalonians 4:3-5]
God cares about His church. Some years ago, the writer was teaching in this area about honouring marriage, including the wrongs of pre-marital sex and cohabitation. For the message, I spoke with the aid of a churched, single young lady interpreter who was unknown to me, and she did not have prior knowledge of my message. I was later told by the pastor of the church the interpreter was herself in the situation I had been speaking about. He, the pastor, up to that time, had not spoken with her or her partner, also single, about their relationship–he was waiting for an opportune time!
πορνεία – porneia is a blemish within our nation, our society and also, regrettably, within some parts of the body of the church. A blemish that we need to treat urgently by teaching/equipping for the ministry of life and preparing the church to be His Bride.
All scripture that is quoted is from the CEV
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