Joined
to a Harlot
By Dr. Ken Matto
15 Know ye not that your bodies are the
members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them
the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16 What? know ye not that he
which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
(1 Corinthians 6:15-16)
1 Corinthians 6:15
(A) Know
ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? (B) shall I then take
the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
(A) The
body of believers are considered so intimate with the Lord Jesus Christ that he
explains the relationship by saying we are members of Christ. This is well
explained by the following verse which states we are actual members of His
physical body:
For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (Ephesians 5:30)
The picture in view here is the complex nature and makeup of the human body. Our
eyes can see and discern seven thousand colors. By saying we are members of His
body, we are being told that we are each an intricate part of the body of
Christ. In fact, so intricate, that the Bible likens us to being part of His
physical body.
(B) Now
Paul says that since we are such an intimate part of the body of Christ, it
would be reprehensible to make us members of a harlot. He is speaking here that
since a Christian has such a standing with Christ, should they be involved in
sinful behavior or be exposed to sin which could once again ensnare them? God
forbid such a thing. Any time Christians choose to sin against Christ, they are
playing the harlot. They are engaging in spiritual prostitution. When a
Christian sins, they are bringing the Holy Spirit in contact with sin and this
is what grieves Him. We are commanded to live holy and separated lives so we
will not grieve Him. And grieve not the
holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians
4:30)
Christians are to avoid sinful situations at all costs.
1 Corinthians 6:16
What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two,
saith he, shall be one flesh.
When a person is joined to a harlot it becomes a complicated situation in that
there is a union of body, mind, and spirit. It is the same way when a person is
a member of a false gospel, they become one with its evil principles in all
manners. This is why Paul uses the following marriage verses:
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his
wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)
And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one
flesh. (Mark 10:8)
When we are in the true gospel we are married to Christ. When a person is in the
false gospel they are married to it. The Bible uses the marriage relationship as
showing how intimately a person is either married to sin (harlot) or to Christ.
Basically, the text is teaching that you are saved or unsaved. If a person is
saved, they must never play the harlot with the world or any false religions.
People who are in false religions are engaging in spiritual harlotry because
anything that is outside the truth of Biblical Christianity is a counterfeit
religion making it a harlot religion.
Some examples of harlot religions are: Judaism, Mormonism, Islam, Bahai,
New Age, Christian Science, Wicca, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Roman Catholicism.
We expect these false religions to create their own teachings and rituals
to keep their people enslaved to their false belief systems.
Then a question arises which must be raised and it is an important question.
Do churches and individual Christians partake in spiritual harlotry?
Remember harlotry is anything that is outside the genuine or the true.
The answer to that question is that many churches practice spiritual
harlotry and they don’t even know it or would not refer to their belief system
as that. Whenever a church adopts a
system of beliefs which is in opposition to what the Bible teaches then they are
practicing spiritual harlotry. By
adopting a false belief system, they are joining themselves to a harlot.
As Christians it is our responsibility to teach what the Bible teaches
not twist it around to make it fit what we want to believe.
Mega-churches exist today because the false preachers are telling the
people what they want to hear. Here
is a reality that those who are sitting there and listening and agreeing with
these false preachers are just as guilty of spiritual harlotry as the one
preaching. It is not only those in
the Charismatic movement that is guilty of spiritual harlotry but those of
non-charismatic persuasion. Let me
give you some examples to see if you are also a spiritual harlot:
Free Will – No biblical support – Romans 6:17 & 18 states you are either a
servant of sin or a servant of righteousness.
Your will is in bondage to one or the other, in fact, an unsaved person
is spiritually dead. So how can a
spiritually dead person raise themselves from spiritual death?
Pre-trib Rapture – No biblical support – John 5:28-29; 6:39, 40, 44, 54 plainly
state the rapture is on the last day.
Christian Zionism – No biblical support – Nowhere in the
Scriptures does it teach we must stand with Israel.
Genesis 12:3 speaks of the body of believers aka Abraham’s seed.
Tongues – No biblical support – Biblical tongues were
all legitimate, established
languages as we rad in Acts 2:9-11. Modern tongues is gibberish and is not
understood by any.
Modern Bible Versions – No biblical support – Revelation
22:18-19 warns against tampering and corrupting God’s word.
Modern versions contradict each other.
Nightclub atmosphere in churches – No biblical support –
Leviticus 19:30 & 26:2 teach that we are to reverence the sanctuary of the LORD.
Age of Accountability – No biblical support – Psalm 58:3
states that all humans are transgressors from the womb and not a certain age.
I have given just seven examples of what many churches
are involved in. There are many
others and those who sit in churches week after week and year after year that
absorb all kinds of teachings which have no basis in scripture are just as much
spiritual harlots as the pastors who bring these false teachings.
Now not every person who has a misunderstanding of a doctrine is
partaking in spiritual harlotry but there is a difference in a person who
misunderstands a doctrine and one who basks in a false teaching and never
searches the scriptures to make sure what they teach is bible based.
Many churches use the Bible for one purpose and that is to endorse what
they want to believe. How can
pastors continue to teach as doctrine what is not in Scripture for years on end
and how can Christians absorb these false teachings and never check their pastor
out to see if he is teaching truth?
The reason? It is nothing more than
man worship which makes that spiritual harlotry because we are to worship the
Lord and him alone.
I
am the LORD: that
is my name: and my glory will I
not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. (Isaiah 42:8)
Ancient Israel was condemned for worshipping the idols of wood and stone
but the modern church idols are flesh and blood.
So yes the modern church practices spiritual harlotry to a high degree. Anything the church teaches that has no basis in scripture is no better than a Jehovah’s witness doctrine or New Age doctrine because false is false, no matter what the source is. We either adopt what the Bible teaches or we don’t. There is no in-between. Creating teachings which are forced upon the Scriptures is no better than what the cults do. This is one major reason why the churches are weak and confused and if they don’t repent of their ways, then will continue to get weaker.