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The No Spin Zone
by Rayola Kelley

Recently Jeannette was discussing some Scriptural matters with a friend and she asked the friend if she watched Bill ‘O Reilly’s show on Fox News. The friend made an indication that she indeed did watch the show. Jeannette pointed to the Bible and stated, “This is the no spin zone for believers.”

It is easy to put our spin on anything that serves our purpose, including the Bible. Instead of preaching the Gospel, there are those who preach causes. Instead of teaching the Bible, there are those who teach men’s ideas or concepts of the Bible. Instead of approaching it to believe it, people adjust it to make it believable to their personal take on matters.

The truth is there is nothing sacred when it comes to the spin that people are putting on everything. Truth is becoming nearly extinct in the midst of the ongoing spin of deception that is being promoted by most of the world. Whether the spin is propaganda, indoctrination, or blatant deception, it is engulfing the world. This spin simply becomes a web of darkness that entangles people into a false reality.

As Christians, we must avoid being entrapped by the foreboding web of seduction and delusion that is wrapping this world up with the lies of Satan. We must guard our hearts and minds against the barrage of deception that is being constantly spun by the liars of the world. In fact, it appears as if people would rather spin a lie than speak the truth. Even when the truth is spoken and its wisdom obvious to any sane person, it is apparent that these deluded individuals prefer the foolishness of the deceptive reality they proclaim.

This should not surprise us since the father of lies, Satan, is their father (John 8:44).  These people are simply doing their father’s bidding. They are letting the lust for power and money drive them as they murder the reputation and innovation of anything that is marked by truth, righteousness, and purity. They live a lie and can only speak lies. Their final end is clear according to Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars (Emphasis added.))

I have wondered how individuals can insist on being far removed from the truth without any conviction as to how preposterous they are when it comes to their insipid take on reality. The answer is simple. They have deceived themselves. They prefer the lies; therefore, that is what they have exposed themselves to. In their delusion, they believe they are right and that the end, regardless of the wicked means they may have to use to arrive at their desired goal, will ultimately be justified.

The question is how can a person be content in flinging him or herself in the various deceptive currents of wickedness and expect to survive the ultimate judgment and wrath of the God of righteousness? Perhaps the answer lies in the environment in which these individuals are conditioned. Sadly, people are conditioned according to the age they live in, and this is true for the age in which we now live.

We must consider the age we find ourselves in if we are going to understand the battle before us. Keep in mind, we are not fighting against flesh and blood. The people who are doing Satan’s bidding have his backing.

Jesus described the type of environment that would be present before His coming. He made this statement in Jesus described the environment that now clearly resonates not only in America, but throughout the rest of the civilized world..

It is vital to understand that this environment is the product of wickedness reigning. It is from this premise that we must seriously consider what Jesus was saying. First, we must note the term, “before the flood.” The flood pointed to the reality that the environment during Noah’s day required judgment. The contrast of Noah’s righteous ways was what ushered in the judgment that came upon the whole world (2 Peter 2:5). Those who perished in the flood could not bring any real accusation against God because He provided a stark contrast between the faith of Noah and the wickedness of the world. It was clear that men during those days had the opportunity of being saved by entering the ark or perishing in the flood waters, but since their works were evil, they preferred the darkness of sin, condemning their souls to the inevitable.

Does our present environment require God to judge us? Consider the legalized murder of countless precious souls of the unborn. Consider the exaltation of abominable lifestyles from sodomy and witchcraft, to every kind of perverted practice known to man. Trust me. As a Christian counselor, I have heard it all from incest to bestiality. You may shake your head at this, but I believe I need to inform you that these practices are taking place in the lives of those who call themselves Christians.

It is for this reason that I want to set the record straight. Fornication is all illicit sex outside of marriage. The moral Law of God is clear about how we are to conduct ourselves in regard to sex and marriage. Fornication is an abomination to God. It is committing offense against God’s moral instruction regarding all sexual conduct, as well as the attitude we must possess towards it.

Sex was a gift given to marriage to not only create a special type of intimacy between one man and one woman, but to ensure the future of generations yet to come.  “Fornication” means something has come into agreement with the profane, which always results in death. Such agreement is not only physical and emotional, but it is also spiritual. For this reason fornication is also known as spiritual harlotry. In 1 Corinthians 6:17-20, we are told that fornication is a sin committed against the body. It is coming into agreement with a wrong, perverted, foul spirit. Since our body is to be the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are to glorify God with it, we must conduct ourselves according to the ways of godliness and not according to the crude, base ways of the spirit of the world. We are also told that whosoever destroys the temple of God (their body), God will also destroy (1 Corinthians 3:17).

Because of the practices of fornication, not only do we have an epidemic of sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS, which is set to wipe out whole nations, but there is no future for generations to come when homosexuality becomes the normal practice in a society. God put Adam and Eve together and sanctified their union as constituting ordained marriage.Romans 1:26 talks about God giving people over to their vile affections to pursue that which was unnatural. Romans 1:27 explained how this pursuit for the unnatural would manifest itself: women lusting after women and men after men, working that which is unseemly or indecent and contrary to nature.

Civilizations and societies such as the Spartans have ceased to be because of the abominable practice of homosexuality, and even though the present day advocates of this abominable lifestyle are trying to find ways around the deadly fruits of it through other means such as adoption and artificial insemination, such civilizations will not only cave in on themselves, but eventually the land will spew the people out in utter contempt (Leviticus 18:27-30).

In Moses’ day people were marrying and giving in marriage. Some Bible scholars believe that the part of marrying has to do with the perverted union of homosexuals in a legal sense. It does not matter how people want to justify or legalize abominable practices, they will remain such before our holy God. According to the Law of God, these practices will result in judgment, death, and damnation.     

Fornication is a blatant affront against not only the moral Law of God, but against the sanctity of marriage. Pre-marital sex is fornication. Sadly, it seems that even people in the Church have no qualms about committing fornication outside of marriage. Even though these unions may end in marriage, most of them have a rocky existence or end in divorce.

Due to the moral climate, marriage not only is often given a bad rap, but most people do not properly regard it to ensure its Scriptural integrity. Recently, I witnessed the flippant attitude people have towards marriage. We have some friends who rent their park-like grounds to wedding parties. Through the past summer I helped them with some of the weddings.  Jesus said in Noah’s day people were be given in marriage. I watched parents give their daughters away, but the truth of the matter is marriage has been made a common practice. In other words, it has lost its distinction, meaning, and purpose. Instead of the ceremony marking two people coming together in holy matrimony, it became about partying. No doubt there were some couples who were taking their marriage vows seriously, but for others it seemed like an excuse to party away. Jesus made reference about people partying in Noah’s day. In such an atmosphere there is no real sobriety or awareness of reality. In a sense, giving in marriage is doing business as usual with no awareness of the storms gathering on the horizon.

The greatest type of fornication being committed within marriage is pornography. In spite of people’s twist on pornography, that it is simply a bad habit or a natural desire of man, most people do not realize that pornography is an illicit and unnatural practice that defiles what was intended to be honorable. It trespasses into arenas that are forbidden by Scripture to even speak of let alone expose ourselves to. It is driven by lust that is base, indifference that is angry and hateful, and crude selfishness that has no regard for anything that does not serve its perverted preferences and practices. In essence, it has no regard for that which is pure and right. Pornography strips away all decency, robs innocence, kills hopes, and destroys lives.

Pornography perverts a person’s attitude towards godliness. A married person in pornography commits adultery with his or her eyes and will defile the sanctity of the marriage bed, causing him or her to become perverted in perception towards sex and dishonorable in attitudes and conduct towards his or her spouse (Matthew 5:27; Hebrews 13:4). It is important to point out that whoremonger in Hebrews 13:4 also means fornicator. It is clear that continual exposure to the profane can result in a reprobate mind where there is no sanity, clarity, or distinction. Titus 1:15 best describes how we are affected by what we are exposed to, “to the pure all things are pure, but to the defiled all things are defiled.”

The greatest victims of pornography are children. Children are becoming victims to predators and depraved despots in every arena of society. The idea that there is a bill to legalize pedophilia floating around, which would allow these depraved animals to have legal grounds to prey on our children, shows the wickedness that resides in high places in our despotic government. But, why should this surprise us? Since unborn babies are dispensable, why not cheapen the purity and innocence of our young children? Where will it stop? Sadly, it will probably stop with the wrath of God and be completely silenced by the grave.

How is the Church faring in regard to the darkness of fornication engulfing the world? Is it bringing distinction like Noah did in his day or is it succumbing to the darkness? The latest figure is that at least 50% of pastors are into pornography. In other words, many pastors are offering strange fire through unclean lips that will be unacceptable to God, leaving a wasteland of mediocrity, heretical teachings, and destruction behind. It is clear that an epidemic of grave proportions is present. This epidemic is decimating families, destroying innocence and purity, along with decency. It is causing those who give way to this grave darkness to risk everything including their souls, families, and credibility.

This brings us to the final aspect of the environment of fornication that was prevalent in Noah’s time. The main culprit behind fornication can be found in Genesis 6:5, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” 

      The environment of fornication is fueled by vain imaginations that have no boundaries as to how perverted and foul they become. We can see this same scenario in America. Today many people have the time and means to expose themselves to a continual stream of profane images and practices. They are into lustful sensationalism that stirs up appetites and affections to a fevered pitch. As it stirs up the possibilities of how some practice of iniquity will satisfy the flesh, their affections become obsessed with experiencing it. Then, once it hits its height, it will seek a means to fulfill it. Hence enters every kind of perverted practice. There is no limit to how foul it can become or how destructive it can prove to be to others.

It is clear that when man is committing idolatry, he is committing spiritual fornication. When a person is toying with the profane with the intent to come into agreement with it, he or she is actually committing spiritual whoredom or prostituting his or her soul. When a person is emotionally coming into agreement with the unholy, he or she has become a defiled clay vessel that must be broken in true repentance in order to be cleansed (2 Corinthians 4:7; 2 Timothy 2:19-21 refer to Leviticus  11:32-33; Psalm 34:18; 51:17). When a person bodily gives of self to another outside of that which has been established as ordained marriage by God, it is fornication.

As you can see, the only for these people way to avoid the judgment of God is to repent of the attitudes and practices of fornication. However, to repent, they first must agree with God’s evaluation about it. When the prophet Isaiah encountered the holiness of God in chapter 6, he could only declare that he was a man of unclean lips. It is as only a person gains God’s perspective of such matters will he or she realize the seriousness of his or her actions. Clearly, the sin of fornication shows complete contempt towards God Word. Wisdom is lacking because there is no fear of the wrath that awaits those who practice it. If there is any fear, it is wrapped up in anger towards God because He will not allow them to live in it without fear of consequences. There is no concern about the brokenness of relationship between God, or the wounding and bruising of others because of the affects of sin upon their souls.

The darkness and judgment of fornication is great upon this nation and world. To survive such darkness, one must be living above it. He or she must be walking in excellence towards the matters of God. To live in excellence, one must enter the ark provided by God. The ark is not a physical structure; rather, it is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. His work of redemption is what truly made the ark a living reality. Like the days of Noah, people have a window of opportunity to enter into the ark to avoid the wrath of God, but if they fail to, they will perish in their sins. As the Bible declares, those whose lives are not hidden in the ark of Christ will experience the wrath of God (Matthew 25:13:10-13; Colossians 3:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:9)

The questions are: Am I hidden in the ark of Christ, and do I stand above and distinct from the darkness of this world? If you cannot honestly answer these questions, ask the Lord to turn on His searchlight and reveal the answers.