During the rise of the Roman Empire, the Romans took the Greek gods and changed their names to create their own. This adoption promoted the worship of many gods and goddesses. Juno, the goddess of women and fertility and Venus, goddess of love and beauty inspired first century Romans to indulge their sexual fantasies. One of the local temples even encouraged prostitution in the name of religion, an enticing way to attract new followers. This was the spiritual condition that the apostle Paul was forced to confront in a portion of his letter listed below.
And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin], Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it). For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one, Romans 1:23-26.
According to Luke, a first century historian and well known doctor, the apostle Paul was greatly disturbed by the idols in plain sight in Athens, Greece, Acts 17:16. Rome took these same gods and goddess and simply changed their names. If statues promoting fornication and pornography were in full view in Greece, it can be assumed that similar idols were erected in Rome. Apparently, some Christians thought worshipping these man made gods was okay. This mindset inspired the harsh and graphic words above. Paul boldly explains how sexual worship can lead to a homosexual lifestyle.
Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one. But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death, James 1:13-15.
While it’s unclear of the context above, Jesus’ earthly brother lays out how lust can ruin your life. First and foremost, you can’t blame God for your own sexual fantasies. Whenever anyone places themselves in a compromising position, you open the door for enticement and lust. The longer you remain in this tempting state, the closer you come to sin conceiving. Thus, unless you follow the blueprint for escaping temptation in 1 Corinthians 10:13, sexual fantasies will lead down the same wayward path as David with Bathsheba and Samson with Delilah.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 