Prostitution “involves engaging, agreeing, or offering to engage in sexual conduct with another person in return for a fee.” It is not the dream for a young child to want to grow up and become a prostitute. One woman described her life as a prostitute and her description of her experience was mind-numbing. She was homeless at age fourteen due to a horrible homelife, and to survive she turned to prostitution. She disagreed with the belief that prostitution is the oldest profession saying, “Oh, and the oldest profession in the world is midwifery. Prostitution is not any sort of profession, never mind the oldest one.” There are both male and female prostitutes. The bible describes the presence of prostitutes, even in the temple. When Solomon rejected God, and adopted the gods of his wives, they adopted the practices of those they were told not to be part of. Manasseh 2 Kings 21:2 “did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.” 2 Kings 23:7 “He (Josiah) also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the temple of the Lord.” Even though they were told, Deuteronomy 23:17 “No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. 18 You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both. 1 Kings 14:22 “Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.”

    This really isn’t a discussion about prostitution but is about the church prostituting itself to other gospels. The woman who described her life as a prostitute was graphic and makes this comparison even more revolting. You may say, woe wait a minute, you can’t say that or shouldn’t say that. Lately in the United States, there are many so-called Christian politicians trying to get books banned. Have they actually read the bible? If they are not careful, they will end up banning the bible. Here is what the bible states about God’s people behaving like prostitutes and even worse, they do not charge and do it for free. Scripture tells us that when we go after other gods/ other gospels, we are prostituting ourselves. Hosea 4:12 “A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.” Hosea 5:4 “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord.” When you are aware of this you see why the gifts of the Holy Spirit are so important. One that many in the church reject is 1 Corinthians 12:10 “to another distinguishing between spirits.” It is obvious that satan does not want the church to have this gift. It is still available but the church must turn back to God. God warned the people Exodus 34:15 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.” 1 Kings 11:1 “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” Leviticus 20:6 “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.” Numbers 15:39 “You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.” Deuteronomy 31:16 “And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.” Judges 8:33 “No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god.” 1 Chronicles 5:25 “But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.” Jeremiah 2:20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, ‘I will not serve you!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute.” Jeremiah 5:7 “Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. 8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife. 9 Should I not punish them for this?” declares the Lord. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?” Hosea 9:1 “Do not rejoice, Israel; do not be jubilant like the other nations. For you have been unfaithful to your God; you love the wages of a prostitute at every threshing floor.” Ezekiel 16:30 “‘I am filled with fury against you, declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute! 31 When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment. 32 “‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! 33 All prostitutes receive gifts, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors. 34 So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you. 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children.”

    God was supposed to be our husband and we were to remain faithful. Revelation 21:2 “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Isaiah 54:5 “For your Maker is your husband— the Lord Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” As we read above, like Israel and Judah, the church has not been faithful to God. “You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!” Thus, the comparison to prostitution but even worse because they do it for free. “You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.” By following other gospels, the church has done exactly as Israel and Judah did.

    But there is good news. As we saw with Rahab and Mary Magdalene, there is hope of restoration. The old is gone and the new can come but only with the power of God can one be truly healed. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Paul also said, 1 Corinthians 6:9 “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” So, like anyone who sins against God, their sins can be forgiven. No matter how great the sin or how many demons there are, Mark 5:2 “When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” 9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.” God can make anyone whole again just as the church can be restored. Amos 9:11 “I will restore David’s fallen shelter— I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins— and will rebuild it as it used to be.”