Without detailed teaching from God’s Word, humans generally think that what they are doing is right. Proverbs 16:2 says: “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits.”

I know of numerous Christians who try to justify their watching movies and television shows which they know beforehand have nude sex scenes or scenes revealing the sexual organs of sexually mature members of the opposite sex. Or they will try to justify other similar ungodly impure practices. This is despite the fact God commands: “Hate evil…” (see Amos 5:15) and “…Abhor what is evil…” (see Romans 12:9).

Habakkuk 1:13 reveals God hates looking at any type of wickedness: “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness…” If God is our Father, how can we as His children want to look with our eyes at acts of sexual immorality which He hates?

I have heard numerous churchgoers using hypocritical Pharisaic and situational ethics principles and the “end justifies the means” philosophies when interpreting the Bible about such matters. For example, some will say it is wrong to look at pornographic magazines. But if exactly the same nude photographs were in a supposed sex education book, they would say God approves of believers looking at them. Similarly, some say it is wrong to go to nude beaches but then they say it is right to paint nude models of the opposite sex at art classes.

Others say it is wrong for Christian men and women to share the same large shower room at a Christian camp because of the fact each person will see the exposed nakedness of many others of the opposite sex to whom they are not married. But then they say it is right to look at naked adult members of the opposite sex showering in the movies.

Note, however, all of the above wrong practices are covered in one way or another in the broad teachings of nine Biblical verses or passages (Genesis 3:7, Isaiah 20:4, 47:2-3, Micah 1:11, Nahum 3:5-6, Habakkuk 2:15, 1 Corinthians 12:23, Revelation 3:18 and 16:15), one broad Biblical command (1 Timothy 2:9) and three specific commands (Exodus 20:26, 28:42 and Leviticus 20:17). These verses show God regards it as shameful for us to expose our nakedness to members of the opposite sex who are not included in God’s Biblical exceptions about this matter.

Luke 8:27 and Acts 19:16 are two historical verses which show that demons are sometimes the cause of adults exposing their nakedness to those to whom it should not be shown. Mark 5:15 and Luke 8:35 are two historical verses which reveal that after Jesus cast demons out of a naked demoniac, the man was clothed and in his right mind. In the Bible, being in our right mind is always linked to being properly clothed except in special circumstances specifically approved of by God.

The above-mentioned 17 verses are plenty of proof that the above types of exposing of nakedness are shameful and wrong. In Matthew 15:3-9, Jesus only quoted two verses from the Old Testament – a broad command (Exodus 20:12) and a general teaching (Exodus 21:17) to prove that God wanted adult children to care for their needy parents. This is even though these two latter verses do not specifically mention anything about adult children caring for their needy parents. In 1 Corinthians 10:25-28, Paul used only one Old Testament verse – a general teaching found in Psalm 24:1 to prove what God’s specific will is about eating meat sacrificed to idols. This is even though Psalm 24:1 is so broad in meaning, it does not specifically mention this issue.

As stated earlier, in Matthew 19:3-6, Jesus used only one Old Testament verse – a broad command found in Genesis 2:24 which says: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh” to prove His teaching about divorce. This is even though in its original wording, Genesis 2:24 mentions nothing about divorce.

Someone may argue, “But the 17 verses you quote above mention nothing about watching nude sex scenes in movies, nudist beaches, painting nude models or looking at nude photos of real persons in pornographic magazines or in sex education books. So you cannot apply these verses to these matters.” But this is a foolish argument. There are no verses in the Bible which specifically condemn becoming addicted to heroin, cocaine and designer drugs. But note such evil practices are opposed by the general Biblical teachings found in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 6:12.

The extreme confusion, compromising and double standards among too many modern churchgoers is typified in the following example: One famous churchgoing entertainer who publicly proclaims the desire to marry as a virgin and who tells others to believe in Jesus Christ, recently posed nude in public for some supposedly “worthy” cause.

The only God-approved exceptions found in the written Word to the previously mentioned Biblical teachings and commands about not exposing our nakedness relate to husbands and wives exposing themselves to each other (Deuteronomy 22:14, Proverbs 5:18-19 and 1 Corinthians 7:2-5), parents observing their naked little children (Job 1:21 and Ecclesiastes 5:15), babies seeing their parents’ nakedness (Psalm 22:9 and Joel 2:16), a heterosexual male seeing another heterosexual male’s nakedness for non-sexual purposes (1 Samuel 9:24), heterosexual females seeing naked heterosexual females and male babies and female babies (Genesis 35:17, 38:28, Exodus 1:15-21 and Ruth 4:13-17), the prophet Isaiah acting out the shameful public exposure which God would inflict on the sinful Judeans (Isaiah 20:2-4) and Jesus being exposed on the Cross (Matthew 27:35 and Hebrews 12:2).

In addition, note the Bible nowhere specifically commands believers not to expose their sexual organs in public when urinating. But the above general commands and teachings about not exposing our nakedness cover this matter.

 

Tempting others to sin

 

The human body itself is a wonderful creation of God (Psalm 139:13-15 and 1 Timothy 4:4). The nakedness of the human body in the right situations is not shameful or evil. But because of the fallen sinful nature of humans, the body tends towards sexual immorality and other sin (Romans 6:6, 7:5, 8:13 and Colossians 3:5). Therefore, any exposing of nakedness which would in any way increase the temptation for yourself or someone else to commit sexual immorality in thought, imagination or act, is shameful and evil.

In Matthew 18:7, Jesus warned us about tempting others to sin: “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” Romans 14:13 also commands us not to put a stumbling block, trap or possible cause to fall for others in any way: “Therefore let us…resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.”

Exposing our nakedness to anyone who is not covered by God’s exceptions, involves tempting them to commit adultery or fornication with us in their imaginations. This is why in 1 Corinthians 12:23, Paul called our sexual-reproductive organs “our unpresentable parts” which “have greater modesty”. Also, any sinful exposures of our nakedness can attract unclean spirits.

Exposing our nakedness to those not included in God’s exceptions is similar to the foolish temptations resulting when two adult unmarried members of the opposite sex share a flat and the same bed. James 1:21 commands us: “Therefore, lay aside all filthiness…”

When people are unconverted, they often have sinful unbiblical attitudes to exposing their nakedness. Prior to their pre-conversion conviction by the Holy Spirit, the unconverted do not hate evil like God hates it.

But when people receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour through faith and accompanying repentance, the Holy Spirit begins to inspire a hatred within them of all known sin. True repentance involves adopting God’s standards and not the world’s wicked customs about such matters. Proverbs 28:13 declares: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

 

God’s absolute commands and His only exceptions

 

In the New Testament, God has given believers black and white commandments against idolatry, sexual intercourse outside of marriage, sex between members of the same sex, incest, telling dirty jokes, sexual lust in the imagination in relation to those to whom we are not married, getting drunk, greed, blasphemy against God, eating or drinking blood and dishonouring our mother and father. [1] There are no God-approved exceptions to these absolute commandments of God.

God approves of one exception to His command against lying found in Ephesians 4:25 and Colossians 3:9. This exception occurs when our telling the truth will result in someone being wickedly murdered (see Exodus 1:15-21).

Note also in the Old Testament, God approved of three exceptions to His command against killing other humans. Two of these exceptions were capital punishment under the Noahic and Mosaic Covenants [2] and the wars which God led the Israelites who were under the Mosaic Covenant to fight against pagan nations. [3] Another exception occurred under the Mosaic Covenant when God stated that He would not hold as guilty of murder those Israelites who struck burglars, who were breaking into their houses at night and who died as a result (see Exodus 22:2).

In 1 Samuel 16:2-5, God did not command the prophet Samuel to lie. Instead God told Samuel to make a sacrifice to Him at Bethlehem so that Samuel could achieve God’s secret purpose of anointing David as king. God permitted Samuel to avoid publicly saying he was going to anoint David as king, in order to prevent King Saul murdering Samuel.

Unless you can find a Biblical exception in which God clearly approves of you disobeying one of His commands in a particular circumstance, you are sinning greatly if you make your own exception. I believe God is fed up with the amount of compromise and twisting of His commands that goes on in this liberal humanistic age.

When studying the Bible, do not be deceived, however, into thinking that just because some event is recorded which is contrary to a broad Biblical command or teaching that this is always a God-approved exception. For example, 1 Samuel 20:5-6, 21:1-2 and 21:12-15 reveal David lied on a number of occasions. But there are no verses in the Bible which say God approved of his lying on these three occasions. In Psalm 101:7, David showed he knew lying and deceit were evil.

Similarly, just because Noah became drunk and Lot became drunk and had sex with his two daughters (see Genesis 9:20-21 and 19:30-38), this does not mean these are God-approved exceptions to God’s commands against drunkenness (see Ephesians 5:18) and sex outside of marriage. Note there is nowhere in the Bible which says God approved of what Noah and Lot did.

 

One man-made exception creates 100 exceptions

 

As soon as we accept one man-made exception to any of God’s commands and teachings, we open the door for one hundred other exceptions. For example, because many Australian politicians agreed to make a man-made exception to God’s laws against murder by allowing I.V.F. doctors to destroy the unwanted human foetuses of couples who do not want any more children, this opened the door for the next exception – killing unwanted I.V.F. human foetuses for stem cell research.

But note it is evil for parents to prevent all their fertilised I.V.F. human foetuses from having a chance to live by keeping them out of their mothers’ wombs.

In recent years contrary to God’s commands against murder, Australian federal and state governments permitted medical doctors to kill about 90,000 unborn human babies each year. [4] Without much public knowledge, medical doctors have been using the tissue of aborted babies, with parental consent, for experimentation and transplantation. Now Australian medical doctors wish to use many of these 90,000 aborted babies [5] for stem cell research.

In parts of the U.S., babies born with disabilities are murdered by being starved to death by doctors and nurses in hospitals. So what’s to stop immoral governments and doctors in all countries in future from deliberately murdering babies born with disabilities so their bodies can be used for stem cell research. We are more and more imitating the wicked “ends-justifies-the-means” medical practices of the Nazis in Germany in the early 1900’s.

 

 

Bible Study Questions

 

1.       Which Bible verses reveal it is sinful for Christians to watch movies and television shows which they know beforehand have nude sex scenes in them or to look at the sexual organs of sexually mature members of the opposite sex to whom they are not married?

2.       What are the only God-approved exceptions to the Biblical commands about humans exposing their nakedness to others?

3.       What sin do we commit when we expose our nakedness to people to whom God does not approve of them looking?

4.       What usually results when we accept one man-made exception to any of God’s commands and teachings?