Incest

Relevant Bible Verses

1) Genesis 19:30-38

2) 1 Cor 5:1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.

3) 1 Tim 1:9-10 And knows this, that the law is not enacted for a righteous man but for the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and those who strike their mothers, for murderers, for fornicators, homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and whatever other thing that is opposed to the healthy teaching.

I was indeed very disturbed, in fact felt sick after reading the news that daughter and father were not embarrassed to appear on the Channel 9 South Australian News show to talk openly of their incestuous relationship and the baby they had together. They discussed about their relationship and are actually in the process of splitting up.

To make the situation worse and more sickening, the daughter has in fact found romance with another person who is bisexual, a father-of-three. The father, daughter and the daughter’s new found boyfriend, together with the children from their previous marriages are currently living under the same roof! Wow! Shark! What is wrong with the world today? What other sins can be more sinful than this? I am completely taken out and extremely disgusted. No sin is worse or more damaging to humanity than incest.

The first incestuous relationship was found in Genesis 19:30-38. After the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's whole family moved to another smaller city known as Zoar. Later they felt unsafe staying in Zoar and moved to live in a cave. The unmarried daughters of Lot were feeling unsecured and lonely in the cave and evil thought came into their minds. They encouraged Lot to drink wine until he was drunk so that they could sleep with Lot. It was a gross sin that comes from the lust of the flesh. The older and younger daughters both had a son each with Lot and they named them Moab and Ben-Ammi respectively.

In the New Testament, we find that Paul had to deal with a brother in the church at Corinth who had committed in the sin of incest with his stepmother (1Cor 5:1). We have a couple of lessons to learn from this portion of the scripture. Firstly, it shows that it is possible for a truly saved one, a genuine brother in Christ to commit a gross sin, such as incest. Secondly, it shows that once a church is divided (1Cor 1-4) and diverted from the central vision of God’s economy, the door of soulish life will be open for the lust of the flesh to come in. Therefore, it is extremely dangerous for us to remain in the soul.

But there is good news in the grace of God! Since incestuous relationship is a sin, it can be forgiven. In fact all types of sin can be forgiven. In 1Timothy 1:9-10 (above), we can read the full list of sinners including fornicators, perjurers, murderers, adulterers, and homosexuals. Just as unsaved murderers and unsaved adulterers can receive salvation, unsaved people who are in incestuous relationship can also receive salvation as well. The Samaritan woman (John 4:1-24) who had 5 husbands and living with another man who was not even her husband was able to be renewed unto repentance with Christ.

In fact the origin of Ruth was incest. She belonged to the tribe of Moab (Ruth 1:4), the fruit of Lot’s incestuous union with his older daughter. Ruth, however, not only was accepted by the Lord but also became one of the most important ancestors of Christ because she sought after God and God’s people (Ruth 1:15-17; 2:11-12).

Regardless of our background, if we turn to God in sincerity, we will bring forth proper fruit and participate in the enjoyment of the birthright of Christ.

God is so merciful and loving!