Tag Archives: New Testament

Baptism: From Old Testament Ritual Washing to New Creation

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Reading context: home church, working through the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1.

Introduction

This study explores how baptism develops across Scripture—from the repeated ritual washings of the Old Testament to the once-for-all baptism of the New Testament. As we work through Mark 1, we’ll see that John’s baptism marks a decisive turning point, preparing the way for Christ and the new covenant. Far more than a ritual cleansing, Christian baptism points to God’s work of spiritual rebirth, union with Christ, and the creation of a new people drawn from every nation.

Old Testament roots

Levitical law required repeatable ritual washings to restore ceremonial purity—priests before service (Exodus 30:17-21), after skin disease (Leviticus 14:8-9), after bodily discharge (Leviticus 15:13), after corpse contact (Numbers 19:11-12). These addressed external, ceremonial status, not moral standing. By the Second Temple period this had become the mikveh system—physical immersion pools used for routine ritual cleansing. The prophets reinterpreted washing as a picture of internal renewal: Ezekiel 36:25-27 (“I will sprinkle clean water on you… and a new spirit I will put within you”), Isaiah 1:16 (“wash yourselves; make yourselves clean”), Zechariah 13:1 (a fountain opened for sin and uncleanness). Separately, proselyte baptism initiated Gentile converts into the Jewish community, and the Qumran community practiced washing explicitly conditioned on genuine repentance—the closest conceptual precedent to what John does.

John’s pivot (Mark 1:4, 8)

John takes a rite historically aimed at outsiders (proselyte baptism) and directs it at Israel itself—declaring that covenant birthright alone isn’t enough, echoing the prophets’ critique of external status without internal change. This was genuinely radical: proselyte baptism existed specifically for Gentiles entering Judaism, so telling native-born, circumcised sons of Abraham they needed that same rite meant their birthright no longer exempted them—they needed to come to God the same way an outsider would. It’s an early signal that a new covenant was being inaugurated, one where the old ritual system—circumcision, lineage, repeatable ceremonial washing—was being fulfilled and rendered obsolete rather than simply continued. John also plants the seed of something bigger than Israel: “do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8)—lineage isn’t the determining factor. And he’s explicit that his water rite is preparatory: “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8; also Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16).

How New Testament baptism differs from Old Testament cleansing

The clearest statement is 1 Peter 3:21: baptism “now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”—explicitly rejecting the old ceremonial-washing frame. Hebrews makes the same contrast at length: the old sacrifices and washings “cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,” but Christ’s blood will “purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:9-14), and believers now “draw near… with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22)—directly fulfilling Ezekiel’s language. And where Levitical washing was repeatable because impurity kept recurring, NT baptism is a one-time act because it’s anchored to a completed historical event, not an ongoing ceremonial cycle: believers “who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death… buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead… we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4); “buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12). That same passage reframes baptism as the true circumcision—”circumcised with a circumcision made without hands… the circumcision of Christ” (Colossians 2:11-12)—baptism doesn’t just clean you, it replaces the old covenant sign itself.

Born again—not symbolic, actual

Jesus tells Nicodemus that entering the kingdom requires being “born again,” “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:3-7). Paul says God saved us “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Peter opens his letter praising God who “caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3), born “not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). Paul states the ontological claim directly: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17); “neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:15). This is the language shift that matters—Old Testament washing restored a status you already had; New Testament baptism marks an actual re-creation of what you are.

From Israel to the nations—Gentiles grafted in

John already cracked the door open with the “children of Abraham from stones” line. Jesus widens it explicitly at the end: “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). The narrative hinge is Acts 10—Cornelius and his household, Gentiles, receive the Holy Spirit and are baptized, proving inclusion doesn’t run through circumcision or Torah observance (Acts 10:44-48). At Pentecost, Peter already signals this scope: “the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2:38-39). Paul gives the picture your own phrase matches almost exactly—Gentiles as a “wild olive shoot… grafted in” among the natural branches of Israel, sharing the same root (Romans 11:17-24).

Ephesians 2:11-22 describes Gentiles who were “far off” now “brought near by the blood of Christ,” the dividing wall broken down, one new man, “no longer strangers and aliens, but… fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” Paul ties this directly back to baptism itself: “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ… there is neither Jew nor Greek… you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:27-29). The theological ground for all of it: Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2)—”God so loved the world” (John 3:16), not Israel alone.

Mark 1:14-15 establishes the universal need for repentance and faith, declaring that all humanity—including Israel—stands in need of the saving grace of God through faith in Christ. The theory that “all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11) refers to a separate or alternative plan of salvation for ethnic Israel, outside the completed work of Jesus Christ, misunderstands Paul’s argument. The salvation offered through Christ is the same for all, Jew and Gentile alike. There is no future or different plan of salvation of ethnic Israelites. “Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart” (Hebrews 3).

The message of both John the Baptist—the last of the Old Testament prophets, whom Jesus describes as “greater than those born of women”—and Jesus Christ, the Son of God who inaugurates the new age of salvation, is the same: “Repent and believe in the gospel, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” This kingdom is established by the King Himself, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man. His baptism by John demonstrates the continuity between the old covenant witness and the new covenant fulfillment, just as Jesus later illustrates through the imagery of the old wineskin and the new wine requiring new wineskins (Mark 2). Yet the baptism Christ brings is not merely a continuation of water purification; as John declares, “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). Matthew further describes this coming baptism as being “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11).

With the coming of the kingdom of God established by Christ, there is also the establishment of a new people—a new Israel defined not by physical descent, but by faith in the King and participation in His covenant promises. Those who are Abraham’s children by faith in Christ (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8; Galatians 3:7, 14, 26-29) are the ones who inherit the promise of the Spirit. As Paul states, the blessing of Abraham comes to the nations in Christ so that believers receive the promised Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:14).

The transition from the people of God defined under the old covenant to the people of God formed through the fulfillment of the promise in Christ is accomplished through the person and work of Jesus Christ. The root of the olive tree in Romans 11 represents God’s covenant faithfulness fulfilled in Christ, and the grafting in of the Gentiles represents the extension and completion of God’s salvation promise to all who believe—the faithful from both Israel and the nations.

I kept the argument intact while making the flow align more closely with the surrounding study’s themes: fulfillment of the Old Testament, Christ as the covenant center, baptism in the Spirit, and the inclusion of Jew and Gentile in the new covenant people.

Conclusion

The biblical story of baptism is ultimately the story of God’s redemptive plan reaching its fulfillment in Christ. What began as external ceremonies under the old covenant becomes, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, the sign of genuine spiritual renewal and new creation. Baptism no longer points merely to ceremonial purity but to participation in Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and entrance into God’s covenant family—where Jew and Gentile alike are united by faith as heirs of His promises.

Glossary of Referenced Verses

ESV — English Standard Version, pulled directly from the ESV Bible PDF in Church/Bibliography

Old Testament

Exodus 30:17–21

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the LORD, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.'”

Leviticus 14:8–9

“And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but live outside his tent seven days. And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair, and then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean.”

Leviticus 15:13

“And when the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes. And he shall bathe his body in fresh water and shall be clean.”

Numbers 19:11–12

“Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days. He shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean.”

Isaiah 1:16

“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,”

Ezekiel 36:25–27

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

Zechariah 13:1

“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.”

New Testament

Matthew 3:9

“And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”

Matthew 3:11

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Matthew 28:19

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Mark 1:4

“John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

Mark 1:8

“I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Mark 1:14–15 (new)

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.'”

Mark 2:21–22 (new)

“No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

Luke 3:8

“Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”

Luke 3:16

“John answered them all, saying, ‘I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.'”

John 3:3–7

“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.”‘”

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Acts 2:38–39

“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.'”

Acts 10:44–48

“While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, ‘Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.”

Romans 6:3–4

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Romans 11:17–24

“But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.”

Romans 11:25–27 (new)

“Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

‘The Deliverer will come from Zion,

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob’;

‘and this will be my covenant with them

when I take away their sins.'”

New Testament (continued)

2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Galatians 3:7 (new)

“Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.”

Galatians 3:14 (new)

“So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”

Galatians 3:27–29

“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

Galatians 6:15

“For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

Ephesians 2:11–22

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Colossians 2:11–12

“In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Titus 3:5

“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”

Hebrews 9:9–14

“(Which is symbolic for the present age.) According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

Hebrews 10:22

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

1 Peter 1:3

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

1 Peter 1:23

“Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;”

1 Peter 3:21

“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”

1 John 2:2

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Beloved, Run Away from Idolatry

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April 20, 2026

The general idea of the First Epistle to the Corinthians is the practical consequences of progressive sanctification in the Christian community, with a strong emphasis on unity, moral integrity, and the supreme rule of love. Written by the apostle Paul around 55-56 AD from Ephesus, the letter addresses the internal divisions, sexual immorality, and doctrinal errors that plagued the believers in Corinth. It corrects their misuse of Christian freedom, while providing clear instruction on proper worship and the right use of spiritual gifts.

Key topics include:

  • Unity instead of division: Paul sharply rebuked the factions forming around specific leaders (Paul, Apollos, Cephas) and called the church to be perfectly united in one mind and one judgment.
  • Moral purity and church discipline: The epistle commands the removal of the immoral member and teaches that the body of every believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit, strictly forbidding sexual immorality and shameful lawsuits among believers.
  • Love and spiritual gifts: While addressing the proper use of spiritual gifts and the Lord’s Supper, Paul presents love (agape) as “the most excellent way” and the greatest virtue that surpasses all other gifts.
  • The resurrection: The letter offers a powerful defense of the bodily resurrection of Christ and of believers, establishing it as the indispensable cornerstone of Christian faith and hope.

The epistle also makes clear the deep connection between falsehood, idolatry, sexual sins, and the lack of generosity toward the true servants of God (see 1 Corinthians 9). One of the most important conclusions we can draw is that idolatry leads to sexual immorality. This connection is demanded by the very problems described in the Corinthian church, especially in 1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 9 and in chapters 8, 9, and 10.

The link between idolatry and fornication is mentioned several times. The context consistently compares the visible sins of everyday life with realities in the spiritual realm. The worship of false gods and idols distorts the understanding of the truth that comes from God (see 1 Corinthians 5:1-2; 6:12-20).

Fornication (sexual immorality) was evidently one of the most widespread sins in Corinth, and it deeply affected the church there. It is mentioned in chapter 5:1, 9, chapter 7:2 and following, which is why the apostle’s teaching on marriage and celibacy becomes necessary. The central concern is that we must never forget that our spiritual condition and our relationship with God are of supreme importance. Idolatry and the sexual immorality that follows it separate us from Him.

Eating food sacrificed to idols was a very common expression of idolatry in the early church. This is evident both from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and from the final decision of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. The main instruction the apostles gave to newly converted Gentiles was to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, and from sexual immorality.

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul shows how idolatry inevitably leads to fornication and sexual debauchery, provoking the burning wrath of God. This passage also beautifully demonstrates the continuity between the Old and New Testaments. The apostle recalls how the people of God in the wilderness, after worshiping idols, fell into sexual immorality. Their behavior is summarized in the telling phrase: “eating and drinking and rising up to play.” Paul declares that these things were written as examples for us—New Testament believers living in “the ends of the ages” (v. 11).

The connection is introduced powerfully at the beginning of the chapter:

“For I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-6)

It is remarkable that Christ Himself is identified as the spiritual Rock who accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness, and their passage through the Red Sea is likened to New Testament baptism. This again illustrates the eternal covenant of God through Christ and faith in Him. The passage concludes with the urgent pastoral exhortation: “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (v. 14). This command is addressed directly to the Church of Christ today.

Idolatry and sexual immorality are intimately connected. Sexual immorality is a visible illustration of the state of separation from God. It is no coincidence that sexual immorality remains one of the strongest weapons of sin and the devil in our time, through which millions and even billions are kept bound in sin and rebellion against God.

The sexual perversion of entire nations makes them resistant to the faith and to God’s revelation of forgiveness in Christ and eternal life. This is a real spiritual conspiracy—not merely a human theory. Yet this conspiracy is not carried out by people alone, but also by demonic forces. In their desperate resistance to the gospel, they invest vast earthly resources in the complete moral corruption of those who reject God.

With the development of modern technology and the mass creation and distribution of images—both still and moving—human perceptions of sexuality are under constant assault. Pornography, explicit sexual content, temptations to immorality, and the normalization of sexual perversions flood society, demoralizing entire populations and turning them into sex-obsessed societies. This is the mass idolatry of modernity. Though it has different forms than the idolatry of the early church, it is no less powerful. The early church had no television, cinema, radio, or internet; their idolatry centered on pagan temples and meat sacrificed to nonexistent gods (1 Corinthians 10:18-30).

We must remember that the essence of idolatry in that culture involved sacrifice to idols and participation in their meals. This is why the apostles at the Jerusalem Council gave practical instructions to Gentile believers: they did not need to become Jews or follow the full Mosaic Law, but they must abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from sexual immorality. These were not new laws but wise, Spirit-guided directives to help them avoid idolatry and its consequences.

In the New Testament, idolatry is not limited to physical statues. It includes any loyalty of the heart or conscience that gives to another what belongs to Jesus Christ alone. Christians with knowledge must be careful not to cause weaker brothers to stumble by participating in things connected with idols, even while knowing that idols are nothing (1 Corinthians 10:23-33; see also 6:12-20).

That is why Paul points in verses 15-17 to the cup we bless and the bread we break—the participation in the body and blood of Christ. It is impossible to have fellowship both with the table of the Lord and the table of demons. In verses 16-17, the apostle shows that we are one body in Christ and therefore cannot participate in both the Lord’s table and tables dedicated to idols (behind which demons stand—see verses 19-21).

This principle is almost identical to the command in chapter 6 that members of the church must not unite themselves with a prostitute, because we are members of Christ’s body. Just as we cannot join Christ’s body to a prostitute, we cannot join the body of Christ to demonic altars.

Thus, the relationship between sexual immorality (fornication and adultery) and idolatry is more than obvious. Whenever teaching in the church, under the pretext of leading people to Christ, actually leads them to an idol, those who worship that idol frequently fall into sexual sin.

One such idol in our day is the worship of the modern state of Israel. The state of Israel is not the true biblical Israel. The true, new, consecrated Israel is Jesus Christ and the Church of God—composed of Jews and Gentiles who believe in Christ.

As we read in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13:

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”

There is no separate denomination, no special “Messianic” category, and no distinct plan or Spirit for non-believing Jews apart from faith in Christ. The state of Israel is not biblical Israel; it has taken a stolen identity. Those who claim to be faithful to Christ while exalting this false “people of God” are committing spiritual adultery. It is not surprising that among such groups, leaders and pastors frequently experience divorce and moral failure. Examples include ultra-Judaizing teachers and certain evangelical leaders, such as John Hagee, who divorced and got himself a younger wife, as well as figures like Paula White-Cain, (a spiritual adviser to the current president), who has been married and divorced multiple times and holds positions contrary to the clear moral standards of Scripture (1 Timothy 2).

Recently, in March 2026, Leonid Radinski, the founder of one of the world’s largest pornography websites, OnlyFans, died at the age of 43 from cancer. He was Jewish. The enormous wealth he accumulated by corrupting millions was partly directed toward supporting the state of Israel and its military actions. This man was a pimp on a global scale—a lost soul. For a short time of earthly pleasure and wealth, he now faces eternal torment. Instead of the media declaring the tragedy of a man who spread antichrist corruption worldwide, they reported that he “died in peace after battling cancer.” That peace was not peace with God.

How tragic it is to claim to belong to “the chosen people” while denying God, especially under the New Testament revelation that fulfills all the promises of the Old in Christ. Unlike Moses, who by faith refused the treasures of Egypt and chose the reproach of Christ (Hebrews 11:24-26), many today choose earthly power, wealth, and identity over the true Savior.

One of the prominent figures associated with this industry is Bonnie Blue, a Ukrainian Jewish woman who gained notoriety for engaging in sexual acts with over 1,000 men in a short time. Interviews with masked men waiting in line revealed a dark, demonic culture that destroys human dignity. These phenomena are not new but are clear signs of the last days. History offers parallels, such as the Roman empress Messalina, who lived a double life of imperial power and prostitution.

For all these sins God will judge the world. According to 1 Corinthians 5, we must carefully discern those who call themselves brothers and sisters (in our age of widespread feminism) yet live under the dominion of sinful passions and do not honor the sacrifice of Christ.

Throughout the entire epistle, the apostle Paul gives practical instructions. These are not merely rules of external behavior, but guidelines showing how the kingdom of heaven, established by the Holy Spirit, is manifested in the lives of believers. They call for necessary corrections in both conduct and belief. This is not the introduction of a new “Christian law,” but a call to living faith and a conscience directed toward the true God through Christ. It is the application of the law of Christ—purity, love, salvation, and hope of eternal life—through which we are sanctified. In the practical outworking of this faith and the manifestation of God’s kingdom on earth, there is no room for idols, only for the true Savior.

Therefore, let us obey the clear command of the New Testament Scriptures and the exhortation of the apostle Paul:

“My beloved, run away from idolatry.”