Consider this headline: “Mega Church Pastor Says Premarital Sex is Not a Sin.” You may think this to be a ludicrous proposition, but I assure you it’s not. Though the news surrounding this story is almost a year old, I didn’t hear about it originally and only recently saw a Facebook post referencing it. While the actual headline for the article is “Baptist Preacher Says There’s ‘No Biblical Basis’ for Abstaining From Premarital Sex,” it still shocked me that a local Maryland pastor with a large congregation would boldly profess something like that. Yet, rather than jump to hasty conclusions, I decided to investigate further. Unsurprisingly, I found his argument to be ill-informed, spiritually dangerous, easily refuted, and arrogant.
Before getting to the substance, a few points are in order. First, I did investigate the sermon and reviewed it here prior to writing this (link here, timestamp starts around the 1:00:00 mark). Like any engagement with those possessing counter-Christian or counter-orthodox views, it was important that I hear it first hand and not merely the quotes or sound bites. Second, this will be a brief writing, and I plan to write less about the individual, Dr. D. Coates, and more about the promotion and acceptance of unbiblical ideas.
A Brief Thought on His Message
Ill-informed. Perhaps it was due to the message being a sermon and not written scholarly work, but he reduced the Greek word πορνεια (porneia) to mean “prostitute,” and while that’s contained within the gloss meaning of the word, words—even English ones used today—almost always have a range of meaning. Furthermore the 25 times πορνεια is used in the Bible would make no sense if it was always translated as “prostitute.”
Spiritiually Dangerous. If he’s right on his theology, sure, it could lift a burden of unnecessary guilt off Christians. However, if he’s wrong about this theology, he would be encouraging people to sin. This would make him a reflection of the Jezebel described in Rev. 2:20 where, you guessed it, John says Jezebel encourages servants of God to commit prostitution sexual immorality.
Easily Refuted. The only text I noticed mentioned in the subject sermon was 1 Cor. 6:18. Well, only a chapter or so earlier, the same Greek word was cited, πορνεια, in 1 Cor. 5:1. Unfortunately, one can hardly make sense of that text if we substitute “prostitute” for “sexual immorality.” Here’s the text for clarity: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.”
“Sexual immorality” is not some translation change that scholars made; it’s a reflection of the intent of the word in the New Testament and historical Greek writing, which can be easily reviewed in both the Greek Old Testament (LXX, Septuagint), extra-biblical writing (rf. ccel.org), and Greek Lexicon entries like the reputable and scholar-approved A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature – Third Edition – (BDAG).
Arrogant. This is basic. It takes a bold man to look at the whole of church history and say, “Every, single one of you have gotten this sexual ethic wrong.” Yet, that’s exactly what he did. He looked at the host of Christians, early church fathers, reformers, linguists, and PhDs and essentially said, “99% of you got it wrong.” This is not to suggest popularity determines truth, but rather one must have good, robust, deeply-investigated rationale to contend with the historical and modern consensus among experts in the field. Unfortunately, the subject sermon fails on this point.
Much, much more could be said on the topic, but that’s the extent to which I want to address his content. Now, I’d like to look at the larger discussion that it might aid Christians on various questionable doctrines, not just this one.
Avoiding False Teaching
You Can Always Find a Teacher. Francis Chan, in a 2015 sermon, said, “What do you want to believe? What’s your pleasure? What would you like? I’ll find you a teacher to give you that” (Sermon link here, opening with a timestamp of where the quote occurs). These words stood out because they rang so true. Whatever you want to believe, you can find a teacher. Right now, if you imagine it, you can find someone to support it. Yet, that won’t make it right or true. The Bible is the standard, not personal doctrine. God is the one who prescribes morality, not man. Examine yourself whenever you sense a new teaching starts to sway you, asking what is the appeal? Does this increase godliness, or does it advance something I personally want to be true?.
Don’t Let Credentials Fool You. Often, the masses are swayed by those who have more acumen than they do. We assume because someone is a lawyer, they will take the best approach to a legal proceeding or because someone has expertise in HVAC repair that they won’t collapse your home heating unit. While it is reasonable to presume educational credentials are of importance and reflect a qualifying knowledge of a given field, we shouldn’t make such leaping assumptions within Christendom or the body of Christ that allows credentialed teachers to bypass basic scrutiny.
Pursue Accurate Bible Interpretation. Sound biblical exegesis and spiritual wisdom should always be paramount. What the text says and what accords with the whole of Scripture should always override personal feelings and beliefs (our sinful hearts cannot be trusted!). Whenever you encounter someone—even yours truly—who makes a claim, you should ask, “Does this accord with the text referenced and Scripture at large?” Admittedly, this can be hard to do in a church worship service during a sermon, but I recommend reserving judgment and acting as the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and “investigate whether those things are so.”
Moreover, in modern society, it can be tempting to take the approach of “I should trust them; they know better than me” when the speaker has specialized training and a grip of the original languages. However, we can often unwittingly formulate a mental fallacy of appeal to authority by assuming because one has more knowledge, they must be infallible.
Closing
We live in a time where there are all manner of teachings—many of which seem to satisfy man’s need for salvation while also modifying some biblical ideas to make them more palatable for him. I’m personally evaluating some things in my life, like whether I’ve become too wrapped up in the cares of this life, thereby limiting my effectiveness in Christian pursuits (Lord, help me!). May we all take our Christian faith more seriously and break with the spirit of this age, honoring Christ and reflecting what He called us to—holiness and a deep love for Him (1 Pet. 1:15; Matt. 10:37, John 14:23).