by Pastor Christian Andrews
Sex! Now that I have your attention…let’s talk about sex. No, this is not a conversation about the birds and the bees. It is an unfortunate but needed invitation to reclaim a Biblical world view of human sexuality. God designed marriage and in it limited our carnal desires but also freed us to enjoy His design.
The first relationship God revealed to us is the one between Him and us. We are created in His image. The second relationship God showed us is that of marriage. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth…’” (Genesis 1:27, 28a NASB) and “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). From the beginning is was God’s intent that the man and his wife be physically joined. The command to be fruitful and multiply cannot be obeyed without a man and woman physical union. The promise of one flesh cannot be fulfilled without a man and woman physical union. Sex is part of God’s design for us and a powerful drive within us so that we will accomplish God’s will for the filling of the earth through the husband / wife union.
Just as sin destroyed our relationship with God, so sin also destroyed the relationship between wife and husband. We perverted God’s design and quickly chose to use the power of the sexual drive selfishly and to control and manipulate instead of to live sacrificially as husband and wife. God, then, made it clear to us that His plan has protective limits. Most specifically He gave us this commandment: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). He also gave us whole lists explaining what this commandment means (see Leviticus 18 for example). In essence, the boundaries God set for our celebration of sexuality can be summarized as follows: the practice of sexual intercourse is proper only within the confines of a one-man-one-woman marriage. All other sexual expressions are sin. These include but are not limited to premarital sex (fornication), adultery, incest, homosexuality, bisexuality, bestiality, prostitution, and pornography. It’s astounding that we even have to make this list, but God’s plan for marriage and the family is being destroyed by both the world’s practice and many within the so called “church.”
The right Christian response to the attack on Biblical marriage and the family ought to be two-fold: we must repent, we must uphold God’s design. The call to repentance is broad, that is, it applies to everyone. Whether we practice sex contrary to God’s will or condone it even if we don’t practice it or only remain silent in the face of the challenges, we need to repent. God’s gracious promise is that He is faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us from our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Then, because the voices in the world are so strong, ours must be stronger as we champion and defend God’s design. God designed the husband / wife relationship, marriage, and the family as the building blocks and foundation of society. We need to be bold to live out and teach the Biblical standards for both our relationship with God and our relationships with each other. We need to celebrate and defend boldly the one-man-one-woman institution of marriage.
The promotion of a non-Biblical sexual ethic is destroying the very foundations of society. Biblical marriage and Biblical family are under attack. God designed marriage. God gave us the boundaries for marriage. God invites us to repent when we violate the boundaries and then celebrate His beautiful design. All this because “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31a).
Sex! Now that I have your attention…let’s talk about sex. No, this is not a conversation about the birds and the bees. It is an unfortunate but needed invitation to reclaim a Biblical world view of human sexuality. God designed marriage and in it limited our carnal desires but also freed us to enjoy His design.
The first relationship God revealed to us is the one between Him and us. We are created in His image. The second relationship God showed us is that of marriage. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth…’” (Genesis 1:27, 28a NASB) and “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). From the beginning is was God’s intent that the man and his wife be physically joined. The command to be fruitful and multiply cannot be obeyed without a man and woman physical union. The promise of one flesh cannot be fulfilled without a man and woman physical union. Sex is part of God’s design for us and a powerful drive within us so that we will accomplish God’s will for the filling of the earth through the husband / wife union.
Just as sin destroyed our relationship with God, so sin also destroyed the relationship between wife and husband. We perverted God’s design and quickly chose to use the power of the sexual drive selfishly and to control and manipulate instead of to live sacrificially as husband and wife. God, then, made it clear to us that His plan has protective limits. Most specifically He gave us this commandment: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). He also gave us whole lists explaining what this commandment means (see Leviticus 18 for example). In essence, the boundaries God set for our celebration of sexuality can be summarized as follows: the practice of sexual intercourse is proper only within the confines of a one-man-one-woman marriage. All other sexual expressions are sin. These include but are not limited to premarital sex (fornication), adultery, incest, homosexuality, bisexuality, bestiality, prostitution, and pornography. It’s astounding that we even have to make this list, but God’s plan for marriage and the family is being destroyed by both the world’s practice and many within the so called “church.”
The right Christian response to the attack on Biblical marriage and the family ought to be two-fold: we must repent, we must uphold God’s design. The call to repentance is broad, that is, it applies to everyone. Whether we practice sex contrary to God’s will or condone it even if we don’t practice it or only remain silent in the face of the challenges, we need to repent. God’s gracious promise is that He is faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us from our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Then, because the voices in the world are so strong, ours must be stronger as we champion and defend God’s design. God designed the husband / wife relationship, marriage, and the family as the building blocks and foundation of society. We need to be bold to live out and teach the Biblical standards for both our relationship with God and our relationships with each other. We need to celebrate and defend boldly the one-man-one-woman institution of marriage.
The promotion of a non-Biblical sexual ethic is destroying the very foundations of society. Biblical marriage and Biblical family are under attack. God designed marriage. God gave us the boundaries for marriage. God invites us to repent when we violate the boundaries and then celebrate His beautiful design. All this because “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31a).