Reflection
Living in a Sex Crazed Culture
With a sex-crazed Western culture brazenly challenging the beauty of God's design for sexuality, many Christians have lost the significant biblical understanding of sex. Wrong or insufficient views of sexuality, marriage, chastity, and fidelity are eroding our ability to live God-honoring lives. Rather than learning and embracing the biblical view of sex, Christians are perhaps unknowingly taking their cues from unreliable sources like television, radio, print media and the internet.
Sexuality is God’s gift
Human sexuality is a fundamental expression of mankind created in the image and likeness of God. God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . .’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them - Genesis 1:26-27. When God created humankind He created them male and female. This means that to be human, is to be sexually differentiated.
Everyone is single for a significant time
Jesus models celibate sexuality. Singleness is not a disease. We begin life by being single for eighteen plus years? some marry, a spouse dies or we divorce and we are single again. Singleness is ok. Staying single as an adult requires a gift “charisma” - 1 Corinthians 1:7. "People are only ready for marriage when they know how to be single." Lineham
Feelings that can lead to the misuse of sex
Feeling lonely may lead to self-pity and seeking to fill that void through an illicit relationship. Feeling less than a complete person, a crisis of self-identity, can open the door to wrong relationships. The desire to be touched, embraced, wanted, appreciated, understood may lead to harmful decisions. Lust says, “If you love me, let me have sex with you.” Fear says, “I might loose him/her if I don’t give in.” The longing for: intimacy, communion, for someone to love us unconditionally, for someone to know us completely cannot be achieved through the sexual act in and of itself.
Sex is more than just a physical act. The Bible says: Don’t lustfully fantasize on her beauty, nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes. You can buy an hour with a whore for a loaf of bread, but a wanton woman may well eat you alive. Can you build a fire in your lap and not burn your pants. Can you walk barefoot on hot coals and not get blisters. It’s the same when you have sex with your neighbor’s wife: Touch her and you’ll pay for it. No excuses - Proverbs 6:26-29. [cf 1 Corinthians 6:13-20].
Illicit sex does not bring love but death. The Bible records a man seducing a women and then his so called love for her turns to hatred - 2 Samuel 13:15 [cf Proverbs 7:21-23, 25]. The Bible warns about those who dress to flout their sexuality – read Proverbs 7:10-18. Time magazine reports: “When sex is pursued only for pleasure, only for gain, or to fill a void in society, or in the soul, it becomes illusive, impersonal and ultimately disappointing.”
Four myths about Sex
- myth 1 “the sexual act is the only way to express love”
- myth 2 “sexual expression is the only way to know true fulfillment”
- myth 3 “sexual liberation means the Bible has no positive view of sex”
- myth 4 “God’s instructions about sex can be ignored”
To make a ‘god’ of sex is a distortion of reality.
Sex between an unmarried heterosexual couple does not constitute marriage in God’s eyes. The Bible quite clearly sees such action as sin and in certain cases in the Old Testament required the death penalty. So called “safe sex” outside of marriage violates God’s law and is sin. See Exodus 22:16-17; Deuteronomy 22:13-29.
Sex belongs exclusively to marriage
Sex belongs to and is reserved for marriage. Marriage is to be honoured by all, and husbands and wives must be faithful to each other. God will judge those who are immoral and those who commit adultery – Hebrews 13:4. [cf Proverbs 5:1-23; 6:20-7:27].
Walter Trobisch writes: “love does not grow out of sex. Love will grow into sex. Sex within marriage, under the shelter of the tent, strengthens a marriage. Sex outside the tent does not bring love but is pursued for other reasons.”
Keith Graham
7 March 2010
| Other topics in this series ........ | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Author | Topic | Download |
| 7 March 2010 | Keith Graham | Living in a Sex-Crazed World |  |
| 28 February 2010 | Keith Graham | Are There Multiple Paths to God? | |
| 21 February 2010 | Keith Graham | Persecuted for Jesus' Sake | |
| 14 February 2010 | Keith Graham | Why Me God? Why Me? | |
| 7 February 2010 | Keith Graham | Tall Poppy Syndrome | |
| 31 January 2010 | Keith Graham | A View From A Prison Cell | |
| 20 December 2009 | Andrew Boutros | How Much Do You Know About Christmas? | |
| 13 December 2009 | Andrew Boutros | Christmas Food | |
| 06 December 2009 | Andrew Boutros | Climate Change | |
| 29 November 2009 | Andrew Boutros | Natural Church Development | |
| 22 November 2009 | Andrew Boutros | Natural Church Development | |
| 15 November 2009 | Andrew Boutros | Special Course For Men | |
| 8 November 2009 | Andrew Boutros | Options for Preaching | |
| 1 November 2009 | Andrew Boutros | Delay the Hurt? | |
| 25 October 2009 | Andrew Boutros | Reputation | |
| 18 October 2009 | Andrew Boutros | Faith | |
| 11 October 2009 | Andrew Boutros | Hey Hey It's Forgiveness-Day | |
| 4 October 2009 | David Bennett | "Christian" Idolatry | |