How does the gospel shape our view of sex? Before you can deal with your addiction to pornography, before brokenness can be brought to healing, before we can speak into our sex crazed culture, we must first establish a foundation for a biblical worldview of sex.
Largely, culture has shaped our view in this area. We are products of our culture, and this is not always a bad thing. However, to follow Jesus means we align our life with his.
How does the gospel shape our view of sex?
1. Sex is a good thing, but scarred by the fall.
Genesis 1:27 tells us that we bear the image of God. There is a connection to 2 Corinthians 6 in that we are temples of God. Genesis shares that this image in us, and every aspect of life, has become disordered, or missed the mark on what God intended. This means that today we see sex used for power, self-interest and identity.
Sex is a God initiated thing, it is more than procreation. In scripture, there is a book called “Song of Songs”, which is about the love between a husband and wife, and a sexual relationship. It bears a positive image.
What has happened is sex has become an ultimate. Sex was never intended to be about power or identity, and even though it feels good, it was not even about self-interest.
Jesus came to bring restoration to our lives, and this includes our sex lives sexuality.
2. Sex is for marriage.
The scriptures are clear that sex is to be saved for a marriage relationship. In 1 Cor. 6:12-20, Paul shares that those who have sex outside of marriage will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Notice however, it is not so much the act, as it is they have rejected God. Essentially, they have said, “God you are not good enough, sex is”. Because of this, they do not honour God with their bodies; they do not want anything to do with God.
Paul however reminds us that you have a new identity. These things once defined you, but you accepted and received God’s grace and are now set apart instead of called out..
Tim Keller writes “Sex affects our heart, our inward being, not just our body. Sin, which is first and foremost a disorder of the heart, therefore has a big impact on sex. Our passions and desires for sex now are very distorted. Sex is for whole-life self-giving. However, the sinful heart wants to use sex for selfish reasons, not self-giving, and therefore the Bible puts many rules around it to direct us to use it in the right way. 1 The Christian sex ethic can be summarized like this: Sex is for use within marriage between a man and woman.” (Keller, Timothy (2011-11-01). The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God (pp. 212-213). Penguin Group US. Kindle Edition.)
3. Sex is a reminder of belonging.
The gospel calls us to sex within marriage. It is a way to honour God, but also our spouse. Look again at 1 Corinthians 6:20 and 7:4. There is an understanding that sex is a gift that is not for anyone else, but for the person we are married to. Sex becomes a renewing of the marriage covenant.
As we would surrender to Jesus, as he alone is the God of our temple, so too do we declare in sex to our spouse that we are committed to him/her alone. Our spouse is not a piece of property for our own purposes. Sex is about serving the other person instead of seeking self-interest.
We are not directed to sexual abstinence because we have a low view of marriage or sex, but because we have a lofty one.
4. Sex has emotional, physical and spiritual uniting elements to it.
As we look at the text and the wording of “one flesh.” It is more than just a physical uniting. One leaves a piece of them self with that person. The one flesh is about uniting not just physically, but all areas of one’s life. If we are not going to do that, do not become naked before each other.
Where do we go from here?
a. Let Jesus followers create and be a community practising a new sex ethic.
In this community, the consumerism of sex and material values in our world do not hold.
b. Married People.
Take some time and talk about sex and the role it plays in your marriage.
c. A Call For Renewal in Holiness.
We need to be careful of not letting something else become good news for us. For some you have removed Jesus as the centre of your temple, and are looking elsewhere for what Christ can only give you. Unless we understand this, and that Jesus is good news, we will not honour God with our bodies.
So think about renewing your commitment to Jesus, and receive his forgiveness and grace in your life. Even if you have not been aligned with God’s will, choose to walk the road today
Listen to a sermon from March 2, 2014 on this topic.