Is It Safe Sex?

It is important, however, that all of us understand the implications of Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 6 for our lives. As a church, it is important that we are willing to address sexual issues honestly, just as the Bible does. So I want to note some implications for us as we seek to apply God’s Word today.

1) We have to decide who or what is our moral authority. The biblical teaching on sexuality, including our text today, goes very much against the grain in our culture. Each of us has to make a decision. Are my views on sex going to be shaped by what the Bible teaches, or are they going to come from what I hear on talk shows and sit-coms or read in some supermarket tabloid? Now, to be honest, I think this is a tough choice for many Christians today. There is a lot of social pressure to ignore the sexual boundaries the Bible sets up. This spring, I had the opportunity to talk about sexuality with some of the ninth grade students at Hibbing High School. The consensus among the students was that for them (14 year olds) it was not considered "cool" to be sexually active, and they believed only a small minority of their classmates were. They also said, however, that by the time they are seniors (18 years old) most of them will have had sex, and someone who hasn’t will probably be considered "not cool." The pressure will be there. In our culture, a single adult of almost any age, who is not sexually active is often considered a social misfit. Society says sex between two consenting adults is always okay. The Bible says sex between two people who are married is good, right and beautiful. We have to decide which is right.

2) The church needs to take sexual sin seriously. It seems that far too often the church is choosing to let our culture, rather than God’s Word set our standards. In an effort not to offend people, many churches have almost erased "thou shall not commit adultery" from the Ten Commandments. Premarital sex is considered acceptable in some Christian circles, and now some major denominations are debating whether homosexual unions should be recognized. This week the paper had a story about a priest in Wisconsin, now dead, who reportedly had affairs with a number of women in his parish. The feeling of at least some of the folks in that church apparently is, "well, he was a good guy, and after all, he was only human," implying, I guess, that chastity is some type of super human virtue. Now, don’t get me wrong. I believe we should always treat sinners of all types with grace and compassion. We also should not be surprised when people who are not believers in Christ do not follow the guidelines on sexual morality found in the Bible. But, as a church, we need to make it clear that we choose to accept what the Bible teaches about sex as our authority. That means sexual purity is expected of all Christians and demanded of leaders. A few years ago, a pastor of a large Baptist church in Tennessee fell into sexual sin, having an affair with a woman in the congregation. His sin was discovered and he went before the church the next Sunday to announce his resignation. To his surprise, the congregation was willing to completely overlook his sin and asked him to remain as their senior pastor. Wisely, he insisted on stepping aside. Friends, don’t get confused. That congregation was not demonstrating biblical compassion and forgiveness. Rather, they were failing to recognize the serious nature of sexual sin. We need to take this sin seriously.