What the Bible Says about Sex
1. THE ORIGIN of SEX
God’s first commandment to human beings was “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”-a commandment to Adam and Eve to have sexual relations and make lots of kids who, in turn, are to have lots of kids. This is stated by God even before we are introduced to Adam and Eve, in Genesis 1:27. The Bible is not at all prudish or skittish about sex. It presents sex as the fulfillment God’s plan and design for humanity.
2. What behavior is restricted
Law number 7 “You shall not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14
Leviticus 18
Galatians 5:16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Immorality- porne “πόρνη, from πέρνημι,”to sell,“ esp. of slaves, means lit. “harlot for hire,” “prostitute”; Gk. harlots were usually bought slaves” TDNT
Impurity-(a-catharsis), uncleanness which refers to anything which makes you ceremonially unclean. Much of what is called uncleanness has to do with what we do with our bodies-touching the unclean thing. But Jesus said it is not what goes into your mouth that makes you unclean, it’s what comes out of the heart through the mouth. We’ll see more about this later.
Sensuality/Lasciviousness/debauchery/lewdness “which is from aselgeia, which originally referred to any excess or shameless lack of restraint but came to be associated primarily with sexual excess.”
Orgies-(komoi) literally feastings-had to do with worship feasts to gods in which drunkenness and sexual excess were common.
In this list, four of the fifteen on the list have something to do with sex
Someone said, “Everything good in life is illegal, immoral or fattening”
3. THE JUDGEMENT of SEXUAL SIN –is NOT allowed for us, Judgment is reserved for God. Luke 7:47-50; Matthew 7:1-2; Matthew 21:31; John 8:1-11
4. THE ISSUE OF SEX IN THE ANCIENT WORLD AND IN THE WORLD TODAY
[C]ultic prostitution . . . was a national custom in Persia which even daughters of prominent families followed and to which no shame [was] attached. [It] was practiced (sic) by the class of hierodules whose payment accrued to the goddess. This type of prostitution was widespread in Asia Minor in cults of mother deities; it [was also practiced] in Syria and Egypt. Through the Canaanite cults (Baal, Astarte) it penetrated into the religion of Israel. On Gk. soil sacral prostitution was generally rejected. It found an entry only in Corinth and Athens, probably through the trading connections of these cities with the Orient. In Corinth esp. the temple of Aphrodite with . . . 1000 hierodules was famous . . .
the Greek view of life . . . regard[ed] sexual intercourse as just as natural, necessary and justifiable as eating and drinking. Only civil marriage was protected by law and custom, . . . Even the married man was permitted extra-marital intercourse as he pleased so long as he did not violate a civil marriage. On the other hand, all extra-marital intercourse was forbidden to the wife. . . . . [Among the Spartans] and the Doric . . . homosexuality developed and this then spread over the whole of Greece and was practiced rather than censured even by notable figures.21 Lesbianism was much less common. . . . TDNT
Huge societal changes have taken place in my lifetime. In 1965, when I was born, in the US there about 500,000 adults marriageable age cohabitated remaining unmarried. In 2005 there were about 7 million (more than 10 times as many) and about 500,000 same-sex partners cohabitating. In 1965, more than 90% of children were born to households with two parents in a committed marriage. Today it is less than 25%. Add to these trends the ubiquity of the Internet. According to a study by Daneback et al. (2005) . . . of the 1828 participants they surveyed, one third of them reported engaging in cybersex and of that one third, 46% said they were in a committed relationship with someone else. (Wikipedia-Infidelity)
We live in a society of rapidly changing mores.
I think we could say that the world enjoyed a period of relative fidelity in the family the past few hundred years, but it is reverting back to the habits of more barbaric times.
5. THE METAPHOR OF SEXUAL FIDELITY AND PURITY AS FIDELITY TO GOD
Hosea
Isaiah 1:21-23 See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her— but now murderers! 22 Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. 23 Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.
Jeremiah 3:1–4:4; “If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers— would you now return to me?” declares the LORD.
Revelation 17, 19 Babylon, the great prostitute in contrast with the pure Bride of Christ Ephesians 5 & Revelation 21 & 22.
6. THE STANDARD FOR SEX ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, orgies . . . I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Mark 7:20-23; “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ ”
We could invest the entire morning just perusing the passages in the New Testament that say basically the same thing:
Also Ephesians 5:3-5; Romans 1:26-32; Luke 15:30; Acts 15:20-29 and 21:25. Ephesians 5:5. 1 Corinthians 6:9; 10:1, 8, 11; 7:7; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Colossians 3:1-5 Hebrews 12:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-4; 1 Peter 4:3-5 Revelation 2:14 (Numbers 25:1; 31:16), 20; 9:21
God has designed us to experience sexual relations in and only in the context of a marriage between one man and one woman for life. Any other context is against the teachings of the Bible.
“The NT is characterised by an unconditional repudiation of all extra-marital and unnatural intercourse TDNT porne Hauck/Schulz
Someone said that Licit, or legal, pleasure is one you pay for then enjoy. Illicit, or illegal pleasure is the one you enjoy, then pay for. I don’t remember where I first heard this definition but it is wonderful.
7. THE PROBLEM WITH THE STANDARD
A zoo housed a lion and a monkey in the same cage. A visitor marveled at this and asked, “How do they get along?” The zookeeper responded “Well, usually ok… but occasionally they have a disagreement and then we have to get a new monkey.”
Only 50 years ago the average age of marriage was about 20-22 years old (according to CDC statistics on Marriage 1965). My mom was 17 and my dad was 18 when they were married. We recently celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. And they were not odd in their time. Worldwide the average age of marriage has risen to about 27-29 years old.
But the age of puberty has been declining, especially among girls, and this is not the only adverse affect on girls (this will be part of the topic of What the Bible Says about Family in a few weeks-in a home where the father is absent, the girls go through puberty significantly earlier. For more information you can start here http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079910/ ). After puberty sexual activity is difficult to suppress for most healthy humans.
In 1965 Average age for Marriage = 18-20
Average age to finish puberty = 14-17
Years of . . . Chastity Challenge = 1-6 years
2015 Average age for Marriage = 27-29
Average age to finish puberty = 13-17
Years of . . . Chastity Challenge = 10-16 years
The amount of time in life when young people are both single and physically ready for sex is a growing . This is an incendiary combination, especially for someone who wants to follow the biblical mandate.
8. THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM
a. FLEE! RUN AWAY! 1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
b. REPLACE disobedience with obedience. (The way to find sexual satisfaction is also described in the Bible, but that is a topic for a separate message. We’ll discuss What the Bible Says about Marriage in a few weeks.) Many today preach that you must “pursue your passion”. I disagree. Pursuing your passion will often, in fact usually, get you into trouble. Instead we should pursue God’s will for our lives. If obedience to God is your passion, all other passions can be sublimated under that master passion.
The opposite of ignorance in the spiritual realm is not knowledge, it is obedience . . . . (I’ve misplaced the reference)
c. WALK “in the Spirit”. Paul said “walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh”. If the Spirit of God is in you and you experience a living, loving relationship with God, disobedience to His will normally results in a sense of distance from that relationship-that kind of distance when you are accustomed to intimacy can be devastating-it is a powerful motivator to live a morally and ethically upright life.
d. - a bit of practical advice (the Bible does not say this directly) GO AGAINST SOCIETY. MARRY YOUNG! Our daughter, Marisha, attended my Bachelor’s degree Commencement/Graduation ceremony. I went immediately into a Master’s Degree program, which I completed two years after Jonathan was born. It is difficult, but worth starting a family early. In fact there are many benefits, including having both our children in college when we are still just entering our 50’s, greater likelihood of good health for the children born, less likelihood of complications for the mother in childbearing. Starting a family even before you finish your degrees has enough advantages that the disadvantages may be outweighed.
e. Find an accountability partner. James recommends confession (5:16) John Maxwell, and several other management gurus, recommends that we have a Mentor, at least two “Peer Mentors”, and a Mentee. [CHART] The Mentor is someone older and more experienced than you, someone you trust, who can ask you difficult questions. Peer Mentors are about the same age and experience as you and they, too, can ask the difficult questions. A mentee is someone you can ask these questions to. . . in each case you have to establish a relationship of trust where what you say to one another stays just with you. Here are some sample questions:
1. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?
2. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate thoughts about someone who is not your spouse this week?
3. Have you lacked any integrity in your financial dealings this week, or coveted something that does not belong to you?
4. Have you been honoring, understanding and generous in your important relationships this past week?
5. Have you damaged another person by your words, either behind their back or face-to-face?
6. Have you given in to an addictive behavior this week? Explain.
7. Have you continued to remain angry toward another?
8. Have you secretly wished for another's misfortune so that you might excel?
9. Did you finish your reading this week and hear from the Lord? What are you going to do about it?
10. Have you answered these questions honestly? –for more like this see Ed Stetzer’s wonderful article in ChristianityToday.com
f. DIE! Colossians. 3:1-9 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
God has designed us as sexual beings. He has designed us for fulfillment in all things. If we want to experience all of the blessings He has designed for us, we must commit ourselves to obeying His guidelines in all things, including in how we relate to one anther sexually.
