Abstract
In the Bible, God made sexuality the core of human experience. He created Adam and Eve to not only be a help mate to one another, but to also “fill the earth and subdue it.” The two main purposes of sex were for procreation and marriage. There are various passages throughout the Bible that, in general, state they run from all kinds of sexual immorality. Solomon's Song praises the lovers ' sexual pleasure, while Paul explained that marital marriage reflects Christ's relationship with his church. Christians of today face a society that idolizes sexual pleasure through pornography, entertainment, and advertisement, while undermining its unitive and procreative energy by removing it from relationships. Evangelicals are struggling in this context to teach and live a biblical sex theology that centers on the marital covenant between husband and wife, affirming the playful, non-procreative dimensions of sex.
Love
Love is the world's most powerful force (Rouse & Slade, 2016). Loving is what a child needs in their lives more than any other verb, and that loving is needed as soon as they enter the world (Campbell, 2015). It's not just what a child needs, but what every human on the planet needs (Ingram, 2016). Happiness has been the driving desire of the soul of God since the beginning of time. There’s one word, which is love, in 1John 4:8 describes God.
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God's love is unconditional, meaning that his love does not rely on success, and the world is desperately searching for this unconditional love (Ingram, 2016). The universal solution is to understand that there is an all-knowing, all-powerful, infinite point of reference ready to offer love, forgiveness, healing, and support (Ingram, 2016). The universal problem is that the love of God exists simply because it exists and the love of man is conjured up and worked on (Rouse & Slade, 2016). The disconnection between the love God provides and human love has caused many to look for cheap alternatives in the form of money, power, beauty, and sex (Higton, 2008).
By speaking about reality, there can be no discussion of love. Jesus is asked in three of the four Gospels, 'Rabbi, what commandment is the greatest in the law? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy spirit, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might,' he said to them. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like that,' You're going to love your neighbor like you. All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments (Matthew 2:3-40).
There are those who are full of grace, and forgiveness comes to them easily, and there is no subject that can't be forgiven by the grace that God provides. On the other side of the coin are those who are full of truth and point out sin and sometimes consider themselves holier than you and have more of a negative effect for the Gospel than a positive effect. Only one person has ever walked the earth who embodied both grace and reality. John chapter one tells us that both grace and reality are made of Christ (John 1:14). Love is the driving force that brings together those who are in opposites and bring fundamentally divided individuals together (Tillich, 1954). Jesus was not only filled with grace and reality, but he was also filled with love and beauty.
Sex
From a Biblical perspective, gender is supposed to be in the marital union between one man and one woman. Within the book of Genesis, God saw that Adam's human development was fine, but incomplete, so he caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and created Eve from a rib bone. Marriage was the purpose of God, and it was told to be fruitful and multiply to Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:28). God is not only the author of love and marriage, but he is the creator of sex in a world where sex is saturated (Ingram, 2016). It is evident from the bible that gender has a procreation intent, but sex also has an intimacy function (Akin, 2003).
Not only does spiritual intimacy matter to the marriage relationship, but there is no total marriage without physical intimacy (Piper & Taylor, 2005). In 1 Corinthians 7:5, Paul reminds his readers that a marriage deprived of sex is condemned to be a marriage vulnerable to Satan's temptation;” Do not deprive one another, except perhaps for a limited time by consent, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not threaten you because of your lack of self-control” (1 Corinthians 7:5).
Paul then goes on to discuss the powerful pull and attraction sex has on the human race by suggesting that if a burning desire to have sex is not evil, but if that desire continues, then marriage should be in a person's life's windshield as having sex within the sense by which it was built. Sex is built to bind coupes together, and the intimacy and connection created during sex provides stability agents during challenging marriage times (Ingram, 2016). When this relationship is formed with someone outside the marriage, it is unstable and generates baggage in the form of rejection and pain (Ingram, 2016).
Sexuality
One topic on the rise in the U.S. is gender identification. The United States saw a dramatic increase in the prevalence of sexual orientation and health issues accompanying this rapid increase between 1998 and 2008 (Saewyc,2011). A 2016 survey of 81,000 adolescents in the state of Minnesota found that 3 percent of teens identify as transgender or non-conforming (Tanner, ND). Although harassment is a by-product of those who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, the 2016 study also revealed that the mental and physical health of transgender teenagers is worse than those who are not confused with sex (Tanner, ND).
In 2015, I worked at an at-risk youth facility. There were a couple of kids there who were born one gender but felt that they identified more with the opposite gender than they were born. One of the kids in my cottage was sent out to different groups. One of the groups involved other kids around her age that felt that they didn’t identify with what they were born as. She talked to me all the time including placement for other kids like her. Years prior to this, I worked for a state prison that housed inmates that were going through the sex change. One inmate had the state paying for his surgery and we were not allowed to call him “him” or “he”.
One reason why they (the church) shy away from subjects like masturbation, same-sex attraction, pornography, and sexual addiction is because the church is unable to agree on what God has to say about such issues, and even when it is discussed, it is typically judgmental (Slattery, 2018). One of the church's biggest shortcomings are Christians with no convincing approach to sexuality in society and culture (Yancey, 2005). The Bible is accessible, frank, and openly addresses gender, sexuality, and sexual desire (Newsom & Ringe, 1998). Sara cries at the prospect of sexual pleasure in her old age (Genesis 18:12). Isaac caresses Rebecca his wife (Genesis 26:8).
Satan and his plot
Satan has attempted to distort and transform into something bad just like anything else that God has made. Sexuality and sex are no exception to the law of what is to be done behind the curtain. When it comes to sex and sexuality, the battle is as spiritual as it is physical (Slattery, 2018). Scripture tells us that in order to live an abundant life, God provides everything necessary, including sex. In Satan to gain a foothold in relationships, sexual sin opens the door (Slattery, 2018). The average Christian spends much more time considering the signs of sin than the root cause of sin.
Satan takes full advantage of those who are sexually abused by telling them that not only is their sexual history something that God despises and can never forgive, but it will also determine their future. When I was sexually assaulted, I felt as if I was being punished by God. Satan had me to believe that everything was my fault. Nothing could be beyond the facts. The God of the Bible is readily available for anyone who is sexually broken to begin a process of peace and restoration. Often, those who are broken will start the restoration process through a person or group. Jesus said Christ's body was to be his hands and feet as he was gone, and that's exactly how broken children, girls, men and women started the process.
Chapter six of Galatians says; Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are religious ought to restore him in a gentle spirit. Be vigilant not to be tempted, too (Galatians 6:1, ESV). In other words, if someone is sexually violated and in need, it is Christ's body's moral responsibility to restore such a person with gentleness and compassion (Ingram, 2014). So Paul warns his readers in the next verse that it will not be easy to recover someone who is trapped in sexual sin or someone who is spiritually damaged, so he asks them in verse 2 to bear each other's burdens and thus fulfill Christ's rule (Galatians6:2, ESV).
References
- Akin, D. L. (2003). God on Sex: The Creator’s Ideas about Love, Intimacy, and Marriage. B&H Publishing Group.
- Campbell, R. (2015). How to Really Love Your Child. David C Cook.
- Higton, M. (2008). Christian Doctrine. Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd.
- Ingram, C. (2014). Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships: God’s Prescription for Enhancing Your Love Life. Baker Books.
- Ingram, C. (2016). The Real God: How He Longs for You to See Him. Baker Books.
- Newsom, C. A., & Ringe, S. H. (1998). Women’s Bible Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press.
- Piper, J., & Taylor, J. (2005). Sex and the Supremacy of Christ. Crossway Books.
- Platt, D. (2017). Counterculture: Following Christ in an Anti-Christian Age. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
- Rouse, D., & Slade, D. (2016). Love Defined Workbook. Lulu.com.
- Slattery, D. J. (2018). Rethinking Sexuality: God’s Design and Why It Matters. Crown Publishing Group.
- Tanner, Lindsey, More U.S. teens identify as transgender, survey finds. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2018 from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/02/05/more-u-s-teens-identify-transgender-survey-finds/306357002/
- Tillich, P. (1954). Love, Power, and Justice: Ontological Analyses and Ethical Applications. Oxford University Press.
- West, C. (2018). Good News About Sex & Marriage (Revised Edition): Answers to Your Honest Questions about Catholic Teaching. Franciscan Media.
- Yancey, P. (2005). Designer Sex. Inter Varsity Press.
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