Manhood RestoredSample

Restored Sexuality Have you ever been to New York? Naturally, you assume that this reference is to the city. Statue of Liberty. Times Square. Rockefeller Center. Broadway. But New York is also a state. You see, while New York City is certainly the brightest part of a New York experience, there is more to New York than one island or even five boroughs for that matter. The same is true of sexuality. Sexuality is much bigger than sex. Now, marital sex is certainly the brightest part of any discussion on sexuality, but it is by no means the only consideration. Pornography is a now multiple-billion dollar industry. Young men view pornography is staggering numbers But what if pornography is a symptom, not a disease? What if the real problem is a lack of biblical manhood and distorted interpretations of what intimacy with God and intimacy with one wife really are? What if the key to harnessing all the issues associated with sexuality is really a focus on holiness and wholeness in Christ? God’s design was one man and one woman for life—man has so distorted this image and created a false ideal where men base manhood on sexual conquest. The solution to the problem is Jesus, of course. But the real issue at hand is a lack of intimacy with God and a distorted image of what intimacy with one wife can and should be. God’s design for man includes the committed, monogamous union with a wife. Oh, how this image has been distorted in our world! Adam and Eve enjoyed an unhindered opportunity to explore the joys of sex in the context of their marriage relationship with no fear. Remember, they were naked and unashamed. There was no manipulation or exploitation from either of them before the fall. While most worldly images about sex regard selfish desires as normal, the Bible paints for us a picture of selfless sex. Sex is designed to be between one man and one woman within marriage. Anything outside that is outside of God’s plan. Even self-gratification is a selfish act outside the bounds of God’s design for sex in the context of marriage. Sex is God’s gift to us for pleasure and procreation. Abusing or misusing that gift has powerful consequences. How we understand the ways that God made us has an impact on how we respond to the opposite sex and how we function as image bearers in Christ.