God's Book: An Honest Look at the Bible's Toughest Topicsნიმუში

GOD OF PASSIONATE COMMITMENT

The Old and New Testaments affirm that sexual intercourse belongs exclusively within the covenant of marriage. For many today, this approach to sex, including same-sex relationships, is a big reason for rejecting the Bible. However, when we understand the Bible’s teachings in their ancient context, we realise that many of the values we insist on today – individual rights, gender equality, consent for intimacy – have come from the Bible. They are not ‘natural’ nor were they obvious in the Roman Empire. Instead, the teachings of Jesus and the early Christians triggered a sexual revolution in the first century AD.

In his letters, the Apostle Paul draws a sharp contrast between the values of the prevailing culture and the Bible. While avoiding a judgmental stance based on prejudice, Paul is still prepared to judge between true and false ideas. We also must walk this tightrope. God loves our world and everyone in it, but he does not endorse practices that are contrary to his pattern.

An overly romantic view of sex assumes that if two people ‘love each other’, intercourse is a legitimate next step. Of course, sex includes romance and passion, but it must be based on more than that. The marriage ceremony does not ask: ‘Do you love so and so?’ but: ‘Will you love so and so?’ The promise transcends how you feel. It’s a decision of the will, come what may: ‘for better for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do us part’. Romance and passion may be the icing, but the cake is commitment.

The Bible does not root our ‘authentic self’ in identity politics or sexual preference. Sex is an activity or behaviour in the Bible, something you do rather than who you are. Body image, straight or gay desires, experiences of gender dysphoria: these are very real challenges. But they do not define our identity. Desires can change depending on genetic predisposition, the company we keep, and the values that influence us. That’s why we need to root our identity in something more stable than our sexuality. Ultimately, our true worth is derived from being created in God’s image and redeemed by Christ’s blood.

For the sake of the world, a Christian view of sex must not conform to cultural pressures but remain graciously countercultural. In the light of modern challenges such as pornography, sexbots, and family breakdown, the biblical values that triggered a sexual revolution in the ancient world are still needed today.

REFLECT: Paul critiques two popular Corinthian sayings in the light of the gospel. What cultural slogans sum up how people think about sexuality today? How might the gospel challenge these with a better vision?