We are talking about THAT (sex) in church?
Each year I'm blessed to preach a few Sundays (typically 3-4) specifically on topics or questions that arise in the community. Typically I preach chapter by chapter through whole books of the Bible (this year I've been privileged to preach through 1 John and Revelation).
This year there are 3 topics we will cover on 3 Sundays. We will discuss 1 Timothy 3:1-15 and hear God's plan for organizing, serving, and leading the church (Elders and Deacons). We will discuss Genesis 1:26-28 & Genesis 2:18-25 (and a few additional passages) and hear God's plan for human sexuality.
I knew as soon as I previewed this topic I would begin to get pushback. It can be awkward to discuss sexuality even in the most trusted company. Some, out of an abundance of caution, try to avoid any sort of discussion of sexual ethics. Some try to assert that sexuality is a "private" conversation. Some try to say sex isn't an issue of theology. Some try to avoid the conversation by saying sex is a political topic and as we all know politics should never be brought up on a Sunday!
Today I'm offering some firm, loving, and urgent pushback to some of the objections to preaching about human sexuality.
The water is very wet
My first pushback is the sheer prevalence of sexual teaching all around us every day!
When you go to watch a show today, perhaps it will be a crime fighter show, or a sitcom, or even a sporting event. The crime may involve people involved in a sexual relationship, the sitcom may joke about sex, and the sporting event will surely display commercials appealing to sexual appetite.
If our culture was a swimming pool, then teachings about sex would be as plentiful as the water we swim in.
While our president, our government, our teachers, our friends, our newspaper editors, our entertainment and our community has an opinion and teaching about sex, we as Christians ought to pause. We don't get our marching orders from TV shows, from our sports teams, or even from the cultural, community or governmental leaders. As Christians, we get our marching orders from God through his Word.
Some recognize the hyper-sexualized culture we live in and that is where an objection is raised. "Jacob, we have to deal with this stuff everywhere in the culture, church is a break from all that!" I agree. The gathering of the brothers and sisters in Christ is a break from "all that". But "all that" is the false teaching of the world. When we gather together to hear God's Word, we are hearing the truth itself.
It is precisely because we are surrounded by a hyper-sexualized fallen world that we need to gather and hear what God's Word has to truthfully say regarding sexuality. If we neglect what God has to say about human sexuality then we are missing out on the truth, and settling only for the lies of the world. We will miss out on all the delight God has intended, and fall into mistakes causing wounds that could have otherwise been prevented.
When we are surrounded by stuff that isn't true, that which is true is a delight to heart and a source of relief.
A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful. (Proverbs 14:25)
Another brick in the wall
The hyper-sexualization of our world isn't going away. The next generation is learning and growing each day. That means they have experiences, questions, and changes going on all around them and in them! The following is from a CDC report with statistics from 2014 on sex education in US schools: Click here to access the CDC report
These numbers highlight that:
51% of middle schools and 76% of high schools spend 2.1 to 3.2 hours of instruction on HIV prevention,
45% of middle schools and 70% of high schools spend 5.4 to 6.2 hours of instruction on human sexuality,
44% of middle schools and 78% of high schools spend 2.6 to 3.5 hours of instruction about other STD prevention,
40% of middle schools and 74% of high schools spend 2.7 hours to 4.2 hours on average discussing pregnancy prevention,
I am not here to make a statement about the good (or the bad) of these statistics. I am here to say that if teachers are expected to instruct students for hours in public institutions on these topics, we in the church ought to run to God's Word for a few minutes to hear God's perspective on sex. I am not planning on preaching for hours and hours on sex or related topics this week. I am prayerfully planning to preach for about 20 minutes on the topic.
Sex: a God-made good thing
If at this point you are still thinking "well, I just don't think you should preach about sex", let me make this final appeal to you. Who do you think made sex? Who designed it? Who ordered our bodies in the way that human anatomy is exactly the way it is? Who instructed Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it." (Genesis 1:28)? 6 times throughout Genesis 1 God looked at the creation and said it was "good". God makes an even greater evaluative statement after he gave instructions to the man and woman he had made saying "very good" in Genesis 1:31.
If we as a community shy away from God's Word on the topic of sex then we should expect all the consequences that come from ignoring God's Word. We shouldn't ignore God's Word as it informs our eternal relationship (soteriology), community life (ecclesiology), our treatment of one another (ethics), our relationship to authority (citizenship), our finances (stewardship), reverence for God (worship), or physical intimacy (sexuality). Ignoring God's Word in each of these areas comes with its own consequences. To protect and provide for the sheep God has called me to pastor I'm delighted and honored to bring God's Word to God's people about a very good thing God has made.
Some additional resources to engage this topic:
Tim Challies writes with clarity and precision on the purpose of sex. I've written here today that sex is a God-made thing. Challies with eloquence and brevity introduces a few different conceptions about sex in our contemporary climate today, while also providing a thoroughly biblical case for understanding sex as a good gift given by God for a husband and wife. (Click here to read more)
Harry Reeder gave an excellent, pointed, and respectful lecture both exposing some of the tragedies within our present age and presenting what God's Word has to say about human sexuality. As always with resources I share, I don't agree with everything said in this piece, but despite some minor disagreements this is overall very solid and I learned much! I highly recommend you give this a listen as you have time this week. (Click here to watch via Youtube)