Comunidad y discipulado

The Gift of Sex (Exodus 20:14)

2016.02.14Stephen Cha

Sex is God's good gift, meant to be enjoyed within the marriage covenant; the seventh commandment guards that gift, and Jesus calls us to guard our hearts, eyes, and relationships so that we are not burned by sin.

Sex is God's good gift, designed for marriage

Throughout church history, many leaders regarded sex as a necessary evil that should not be enjoyed, and the Roman Catholic Church even set many days of abstinence, including about 183 days when married couples were not to have sex. The Reformation brought a different view. Scripture shows that sex is a gift and was God's own idea, from God bringing Eve to Adam and commanding them to be fruitful and multiply. The Song of Songs openly celebrates the love, beauty, and intimacy between husband and wife, which shows that God created marriage and sex and designed them to be full of pleasure and joy. God gave this gift within the bounds of the marriage covenant.

Adultery breaks the covenant and damages family and trust

The simplest understanding of the seventh commandment is that a married person must not have sexual relations with anyone else, and a single person must not have sexual relations with a married person. Adultery was so serious in Israel that it was punished by stoning, because marriage is a covenant made before God. A person who betrays a spouse will betray anyone and anything, which is why adultery is a treason against the family, and God hates it. Adultery often begins with emotional closeness and intimacy before any physical act, so we must guard against such attachments at work, at church, and online. The commandment also reaches premarital sex, which affects one's own future marriage and the other person's.

Sex joins two people and must be kept within marriage

The Bible teaches that sexual immorality, including visiting a prostitute, joins a person to that partner, because sex is the glue that makes two people one. Many people struggle with a soul tie to a former partner long after the relationship has ended, and such ties need to be broken in Jesus' name. Within marriage, sex is a powerful and joyful gift that deepens intimacy and commitment, and 1 Corinthians teaches that spouses should not deprive one another. Outside marriage, the same powerful gift burns and damages the people involved. Sex also reflects the spiritual relationship between God and his people, as God describes himself as a husband to us.

Guard your eyes, heart, and imagination (Matthew 5:27-30)

Jesus says that anyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery in his heart, so the sin begins with what we see and what we allow to feed our hearts. In America, people watch about 10,000 sexual scenes on average, and nine in ten of those involve people who are not married, and this glamorization feeds the thought that it is okay. Pornography addiction has devastated marriages, and about 25 percent of clergymen struggle with this area, and some leaders who failed with lust and emotional ties lost their marriages and ministries. Jesus uses the strong images of plucking out an eye and cutting off a hand to show that we must take extreme measures to guard ourselves, because sexual desire is like a fire that burns those who do not control it. Jesus calls us to guard both our eyes and our hearts.

David's fall shows that no one is immune, and God restores

David, a man after God's own heart, fell into adultery with Bathsheba, and in doing so he broke many of the Ten Commandments, including coveting, murder, and false witness. When Nathan confronted him, David reacted with overly harsh judgment, showing a guilty conscience. Yet God did not condemn David through Nathan but gently brought conviction that led to repentance and restoration. God is not about condemnation but about conviction that leads to restoration, and God extends grace even to those who make mistakes. This story reminds us that anyone can be trapped by this sin.

Apply to Life

  • Let us guard what we watch, read, and click on the internet and in media, and refuse images that stir lust.
  • Let us keep healthy distance from people of the opposite sex at work, at church, and online, and not allow emotional intimacy outside marriage.
  • Let us honor the covenant of marriage and not deprive our spouse, but give ourselves to one another in love.
  • Let us come to God first to be satisfied in his love, rather than looking to others to receive the love we need.
  • Let us be mindful of how we dress and how we greet one another, so that we do not stumble others, and let us repent and receive God's grace when we fall.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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