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BIBLE REF.
Genesis 2:20–25
Exodus 20:14
Leviticus 18
Matthew 5:27–28, 19
Romans 13:13
1 Corinthians 6:9, 7:3–5
Ephesians 5:3
Hebrews 13:4
Sex is God’s idea. The same God who made galaxies, flowers, humans, marriage, etc., also created sex. He made it, and He defines what it is — its boundaries, proper use, and purpose. This truth is easily missed today because of the world’s utter twisting of God’s good creation and the silence, compromise, or miseducation of much of the church.
So, starting from the Creator’s authoritative Word, how is sex to be understood? It is prescribed and defined in the limited confines of marriage. As summarized in the last chapter, God established marriage and defined it as one man, one woman, for life (Genesis 2:20–25) — a reality repeatedly affirmed by Jesus (Matthew 19; Mark 10). After creating Adam and Eve — and marriage — God blessed them and told them to have lots of children. Genesis 1:28 says:
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and
multiply and fill the earth and subdue it . . .”
Here we see the first family, ordained by God as the foremost human institution for human flourishing. He then declares everything as “very good” (Genesis 1:31).
God’s design for sex, then and now (Hebrews 13:4), is the beautiful, intimate union between a husband and wife (1 Corinthians 7:3–5). A whole book of the Bible, Song of Solomon, is focused on this very thing! A union that leads to the creation of “image-bearers,” vividly displays the reality of “one-flesh,” and is a representation of the eternal intimacy between Christ and His bride, the Church.
However, man’s sin corrupted everything. Since that time, mankind has found any number of ways to sinfully distort and abuse God’s precious gift of sex. The examples of sexual brokenness that could be listed from today or Scripture are overwhelming.
Continually throughout the Bible, God is reminding His people to be holy like He is and to keep sex in its proper God-given place (Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 18; Deuteronomy 22:5, 22; Romans 13:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5). Jesus even commanded that sexual thoughts are restricted to their proper marriage setting (Matthew 5:27–28). God even cares about marriages becoming non-sexual (1 Corinthians 7:3–5). Any sexual activity outside of the biblical parameters ordained by God at creation is sinful, broken, and leads to dire, even catastrophic, consequences.
The old analogy of sex to fire is a good one. A fire in its proper setting, a fireplace, is wonderful, beautiful, and purposeful. A fire outside of its proper place is rapidly and ferociously destructive. This is the reality of sex.
Since sex is God’s creation, He knows how it works best. And since God’s love for humanity can’t be fathomed, we can trust that His boundaries for His creation and for His image bearers are good and for our best. If we do fall into sexual sin, the greatest news is that the author of sex is also the author of salvation. All sins, including sexual ones, were paid for at the Cross for those who repent and put their faith in Christ!
