Common Lies in a Sex Crazed World Muestra

Followers of Christ are citizens of a different world—a spiritual one, a world that is being prepared for the church. According to the author of Hebrews, the common theme of believers who lived by faith in God’s promises was their desire for a better place—a heavenly one (Heb. 11:16). Peter reminded the church that they were “strangers and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11), and Paul pointed the Philippian believers to their citizenship in heaven (Phil. 3:20). Scripture makes clear that the people of God should not resemble the world because they are a distinct nation living under God’s reign. Due to our sinful nature, there are times when believers lose sight of their status as people of another kingdom and begin to blend into this world through sinful actions. For those who genuinely know the Lord, however, there is repentance and a desire to no longer be conformed to the patterns of the world (Rom. 12:2). If you have fallen into sin or have never heard biblical teaching on some of the forthcoming topics, please know that in Christ there is full forgiveness, cleansing, newness of life, and community.

For many twenty-first century American Christians, a prevalent area of blending with the world is the realm of sex, dating, and relationships. Biblical teaching regarding sexual ethics has always stood at odds with the world, and, frankly, there are professing Christians who are not interested in being at odds anymore. Today, many Christians would rather be on the “right side” of issues in the world’s eyes. The Bible allows for a societally acceptable stance on poverty and racial reconciliation, but many Christians seem embarrassed by the clear sexual ethics the Bible calls them to pursue under the lordship of Christ. The world applauds caring about the poor but accuses the church of oppressive, out-of-date extremism when it comes to what the Bible says about sexuality.

In a Twitter thread on the connection between biblical views of justice and sexual purity, Tim Keller wrote that the early church was marked by a deep concern for the poor and for racial equality, and at the same time, it taught that sex was only for the mutually self-giving and life-long covenant of marriage. Keller remarked that these two are a “whole cloth united by the principle of self-sacrifice, of ‘losing one’s self to find one’s self.’” In Christ, we can understand how the Bible’s teaching on sex is consistent with its broader calls to self-sacrifice, whereas the world may not have a legitimate model for that.

There are others who (rather than being embarrassed) simply do not want to be bothered by what the Bible says about sex, who see God as a type of prude or view biblical sexual ethics as something reserved for legalists. Perhaps they see it as an inconvenience for religious beliefs to interfere with such personal life choices. As a result, too many professing Christians today identify more with Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in the City than with the True Love Waits card of another era. The pendulum has swung to a “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” mentality.

The sexual ethics of the world should feel like a foreign land to followers of Jesus, but I see many falling into the norms of a secular society while still claiming Christian faith and identity. The next few days will dive into three of the seven primary lies that Christians may believe as they sojourn through this life on earth.