Sex and The Bible

The subject of sex and the bible is one that I wasn't sure to include with this site...however, after thinking about it, the sex drive is an unseen force that greatly influences the way we behave. If not for sex, I nor you would be here today. Sex was created by God so we could multiply and replenish the earth. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28 KJV

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. God created male and female for the specific purpose of filling the earth with people. The urge to engage in sex had to be a powerful force or no one would bother with it. The book of Genesis tells us that God created Adam then made woman from one of Adam's ribs. They had a strong desire for each other and when Adam discovered that Eve had broken the only command that God had given them (to not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), Adam had to make a choice. He chose to eat the forbidden fruit because he couldn't bear the thought of losing Eve. Sexual attraction probably had a great influence on his decision. Man and woman have been blaming each other for their woes ever since.

What does God say is the proper setting for engaging in sex? Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Hebrews 13:4 Ideally, sex should be avoided until both partners marry. If all couples adhered to that principle, this world would be a much better place than it is today. The reality is that we live in a sin scarred world and few couples who marry are virgins (most of today's couples have engaged in pre-marital sex). Because of our lust for sex, the family unit has been greatly damaged. Family is the primary reason God wants couples to only engage in sex in the context of a marriage.

Many of today's children come from broken homes because their parents have violated the sexual rules of conduct that God has placed..and all suffer because they do.

What sexual practices does God forbid? Fornication - this is sex by couples who are not married. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 1 Corinthians 6:18 Here Paul admonishes us to "flee fornication". Paul knew how powerful sexual temptation is. Fornication is a primary factor in sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS. To avoid the sin of fornication we are admonished to Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 1 Corinthians 7:2

One of the purposes of marriage is to have an outlet for your sexual desires. If one person in a marriage denies his/her partner sex, that is opening the door for tempation to do things that are not in the plan of God.

One of the greatest sins of the church (especially in Puritan times) was to teach that sex was "dirty". That sex was a "tool of the devil" and should be avoided at all costs. This is not what God ordained..sex was meant to be a beautiful way for a couple to show their love for each other while nourishing and growing a family of their own.

Another practice God forbids is adultery. Adultery occurs when one or both sex partners are married to someone else. One of the ten commandments is: Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery.Adultery occurs due to a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is the simple yielding to lust that causes it. Other times it is simply "an adventure"..other times it is an escape from the routine of daily living. Adultery always ends up with broken relationships, busted marriages, the breakup of families, hurt feelings, and sometimes physical assault.

And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery. Matthew 10:11 & 12 God is stating here that if you are married then divorce for any reason except unfaithfulness and marry another, then you are guilty of adultery. Divorce is very common today and most of the time the only reason was "we just couldn't get along". Next to death, divorce is the most devastating experience a person can go through. Many divorcees would have been happier had they stayed married.Of course, some marriage partners are abusive and in this case, although the bible does not support this, I believe divorce would be acceptable. What good is marriage if one partner ends up in the hospital or dead?

Included under the umbrella of fornication and adultery would be prostitution and incest. What other sexual practice does God forbid? Homosexuality. According to God, this is not an acceptable lifestyle. In fact, it is completely contrary to His perfect order. Men engaging in sex with other men and women having sex with women is not new...it's been happening for thousands of years. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God because homosexuality was rampant in those cities...men would refuse a woman's pleasures just so he could engage in sex with another man. This desire to satisfy the fleshly lusts caused the inhabitants of these destroyed cities to be inhospitable to strangers. Their in-hospitality was why the cities were destroyed. Their in-hospitality was caused by their perverted passions. In fact, the words "sodomy" and "sodomite" are a direct result of the behavior of the men in the city of Sodom.

What does God say about homosexuality? If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. Leviticus 20:13 It is a known fact that those who engage in homosexual lifestyles have shortened life spans. How many 80 year old homosexual men do you know? The fact is that only 2% of the homosexual population survive the age of 65 while most never reach the age of 50.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:26-32

This plainly teaches that there can be no homosexual Christians. One of the big issues facing the church today is should homosexuals be ordained as priests and ministers? Should a wolf be allowed to sleep in the chicken house? Should a baby be given a cobra for a pet? For the church to even consider this shows how far away from the clear teachings of the bible they have fallen.

We now know that God approves of sex within the confines of a marriage, and he disapproves of all other forms of sex which brings up a sensitive subject. What about masturbation? Quite obviously, everyone can't be married until a suitable partner is found and they are mature enough to handle a marriage. Teenagers have strong sexual desires because their hormones are raging. Everyone has sexual desire but not everyone is married.

What does the bible say about masturbation? Absolutely nothing. The word or phrase relating to this term simply can not be found. There are those who claim that masturbation is a form of homosexuality but that is questionable. In reality, aside from sex within a marriage, masturbation is the only safe sex there is. I believe the reason the bible is silent on this is so people wouldn't feel guilty about this if they had to resort to this to satisfy their sexual urges.Sometimes even married partners have to resort to this when one partner is suffering from some kind of illness or condition which does not allow sexual relations.

The Roman Catholic Church forbids nuns and priests from being married. This is not at all biblical and what you end up with is group of people whose sex drives have been repressed. Sex drives won't stay repressed without the body doing something about it. If they refuse to engage in masturbation, then the body will sometimes release that urge with erotic dreams. I believe repressed sexuality can lead to more sinful things like the molesting of boys which seems to be a common thing within the Catholic Church. Rape and child molestation can bea direct result of sexual repression. Wouldn't a prostitute be much more likely to entice someone who hasn't had any kind of sexual relief over a long period of time?

Of course, engaging in masturbation has its dangers as well. Many people view pornography as a tool to enhance this experience but they are watching others engage in illicit sex and are committing adultery in their heart when they do so. Since self-centeredness is the root of all sin, masturbation can fall into a self-centered category and even become a substitute for being married. Again, the bottom lineis that sex between marriage partners is the ideal thing and is really the only sexual outlet that God has officially ordained.

There is no question that sex influences our world to a great degree. If you don't think so, then why do men do things for an attractive woman they otherwise would never do? It doesn't matter to the man that he already has a girlfriend or is already married. Why do women get all dolled up to look pretty when they go out even if they are married? Why do people with money get plastic surgery to keep themselves looking attractive? It all boils down to the sex drive. Sometimes I believe people have wished they could shed their sex drives so they could truly be free...but remember that it took a sex drive for you and I to be in this world today and it was God who ordained sex between couples.

Copyright 2003 by Gary Goodworth

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