#224 Salvation and Sex

Thinking about sex and sexuality is one of the places where the morals and values of Christianity differ the most from the morals and values of the surrounding culture in the U.S. I think it's fair to say that American culture in general views sex as something that people deserve and even need. Having sex is viewed as part of what it means to be human. But Christian teaching disagrees. Christians believe that sex is desirable and good in its proper place, but sex is not something that people need. In fact, Christians would stress that sex is not for everyone.

This Christian emphasis is more important than we might realize at first. That's because of Jesus. I can confidently say that Jesus never had sex. Jesus wasn't married. The Bible is quite clear in teaching that God has designed sex only for marriage. The Bible is also quite clear that Jesus never sinned, never went against God's will. So, according to accepted Christian teaching, Jesus didn't have sex.

Now as Christians, we believe that our salvation depends entirely on Jesus, who is God the Son. A key part of our beliefs is that God the Son became fully human so that He could save human beings. If Jesus wasn't fully human, then His life and ministry and death and resurrection on His people's behalf doesn't actually apply to us, and we are lost. So if American culture is right, and people need sex to be fully human, then Jesus wasn't fully human. In that case no one could be saved. But the truth, as God teaches us, is that we don't need sex. Jesus was fully human, like us in every way—except He was sinless and perfect.

Please note that I'm not denying that Jesus had a human sexuality. I'm sure that He was attracted to others and had sexual desires. That is part of being human. But unlike all the rest of us, Jesus never had improper sexual desires and never improperly acted upon his proper sexual desires. Jesus assumed a complete human nature to redeem all parts of human nature. So Jesus must have assumed human sexuality to redeem human sexuality. Through the Bible, Jesus teaches us how His saved and renewed people should live when it comes to sex and sexuality as well as other areas of life.

I understand how it might look bad for me, a married Christian, to tell others that they shouldn't have sex in their current situation in life while I'm in a life situation where I believe I can—and to an extent, even should—have sex. But I'm not making this teaching up. This comes from Jesus our Savior, who lived a fully human life and who knows what it's like to desire sex but who never did have sex. Jesus calls us to turn from our sins and follow Him, offering us forgiveness for our sins and a new mission of living for Him. He wants to free us from having sex control our lives. He wants to teach us a better, more satisfying, more fulfilling way of life with Him.

Grace and peace,

BMH