God knew there would be something called abortion. God knew there would be sexually transmitted diseases. God knew there would be adultery and pornography. God knew there would be rape and incest. God knew there would be “swiping right” and “hook-up” culture. God knew that in 1960’s America many would think it was important to free sexual activity from the confines of a marriage covenant. God knew that in the 2020’s there would be a LGBTQ+ community, and that many would be trying to free sex from the confines of heterosexual normality, as well as trying to free people from the confines of identifying with their biological gender reality.
God knew.
So, God spoke to people at various times and in various ways about how each person can get all the good that sex can bring and be free from all the bad that sex can bring. There is no higher view of human sexuality than the Biblical sexual ethic. First, God created sex. It is His idea and He calls it good. Second, sex is a part of holiness. According to the Bible, sex is not dirty or carnal. It is something which brings a sense of belonging, one of the deepest human needs (Genesis 2). Third, sex can bring life, human life. The most powerful thing we can think of is an atomic bomb, but all that power only takes life. Sex can actually make life. Fourth, sex brings healing and restoration. First Corinthians 7 teaches about sex and how important it is to helping a married couple recover from a time of separation and division.
God knew.
Because God knew that the misuse of sexual power would bring brokenness, He gave instructions regarding sex. His instructions are clear from the beginning to the end of the Bible. According to God, sex brings good when it is between one man and one woman in a faithful covenant of marriage. God goes even further to say there is a mystery to sex which affects the spiritual aspect of life as well as the physical. Two actually become one in some spiritual way. But just as true and important as how sex can bring good, misuse of sex can bring bad. Any sexual activity outside the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman brings negative consequences.
God knows.
Because God knew that the misuse of sexual power would bring brokenness, He gave us something else. God gave Himself. God, who is 100% sinless. God, who knows the truth and is the truth. God, who knows what is right and does what is right every time in every way. God, who knows there will be people who distrust Him, rebel against Him, and ignore Him. God gave Himself to pay the price for all the sin, pain, brokenness and death. The best way for us to understand how God did this is with these words: God gave His one and only Son to suffer the penalty of every single person’s sin—sexual or otherwise. God’s Son suffered physically, as well as spiritually, in order to swallow up all the fury of God’s wrath which brings justice. And God did it because, though He knew we would cause so much agony and brokenness through our sin, His love for us has never wavered for an instant.
God loves.
If you have dealt with any of the consequences of sexual sin, just know that God loves you and has already taken care of everything necessary for you to be clean, forgiven, and in right relationship with Him forever. Just take His hand, turn away from sin, and times of refreshing will come.
Jesus came full of grace and truth. If we want to see an end to the pain and damage of abortion, we will commit ourselves to the truth and reality of God’s sexual ethic. If we want to see an end to the pain and damage of abortion we will commit ourselves to the grace of God first for others, but also for ourselves.
Thankful for God’s truth, and super thankful for God’s grace,
David