The past several years have witnessed one after another report about child sexual abuse. The scandal in the Roman Catholic Church affected scores of thousands of children. It has resulted in the disciplining and, in some cases, conviction of priests and has cost the Church multiple millions of dollars. The Penn State scandal has left a permanent mark on at least eight young men, not to mention one of the State’s proud universities and several of its top leaders.

Sexual abuse ruins lives. Sexual libertinism may not ruin lives, but it is certainly leaving a lot of people disillusioned and many despairing of ever finding a meaningful, life-long relationship.

How should Christians respond to the ruinous effects of the sexual revolution? With compassion, to be sure. No amount of finger-wagging and naysaying is going to heal those whose lives have been ravaged and ruined by sexual adventurism or abuse. What such people need, at the very least, is love and acceptance within a community where they are able to experience and learn relationships grounded in the love of Christ.

The Christian community must step forward to heal those whose lives are battered and broken because of sexual sin. We need to model the kind of sexual purity and wholesomeness the Scriptures command, and to provide the watching world with a completely different vision of the meaning of “good sex.”

We need to teach our children and help them learn, from their earliest years to the day they head off to college, that the Word of the Lord can be trusted here, as in everything else. If the Church remains silent on the matter of sexual ethics, how will our young people resist the powerful voices of sexual libertinism that are coming at them daily?

Finally, we must carry out the demands of love toward those within our own community who have lost their way sexually, or who are pushing the envelope of what any community of Christ-followers ought to permit. With some, we will need to be firm and uncompromising; with others, understanding and forgiving; with all, loving, patient, and pointing to Jesus as the only way to lasting and transforming righteousness.

We can’t simply give in to the sexual revolution. Too many lives have been ruined, and too many dreams have been dashed. God has the answers for a wholesome, fulfilling, and mutually edifying sexuality. But we need to be raising the questions and filling in the blanks, showing others the right way to know God’s good and perfect will in this important area of human life.

Resources for this topic:

Order the book, Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship, & Life Together, by Mark Driscoll.

Here are some resources to help you understand the Biblical teaching about sex:

Charles Colson, “Changing the Rules: The Sexual Revolution and Sexual Attitudes”
Charles Colson, “Suffer the Little Children”
Charles Colson, “The Sexual Revolution: Did It Really Set Women Free?”
Jim Kushiner and Judith Reisman, “The War WeLost” and “What is to Be Done?”
David Mills, “Fantasy Islands: Margaret Mead’s False Paradise”
T. M. Moore, “Sexual Deviation”
T. M. Moore, “Hating Sin”

Next steps:

Here are some activities to help get you involved in restoring a Biblical view of sex:

1. How is your church helping parents to prepare their children for lives of sexual purity? Talk with a few of your church leaders. See what you can find out. Encourage them to check out some of the resources in this Talking Points column.
2. Are they churches in your community doing anything together to help victims of sexual abuse, abandonment, or adventurism? See what you can find out. Is there a place for you to plug in to any efforts in your community?
3. Email today’s Talking Points column to several Christian friends. Challenge them to read some of the resources, watch the "Two-Minute Warning," and take on one of the activities.

A conversation starter

Here’s a conversation starter to begin a discussion on the church’s role in healing the brokenness of sexual sin: “Do you think our church is doing as much as it should to help turn back the sexual revolution?”

 PRINT

 RSS

EMAIL