Introduction
*1 Timothy 4:12 “12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
People can have differing views on cleanliness cant they? Maybe you are the person who can’t concentrate in a messy room. You have to clean it up just to be able to work on homework! Or maybe you are the person that can live with a foot of dirty cloths, books, random piles of dirty dishes on the floor and not think twice about it. The first person would get queasy just walking into a room in that much disrepair. What kind of a person are you, neat freak, or messy?
In this session I really just want to graze the surface of what we will be talking about. I want to show you why it is so important that we gain God’s view of sex rather than learn about it from the wrong sources. This weekend we are going to be diving into the meaning of purity. We are focusing specifically on the topic of sexual purity. Yeah, go ahead and get your giggles out of the way now...
The world has given us its definition of sexual purity hasn’t it? Or has it? What do you think it means to be sexually pure? Not having sex before marriage? That used to be a good definition. But simply saying that comes up extremely short now days.
Who sets the standard for sex today?
Where do you learn the most about sex? In your sex ED class at school? Anymore you can and will learn more about it on your favorite TV shows, popular movies, the internet, and even secular radio.
Internet has to be the top 90% for all kids researching what sex is all about. What do you think you will find if you Google search that? Nothing your eyes were ever supposed to see!
What about popular TV shows? You can’t even look at the Vampire Diaries cover and tell me that they do not glamorize sex. How about the very first couple of episodes of “Glee”? A girl seduces a married man, students are having sex, and people are getting pregnant. It is hard to find any show where living together and having random sex partners is not only depicted, it is celebrated!
I really don’t even need to talk about popular movies!
What about radio? Talking about DEV: “Major labels are quickly realizing that sex-soaked female vocals over minimal “electro-hop” beats is a winning formula at radio and Universal is now getting behind their new signing.” - hollywoodreporter.com
Have you actually paid attention to what these songs are about? You would have to be deaf to not understand the explicit language that songwriters today are using. Just for example:
Dev: Dancing in the Dark (Lyrics were too explicit for me to talk about them here)
Kesha has a whole slew of songs that are specifically about sex. “Sleazy”, “Take It Off” for example.
Katy Perry, who is one of the more popular artists among teenagers, has the best of the worst. Her newest hit “Teenage Dream” speaks directly to what teenagers think about sex:
“Let's go all the way tonight, No regrets, just love, We can dance, until we die, You and I, will be young forever.”
What about Lady Gaga? Aside from her crazy costumes she sends a very strong message about homosexuality and just all around sex. Her song “Edge of Glory” speaks directly about taking a random person home and sleeping with them.
“There ain’t no reason you and me should be alone, Tonight, yeah baby, Tonight, yeah baby, I got a reason that you’re who should take me home tonight, I need a man that thinks it’s right when it’s so wrong, Tonight, yeah baby, Tonight, yeah baby, Right on the limits where we know we both belong tonight.”
We hear about all this in the mainstream, but how many of you have actually been taught something about sex at church? Not many. Why do you think that is? What do you typically hear about sex from your parents? If you have heard anything it probably starts out like this: “You better not ever, EVER!”, “Stay away from it!”, “Sex can ruin your life!”, “I have a shotgun young man.”
You mainly hear the negative about it don’t you? My wife would not even let her parents talk to her about it! For some of us, when our parents say “You better not…” you instantly wonder why. So you start to figure things out on your own. Most of the time taking into account what you see, and hear from sources that you like.
Be honest with me for a second, what gets more of your attention, a parent yelling at you to not do something, or a song on the radio, or TV show telling you that it’s fine? Of course nowadays there are parents who’s “sex” talk is simply handing their son a condom. Nothing is said about the seriousness of that kind of a relationship. In their defense, parents are normally just as freaked out to talk to you about sex as you are to talk to them.
What do the internet, TV shows, movies, and the radio say about sex? Don’t worry about it! Have fun! Enjoy yourself, just be safe. There are no regrets! When you hear that opposing your parents views of, “Get away from it”, “Don’t even think about it!”, which one sounds better to you?
The Attack on Purity
This statement may shake you up a bit, but God created sex to be an awesome thing. Think about that for a second. Here we are at church and I am telling you that sex is a good thing and that we are supposed to enjoy it. But as always we have to pay attention to context!
*Hebrews 13:4 “4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Honor the marriage bed. What does that mean? Honor means to cherish, respect, and protect. The marriage bed is a fancy way of not only talking about sex, but of defining its specific place between two married people! Do you think that the TV shows, movies, and radio songs that glorify sex are honoring the marriage bed? Why or why not?
What about the second part of that verse? “And let the marriage bed be undefiled.” What does that mean? How would you defile the marriage bed? By having sex before marriage? Absolutely. But it doesn’t stop there. We should not let anything come in and destroy its purity.
Excerpt from “Desire and Deceit”: “Unlike the marketing geniuses and advertising gurus, we do not believe that sexuality is intended as a ploy to get attention and to create consumer demand.” – Albert Mohler
I am not going to continue talking about this topic because Denise is going to do another session about it tomorrow.
*1 Timothy 4:12 “12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
How do you set that example when you are being pulled in 60 different directions and being told 60 different things? You have to get your eyes off of sex and put them on Christ.
Think about it this way; sex from a Christian perspective should not be as important as it is to a non-Christian. I am not saying that Christians should become monks and live in the mountains away from any possible temptation. Sex was created for a married couple to enjoy and keep on making little people. The focus for a Christian man or woman is not to sleep around and find fulfillment in as many people as they can, but it is to glorify God in everything they do. While sex is good, it should not become the idol that the American people have set it up to be.
Sex for a non-Christian is completely different. Honestly, our world portrays sex as being the end all be all to life the universe and everything. If you are still a virgin in High school you are seen as being an outcast. Instead of that being an admirable trait, it is a mockery. Sex is all encompassing and all important. It makes up everything that they want and cherish.
People sometimes treat it as being a legal drug. The only thing they think about is who has been with whom and how they can get with this or that person. That is a depressing way to go through life. If sex really was the end all be all of life, you would probably be disappointed. Sex is not the meaning of life people! God is.
After hearing all of this, what do you think? Is sex bad? Why, or why not?
Reclaiming God’s Gift of Sex
Why do you think that sex has been taken out of the context that God originally planned? It has been taken out of context because of the Fall and it will continue to be skewed in this way until Christ returns.
We desperately need to understand God’s view of sex because the world will only send you mixed signals. God wants us to be pure because sex within the purity of marriage is a wonderful thing. There is so much more of a blessing when you wait and do it the right way. The world will tell you to, “have it your way, now!” And the temporary satisfaction and fulfillment they promise will lead to a lifetime of regret.
This is why we are taking a weekend to study this. So that you will be better prepared to face whatever lies the world pushes at you. So that you will be able to stand strong and set the example in purity.
