What’s a Body to Do?
What’s a Body to Do?
The church body that is. Teaching biblical sexual ethics is an important step in curbing abortion. In previous articles, we have noted that biblical sexual ethics, if applied, would end abortion among the unmarried. The vast majority of abortions, around 85%, take place among the unmarried. The code of popular culture says sexual intercourse among the unmarried is acceptable. What is often not stated is a mind-numbing follow-up assumption. It says if an unwanted pregnancy results, abortion is a neutral means of birth control. Nothing is said about taking a human life.
How can the church promote the positive aspects of sexual purity as an antidote to abortion? Christ-centered churches that do not redefine Scripture to accommodate culture do a good job of standing firm for sexual purity. They do not operate on the delusion that their church family can change all of society. They do know that reaching people one by one will spare them the pain and guilt of abortion. It will make a difference.
How can we do it better? One of the complicating factors we face is caring for those who have already chosen abortion. So many before coming to Christ have sinned without any knowledge of God’s will. Others with a Christian background were spiritual infants who made sinful decisions due to their spiritual immaturity. Still others, mature Christians, have made out-of-character choices, caving to temptations to have extramarital sex.
No one is exempt from sin, and we must always seek to either inform or restore people with compassion. Sex apart from marriage is not unforgivable, nor is abortion. We must help people know a stand for sexual purity is not a condemning stand for anyone who repents from past sin. Christ takes negative life events and uses them for good if anyone turns to support his truth in the present. Finding the balance between uncompromising passion for moral truth and sensitivity to someone’s personal history is not easy. Yet we must do so without compromise.
With that in mind, how can we do better at helping people buy into the wisdom of biblical sexual ethics? This is the work of a lifetime in every church body. I do not have all the answers, but I offer a couple of suggestions for consideration.
First, encourage your church leaders to do regular critical evaluations of how the church is teaching biblical sexual ethics. I know from my own past experience as a minister how easy it is to get overwhelmed in the multi-faceted aspects of church life. We can be floundering in one area and not realize it. Scheduled periodic evaluation about whether, or how effectively, we teach biblical sexual ethics can help get us on track.
Each church will develop its own strategy for age-specific instruction, and for the frequency of workshops and classes. Preachers will develop their own strategies for when and how to include sexual ethics in sermon plans for the year. But busyness makes time seem to evaporate. I was amazed at how often I would think I just spoke on a particular topic a year or two ago, only to discover it had been five! If new people are coming into our church, we can’t wait five years before leading them to discover Christ’s plan for sexual health. Let’s encourage our leaders to regularly evaluate our effectiveness in teaching sexual ethics. An honest appraisal by strong leaders will lead them to generate good strategic plans.
Second, we must not let popular culture intimidate us from openly saying sex apart from marriage is a sin. It misses God’s target for our lives. People need to know what is right, but they also need to know what is wrong in God’s eyes.
Moreover, we must point out the positive nature of biblical prohibitions. Every negative command in Scripture escorts us to a wonderful range of freedoms. When people choose to abstain from sex outside of marriage, they are free to do what is right; free to respect the opposite sex in more satisfying ways than simply as objects for uncontrolled passion; free from contracting sexually transmitted diseases; free for both sexes to skirt the relational quagmire of unwanted pregnancy; free to see conception as the majestic moment when the completed genetic code marks the existence of a new person; and free from having to make a choice about abortion. Most of all, it frees people to please God.