Passion supposedly not approved by Christ

Men, it is not a mistake that you have a penis. Women, it is not a mistake that you have a vagina. The fact that you use them for more than practical purposes is totally normal.

I’m sure you already know that. It’s kind of a no-brainer. But when was the last time anyone in or from a Christian background said anything along those lines?

Logic seems to go out the door when they’re trying to make a statement.

Well, I’m a college student who identifies as a Christian. And I’d like to clear the air a little bit. You have sexual organs for a reason. They serve a really cool purpose.

Human beings are instinctively aware of this. Modern society promotes it. But traditional Christians, unfortunately, do everything they can to not talk about it.

If a traditional Christian is willing to talk about sex, they’re only willing to talk about the things you’re not allowed to do with it – like sleeping around, watching porn or raping people.

Sure, that’s relevant stuff to cover. But it’s a downer, too.

What about intimacy? What about pleasure? What about exclusive benefits and all of the positive things?

Mainstream preachers and off-the-mark Bible-thumpers kind of forget that King Solomon writes a pornographic love poem to his young wife, I guess. They forget that both men and women all over the Bible use their sexual advantages and disadvantages for better or worse.

You’ve been told not to have sex before marriage. You’ve been told not to have sex with your own gender. You’ve been told not to have sex with animals.

It’s all given out of context, though.

Most Christians are so determined to keep your sheets clean (and not their own) they forget about everything else in scripture.

Most human beings can agree that banging animals isn’t the best idea.

Waiting to be hitched in order to have sex or completely avoiding sexual satisfaction by your own gender is a completely different story. There is no common-sense explanation that suggests otherwise.

There is, however, a significant faith explanation. There is a significant difference in how society at large perceives sex and how most Christians perceive sex.

What traditional Christians do wrong is what honest Christians have been trying to effectively do for years. 

The former teaches bad theology and the latter tries to clarify the good.

Honest Christians talk about the positive aspects of sex. They clearly define their own perspective and live by example, using their actions as conviction on others.

Honest Christians subtly fight to convert an ideology. Traditional Christians do the exact opposite.

You see, everything a Christian bases their sexual beliefs on is found in scripture. Scripture is intended to help Christians have a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you do not believe that Jesus Christ was a real man and is God’s human son, a savior for all of mankind, then what a Christian has to say about sex means absolutely nothing.

If God doesn’t exist, there will be no judgment for controversial sex practices.

Because of this, Christians need to stop condemning others for said sexual practices and explain the Gospel first.

Christians need to make sure the person they are correcting believes God made men and women in his image.

They need to believe in foundational things, like God’s relationship with mankind and the fact that said relationship was not originally flawed.

Those being corrected need to believe that God sent his son as a living sacrifice, who died and rose again, to repair a relationship that was broken by rebellious men and women.

They need to believe that Jesus had a lot to say about how to live like he did, how to maintain a repaired relationship with God, and to ultimately take advantage of eternity. Those being corrected need to understand and accept this stuff at face value.

Once the person a Christian is talking to is tracking with the story of Jesus Christ and somewhat believes it, the Christian can explain what he or she has to say about sex.

A Christian can say things like Portland pastor John Mark Comer who defines sex, in his book Loveology, as an activity described in Genesis by the Hebrew word Echad.

Echad means “fused together at the deepest levels” or “one flesh.” Comer argues that sex is the bonding of two people into one entity.

A Christian can insist the constant defusing of one entity is not only unbiblical, but unhealthy; mentally, physically and spiritually.

This leads to a uniquely different and arguably more pure perspective of sex than what culture as a whole defines it.

This perspective, a genuinely Christian worldview, can be explained and understood this way.

From there, a Christian can elaborate on the fact their view on sex intensifies the relationship because, through the institution of marriage, sex is given to one person through a mutually exclusive promise.

A Christian can elaborate on the fact that this singular entity becomes stronger. They can vouch for the blessings and the joy that comes with sex that is intimate and exclusive.

From this example, you can see that Christians need to live out the Gospel they preach before they present the sex follow-up speech they have to offer.

When Christ died and rose again, there is scripture that states it is his follower’s responsibility to go out into the world and proclaim his name. They are supposed to live the way he lived and take his teachings to heart.

Nowhere does he teach that it is his follower’s job to condemn those who sin and be the person that changes what they are doing wrong.

Christians are designed to go out and love. Christians are designed to live like Jesus. Christians are designed to introduce nonbelievers to grace and hold believers accountable.

It’s that simple.

God is supposed to do the rest.

One-thousand words can’t summarize a topic that has countless books dedicated to it. But 1,000 words can start a conversation.

Christian readers, take to heart this message. Let your words be soft. Be a teacher, not a judge.

Sex advocates; take to heart this message as well. Be skeptical, but also remain teachable. Be patient with those who judge you. Demand them to be a teacher instead. Don’t take anything less. People of faith, speak up. People who don’t want to listen, argue.

Challenge this physical passion that is sex; this passion too many people assume is not accepted or tolerated by Christ.