Sin, sex and salvation

by Ian Adnams

We are all born spiritually broken and deserving death. Our soul’s natural state is one that is cut off from God. We neither have the desire to seek Him nor follow Him. In this state of sin, with a broken relationship with our creator, He seeks us, taking the initiative to heal the broken connection yet at the same time understanding that our natural, inborn inclination is to tug at that connection.

In baptism He draws us back into His family as our sinful state is drowned, washed away, and our souls are once more connected to our heavenly Father. Our works have nothing to do with this. It is a gift, fashioned by God through the actions of His son, Jesus who lived the sinless life that is impossible for us, took our ultimate punishment—death—upon himself paying for our sins, yet conquering the finality of the grave in His glorious resurrection. We are therefore saved from the punishment of sin and live with the promise of eternal life with God when we die.

But life still goes on. As Luther so perceptively noted, we are at the same time saint, a redeemed member of God’s family, and sinner, one still struggling to overcome our natural rebellious nature. Paul wrote about the ongoing battle between doing what he knew was wrong and at the same time wanting to do what was right. He writes about the sin that is still part of him and that he hates. The fact we still sin does not change the relationship with God; it means we must however flee to Him constantly for forgiveness and mercy.

The Ten Commandments set down the ideal

Each person sins, engaging in actions, attitudes and behaviour that fail to meet God’s standards. To understand sin is to appreciate God’s grace. He doesn’t kick us out of the family because we sin. He gently and persistently calls us back to Himself, offering forgiveness. He knows how we are; He made us! The apostle John puts it so well…and here I paraphrase: if we say we don’t sin, we are crazy or blinded or both because the truth is that we do and always will! But Paul also cautions us about ongoing sin and refusing to turn away from it. He tells us that God’s grace is so amazing He will always forgive us. Then he says we shouldn’t continue in sin just because we know God forgives. We should allow God’s Spirit to work repentance in our hearts.

But who defines sin? Our society doesn’t like or really understand the word. As a Sunday school child I learned sin is doing what we know to be wrong and not doing what we know to be right. How do we know? The benchmark is God’s words found in the Bible. The Ten Commandments set down the ideal. And Jesus reminds about the law of love—that we should love our neighbour as ourselves. There is no way we can keep the Ten Commandments therefore we are always falling short of God’s ideal.

We currently live the aluminum foil standard

We live in a self-centred culture—another hallmark of our broken relationship with God. The mantra “if it feels good, do it” extends to every part of life, including sex. God’s ideal is that sexual expression is reserved for the holy estate of marriage between one man and one woman for life. That is the gold standard. Unfortunately, we currently live the aluminum foil standard—flexible, shiny on one side and once used, disposable.

If something doesn’t reach God’s standard, the ideal, it is sin. Neither sex before marriage, sex in a common-law relationship or same gender sexual activity are God’s ideal. (There was a time when unmarried couples living together was called “living in sin!”)

Do these things happen, even among Christians? Yes.

So how does God feel about this failure to meet His standard? First, He knows it happens. His Word says that everyone sins and falls short of His standard.

Does He like it? No.

Does He hate you because of it? No.

Is He willing to forgive you? Yes.

Does He expect you to keep doing the same thing? No.

Some Christians are uncomfortable about sin, repentance and forgiveness when it comes to sex. They often cite the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery, recalling how He “accepted” her and stood up to those who condemned her. But they don’t recall the part where He told her to “go and leave your sin behind.” In other words, stop messing around with men who aren’t your husband. It’s a two-part equation. God forgives; now stop what you’re doing. And those are very hard words for some to hear.

Following Jesus means giving up anything that comes between us and God.

Natural appetites, including our sexual drive, can be relentless, even controlling, whether it is a heterosexual or homosexual attraction. But God asks that we strive to live His ideal, not give in to temptation and sinful actions. He also knows it’s something we can’t do ourselves. So He gives us His Sacraments: confession and absolution; His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper to strengthen our faith and help us understand just how much He loves us. Then, through His Word, the Holy Spirit builds our understanding of God’s standards, our natural failure to keep them, and then tells of His wondrous love and forgiveness—His gifts to us despite our sinfulness.

Sexuality is entwined with who we are. But the truth is that our natural self remains at odds with God. Our natural inclinations are not His ideal. This truth gives a deeper meaning to Jesus’ injunction to deny ourselves (with all our natural anti-God attitudes and actions); take up our cross (sacrifice them to God’s mercy and love); and follow Him. Following Jesus means giving up anything that comes between us and God.

Is it easy? No.

Are we left to our own resources to make it happen? No!

Does God still accept me as His child when I goof up? Yes…you are His child because He says so. He called you into His family through baptism.

Does Jesus condemn you? No…He came into the world to save the world, not condemn it.

Now…go and leave your sin behind.

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