Is Sex Evil?

I've come to this conclusion in my mind that sex is evil, and that giving into sex is giving into the body instead of the soul. Then I realized that God made us sexual beings and said it is okay to have sex in the confines of your marriage. I know it is essential for single Christians to lead celibate lives before marriage, but how far does that go and does that even include masturbation (wouldn't that involve lustful thoughts at times?) Sometimes I think it does, but then I wonder how Christians who never get married or lose a spouse and never re-marry get by. Do they become asexual for life in the sense that they ignore that temptation for good? I'm wondering because I have convinced myself that sex is an evil, but I often forget that sex in marriage is okay.

Sex outside of marriage and promiscuity is bad news, indeed. There is no question there. I guess it only refers to masturbation, as awkward a topic as that is.

I believe that the real reason God laid down the law against promiscuity and premarital sex is to prevent a world full of fatherless children. Back then there really wasn't anything in the way of birth control.
The law about not sleeping with prostitutes has a different reason (defiling your body which is a temple to the holy spirit).

Note, I'm not saying that it is ok now that there is birth control.

Sex is a natural act within human beings that is blessed holy and righteous within the confines of a marriage when Jesus was on the earth, he did say that if you even look upon someone to lust (willful mind and thought activity) you are guilty of sin. Struggling with sexual desires is not a sin. Some people struggle more than others. But God's teaches us than we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so as you submit to the word of God that blesses intercourse in the confines of a marriage; you could find that the intensity of the battle may change, though for some it never leaves (shrug). But that is also ok, because God also made provision for that. When Paul had some issue troubling him and he expected God to remove it, God told him His grace was sufficient. So while anyone battle with his/her desires as they submit to the word of God, His grace will be sufficient.

Sex is a gift to share God's love in a special way. Because of how it operates, it requires a person of the opposite sex and a lifetime commitment. If you don't do it that way, you don't use that gift, and don't show love that way. You can use it wrongly, just for fun, but that is sin.

Compare musical talent. It is an ability to communicate the love of God in worship. It requires a commitment to a church, and certain training and practice. If you don't do those things, you don't use that gift, and don't show love that way. You can use it wrongly, to aid drunkenness in bars, but that is sin.

The same applies to any gift. God is a God of abundance. We all have many gifts we don't get around to using, or only use for part of our lives.

Interesting, and I never thought of music that way. Do you think any music other than worship music should be avoided, or only music with dark messages? It is clear how music can drive people to sin. Where is that line drawn?

Not if its used in the confines of marriage as God has commanded! But sad to say with the great epidemic of sexual addictions in the church, many who profess Christ have made this beautiful gift from God into a perverse act of the flesh!

I don't know where to turn!

Mat 13:15 for this people's heart has become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."
I just can’t imagine just how deep the sexual addictions are of those who profess Christ, and as a struggling addict for over 30 years, and being told I was ok, and going to heaven because God doesn’t care about my addiction, but more that I just believe in His son, who repented for me, took my wrath, and became my righteous substitute, so I can be assured all is well, even though every word of God says otherwise!
Here is one of many, many sad examples of what the false, liberal gospel is producing today:
Quote:
I'm a pastor who's addicted to Internet pornography, and I don't know where to turn.
Question
After months of trying to convince myself that I don't really have a problem, I've finally come to the point of realizing that I'm addicted to Internet pornography. What makes my case especially painful and shameful is that I'm a pastor of a local church. If anyone were to find out, my ministry would be destroyed. I don't know where to turn or who to talk to. Can you help me?
Here we have a supposed man of God, who is a leader of a flock, and is asking for help with his vile addiction, which proves he is under the strong delusion, and totally ignorant of biblical truth!
This is very painful for me to read as he was trying to convince himself he didn’t have a problem! And how did he come to this conclusion? Because he has been taught and probably teaches the saved In sin false gospel, promising him liberty while he is still in his unregenerate carnal mind! He may have been told from the beginning that he was born a sinner, and that Jesus took his place and wrath, so you can live as the devil, worship the devil, and be totally vile in your heart and ok with God!
He then goes on to say, if anyone finds out his ministry would be destroyed, what hypocrisy! He is more worried what his congregation will think over what God thinks! What a mess this is, a man who is head of a church, addicted to lust, but has no conscience as to what God thinks, only concern for him is losing his job, but no worries he can never lose his soul!
The word of God says otherwise:
Eph 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Eph 4:19 For they, being past feeling, have given themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Rom 6:13 Do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield yourselves to God, as one alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Rom 2:8 But to those who indeed disobeying the truth out of self-seeking, and obeying unrighteousness, will be anger and wrath,
Rom 2:9 tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man who has worked out evil; of the Jew first, and also of the Greek.

1Co 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers, nor homosexuals,
1Co 6:10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
2Pe 2:10 and especially those who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise dominion. They are darers, self-pleasing; not trembling at glories, speaking evil.
Eph 5:5 For you know this, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous one (who is an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Just a few verses warning of the dangers of this addiction, that are totally ignored by the professing Christian world, bent on a deception so strong, that the only hope for them is covered by a system of errors leaving the defiled still defiled, and unable to break free of their bondage!
Now the advice that was given to this so called man of God was to seek out a good counselor, and have peace because God understands your addiction, because you were saved in the act, and continuing the act has no bearing on your eternal destiny!
Can you see just how far off the mark professing Christianity is today? And how the poor sinner, born in sin excuse, leads to spiritual death! Man is not responsible for His actions, God understands, and in time he may come clean, but in reality will be a slave to his flesh as he has absolutely no fear of God, nor any real concept of biblical repentance!
But why don’t they listen to Jesus when He boldly proclaimed:
DEPART FROM INIQUITY!
GO AND SIN NO MORE!
FLEE SEXUAL IMMORALITY!
LET THERE NOT EVEN BE A HINT OF IMMORALITY BETWEEN THE SAINTS OF GOD!
THE UNRIGHTEOUS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
REPENT OR PERISH!
LAY ASIDE ALL FILTHYNESS AND OVERFLOW OF WICKEDNESS!
KEEP YOURSELF IN THE LOVE OF GOD!
PUT THE AX TO THE ROOT!
COUNT THE COST!
BE YE PERFECT IN HEART AND MIND!
CUT AND PLUCK IT OFF AND OUT!
BE HOLY!
OBEY MY COMMANDS!
STRIVE TO ENTER THE KINGDOM!
CLEANSE YOURSELF, MAKE YOURSELF PURE!
I could go on, but you get my point here, I just hope and pray those who are caught up in this heinous addiction, realize they are in great danger of losing their soul, they are worshiping at the altar of satan every time they indulge themselves in this vile addiction, they have opened their soul to the most dark and perverse works of the devil, where simple counseling, or a focus group will do nothing but pacify their dead conscience, keeping the old man alive, but thinking they are safe, because they really don’t have to stop as commanded, they just have to make a small effort to hopefully do it less, because they are just a wretched sinner, saved by a foreign grace telling them God allows this vile behavior because Jesus covers them when they stumble into willful rebellion against Him!
The sad fact is that this is the normal behavior accepted far and wide by the professing Church, where repentance is replaced with counseling, holiness is replaced with profane addictions, purity is replaced with defilement, and anyone who comes along and tells them to repent or lose their soul, is evil, judgmental, hateful, unloving, and cast away as a heretic!
The great apostle Paul would not be welcomed in these liberal apostate churches, since they preach a different gospel, and could care less what Jesus and His apostles along with the early church and prophets taught about purity, and abstaining from sexual sin!
Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he also will reap.
Gal 6:8 For he sowing to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh. But he sowing to the Spirit will reap life everlasting from the Spirit.
Why not tell this poor soul along with the other multitude of pastors and professed Christians to repent as commanded:
Biblical repentance
2 Corinthians 7:10-11
[SUP]10 [/SUP]For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. [SUP]11 [/SUP]For observe this very thing that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear(pure) in this matter.
The way to the cross, is godly sorrow, not the sorrow of the world. Godly sorrow produces repentance (stopping the sin) leading to what? Salvation! Never going back to the sins of death, 1 Corinthians 6-9-11.
The sorrow of the world, leads to death, since the sin never stops, so then godly sorrow will produce: diligence in you,(the virtue of hard work rather than the sin of carelessness,) clearing of all wrong doing, what indignation(strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insulting, or base; righteous anger.)Followed by fear of God and His wrath, a vehement desire(Characterized by forcefulness of expression or intensity of emotion or conviction; fervid) a zeal and passion to do right and make amends if possible, what vindication(a means of exoneration from an accusation) you proved yourself to be clear(pure)of all known sin and disobedience before God.
This happens before forgiveness will be granted, because we have free will and ability, to repent, stop the sin, and obey God from a pure and undefiled heart, thus becoming savable, and broken, ready to receive the implanted word with a clean conscience, purified through repentance and faith proven by deeds!
Tommy

Isn't sex outside marriage (or even masturbation with its lustful thoughts and selfish desires) sins, just like any other sin? Its funny how people like to isolate a sin away from other sins and think it should be treated differently because they struggle with it. People have to deal with sexual sins the same way they do all other sins their tempted into. Sexual sin isn't different. Its a temptation that we have to fight off. Just like knocking your really loud and obnoxious neighbors head off, or not flipping off at cussing at that guy that cut you off on the long drive home. Or any other multitude of sins. Why should sexual sins be 'more allowable'? Isn't sin sin?
We only question the true badness of the sins we struggle most with. We want to find that loophole or excuse to make it not so bad, or ok, to justify wanting to give in. But it doesn't work that way, wrong is wrong, period.

No, I exaggerated a little to set up the dividing line. Sex outside marriage is a sin; sex inside marriage is not. The dividing line is very narrow, about the width of a solemn vow made in words, and very easily applied. Music that encourages drunkeness is a sin, worship music is not. The dividing line is much wider, like as wide as an ocean, and much harder to apply. I personally certainly don't think listening to the radio while you work, singing and dancing for fun at a party, going to concerts (absent doing drugs), or anything of that kind is sinful, but it's not worship music either. My point was to note the similarities between a gift we all know a lot about (music) and a gift we tend not to talk about enough to understand God's point of view (sex).

To answer your question about dividing lines, is sex that kills the partner wrong (yes there is such a thing, and there are those who claim the sex is not, but the non-consentual killing is)? Is it wrong to do worship music with instruments, or too much emotional feeling? (I have been involved in lengthy discussions at CC with people who claim both are sinful)?

I would tell you to ask the "Shakers" what happens when a people stop having sex, but the last one died 2 years ago.

Sister June Carpenter, Brother Arnold Hadd, and Sister Frances Carr will all be very surprised to hear this as they are still very much alive and running the tiny Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake Maine. They are still taking new recruits

I am sure the New York Lebanon shakers have all passed away. Are you sure they are blood Shakers?

There's only one shaker community left in the United States. Those three are the last remaining shakers in the United States so obviously are in Sabbathday Lake Maine.

I've never even heard of a blood shaker so you'll have to tell me exactly what that is.

By blood Shaker I mean from the original founders of the Shakers.

Just like there are Jewish People by blood line/genetics and some Jewish folks are recruits.

OIC. Well, I don't know. Seems unlikely given only three are left.

Warning! Notice! Adviso!

This was written tongue in cheek for submission to a men's magazine. While I do not stand behind all of the theology expressed, I'll say there is a word of truth in it.

The Sexuality of God


Ok, I’m not gonna dictate chapter and verse, just accept that I’ve spent my entire life and three years in Bible College getting to know God, His Son Jesus, and The Holy Spirit. I love and adore them dearly, but being a hormonally challenged human male I have overpowering fleshly desires as well. Desires I’ve pursued at times just as fiercely. One day, being tired of the guilt brought upon me by their assumed conflict, I sought to see how the sexual and spiritual worlds might instead fit together. Let me share with you another perspective…

The first thing I’m gong to do when I get to Heaven (ok the second) is to seek out Adam. What the hell he was thinking, eating that apple? Remember now - he was created naked, and woman likewise, and they ran around for God knows how long that way. It wasn’t until he ate that apple that they thought it was odd to be naked and covered up. (Please note that it took both of them. One simple rule, just don’t do this, and what does woman do? Initiate something we men then take responsibility for). But really, Adam, man, talk about blowin’ it in Biblical proportions. If you hadn’t eaten that apple, Maxim could print pictures of women who are actually naked. And I’d be hanging out at the mall riding crowded elevators.

Then there’s the human body. God made it. All of it. Yeah, everything. Even that. And these. And here, and there, and this little spot way under … giggle … All those wonderful nerve endings ... His design. Those organs, hormones and neural pathways, all with the sole purpose of making you want to become one with others … His design. Born naked ... His design.

What else? Biblically, when you “make two into one”, wink wink, that one you are now one with, you are now responsible to, eternally. Pause and listen. In God, we are now one, and those ones we are now one with, we are responsible to, eternally. Do I hear an echo, see a shadow, are we spooning…? It is that ‘making one flesh’ connection that establishes a “spousal” relationship. But - despite all that most preaching I’ve heard says, you’re not denied more than one spouse. Many of the Bible’s male characters had several. No, I don’t find just one, I find that once you take one, you are eternally responsible to each other, being one and all. Now, caveat for accuracy, I find He does limit a small number of upper level officers in His church to one spouse, and even a smaller number to none; but face it, that’s beyond you, me, anyone reading this, and obviously the Catholic Priesthood. Abstinence … what the hell are they thinking?

Ok, you do the math. We were born, no, created to be naked; and we were born, no, created to become one with each other. “One”ness is achieved thru both spiritual and physical intercourse. Maybe God’s big enough to create the ultimate sexual experience? Yeah, that eternal responsibility thing could be seen as a bummer, but really, what’s wrong with pulling together after, ahem, pulling together?

Sex was God’s idea, but some snake jacked it and we’ve been screwed ever since.

i have been celibate for more then five years now. And i will continue that way until i die, or He comes for me.

Nowhere in all of Scriptures does it teach masturbation is sinful. If you lust to masturbate than that is indeed a sinful. Not the masturbating, but the lusting. Many people in this generation thinks that it is impossible to masturbate without lusting, for them that may be the case. But it is 100% possible to masturbate without lusting, the problem is, too many people in this generation are selfish, and are not willing to do what is needed in order to masturbate without lusting. What is needed is to go a long period of time without masturbating. For example if a person goes 3 weeks or more without masturbating at all, they can achieve the desired goal of masturbation by merely washing themselves in the shower while singing the national anthem, in which they did not lust at all, therefore committing no sin whatsoever. But how many in this wicked selfish generation are willing to go without for any length of time, in order to achieve masturbation without lusting? Few, very few.

^i^

I have wanted to post that for several weeks, as that is what the Scriptures imply. I thought I would get a lot of flack for it, but your post has been up 9 hours now, and no one has attacked it.

But I do not advocating singing the American National anthem in the shower. It speaks of war and it ruins your singing voice.

Goggle "Epididymal Hypertension"

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philemon 1:3, NIV)

The following I say in a worldly manner. I say it to faithful Christians, who can digest meat already, who do not still need milk to feed themselves.

In my humble opinion, I agree with ugly, that extramaritial sexual behaviour might be sin as other dangerous behaviours are. It is as sinful for example as overtaking another car in a unsave manner or driving with too little distance from the car ahead. To both the most vulnerable is the youth, because of their lack or scarcety of knowledge about life and themselves! So, be more careful, if you are young!

In all the above situations you might risk others' or your own life.

One can minimize the risk of sexual behaviour to avoid the transmission of illnesses for example. Not many people renounce driving at all, because of the risk. People can minimize the risk of driving by behaving carefully. But by no means we can minimize the risk to 0%! Life remains risky no matter how save we try to live. Though sometimes, if we want to save our life, we lose it.

Sex is no sin, if it does not harm anybody. But, to renounce sex forever or for a time period is better, if one can bear it.