Good Sex Wrap Up

Yesterday, I finished up a 4-part series at Delta called "Good Sex Revolution."  The main point of the series was to champion a biblical view of our sexuality...mainly, that sex is something holy.

'Sex Is Holy' was the theme for the first week of the series.  In a culture where sex is cheap and truthfully, animalistic, when we look at what God has to say about sex we see that when you combine the God-design of sex, the longing of connection that sex illustrates, the intense pleasure that sex brings, and the celebration and creation of life that sex produces, you get something...holy.

In week 2, the title of "Foxes Aren't Sexy."  In Song of Solomon chapter 2, Solomon's Love urges him to "catch the foxes" - those things that can enter our lives, relationships, and sexuality that brings ruin.  We identified 3 breeds of foxes: selfishness, fear, and immorality.  We also discovered how God's pure love shown to us through Jesus is the only thing that can really kill a fox.

The third week was specifically given our singles - "It's Sexy Being Single."  The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 paints a big, beautiful picture for single people; communicating that a single person has the opportunity to have "undivided devotion to the Lord" that married people don't have.  Singleness, then, is actually a tremendous gift to take enjoyment in and advantage of.

In the final week, our playful title was "Married People Should Have Sex."  We spoke of what marriage is, and how sex is to be enjoyed in a marriage covenant.  Again, Solomon and his Love gave us a great example of an erotic, loving, marriage steeped in sexuality as they mutually and selflessly gave themselves to each other to fully enjoy - freely and frequently!

Needless to say, the Good Sex Revolution sparked some interest in people and thankfully, gave people a biblical vision for how great the gift of sex is.  Even though the series is now over, I believe that the Good Sex Revolution is actually just beginning!

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What is the Kingdom of God?

"Kingdoms" aren't something that we in the West really understand.  In fact, fleeing from a kingdom is what got our country started in the first place.  But throughout history, monarchys were commonplace.  When Jesus began his public ministry, one of his more famous lines was "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17 - side note: "kingdom of God" and "kingdom of heaven" are interchangable).

Here are some basics about kingdoms:

1) Kingdoms have Kings.  The King soveriegnly rules over his kingdom.  His word is law.  He establishes the way of life for people.

2) Kingdoms have subjects.  Subjects are the people who live in the kingdom.  While they are ruled over soveriegnly, the subjects still have the choice to follow and obey the king.  Disobedience leads to consequences and discipline.

3) Kingdoms have a certain way of life.  As stated earlier, this is set by the king.  If the king is harsh, the way of life will be oppressed (think about the king from the movie "Braveheart").  If the king is kind, the way of life will be joyful (think "Camelot" and King Arthur).

Now, regarding God, scripture is clear that He is the sovereign King over all creation (Psalm 103:19; 2 Samuel 7:28; 1 Chronicles 29:10-13; Philippians 2:10-11; Colossians 1:15-20; Revelation 1:5).  When Jesus came to earth and began His ministry, by Him proclaiming that the "kingdom of God (heaven) has come near", he's in essence saying that for the first time in history, people will actually be able to see how the Kingdom of God was meant to be lived out.  This "kingdom living" was taught by Jesus in his most famous teaching, the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7.  Basically, Jesus teaches us and models for us how kingdom living upside-down from the way the secular world lives, and upside-down from how legalistic religous people live.  Jesus continually says that the condition of a person's heart is what truly matters, for from  the heart is where the motivation for living comes from.

So, in "kingdom living", the following are markers:

-Jesus is King.  He is who we follow, submit to, and seek to become like.

-Rules are followed for rules' sake, but for the sake of love for the King.

-People aren't viewed as objects or means to an end, but are valued for their being made in the image of God.

-Sex & Marriage aren't treated lightly or selfishly, but held in honor.

-Love and Charity aren't acts demanding recognition or fuel for future favors, but given freely and joyfully for the benefit of God and other people.

-Money & Work aren't the source for identity and success, but money is viewed as a tool to expand God's kingdom and to be given away freely...work becomes the means by which we reflect God's image and influence our world for the Kingdom.

The list can go on.  But the point is that the Kingdom of God is different than the kingdom of man, for the main fuel for living in the Kingdom of God is love for the King, not getting ahead of others in the kingdom.

And one last note...the Kingdom of God, one day, will be very tangible.  Revelation 21 shows us that when Jesus returns and once and for all does away with all sin, death, & suffering, there will be a new city christened - New Jerusalem.  God Himself will reside there, along with His followers, in His direct presence.  We will feast with all the saints of history at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  Now we see through a glass darkly, but then we will see Him face to face.

What Is Salvation?

What do people get "saved" from?  Usually life-threatening situations.  Lifeguards have jobs because people who don't swim well begin to drown and need saving.  Firemen regularly rush into burning buildings to save people.  The issue that makes "salvation" difficult for people is that most people don't see that their lives are in danger.

What we need to be saved from is sin (please refer to my previous post on What Is Sin?).  What is the effect of sin though?  According to Romans, sin causes death - not necessarily the stop breathing, no brain waves type of death; but spiritual death...being eternally separated from the presence of God and spending eternity in anguish and regret.  Not exactly a nice walk in the park on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Too often, salvation gets reduced to banking on some kind of spiritual/church heritage of your family, praying some prayer as a kid because the pastor freaked you out because he told you about Hell and you didn't want to go there, or raising your hand and walking some aisle during a church service because you ended up having some spiritually charged emotional experience.

So what exactly is salvation?  The first thing we need to start with is God.  Salvation starts (and ends) with Him.  Jonah 2:9 declares clearly that "Salvation belongs to God."  Jesus plainly said in Luke 19:20 that his mission was to "seek and save the lost." Paul writes to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 2 that Christ "made us alive in Him" and "raised us up and seated us with Him" and saved us "by His grace"; and to make sure we get the point, Paul also writes "And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God."  The point is that we need to understand that it is God who saves sinners.  It is God who makes spiritually dead people spiritually alive.

Theologically, there are 3 aspects to our salvation:

1) We are justified.  Being justified has to do with our standing before God.  Because of Jesus' finished work on the cross and our faith in the Person and Work of Jesus, we can stand before God holy - cleansed of our sin.  This is a one-time event that only God does.  Here are some key verses: Romans 3:24, 28, 5:1; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Galatians 2:16.

2) We are sanctified.  Sanctification is basically the process of becoming more and more like Jesus in our daily lives.  It means a transformation of our thoughts, actions, and attitudes.  This is the part of salvation where we partner with God.  Through our response to mercy and our obedience we become more and more sanctified.  Some key verses are: John 17:17; Hebrews 10:14; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:12-13.

3) We will be glorified. This is the final piece of our salvation process...when we are finally rid of all the terrible consequences of sin.  This is when we are given our resurrection bodies (like Jesus had upon this resurrection) and will live forever in joy in the presence of God in heaven.  Some key verses are: Romans 8:15-30; 1 Corinthians 15; Colossians 1:27, 3:4.

So here's the honest truth about salvation: it's living in tension.  It's living in the "already/not yet".  It's trusting that God has saved you and that you stand blameless before Him because of Jesus.  It's working with God in becoming more like Jesus.  It's hoping that all that is wrong in you and in the world will be righted one day.

But the bottom line: it is initiated by God, made possible because of God, and brought to completion by the power, goodness, and faithfulness of God.