Pastor Patrick Ramsey titled his message “Sex”
The following points are only highlights of his sermon for those who do not have 28 minutes to spend listening to it:
- What does God have to say to us about sex? (An interesting introduction led up to that question)
- Many people / Christians believe that they are free to do as they please behind closed doors
- God, your Creator, however, has a right to confront you about such things
- Regarding our sexually liberated culture, we especially need to remember why God interferes in our lives; it is always to help us by His wise direction
- God knows what He is talking about regarding all possible topics, sex included. He purposed to make us sexual beings, He intended that to be a blessing
- The abridged version of God’s word to us about sex is the 7th commandment
- The 10 commandments are a summary of God’s law to us; these are explained more fully in the breadth of His word, the Bible
- The heart of the 7the commandment regards the sanctity of marriage: the covenant relationship between a man and a woman whereby the two become one flesh; they become one flesh in all ways, such as companionship, partnership, in and for life
- God designed sex to express, seal and deepen that one-flesh relationship
- Therefore, sex is far more than a mere physical act; it is deeply meaningful and relational, as it blends together affection, loyalty, and biology
- It is the glue, or connecting cement that helps hold a marriage together
- That is why casual sex causes all sorts of problems for those who indulge in it: sex creates bonds / attachments between two people; thus, two people who are already committed (by marriage) strengthen their union via sexuality
- God forbids adultery because therein, one breaks the bond he has with his spouse and creates a new bond with another person with whom he is not in a covenant relationship (those who practice casual sex create bonds with strangers, people with whom they have no commitment, reducing the likelihood of a firm bond with a future marriage partner)
- Keeping the marriage bed undefiled is a primary way of honoring God in your marriage
- Joseph, of the Bible, honored God by fleeing from Potiphar’s wife
- King David, of the Bible, dishonored God, desecrating the institution of marriage, by committing adultery with Bathsheba
- God considers adultery a greater sin than fornication and premarital sex because of the harmful impact adultery has on family [family impact discussed]
- A chief goal of Satan is to make men and women fall to the sin of adultery that he might damage the family unit
- Christian men and women must be on guard against Satan’s temptations in this area
- Adultery is always sinful, even if your spouse does not mind if you commit adultery – open marriages, for example, are practiced by some
- One must put his own lusts to death; Jesus condemned illicit sexual desires, not sexual desire in marriage
- Having sex is not wrong; God gave us marriage that we might lawfully indulge such desires
- Flirting, viewing porn, phone sex, sexting, or any other sexual activity short of intercourse, are illicit
- One, so-called marriage expert advises that it is appropriate to have lustful fantasies about people other than one’s spouse, saying that thereby one might keep their marriage fresh, alive…but the truth is that indulging in such things moves one in the direction of committing adultery
- Christians must nurture their marriages by focusing outwardly: being sensitive to our spouses needs and wants; by dealing with issues that arise rather than going to bed with unresolved anger (or other emotions) that has been ignored and left to fester (become aloofness, bitterness, hatred)
- If one turns inward, focusing on one’s own needs (selfishness), when problems arise in the relationship, then one’s marriage will suffer
- It was recently discovered that one popular evangelist did not do the above, but he turned inwardly, into self-pity; he excused his adultery by saying “If you only knew what I had to deal with at home”
- If the Christian’s focus is outward, on loving God and others, then he will be able to keep his sexual desires under the power of love
- Summary, from pastor Kevin DeYoung’s book: regarding 3 types of people
- 1, those being tempted to sin, feeling the attraction [to a potentially adulterous partner]; flee youthful lusts and pursue godliness
- 2, those living in this sin, repent and turn back to the Lord Jesus Christ
- 3, those broken hearted over having inflicted harm upon others: 1 Cor. 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous 2 will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
To hear other sermons by Dr. Ramsey that have been posted in this blog, see: Archives:
- February 12, 2020 You Shall Not Murder
- July 8, 2020 — The Christian’s Most Important Question, part 2
- July 7, 2020 — The Christian’s Most Important Question, part 1
- June 9, 2020 The Holy Spirit
- June 7, 2020, Ascension of Christ
- May 24, 2020, Faith is NOT
- May 3, 2020 – Dealing with Fear;
- April 26, 2020 – Godly Instruction for Dealing with Sin and Guilt;
- October 2019: The Lord’s Supper; and
- July 8, 2019, Saving Faith.
Dr. Ramsey can be heard at sermonaudio by clicking the following link:
https://www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=nashuaopc
If you would like to hear SEX, Part 2, click the following link:
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=214211918126142
Sermon Audio is a great place to hear sermons about specific scriptures that you would like to understand more fully. You can search the site by speaker, scripture, topic, category, language, and date.
Sermon Audio also offers the sermons of great preachers of the past like C H Spurgeon. These are read by others. So, if you like the writings of a pastor from the past such as Spurgeon, you may hear his sermons and possibly audiobook readings at Sermon Audio.
Sermon Audio also offers a ‘church finder’ function. It is on the left column of the page, about midway down from the top. It provides locations of reformed churches worldwide.