Sex and the Bible

Posted by Pastor Mike

Last night I read Genesis 4 before I went to bed. I didn't get through the very first verse before another one of "God's big ideas" hit me in the face. Here's what I read--

"Now Adam knew his wife Eve and she conceived."

He "knew" her? And then she conceived? So...to "know" must mean to...ahem...well, you know what I mean..wait, not you "know" like Adam "knew" Eve...ummm...this is a little awkward

Okay, I'll just type it! They had sex!

We don't use that phrase in English, do we? There are plenty of euphemisms in our language for having sex, but that's not one of them. However, in both the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament (the two original languages of the Bible), the verb "to know" can mean "to have sex."

Last night I asked myself, "Why? What's the connection?"

A few thoughts came to my mind--

First, in God's eyes, sex is an intimate encounter. He designed it to feel good, but he also designed it for much more. He created sex so that you could "know" someone in every sense of the word. Sex makes you vulnerable. It exposes you. It's hard to hide when you're naked.

Second, I thought about people "knowing" each other who don't really know each other! One-night stands and hooking up on the third date (if you're patient, according to some experts...) push us into this intimate knowing before we even know her middle name...or his address...or what he believes...or how she feels about herself. Something about that just doesn't seem right.

Then, I thought about the statistics on sex. You've either experienced, seen, or read about how many teenagers are sexually active. That scares me for so many reasons. One of those reasons is tied closely to Genesis 4 and God's choice of verbs--Isn't there something wrong with "knowing" someone and being "known" when you're still trying to figure out who you really are as a teenager. Middle school and high school are stages of epic emotional swings. We do all sorts of things just to fit in because we're often not quite sure of who we are. We just want to be somebody and so we follow the crowd.

So isn't it a bit messed up to "know" someone in an intimate way when you're still searching for your identity? Wouldn't that be confusing?

I am fully aware that the biblical stance--Sex as God's beautiful gift reserved for and protected in marriage--is not popular these days. As I read the Bible, I'm not sure if it ever has been popular. But I believe it.

I believe it from the clear words of Jesus on marriage being the place for two people to become "one flesh" (sounds like an intimate "knowing", doesn't it?). I believe it from God's harsh punishment of those who disregard his design--"Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept pure for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral," (Hebrews 13:4). And I believe it because this is the design given by the God who loved us enough (yes, even the sexually sinful among us) to send Jesus to die for us and purify us from the filthy things we've done. "The sexually immoral...will not inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. 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," (1 Corinthians 6).

As purified children of God, let's fight for God's beautiful design for marriage. For our kids. For our church. For our culture.

May God bless you today and always,

Pastor Mike