For the last forty years the sexual morality of the western world has incurred tremendous change and extreme decline. The results of this sexual revolution have been disastrous.
In 1960 to 1990 the marriage rate per 1000 unmarried women went from 73.5 percent to
54.2 percent. The divorce rate rose from 9.2 percent to 20.9 percent. Cohabitation increased by over 600 percent.
We live in a world where promiscuity is promoted and perversion is paraded in every media form available. From the magazine rack to the sports track and from the television screen to the office scene—sexual messages are constantly bombarding our society.
The homosexual community has come out of the closet. Pornography has grown to one of the most lucrative industries in the world. The AIDS epidemic threatens the stability of many third world countries. Politician and preacher alike have had their once secret sexual failures proclaimed from the housetop.
In many ways the world could be said to be sexually insane. This message is about obtaining and maintaining your sexual sanity in an insane world.
God’s Word addresses every area of our lives and although it is uncomfortable and awkward for many of us to discuss, the Bible addresses sexuality in both the Old and New Testament.
First of all, the human sexual drive was God’s creation and God’s idea. Adam and Eve experienced this desire and were one flesh before the fall of man. God designed sexual desire for procreation and for fulfillment and union in marriage.
God’s Word is clear that sex is to be reserved for proper marriage and when taken outside of this context it violates God’s law.
There are several specific prohibitions and boundaries for human sexuality given to us in the law of God.
1. Adultery is Forbidden “Thou shalt not commit adultery”. (Leviticus 18:20) “Moreover thou shall not lie carnally with they neighbor’s wife, to defile thyself with her.”
2. Homosexuality is Forbidden (Leviticus 18:22) “Thou shalt not lie with man kind, as with womankind: it is an abomination.”
3. Bestiality is Forbidden–Sex with an animal (Leviticus 18:23) “Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.”
4. Harlotry and Fornication is Forbidden—Prostitution and Pre-marital sex (Leviticus 19:29) “Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.”
5. Incest is Forbidden (Leviticus 18:6) “None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.”
While sex outside of marriage is forbidden, there are other passages that lead us to believe that sexuality within marriage is to be a celebration such as the Song of Solomon as well as a number of passages in the New Testament.
One of the starkest passages in scripture concerning sexuality and judgment against sexual sin is found in Genesis 18 and 19. It is the story of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and specifically it is the account of God’s judgment on Sodom and the rescue of Lot. Lot chose to live in Sodom because it was a prosperous area. But, it was also a wicked area.
(Genesis 13:13) “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.”
Four things concerning this account.
A. Sodom’s Sins
It appears that Sodom followed the path many great societies have taken—the path from prosperity to perversion. (Ezekiel 16:49-50) “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” Pride, prosperity and laziness—(a deterioration of the work force). Disregard for the poor. Abominations. The name Sodom has become synonymous with sexual perversion. Why? (Genesis 19:4-5) “But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” Angels are visiting Sodom to destroy the city and observe how many righteous are there according to God’s promise to Abraham. The men of Sodom want to have sexual relations with them. Lot offers his two daughters instead. Obviously part of the sin of Sodom was the sexual perversion that was taking place there. (Jude 1:7 NIV) “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” How does this happen? The path to perversion is recorded in Romans 1. From pride to ignoring God to experimenting to decline in morals to sexual addiction to all sorts of evil. Sexual perversion opens the door to all kinds of other sin.
B. God’s Sentence
God’s sentence for Sodom was that it would be destroyed. The wages of sin is death. Most scholars believe that Sodom and Gomorrah are located at the southern end of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth and the most lifeless body of water on earth. It is filled with salt. (Luke 17:28-29) “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.” God used fire and brimstone from heaven to destroy Sodom. Brimstone is usually found near active volcanoes. A large amount was found in the Dead Sea area. Brimstone is a molten sulfuric salt that covered these cities. Sexual sin brings about a deep, slow death. (Matthew 11:23-24) “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, Thou shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment, than for thee.” Capernaum is now only a ruin of what was once a great city. The bottom line is that God is still a God of judgment and will judge perversion, pride, and vice.
C. Lot’s Situation
Lot’s Situation (2 Peter 2:6-8 NIV) “If he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard). Lot was vexed as the King James version reads—distressed. However, Lot was also willing to use Sodom to further his personal success. He was vexed but not victorious, troubled but not triumphant. His willingness to linger in Sodom put his family and testimony in danger. The angels finally, physically forced Lot to remove himself from Sodom before judgment came. Lot’s life was self-absorbed. Leaving Sodom would cause him to loose his gate position and his place in society. Lot lingered when he should have ran. His wife looked behind her and became a pillar of salt.
D. Perversion’s Stain
Though Lot was saved, his family was stained from their Sodom experience. Lot’s daughters continued the abominations of Sodom by getting their father drunk and sleeping with him. They both became pregnant and had offspring, which would form two long-term enemy nations of Israel. The Ammonites and the Moabites. Both of these nations became nations of pride, idolatry, fornication, and perversion. They stood in the way of Israel possessing the Promised Land. Though Lot survived Sodom his life was forever tainted by it. In the valley stood the brittle remains of his judged wife. In Zoar was heard the cry of his incestual grandchildren. His family was torn apart by the influence of Sodom.
Today, in a world that has lost it’s sexual sanity, where sexual perversion is rampant and promiscuity is prominent, God commands us to run for the hills. Run to Christ. Run from the valley of death. Run from the desolation of empty, perverted sexual expression. Run from the zombified condition of those consumed by confusion.
How do we respond? Agree with God’s law. Save sex for marriage. Avoid abominations. Ask for a daily cleansing. The stain must be purged. Run for the heights of Christian experience. Run for the high commitments, the high ground of integrity, the heights of fellowship, worship and praise. Run for you life. Only by God’s mercy and your decisive obedient action can you survive Sodom.
For the last forty years the sexual morality of the western world has incurred tremendous change and extreme decline. The results of this sexual revolution have been disastrous.