Church and Mission in a Sexualized Culture

Few Christians with a heart for missions would name the issues that are brought up in this edition of LIGHT Briefings as their primary focus. Sexuality issues are, at best, considered secondary in the life of the church—and even more so in the area of missions. But there are several reasons to reconsider this approach. To name a few:

• Sex and sexual identity stand at the center of today’s Western culture, and increasingly also in other parts of the world.
• The technical development has made sexually explicit material accessible to everyone who is connected to the internet.
• Any missionary who wants to share the Gospel in a context affected by Western values will soon get questions about LGBTQIA+ issues.

In addition to this, we must remember the diaconal calling of the church, in the spirit of Matthew’s words about Jesus: ‘When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless’ (Matt 9:36). In today’s culture, this could be applied to facts like:

• More people than ever have experienced the downsides of the sexual revolution, including family breakdown, loneliness, and pornography addiction.
• The sex industry is ever-present, abusing women and children (and sometimes men) in ways that call the church, as well as society, into action.
• In the wake of the LGBTQIA+ movement, there is a widespread confusion in relation to the body, sexuality, and gender identity.

So, what can be said about church and mission in a culture like this? As I will have to be brief, I will limit my answer to a couple of areas.

A Language for Authentic Sexuality

First of all, we need a language for authentic sexuality. This includes a positive approach to our physical bodies, as well as to sex as such. It also means that we have to give meaning to our gender identity and to the complementarity between the sexes. While hard to admit for many evangelicals, the Catholic ‘Theology of the Body’ is one of the best examples of what this can look like from a Christian perspective. But we need go no further than the Holy Scriptures.

The starting point will then be the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2. There we find the power of both equality and complementarity between the sexes, converging in the covenant relationship between a man and a woman. The joy and companionship and, indeed, sexual arousal within the marital union is further emphasized in the Song of Songs. Here, too, we see the power of equality and complementarity between the sexes, this time presented in the form of old Israelite poetry.

With this foundation we can then turn to the apostle Paul, and his in-depth teaching on sexuality, marriage and singleness in 1 Corinthians 5–7. As in previous passages, we here find a language for authentic sexuality that emphasizes equality as well as complementarity (see especially 1 Cor 7:3–5). But Paul also challenges a number of assumptions that were commonplace in Corinth, that turn out to be surprisingly modern. 

In a dialogue with Christian men going to prostitutes, he writes: ‘“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything’ (1 Cor 6:12). In a culture that often tells us that we are free to engage in any sexual behavior that doesn’t obviously hurt anyone else, these are sobering statements. For what the apostle tells us is, basically, that we should all be masters of our own sexuality—not allowing it to master us.

In relation to this, Paul also challenges the assumption that sex is just like any physical need. It seems the Corinthians compared sex with food, stating that both were physical cravings – and that both therefore could be met without restrictions (see 1 Cor 6:13). Paul says that there are, indeed, important differences between these two needs. He then goes on to speak about the mystery of sex, including the fact that for Christians our bodies should be seen as sacred–indeed, as God’s own property. Thus: ‘You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies’ (1 Cor 6:19–20).

The language for authentic sexuality that these and other biblical texts give us is, therefore, one of our bodies being important and created for a purpose. But they also challenge the individualism of today’s popular culture, placing the sexual union within a marriage of two equal partners, caring for one another and giving of themselves to the other in mutual respect as well as enjoyment.

It goes without saying that this stands in stark contrast to the view of man portrayed both in the sex industry and in secular hedonistic culture.

Opportunities for the Great Commission

Not surprisingly, we can establish that both the libertarianism of the sexual revolution (at least in its Western form) and the industry of pornography and prostitution leave us with countless victims. And this is true for both genders.

In the wake of the sexual revolution, we see a growing instability in family relationships, with a massive rise in cohabitation instead of marriage—and an equally massive rise in divorces among those who still do marry. The main victims of this change are the children, as they are losing the possibility to be raised by both biological parents. Not to mention those who were never even born because of abortion.

Add to this the confusion of the LGBTQI+ movement, with more and more people losing touch with their true identity through ideologies such as trans and queer.

While these facts are generally perceived as hindrances to the Gospel, a biblical view of sex and relationships can also have the potential to draw people to the church. As a matter of fact, this can already be seen in parts of the West.

And then we have the area of sexual bondage that is the particular focus of this edition of LIGHT Briefings. Many of those who are drawn into the consumption of pornography feel trapped. In the apostle Paul’s words, they are ‘mastered’ by their own sexuality (1 Cor 6:12; cf. 2 Pet 2:17–19).

The good news, of course, is that Jesus and the Gospel is all about deliverance from different kinds of bondage—be it sin, shame, addiction or demonic strongholds (cf. Luke 4:18–19). A church that dares to embrace this calling, and foster a culture of honesty and vulnerability, therefore has great opportunities to reach out to people stuck in pornography addiction. 

Tools like SLAA (Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous) and Celebrate Recovery can be of great use in this kind of ministry.

What we can be sure of, is that a church located in a sexualized culture cannot neglect such a central aspect of our lives—as well as of the biblical teaching. Rather, we should view it as an opportunity to serve, and as a potential bridgehead for the Gospel of freedom through Jesus Christ!