Denying Christ

Q: In the Bible, Jesus' disciple Peter denied Him three times. But I heard a preacher on the radio recently talking about how American Christians deny Christ. How could that be?

A: Christians in modern American culture probably look quite unlike Christians have ever looked in history. In some respects, it is popular to be a Christian. Everyone does it. Consequently we describe certain parts of the country like "the Bible belt." But actually we deny Christ not so much with our words more with our attitudes and behaviors. Perhaps we hope someone won't find out that we're Christians - or we'll conceal that fact to get a job, be popular, fit in, etc. Or we deny Christ when we decide not to speak up for what is right, are silent about our relationship with God, blend into the society around us (for any reason), or accept our culture's non-Christian (i.e., ungodly) values.

Christians are supposed to look different than the world around them. They're supposed to be like strangers in a foreign land. They're not supposed to fit in. In fact, they should look radically different than everyone else. And each day, they should become more and more like Christ Himself. When we don't ... we deny Christ.

Sex in Heaven

Q: Will we be sexual in heaven?

A: The answer is that I don't know. But I tend to doubt it. Human sexuality, as far as I can understand it, is human. We are spiritual beings and were spiritual beings before being given our assignments here on earth. Those assignments ... to go live human lives, included sexuality. Once those assignments are complete, I suspect our sexuality will also be complete.

Godly Sexuality

Dear Victorious,

I've seen you write in the past about "godly sexuality." Isn't that an oxymoron?

Sexual Being

Dear Sexual,

No, it isn't - unless you're just ignorant of God's intent with mankind. Remember that in Genesis we're told that God created mankind in His own image. God is not a man or a woman. He doesn't speak English or French. He isn't black or white. He has no sexuality. Rather God is a spiritual being.

So God created us as spiritual beings --- and then assigned physical bodies for each of us during our time on this earth. Those physical bodies are sexual beings (amongst other things). Their purpose is to serve us as we go about doing God's will. They were never meant to control or enslave us. To the extent that we are controlled by our sexuality ... it is a perversion of God's will for us.

So godly sexuality would be sexuality that is expressed in the context of our spiritual beings. That would mean it is first and foremost used to bring us together as spiritual beings. Our acts of sexual intercourse can help us celebrate the relationship. And when we celebrate the relationship through intercourse, a child born of true love and devotion comes forth. God is honored and we are blessed. It is His plan for our sexuality. It is godly sexuality. Any other form of sexuality is a perversion of what God intended.