Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, dear ones, on this bright Friday morning.

I’m going to forego the jog routine and get myself to the mural frame asap to try and finish things up before the day turns too hot. UPS finally delivered the needed gallon of stain yesterday morning…about a week late due to a glitch in a FAX transmission. Hope I can get it all done up today.

There really are some vital truths contained in the reading for today. I cannot imagine any concept more important to get our dirty little hearts wrapped around than the matter of ownership. Most people, if asked, “Who owns you and your body?” would answer, “I do. This is MY body.” But the most Biblical view is that I have not been appointed as the OWNER, but the MANAGER. And the true OWNER owns the right and power to ultimately lay claim to what He owns and bring me to account for my delegated management over His property. Granted—this is very unpopular and “politically incorrect” thinking—confirming the unlikelihood that anyone is going to accidentally stumble into the Kingdom of God.

Be blessed. Know Who is Owner and Boss.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Four simple words are joined together here to form the most profound, viable, and wise advice on the subject of sex that anyone could ever be given. And yet the history of man, including our own modern society, reveals that men have not paid much attention. Ironically, our secular environment is clearly inclined to promote the exact opposite. Television, movies, books, magazines, and even public schools with their so-called sex education programs, are all effectively promoting old-fashioned promiscuity and sexual immorality. The dismal result is more obvious today than it ever has been. Marital failure due to adultery, teenage pregnancies due to fornication, STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) due to all manner of sexual perversion are at an all-time high. And HIV/AIDS, already claiming the lives of multiplied millions since its identification in 1982, holds the potential of exterminating the human race.

The big crusade of a mixed-up world now pushes “safe sex”—which is nothing short of a big lie. It has proven to have absolutely no statistical effectiveness—quite the contrary. Condoms are being applauded as a kind of magical protection for all sexual dangers to accommodate those who are encouraged to be “sexually active.” And homosexuality is being presented as a very legitimate “alternative lifestyle.” But let’s get this straight, and do everything we reasonably can to communicate this truth to our vulnerable youth—THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS “SAFE SEX” OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES OF GOD’S LAWS AND DESIGN. It is all very dangerous and destructive emotionally, socially, physically, economically, and spiritually. And today’s Bible reading emphatically exclaims that if this kind of behavior is not dealt with by sincere confession and repentance, it has the ultimate consequence of disqualifying and excluding people from the Kingdom of God. That sure doesn’t sound very safe to me!

I think it is appropriate to observe that the scripture does not say, “Flee from sex.” For God has clearly designed the gift of sexuality and the “act of marriage” (sexual intercourse) to be realized ONLY within an exclusive marriage relationship where there is one man and one woman, with the ideal being chastity (virginity) before marriage, and faithfulness after marriage. That is the true and intended message of Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” So FLEE FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY, or any other use of sex outside the fence of this standard. There is no other legitimate view of “safe sex.” And there is no other righteous advice that can produce desired righteous results concerning God’s gift of sexuality.