Jesus changes everything. I know I am not the first person to say it (not by a long shot), but it has become a bit of theological catch phrase for me. The more I study the Bible, the more I preach to my church, the more I teach my seminary students, the more I find that this simple statement serves as a great summary of many important points. If I am talking about the way the Spirit of God related to people in the Old Testament versus the New I want to say, “Jesus changes everything.” If I am counseling someone on how they should forgive now that they are Christians I want to say, “Jesus changes everything.” And, if I am talking about how sex is often associated with shame in our culture then I want to say, “Jesus changes everything.” The gospel gives us hope that our sex, like our soul, is being redeemed.
To “redeem” means to buy back. It is a theological term that has allusions to the slave market. But the theology is rooted really in the Old Testament, particularly in a book like Exodus. The Old Testament also prepares us to see our sexuality redeemed. Passages like those in Ezekiel 16 and the whole book of Hosea picture a lover being bought back, rescued, redeemed, and their sexuality being transformed. This is the picture that is realized finally in the New Testament, where we see the Gospel transforming our sexuality.
We could look at many passages but I think the best one to start with is Ephesians 5:25-33
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Here we see an amazing thing happening in Paul’s thought. What has been so damaged by sin and shame is now being revealed as a mystery that points to Christ’s relationship with the church. Marriage, and that certainly means all that goes with marriage, is a pointer to how much Christ loves the church. This is why, when we consider the second half of our “shame equation” from yesterday, I can boldly claim that making sex out to be an embarrassment is sin!
Sex, even your sex, is meant to be a reminder of the gospel (of Jesus’ love for His people). There are all sorts of principles that we can (and will) draw from this, but at the moment I just want to emphasize that the gospel changes your sexuality. It’s not simply about you and your desires. It’s not about whatever you want. Sex does not include “shameful acts” nor should it, itself, cause you shame and embarrassment. Rather, sex, because of Jesus, should encourage you to thank God that He loved you enough to send His Son to die for you. It should remind you that, like Hosea’s wife, you have been rescued from a life of spiritual prostitution and made God’s beloved bride.
See, I told you that Jesus changes everything.
Sparrow & Heart Soul Care 