INTRODUCTION
In an article entitled, “Why Unmarried Christians Are Having Sex” published by Urban Faith on July 24, 2012. Chanel Graham quotes in this piece a startling statistic from the National Association of Evangelicals.
80% of unmarried evangelical Christians between ages 18-29 admit to having had premarital sex.
This statistic almost mirrors the same data from a book entitled, “Premarital Sex In America, How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think About Marrying,” by Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker.
Only 4 % of all 18-23 year old women are currently in a romantic relationship but not sexually involved with the person whom they are seeing. In other words, among all emerging adult women in any form of romantic relationship, only about 6% are not having sex of some sort.
With this information published by Oxford University Press in 2011, we can surmise that 96% of young women are having sex outside the commitment of marriage. Sadly, Evangelical Christian singles are not that far behind in the statistical sexually immorality.
One of the strongest natural forces in our world today is our sexuality. It is the subliminal force that is destroying future marriages for singles. However, you may ask, how is having sex outside of nuptials destroying marriages? C.S. Lewis says, “The monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside marriage is that those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union (the sexual) from all the other kinds of unions which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union.” God intended the sexual union to be a part of the total union of commitment for life. Sex without a life time commitment of marriage will eventually reap havoc in your life.
If you are a female and practice sex without commitment, it will lead you down the path of a dead-end relationship. Chip Ingram gives his insight into the modern monstrosity of sex and the single life. “If we are going to love somebody, we will not take, exploit or cheapen him or her. We will not engage in sexual activity to create pseudo-intimacy that is false because we don't really care and we're not really committed. We won't substitute sex for authentic intimacy.” If you want a man to commit to you for the right reason than saving sexual intimacy for marriage. We tell singles to save sex for marriage, but we do not teach them how to protect intimacy for future matrimony.
In a Facebook post that was dated on January 9, 2016 by Onuawuchi B. Ejezie. She simply posted these powerful words.
Dear Christian Brothers and Sisters,
HOLINESS is still right!
The sexual life of the unmarried person is of great concern to God. However, there aren’t any bible teachers who are willing to declare God’s will on this issue. We will deal with this issue of single sexuality in a sexually charged world in “Sex and the Single Life.”
The lack of sexuality in married couples life is destroying present marriages. God created sex to be a bonding agent in a loving and committed marriage. All married couples be on the lookout for the next book in this 7VerseSeries entitled, “Sex and the Married Life.”
1. Sex and Depredation
Judges 19:22-29 NLT
The story I am about to share with you from the bible is one of the most disturbing stories that I have ever read in the bible. As I read my bible during my personal devotion time in a year, I am truly horrified each that that I read this story. I have never preached from this text and I have never heard a sermon preached from this text. I struggle with God when He was leading me to choose this text for this book. Pastor Robert L. (Bob) Deffinbaugh on Bible.org shares his experience with Judges 19 in a message entitled, “Israel’s Dark Ages.”
A number of years ago I was preaching through the Book of Judges. Our custom was to have one of the men in the church read the Scripture text and then pray before I would preach. The text was Judges 19. This text is so distressing that something happened for the first time in my preaching ministry – my request to read the biblical text and to pray was declined. Mind you, this did not happen just once; it happened two or three times, until one man finally agreed to read it. On Sunday morning, when it was time for him to read the passage, he said something like this: “I know it is customary for one to read the text and then pray, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to pray before I read.”
Before I could deal with the text in this book I had to pray! However, God was not concern about my discomfort. God want to deal with sexual depredation in this book in a effort to get singles to live sexual Holy.
To get the full context please read Judges 19. This bible chapter deals with many sexual depredation.
This is the story about, “A Levite and His Concubine.” We will now take a look at Judges 19:22-29.
22While they were enjoying themselves, a crowd of troublemakers from the town surrounded the house. They began beating at the door and shouting to the old man, “Bring out the man who is staying with you so we can have sex with him.” 23 The old man stepped outside to talk to them. “No, my brothers, don’t do such an evil thing. For this man is a guest in my house, and such a thing would be shameful. 24 Here, take my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. I will bring them out to you, and you can abuse them and do whatever you like. But don’t do such a shameful thing to this man.” 25But they wouldn’t listen to him. So the Levite took hold of his concubine and pushed her out the door. The men of the town abused her all night, taking turns raping her until morning. Finally, at dawn they let her go. 26 At daybreak the woman returned to the house where her husband was staying. She collapsed at the door of the house and lay there until it was light. 27When her husband opened the door to leave, there lay his concubine with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said, “Get up! Let’s go!” But there was no answer.] So he put her body on his donkey and took her home. 29 When he got home, he took a knife and cut his concubine’s body into twelve pieces. Then he sent one piece to each tribe throughout all the territory of Israel. Judges 19:22-29 NLT
Sexual Immorality
This text is indeed one of the hardest bible chapter to teach. The best way to explain this text is that it is a living and breathing explain of sexual immorality. First of all, the story is centered around a man who was from the tribe of Levite. The tribe of Levite was literally a society of priests. Therefore in modern terminology, we will be talking about the preacher and his wife. The preacher’s wife is promiscuous and decides to leave him and their home in the hill county of Ephraim. The preacher seems to care about her and finds her four months later at her parent’s home in Bethlehem. It is not clear if she was really his wife, because the text describes her at times as his concubine. In Old Testament terms the preacher could have had more than one wife. He was most likely a polygamist. The woman was not even called by her name. Hence, we see that in this text, it paints a picture of the utmost disrespect and disdain for women. This woman was only identify by her sex. This is objectification. The preacher as it is reveals later in the story treats this woman like property. Also this objectification is perpetuated when an old man from where the preacher is living offer he and his wife hospitality in Gibeah for the night. Later on in the night, a mob of men arrive and asked for the preacher so that they can sexually assault him. The old man in order to save the preacher offered his virgin daughter and the preacher’s wife to the mob for rape.
Sexual Inhumanity
The best scenario in the text is that the mob wanted to have an orgy with a willing man. At the worst scenario, the horde was ready to gang rape the preacher. The homosexual tendency of the crowds appetite then turns to bi-sexuality when the preacher pushes his wife out of the house to the mob in order to save himself. He literally prostituted her in exchange for the payment of his own protection. This irate mob gang raped the woman all night. After being viciously sexually assaulted she was released to go back to the home of the old man, but she died at the doorstep. Henceforth, murder is now introduced into this horrible account of sexual deviancy. As morning came, the preacher come out of the house and stepped right over the woman just like nothing had ever happened.
After calling to her to get up and let’s go home, he came to discover that she was dead. Upon arriving at his home. He discovers she is dead and take her home and cut her body into twelve pieces and send a part to each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Her body was massacred. The preacher’s wife being massacred captured the attention of the other eleven tribes of Israel. They all came together and asked the preacher, “Want does this awful act that you have done mean?” The preacher than testify to the horrible act of the hideous gang rape and murder of his wife. Because of the preacher’s saga the eleven tribes became committed to expunging the men who committed this heinous sexual act of evil. Listed below is the tally of sexual immorality in this text.
Promiscuity
Polygamy
Orgies
Objectification
Homosexuality
Prostitution
Bi-sexuality
Gang Rape
Murder
Massacre
Sexual Indictment
The tribe of Benjamin would be held accountable by the other eleven tribes of Israel. There would be a bloody moral revolution were about 65,130 men from the twelve tribes died in three days as a result of purging the evil out of Israel. Of those who died were 25, 100 Benjamins. The Benjamites had 26,700 very capable men of war. Before it was all said and done only six hundred of their fighting men was left alive.
Sadly this all happen in modern term amongst Christian folks. The preacher on his way back to his home in the hill county of Ephraim decided not to stay overnight in a pagan town. The preacher decided to stay in Gibeah which was supposed to be a Christian township. The people who stay there were from the Old Testament tribe of the Benjamin. Benjamin is one of the twelve tribe of Israel. The preacher was from Levite another one of the twelve tribes of Israel. These horrible acts of sexual immorality was happening in modern terms with Christians in the church!
Sexual Immaculate
In a Facebook post on January 9, 2016 by Onuawuchi B. Ejezie. She simply posted those powerful words.
DEAR Christian brothers and sisters, HOLINESS is still right.
The word immaculate means free from moral blemish or impurity; pure; undefiled. In a world of sexual immorality and sexual inhumanity. God is indicting Christians for living unholy in their sexuality. Christians singles are still called in our sexually charged society to live Holy. God want you to be sexual immaculate. HOLINESS is still right!
