STATEMENT ON BIBLICAL SEXUAL MORALITY Linton Deane FOCUS ON THE FAMILY God intends sex to be a source of satisfaction, honor and delight to those who enjoy it within the parameters of the moral standards He has established in marriage. Biblically speaking, human sexuality is both a gift and a responsibility. The Bible reveals that God's character defines for us what it means to be sexually pure.  Gods mandate to His people is to be holy, because He is holy. According to God's plan, sexual intimacy is the exclusive prerogative of husband and wife within the context of marriage. Sexual morality, on the other hand, is everyone's concern. It matters to singles, to families and to society.  Most of all it matters to God. Sex that honors God's guidelines and standards is pleasurable. While sex is designed to be pleasing, not all sexual pleasure is ethical. Feelings are extremely unreliable as guides to the morality of sex. As a matter of fact, it is possible for sinful men and women to experience a form of physical enjoyment and degrees of emotional, psychological and spiritual fulfillment even in sexual conduct that God considers abhorrent. Our sex lives are moral only when conducted according to God's standards. When we follow this pathway, sexual activity can be enriching, fulfilling and eminently blessed. At Focus on the Family we believe in the following: "We believe that God intends for people to enjoy sex within His established limits.  However, because we live in a fallen world, we also believe the following: "Desire and experience cannot be trusted to set the morality of sex. The morality of sex is set by God's holiness and character. "God's standard is purity in every thought about sex, as well as in every act of sex. Sexual purity is violated even in thoughts that never proceed to outward acts. Sex must never be used to oppress, wrong or take advantage of anyone. Rape, incest, sexual abuse, pedophilia, voyeurism, prostitution and pornography always exploit and corrupt. "God's standards for sexual moral purity protect human happiness. But sex is not entitlement, nor is it needed for personal wholeness or emotional maturity. "God calls some to a life of marriage and others to lifelong celibacy, but His calling to either state is a divine gift worthy of honor and respect. No one is morally compromised by following God's call to either state, and no one can justify opposing a divine call to either state by denying the moral goodness of that state. "Sexual behavior is moral only within the institution of heterosexual, monogamous marriage. Marriage is secure only when established by an unconditional, covenantal commitment to lifelong fidelity, and we should not separate what God has joined. Christians continue to debate whether there are a limited number of situations in which divorce is justifiable, but all agree that divorce is never God's ideal; lifelong commitment should always be the Christian's goal. "Marriage protects the transcendent significance of personal sexual intimacy. Heterosexual union in marriage expresses the same sort of holy, exclusive, permanent, complex, selfless, and complementary intimacy that some day will characterize the union of Christ with the redeemed and glorified Church. "Sex in marriage should be an act of love and grace that transcends the petty sins of human selfishness, and should be set aside only when both partners agree to do so, and then only for a limited time of concentrated prayer. "Sex outside of marriage is never moral. This includes all forms of intimate sexual stimulation that stir up sexual passion between unmarried partners. Such behavior offends God, and often causes physical and emotional pain and loss in this life. Refusal to repent of sexual sin may indicate that a person never has entered into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. "The Old and New Testaments uniformly condemn sexual contact between persons of the same sex; and God has decreed that no one can ever excuse homosexual behavior by blaming his or her Creator. "The moral corruption of sexual sin can be fully forgiven through repentance and faith in Christ's atonement, but physical and emotional scars caused by sexual sin cannot always be erased in this life. "Christians must grieve with and help those who suffer hard-ship caused by sexual immorality, even when it is caused by their own acts of sin. But we must give aid in ways that do not deny moral responsibility for sexual behavior. We want to help men and women understand God's good plan for sexual conduct, and thereby to realize all the joy, satisfaction and honor God offers to sexual creatures made in His image. It is through this gift that we establish his institution of the family which God designed to be the building block or cornerstone for all successful societies around the world. We know the enemies opposition to this message as stated in John 10 vs 10; " The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.. What has been the outcomes from society breaking God's moral guidelines? 1)Rise in STI's- in the 1950's there was only 2 known STD's, today there is 25 different STD's. 2)Sexual activity amongst teenagers has risen dramatically in the past 40 years. 3)6% of teenagers aged 16 reported being sexually active in 1952- In 2000, 54% of 16 year old girls reported being sexually active. 4)Today 68 million Americans have an incurable disease STD. 5)Abortion rates are at alarming levels in Australia and globally. 6)There has been a dramatic increase in the area of pornography and it's access. There is reportably 4.2 million web sites promoting pornography. 7)Divorce is another casualty due to the decline of sexual morality 2 out of every 5 marriages end in Divorce. This is just a small picture of the fruit we have produced by moving away from God's holy standard……….. Linton Deane National Manger Focus on the Family Australia. l