Considering the title, readers may think I am writing about sex, marriage, or both. Instead, I want to talk about a phenomenon we’ve all seen and probably have commented on: the sanctification of sexuality.

Sounds intellectual, right? But what does it mean? Sexuality can be defined as “the expression of sexual desires.” As for sanctification, it’s a biblical word meaning “to set apart.” As God’s first people, Israel was set apart for fellowship and service to God. Christ sanctified those who believe in him by dying on the cross. Christians are now set apart to God, offering their lives as sacrifices to worship him. When I say sexuality has been sanctified, I am saying it has been set apart by our culture.

Elevated Sexuality

In the past, sexuality was regarded as a beautiful, yet serious treasure to be treated with great care. Our culture guarded sexuality by stressing the appropriate context (marriage) and expression (heterosexuality). These boundaries were morally right, and not perceived as intrusive or hateful.

Now, sexuality is treated differently. To disapprove and tell a person their sexuality is inappropriate is to hate him. Many people call it a vicious crime. Instead, a man’s sexuality is to be accepted and affirmed. The issue of sexuality has become untouchable, set apart.

Think about your own experiences. We are able to speak freely on the way people relate to one another without much trouble, until sexuality is mentioned. We freely issue imperatives and judgments on violence and dishonesty, but not sexuality. It has been elevated. Why has this happened? Why does it matter?

Happy Feet

Consider the movie Happy Feet, a story about a penguin named Mumble who is born among a tribe of singing penguins. When they wish to convey emotion, they break out in melodious harmony. Singing binds them as a group. Singing is their identity. Mumble, on the other hand, sounds like a bird moaning in excruciating agony when he tries to sing. To make matters worse, he has no desire (understandably) to sing at all.

But he can tap dance something fierce! When he is filled with joy, his feet move with a creative cadence that would make a jazz drummer jealous. He loves dancing. It’s who he is. So how do you think he feels when he’s rejected by his tribe, alienated by those closest to him, because of his tap dancing? He’s devastated. Tap dancing is his identity. To reject it is to reject him.

Sexuality Equals Identity

Our culture’s view of sexuality is similar to the penguin tribe’s view of singing. It is seen as the foremost and fundamental form of self-expression. Therefore, to reject a man’s sexuality is to reject him. To tell a woman her sexuality isn’t what it should be is to tell her she isn’t what she should be. Our culture has built a shrine for sexuality, and the idea that sexuality equals identity is the foundation.

As a result of this view, people are encouraged embrace their sexuality: “Explore and experiment, express and enjoy.” They believe if they don’t do these things, they are detracting from their own experience; as if they had their inner man in a prison that is only escapable by pursuing and expressing sexual desires in whatever way feels right.

It is important we know our culture’s view of sexuality. Once we diagnose the disease, we can begin to provide a cure.

Problem #1

The problem is twofold. First, we are ignorant about true self-expression. True self-expression is not seen in sex, but in worship. As humans created in God’s image, we are worshippers at our core. We were created to adore greatness and respond to it in admiring love and submission. We worship every day. We worship whatever is the most glorious, valuable, and lovely to us. For some, it’s fame, reputation, or approval. Our hearts are idol factories, as John Calvin said. We will always worship something, whether it is family, fortunes, or football. Worship is at the core of human experience. It is the true self-expression, not sexuality.

Problem #2

Our second issue springs out of the first. We esteem sex so highly because we worship ourselves. The god of our culture is not sex, but humanity itself. If a man or woman’s sexuality is their ultimate form of expression, then sex is the worship service of our religious humanism. To defy or restrain my sexuality is to stomp on the flame of my worship. So we are caught in this conundrum, this ceaseless downward spiral. We worship man and human experience, thereby enslaving ourselves to whatever we believe life and the human experience should be. The only hope of deliverance is to fix our self-worship. Our eyes must turn to something greater.

There is One Greater

We worship ourselves and other created things, rather than the Creator. This is what God calls “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). How do we do this by exalting sexuality? It starts with God. We all know God by nature. “For what can be known about God is plain to them…For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:19-20).

This means we innately know there is a Creator who is worthy of our worship. Although we see God, we don’t respond to him in worship. We don’t honor him as God. We choose to exchange the truth of God’s glory and worth for lesser things. We worship and serve creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:21-25). It’s like esteeming the sculpture or painting above the artist. The mind and skill of the artist produced the masterpiece; therefore it is the artist who deserves praise. We would rather praise the artwork (humanity) than the Artist (God).

The Solution is in the Gospel

We are stuck in this mentality and are powerless to get ourselves out. Even if we could, we wouldn’t want to. This is why we incur the wrath of God, why we are separated from God. We delight to treat him as less than his creation. This is why Jesus came. God sent his Son to show us his glory, to broadcast the superiority and supremacy of God over all things. He showed the sovereign power of God over demons, winds and waves, life and death.

He demonstrated the righteousness of God by living a perfectly moral life, loving God flawlessly while also loving mankind. He portrayed the great love of God by dying on the cross, bearing God’s wrath for us, and bridging the gap between us and God. Through Jesus, we behold how magnificent God is. We are brought into an intimate relationship with this beautiful God, being able to both see and enjoy God’s beauty through what Christ has done.

Once we believe Jesus for reconciliation and forgiveness, accepting him as the most precious and valuable treasure, we see something and someone greater. We are freed from our self-worship conundrum. If we will be freed from our sanctified sexuality, we must see the glory of God revealed in Christ. When we see him for who he is, we will see ourselves for who we are, and sex for what it is.

Question: Why do you think we treat sexuality the way we do in America? How can we fix it?