OCTOBER 8 , 2006

The Bible gives God's guidance for the best sex and the safest sex possible.

I. God invented sex as His gift to us. Genesis 2:25 says, The man and his wife were both naked, but neither was embarrassed or ashamed (LB). Why did God give us His gift of sex?

A. For Unity . It's a bond between husband and wife. Five times in the Bible it says, They were of one flesh... you will become one flesh. TBS, For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh (24) .

There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much a spiritual mystery as a physical fact. It is written in Scripture, “The two become one.” (1 Corinthians 6:16, Mes)

B. For Enjoyment . R ejoice in your wife…Let her love alone fill you with delight (Pr 5:18, 19).

C. For Children . Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth (Genesis 1:28).

II. What do you do for a great sexual relationship the best way – God's way? Have a healthy attitude toward sex.

1. God says that sex in marriage is good . For example, I Timothy 4:4 says, For everything God created is good and nothing is to be rejected, but all is to be received with a prayer of thanks. That includes your sexuality.

2. Love-making between a husband and a wife is an honorable activity. Hebrews 13:4 says, Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure. The word honorable means “to be esteemed, held dear, precious , to be valued.”

Love-making between a husband and wife is an honorable and precious, but it is also an exclusive activity – between a man and woman in covenant relationship.

3. The Bible says that God wants you, if you're married, to enjoy your mate. Proverbs 5:18-19: Be happy, yes, rejoice in your wife. Let her tender embrace satisfy you. May her breasts satisfy you always, and you ever by captivated by her love. Let her love alone fill you with delight .

Other Hebrew synonyms of the word delight are: be captivated, intoxicated, be ravished, be transported by love. Knox translation, Let her steal away your senses.

Proverbs 5 goes on to say: Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? And why embrace the breasts of another man's wife? Mark well that GOD doesn't miss a move you make; For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, He's aware of every step you take (21).

4. The Bible teaches that sex, when properly used in marriage, glorifies God. Use every part of your body to glorify God ( I Corinthians 6:20).

5. A healthy attitude toward sex is one that adjusts to your marriage mate. A man should fulfill his duty as a husband and a woman should fulfill her duty as a wife. And each should satisfy the other's needs. The wife's body does not belong to her alone, but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body doesn't belong to him alone, but also to his wife (I Cor 7:3-4).

6. Don't cheat each other when it comes to normal sexual relations. Do not cheat each other of normal sexual relations unless you both decide to abstain temporarily to make special time for prayer. But afterwards you should resume relations as before or you will expose yourselves to the obvious temptations of Satan (I Cor 7:7, Phillips).

7. Understand the sexual appetite . 1 Corinthians 6:13 compares our appetite for food with the sexual appetite.

To the single person, thank you for listening to a message that doesn't fully apply to you today. That takes grace and maturity. It may apply more to you one day. The Bible says to the single person, it is better to marry than to burn with passion (1 Cor 7:9, NIV).

Paul wrote: You were taught,

with regard to your former way of life,

to put off your old self,

which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

to be made new in the attitude of your minds;

and to put on the new self,

created to be like God

in true righteousness and holiness

(Eph 4:22-24, NIV).

IV. When it comes to love, Gary Chapman's popular book, Five Languages of Love, describes how people experience love the most -- in one of five ways:

•  Words of Affirmation .

B. Quality Time .

C. Receiving Gifts .

D. Acts of Service .

E. Physical Touch .

Rediscover the love you had at first, in courtship, with your mate.

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