Sex education is a sensitive and important topic for Christians. The Bible provides guidance on how Christians should view sex and sexuality, which can inform perspectives on sex education.
First, the Bible affirms that sex is a gift from God, created for marriage between a man and a woman. Passages like Genesis 2:24, Hebrews 13:4, and 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 celebrate the beauty and purpose of sex within marriage. This positive view contrasts with secular society’s often casual attitudes toward sex.
However, the Bible also recognizes the power of human sexual desire. Passages like 1 Corinthians 6:18 instruct believers to flee sexual immorality, while Matthew 5:28 warns that lust is equivalent to adultery of the heart. Christians must acknowledge sexuality’s potential for both great good and great harm.
How should these principles guide Christian perspectives on sex education? First, Christians should aim for age-appropriate education. Young children likely need only basic biological information, while older youth may benefit from modest instruction about God’s gift of sex and warnings about sexual sin. 1 Corinthians 13:11 recognizes there are childish ways of thinking we must grow out of.
Second, sex education must reinforce biblical values about sexuality. It should affirm the goodness of sex within heterosexual marriage and clearly identify sexual activity outside of marriage as sin. Educators must take care not to condone premarital sex, homosexuality, or gender transition as acceptable lifestyles for Christians.
Third, sex education should encourage sexual purity and commitment to chastity. Passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 and Galatians 5:19 identify sexual immorality as behavior unfitting for Christians. Sex education should help students embrace purity by avoiding temptation, controlling lustful thoughts, and pursuing accountability.
Fourth, sex education must introduce youth to the biblical ideal for marriage, family, and gender roles. Genesis 2:18-24 presents God’s model of marriage between one man and one woman. Ephesians 5:22-33 and 1 Peter 3:1-7 describe husbands as head of the home and wives as helpers. Such values anchor Christian beliefs about family and should be respectfully taught.
Fifth, Christians should recognize parents as primary educators about sexuality. Passages like Deuteronomy 6:6-7 charge parents to diligently teach children God’s ways. Sex education offered by schools or churches should aim to supplement, not supplant, parenting. Educators should respect parental authority and values.
In summary, Christians should advocate sex education that aligns with biblical principles about sexuality, marriage, and family. Age-appropriate instruction about biology and morality can guide youth toward God’s gift of sex within marriage. By upholding scriptural values, sex education can effectively reinforce Christian perspectives on this intimate aspect of human existence.
The Gift of Sex
The Bible celebrates sex as a gift from God, designed for marriage. According to Genesis 2:24, “a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This foundational passage roots sex in the creation narrative, affirming it is central to God’s purpose for marriage.
Throughout Scripture, the marriage bed is blessed, not condemned. Hebrews 13:4 honors marriage and the marriage bed as pure and undefiled. 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 instructs spouses to render the marriage debt of physical intimacy to one another. Song of Solomon poetically expresses the joy and delight of marital sexual love. God created sex; it is good.
For this reason, Christians must reject secular perspectives of sex as recreational, meaningless, or shameful. Sex is a profound gift meant to unite spouses in the covenant of marriage. It is powerful and sacred. Within marriage, sex consummates couples’ love, enables procreation, and defeats temptations to lust.
God’s design for sex as a marital gift also excludes sexual activity between unmarried partners. Sexual intimacy makes two “one flesh,” a state uniquely reserved for marriage between one man and one woman. Sex outside of marriage violates God’s holy standard. Thus, Christians must uphold abstinence before marriage and fidelity within.
The Dangers of Lust
Despite God’s good purposes, Scripture recognizes sexuality’s inherent dangers when expressed outside His design. Human lust wars against the soul, and sexual sin uniquely harms our relationship with God.
Jesus equates lust with adultery in Matthew 5:27-28, indicting not just actions but desires. James 1:14-15 describes lust conceiving and giving birth to sin. Uncontrolled lust inevitably leads to sexual misconduct and other relational damage. No true intimacy exists outside of God’s boundaries.
Specific acts of sexual immorality carry grave spiritual consequences. 1 Corinthians 6:18 warns “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” Sexual sin uniquely impacts the core of one’s being.
Passages like Ephesians 5:3 instruct believers to avoid all hints of sexual immorality, impurity, and greed. Galatians 5:19 lists fornication, impurity, and sensuality as acts of the flesh. Sex outside marriage insults the Holy Spirit. Christians must vigilantly guard hearts and bodies from sexual sin.
Because of humanity’s propensity toward lust, Scripture charges believers to make no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14), maintain purity (1 Timothy 5:22), and avoid temptation (2 Timothy 2:22). Accountability and self-control empower Christians to honor God through moral sexual choices.
Age-Appropriate Instruction
Sex education must account for children’s intellectual and ethical development. Young kids likely need only basic biological information appropriate to their age and maturity level. Details about sexual intimacy may be postponed until later.
1 Corinthians 13:11 acknowledges, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.” We cannot dump the full weight of adult knowledge on immature minds. Wise instruction meets learners where they are.
Older youth may benefit from modest education about sex within marriage, dangers of sexual sin, and strategies to maintain purity. Yet instruction should remain judicious, not explicit, respecting childhood innocence appropriate to age. Parents are best positioned to determine a child’s readiness.
Christian educators must also consider ethical as well as intellectual development. Moral reasoning evolves throughout childhood. Younger kids may struggle to apply principles of sexual purity in a mature way. Christian sex education should progress with caution in step with each child’s capacities.
Ultimately, biblical truth about sexuality remains constant across one’s lifetime. But how and when we teach on such intimate matters requires careful alignment to each young learner. Age-specific wisdom enables effective sex education within Christian contexts.
Reinforcing Biblical Sexual Ethics
Sex education in Christian contexts must reinforce biblical sexual ethics. It should celebrate the goodness of sex within marriage between one man and one woman. All extramarital sexual activity should be identified clearly as sin.
Secular sex education often normalizes or even encourages sexual immorality. It may present premarital sex, homosexuality, gender transition, and cohabitation as healthy lifestyles to consider. Such values blatantly contradict Scripture.
Christian sex education must take care not to condone any sexual thought or activity clearly prohibited in Scripture. Sex is exclusively for marriage between biological male and female. Educators must avoid implying other arrangements are morally permissible or “right for some.”
Of course, non-Christians will reject biblical sexual ethics, despite reason and Scripture. But within Christian education contexts, clear biblical truth must be taught – and modeled by educators. Students deserve access to God’s beautiful plan for their bodies, hearts, and lives.
Encouraging Sexual Purity
Christian sex education should encourage youth to embrace sexual purity. It is not enough just to identify sin; students need positive support in avoiding temptation. Scriptural strategies for maintaining purity should be clearly taught and discussed.
For example, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 commands believers to abstain from sexual immorality and control their bodies in holiness. Sex education should help students set healthy physical boundaries in relationships and learn to bounce their eyes from provocative images.
Accountability partners and groups provide crucial support, as confessed in James 5:16. Students need guidance finding wise Christian friends who will lovingly confront sexual sin and spur them to righteousness. Peer influence can encourage purity or immorality.
Scripture also prescribes fleeing temptation, pursing righteous pursuits, controlling thoughts, avoiding compromising situations, and embracing the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to resist sin. Sex education should thoughtfully explore such strategies with a tone of grace, not condemnation.
As youth build skills to resist sexual temptation, they grow in godliness and Christian maturity. Sex education plays a pivotal role in equipping students to honor God with their bodies and relationships for his glory.
God’s Design for Marriage and Family
Christian sex education must introduce students to God’s model for marriage, family and gender roles. His design displays his glory through human relationships.
For marriage, Genesis 2 clearly presents God’s paradigm of one man and one woman united in life-long covenant. Jesus reaffirms this standard in Matthew 19:4-6, proclaiming husband and wife “one flesh.” Attempts to normalize homosexual marriage contradict God’s design.
For family, Scripture celebrates children as gifts from God (Psalm 127:3-5). Parents are charged to train children in godliness (Deuteronomy 6:6-7), not provoke them to anger (Ephesians 6:4), and nurture them in love (Titus 2:4). Such values shape Christian perspectives on parenting.
For gender, passages like Ephesians 5:22-32 and 1 Peter 3:1-7 establish men as head of the home and women as helpers. Both roles bear equal dignity yet distinct responsibilities. Biblical principles on gender anchor marriage and family.
Where sex education touches on marriage, family and gender, educators must take care to align with biblical revelation, not cultural trends. God’s design displays his wisdom and care.
The Role of Parents
Parents, not schools or churches, bear ultimate responsibility for educating children about sex and Scripture. Passages like Deuteronomy 6:6-7 charge parents to diligently teach God’s commands to their kids.
Though pastors, teachers and youth leaders can play a supplemental role, they must defer to the authority of parents regarding sex education. The home, not church or school, is the primary learning environment. External education should reinforce, not undermine, parental values.
Therefore, churches and Christian schools offering sex education must maintain open communication with parents. They should explain curricular content regarding sexuality and secure opt-in consent before teaching on such sensitive subjects.
Opt-out policies for sex education are insufficient, as they can exclude parents. Parents should approve their child’s participation and have visibility into what instruction will be provided. Educators must respect each family’s values and jurisdiction.
Sex education unsupported by parents will struggle to impart lasting impact in students’ lives. Biblical wisdom about sexuality cannot take root in youth unless anchored by parental reinforcement.
A Difficult Subject
Sex education presents unique challenges within Christian contexts. Human sexuality remains complex and sensitive even when guided by biblical principles. Well-intentioned educators may still struggle to teach on sex effectively.
Content must navigate between legalism and license – upholding truth while extending grace. Instruction should be specific enough to establish right ethics, yet avoid unnecessary explicitness. And fostering honest dialogue without compromising purity remains an art.
Sex education also requires cultural discernment. Christians must reject values opposed to Scripture, yet engage sensitively with youth influenced by popular culture. And worldly ideologies may creep into materials or curricula if not scrutinized.
Further, no formula or program can replace Spirit-led teaching attuned to students’ unique needs and experiences. Secular sex education policies often lack nuance to address real spiritual and emotional dynamics in play.
For these reasons and more, Christian sex education deserves our prayers, wisdom and humility. But taught well within biblical guardrails, it remains an indispensable tool for shaping students’ values on this profound aspect of human identity.
Honoring God with Our Bodies
Sex education equips youth to honor God with their bodies, both now and in the future. Teaching biblical truth in age-appropriate ways helps steer sexual development in righteous rather than worldly directions.
Students will face daily decisions about purity, relationships, identity and more. Sex education rooted in Christian ethics prepares them to navigate these choices in ways pleasing to the Lord.
Of course, formal instruction only supplements the daily spiritual formation happening in students’ hearts through family, church, personal faith, and life experiences. But good sex education reinforces and anchors this work of discipleship.
Parents concerned about public school curricula often have good reason. Secular programs may normalize sexual immorality and leave biblical ethics unheard. This makes supplemental sex education through church or home schooling all the more essential.
Let churches embrace this opportunity. The spiritual and physical health of our youth hangs in the balance. With the Bible as our guide, we need not shy away from this difficult topic. God’s truth sets captives free.
