“The world is not
subtle; why should we be subliminal?” raps Christian rap artist, Shai Linne.[1]
And he is right, which makes me ask, “If the world is going to blast their
filth and spread it everywhere, why should we hesitate to call it what it is
publicly? Why do we have to veil our messages in metaphors that take all the
power out of them?” It is for this reason that I decided to release a single
today. It will not be on my upcoming album—Welcome
to da Faith—set to drop on Easter, Lord willing.
And before I share
a link to where you can find the song, I would point out specifically why I wrote
the song. I wrote it in dreaded
anticipation of a new movie that releases this weekend. I hesitate to even call
it by name. But let me just say that I can guarantee you it is trash and not
worth a second of your time. The whole second verse of my song is dedicated to
dissing it. Fifty Shades Darker, the
second movie in an erotic book series, comes out Friday. And for people who
call themselves believers in Jesus, please STAY AWAY FROM THIS FILM. If we’re
ever going to take the culture back for Jesus, we need to refuse to succumb to
the culture in things like this.
With that said,
the link will follow this paragraph. I need to warn parents of children that
this song may bring up questions that you may or may not be comfortable
answering yet. So with that said, maybe review it yourself first, before
sharing it with the family. However, and I will expand in this post, I personally
believe that the sooner we discuss sexuality with our children, the better off
they will be. Here’s the link to the audio:
And if rap and you don’t quite get
along, here’s a link to the lyrics:
And yes, this song is supposed to
be on iTunes and Spotify and Pandora and Amazon music in the near future. I
didn’t get it to them with enough time to spare before I wanted it released. It’s
on youtube as well so that I could reach a wider audience. (In fact, one of my
tags for it is “Fifty Shades” so that maybe someone searching for movie stuff
can stumble on it; #Godissovereign.)
* * *
So I’m not going
to lie. The phrase, “the birds and the bees” makes no sense to me. Go ahead and
say that birds lay eggs and bees fertilize flowers, but I still don’t connect
it to the fact that when a man and a woman come together babies result. Birds
and bees don’t mate with each other.
All that to say, “We
need to be up front, and not subliminal.” Especially as believers and
especially on the topic of sex. We are the ones with the truth on the subject.
We have zero reason to hide it from our children.
God created sex
perfect. He created male and female and created them naked. I don’t think I
need any more proof to say that sex in and of itself is good. However, we all
wear clothes now, and that is GOOD, because when Adam and Eve disobeyed God—listening
to the snake—the first thing that suffered was sexuality. Shame entered in.
Uncomfortable feelings entered in. They covered themselves to escape these
feelings. After God spoke to them, He essentially agreed with their covering of
themselves, because He clothed them in skins of an animal.
And as the first
verse of my song shows, this was all part of Satan’s plan. At the end of
Genesis 4, we read, “Lamech took two wives[2]
for himself, one named Adah and the other named Zillah” (4:19), and thus we
have the first written example of people disregarding God’s monogamous
intention.[3]
And, ignoring a whole bunch of the book of Genesis—Genesis 19 comes to mind—we end
up in Genesis 34, where we read,
Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore
to Jacob, went out to see some of the young women of the area. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, a prince
of the region, saw her, he took her and raped her. He became
infatuated with Dinah, daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke
tenderly to her. “Get me this girl as a wife,” he told his father Hamor
(emphasis added).
Thus we have the ultimate example
of selfish sex. And, also, by the end of Genesis we see that Satan has
thoroughly perverted sex for his own ends. It’s no wonder that sexual addiction
is one of the strongest addictions out there.[4]
An interesting statistic shows, “The National Council on Sexual Addiction
Compulsivity estimated that 6%-8% of Americans are sex addicts, which is 18
million – 24 million people.”[5]
The same website defines sexual addiction as “compulsive sexual thoughts and
acts alongside difficulties with intimacy. It can demonstrate itself as
uncontrollable compulsions with pornography, masturbation, phone sex, cybersex,
escorts, prostitutes, meaningless affairs, strip clubs, voyeurism, and
exhibitionism to name a few.”[6]
With this in mind, not everyone who participates in illicit sexual activity is
an official addict. This problem is widespread, and it was all part of Satan’s
plan.
But here’s the
thing: Satan loses. God promised as much the day Adam and Eve found out they
were naked. When Jesus died on the cross in the ultimate act of LOVE—giving us
the definition of love—He allowed His heel to be bitten by the snake, but He
rose three days later proving that He was going to renew everything. This
includes sex!
For the believer,
sex is new. It is not supposed to be about what I can get. It’s supposed to be
about what I can give. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:4, “A wife does not have
the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband
does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does.” Interestingly,
this was a counter cultural truth in Paul’s day. “Paul will have no truck with
a view of marriage that leaves the sex act in the sole control of the male,”
which was the exact opposite of the culture of that day.[7]
For a very good discussion of this passage, check out this sermon.[8]
If we teach our
children this from early days, I personally believe that it will spare them
from finding answers elsewhere. We have to tell them that it is God’s gift, to
be used in a certain context, and that if they wait until that context, it will
spare them much sorrow. God wants us to be happy, and sex is one proof for
this, but we have to use it rightly! When kids learn about sex from porn movies
it corrupts their understanding of it, and it takes a VERY LONG time to rewire
the brain.
But with all that
said, maybe you read this whole post, but you’re not a believer in Jesus. In my
song I say,
don’t call it making
love, cuz you just earning death
If the two of you aren’t bound by
covenant yet
And there’s a double meaning there.
Actually, the more I think about it, there’s a ton of meanings there. But here’s
the primary one: You have to be married to your sexual partner to have God
smile on your sexual activity (cf. Song of Songs 5:1), but at the same time,
you have to be bound in covenant with God to be earning anything but death. And
my song explains it well. “Confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved”
(Romans 10:9). If you do that, your sinful past of sexual activity will be
wiped clean and instead of being described in 1 Corinthians 6:9, “Don’t you
know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived:
No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing
homosexuality,” you will be described by 6:11, “And some of you used to be like
this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” Please trust Him today!
I don’t want to see you shut out of the kingdom of God—I don’t want to see you
end up in hell.
And if you’re a
believer who has gotten off track sexually, please come back! God is waiting
with open arms to forgive you and receive you. Luke 15:20-24 describes the potential
scene.
So he got up and went to his father.
But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled
with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.
The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your
sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father told
his slaves, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on
his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and
slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine
was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to
celebrate.
The following lyrics are true
regardless of which side of the cross you are currently on:
Trust Him today, say you’re done with your sin
If
you truly do this I promise you that He’ll come in
He’ll
shovel out your filth, He’ll make you brand new
It won’t be immediate change, but He’ll be living through you
And I’ll be
honest. The rap introduction to my song—after the spoken portion—is an example
of how this process is not immediate. Even Satan wants to twist Scripture—like Genesis
2:18—so that we act selfishly. We cannot do this. Sex is to be selfless or we
cannot call it love.
So let’s call
things what they are. Sex outside of marriage (fornication) is sin. Prostitution
is sin. Pornography is sin. Masturbation is sin. Bisexuality is sin.
Homosexuality is sin. For all of these sins, the same Savior stands ready and
waiting.
Soli Deo Gloria
[1]
Shai Linne, “Taste and See,” The
Attributes of God (Lampmode Recordings, 2011), MP3.
[2]
In my song, I use the word “doe” occasionally for rhyming purposes, but it’s on
the basis of Proverbs 5:18-19:
“Let your fountain be blessed, and take pleasure
in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful fawn— let her breasts
always satisfy you; be lost in her love forever.”
[3]
Monogamy as the intention can be proved because God only created one man and
one woman. In fact there was no one for Adam and Eve to marry if they wanted to
divorce the other.
[4]
“Top 10 Addictions in 2014: Sex Makes The List,” https://www.addiction.com/4249/sex-among-top-10-addictions.
[5]
Jacquelyn Ekern, “Sexual Addiction Causes, Statistics, Addiction Signs,
Symptoms & Side Effects,” Addiction
Hope, https://www.addictionhope.com/sexual-addiction/.
[6]
Ibid.
[7]
Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries – 1 Corinthians,
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Academic, 2008), WORDsearch CROSS
e-book, 106.
[8]
Pastor Steve Feinstein. Sovereign Way
Christian Church. “The Cure for Sexual Immorality.” May 8, 2016.
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