One of the great dilemmas we face as Christians is
understanding and compassionately yet truthfully addressing the sexual
challenges our society throws at us. How
do we respond to homosexuality, transgenderism, the redefinition of marriage
and the deconstruction of gender, for example?
How do we find clarity in those things as Christians, as well as a way
forward to lovingly address those issues with our family and friends,
especially those who find themselves buying into these ideas?
Christopher Yuan, professor of Biblical Studies at Moody
Bible Institute, has given us a great resource to begin to answer these
questions in his book, Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desire and Relationships Shaped by God’s
Grand Story. I was first exposed to
Yuan’s testimony through his autobiographical book, Out of a Far Country: A
Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope. I also had the privilege of hearing Yuan and
his parents in person at the 2018 Montana Bible College Pastor and Leaders
Conference. The audio and video of those
sessions can be found here.
Yuan’s primary premise can be summed up this way – my true
identity is in Jesus Christ alone. While
society seeks to redefine sexuality and write gender off as a social construct,
Yuan takes us back to God’s design as based in creation. As he writes, “Clarity [in these issues]
comes not by trying to decide which approach is more compassionate but by
observing which approach is grounded in the correct version of truth – God’s
truth.” (p. 4)
The book addresses the broad span of human sexuality from a
theological perspective. He examines the
issue of personhood. Sexuality has
become not how we are, but who we are.
No other sin is so closely linked to our identity. Yet the question must be asked, does
sexuality really describe who we are
or does it explain how we are? Can we define our identity and personhood by
our thoughts and feelings, or is there an overarching identity given to humans
by God?
Yuan does a great job taking us on a journey through God’s
grand story of salvation. He begins by
examining the idea of the image of God.
He addresses the importance of the fall and original sin. Often Christians are content to chalk the
roots of homosexual behavior up to environment, but Yuan is very clear, “…to
claim that the primary root of homosexuality is anything but original sin is to
deny orthodoxy.” (p. 37)
The book then turns to focus on what God’s sexual ethic for
human beings is. It addresses desires
and temptation. The book unpacks what
the Bible says about sexuality. God’s
sexual design for humans can be boiled down to a couple of biblical
themes: chastity in singleness and
faithfulness in covenant marriage. God’s
standard for all is holiness – whether one is single or married. Unfortunately, believers have not done a very
good job of holding up God’s ethic in either of those areas. Our theology of marriage tends to be muddled
and incomplete, centered more on companionship or happiness or even the
fulfillment of sexual desire rather than on marriage glorifying God and
pointing to the ultimate reality found in Christ and his church. Singleness has also not been handled well by
the church. While the single person is
looked on with pity by some, Yuan makes a powerful case for the goodness of
singleness and the fact that single person is just as able to glorify God and
reflect a Christ-like identity as a married person.
The book’s last chapters address Christian growth and
sanctification as well as providing some great, compassionate loving advice to
those with friends and relatives suffering sexual confusion. How can we love them and yet address biblical
truth to their lives when we are given opportunities? As a man who lived a homosexual lifestyle
prior to faith, Yuan knows what approaches reflect Christ and which will
not. The bottom line for him and any
other person we may know struggling with sexual identity issues is simple: Jesus is better. He is better than same sex attractions,
singleness and marriage. Identity found
in him is better than anything found on earth in any sexual relationship. When all of us understand that, our sexual
thinking will begin to transform into something that truly is in line with
God’s truth, will and desires.
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