Solomonic Sex

This is a shout out to Tim Challies' recent string of blog posts on lust, pornography, and the marriage bed.

In particular, I'd draw your attention to his wife, Aileen Challies' guest posts over the last few days: Part I, Part II, and Part III. These are addressed to women, but these could serve as good conversation starters for you and your wife (or you and your husband).

He's also compiled his previous blog posts on lust and pornography into two pdf forms, one for single men (here) and one for married men (here). Good basic summaries of the problems, the Scriptural teaching, and suggestions for facing these dragons down.

Of course more could always be said about this area, but we, Christians, just need to be talking about all of this far more than we do. And by this, I mean both the pitfalls and areas of sin and temptation and so forth, but also calling one another to faithfulness in the marriage bed. And of course there are tacky ways to do this, but there is at least one book of the Bible dedicated to celebrating sexual love. And that means we have a duty to cultivate that kind of wisdom, that kind of culture that delights in the freedom of Solomonic sex.

Last note: isn't it wonderful that the only book dedicated to the topic of sexual love was written by a man who was a spectacular failure in this area? The same Solomon who celebrates the God given gift of sexuality in the Song of Songs had all kinds of sexual sin to deal with as well. A man as prolific as Solomon doesn't come away from hundreds of wives and concubines without serious sin, and yet God in his wisdom, put Solomon's name on that portion of Scripture. And rather than casting aspersions on the trustworthiness of Song of Songs, what this ought to prove to us is the great mercy and grace of God. The God who superimposes His Words in the words of fallen creatures, inspiring all Scripture, is the same God who still superimposes His blessings on the lives of fallen creatures who turn to Him.

Most Christians have struggled with various levels of sexual sin whether it was before coming to Christ or after, whether many years ago or with ongoing challenges, but the grace of God is not powerless to heal all of this. If a Solomon can become a model of Christian sexuality, then every Christian marriage has that same hope.