Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar/94

Contributor - Rev. Jim Moerman

Title - The Gospel Of Safe Sex

Topic - Sex

I was shocked when basketball superstar Magic Johnson called a press conference and calmly announced to the world that he had contracted AIDS. I almost fell off my chair when he later stated that he had been chosen by God to bring a message to the young people of the world - specifically, to preach the Gospel of... "SAFE-SEX".

And so Magic joins the growing throng of "Safe-Sex Evangelists" who started preaching their message in the early 1980's... "Dearly beloved, Safe-Sex is the answer for the world today! My friends, believe on Safe-Sex and thou shalt be saved. Yes, all things are possible for those who practice Safe-Sex."

In recent years, the Canadian government has spent approximately $200 million preaching the wonders of Safe-Sex. All you need to do is turn on your TV or radio, read your magazines, check out the public-service announcements, or go to the general assemblies in the local high schools. The message is relentless!

But what exactly is this thing called Safe Sex? Is it good, or is it bad? Is it right, or is it wrong? On the surface, someone may well say, "Well, of course, Safe Sex is good! I mean, what do you want UNsafe sex? DANGEROUS sex? What could possibly be better, than SAFE sex?"

SMOKE AND MIRRORS

Think back to the Book of Genesis. In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve and told them: "Look, you may eat of any tree in the garden except one." Straight-forward instructions. No confusion. But then slimy Satan slithered up to Eve and, relying on a shifty deception, he twisted God's words and asked "Did God really say 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden! ' "

Think. That's not what God said at all. Satan just did what he always does. He took God's positive statement and made it look bad, and then substituted something that wasn't God's intention at all. Safe sex falls in the same category.

Safe sex is a "euphemism" a nice word to cover-up something not-so-nice. It's a smoke-and mirrors deception. An attempt to take God's positive creation of marriage sex, make it look bad and substitute it with something that isn't God's intention at all.

Jesus said that Satan, the thief and liar, "comes to kill, steal and destroy." He uses deception, dirty tricks and lies to do it. And these days, one of his chief weapons is this thing called Safe-sex.

But let me counter Satan's lies with three things that are absolutely true about Safe-sex.

A FOUNDATION OF FALSIES

First of all, the Gospel of Safe-Sex is built upon false assumptions. If you build on a solid footing and foundation, your work will stand. If you build on a flimsy foundation your work will fall.

We need to understand that the foundation of Safe-sex is rotten to the core! There are two underlying assumptions - The first assumption is that absolutely everyone is sexually active from puberty on - and it is unrealistic in this day and age to expect any young person not to be!

What young people need to realize is that everybody is not doing it. And they are not an oddball, a nerd, stupid or ugly if they haven't done it!

The Safe-sex Evangelists think that teens are incapable of understanding that it is in their best interest to save themselves until marriage. Even though the Safe-sex Gospel is being crammed down the throats of young people with hardly a whisper of protest, statistics show that a full 50% of high school students are virgins.

Is it unrealistic for young people to remain virgins until marriage? The Safe-sex people would lead us to believe that is an impossibility.

Then I suppose that, according to the Safe-sex leaders, my wife and I did something impossible! When we were married in 1986, we were virgins - and had dated steady for over four years! Some would say "Well golly! It's a miracle! Tell us how'd you do it?"

No miracle. Virginity until marriage has been standard practice for thousands of years! We just knew God's Word on the subject; knew Jesus Christ as Lord of our life; and realized that whatever we did, we made HIM do the same, since His Holy Spirit lived inside us.

And furthermore, we just decided it'd be more fun to wait! (P. S. It was!)

As virgins we don't compare each other to some other lover in the past. We don't feel guilty, thinking we have robbed each other of something precious. And we don't spend a single second worrying about AIDS or some other STD (sexually transmitted disease) showing up when we visit the doctor.

We gave each other the greatest gift we could on our honeymoon night - but then again, that's supposed to be impossible. Don't believe it for a minute!

BUT SEX IS HARMLESS - ISN'T IT? The second false assumption of Safe sex is that sex is recreational and harmless. A little naughty, perhaps, but basically it's okay.

Hogwash! Safe-sex is neither safe nor harmless. There is an untold story that's being covered up like a Watergate conspiracy. For decades, we've been watching TV and movies that depict teens and young people climbing in and out of each others' beds as a routine part of life. On the Silver Screen, everybody's doing it! Everybody, that is, except the Nerds! And the only reason they weren't doing it was because they were too stupid or too ugly to find partners. There in the make believe world of Hollywood, the beautiful young fornicators never face consequences! No one comes down with herpes, syphilis, pelvic inflammatory disease. infertility, AIDS, genital warts or cervical cancer. No one is ever told by their doctor that there is no cure for their disease or that they'll have to deal with pain for the rest of their lives! On the Silver Screen, there is no downside to sex, sex, sex. It's all just fun, fun, fun!

The truth is that God created sex and put it on the playing field of our lives for us to enjoy. But sex that's out-of -bounds causes pain because He didn't, doesn't and won't bless it. Out-of -bounds sex creates feelings of guilt, regret, anxiety and low self-esteem, but they'll never tell you that. Out-of-bounds sex creates horrendous relationship difficulties, causes life long emotional turmoil and is the root of many marriage problems. What? Didn't anyone ever tell you that?!?

Not only do you risk unwanted pregnancy and STD'S, you also risk MTY Disease (Married-Too-Young Disease), which has its own package of consequences - dropping out of school, limited employment opportunities, future economic problems, greater likelihood of divorce/separation, and so on. The assumption that Safe-Sex is harmless ... is wrong.

SAFE-SEX ISN'T EVEN SAFE

The star performer in the Safe-Sex Gospel is your friend and mine - the Condom. Safe-sex revolves around, and depends upon, that wonderful little friend that everyone is supposed to carry in their wallet or purse.

What? Don't you have a condom with you? You actually left home without your condom? You're irresponsible! You've broken the first and greatest commandment of the Safe-Sex Gospel "Thou shalt not leave home without thy Condom." You could meet someone! And there you'd be ... without your condom! Ridiculous, isn't it? But the Safe-Sex Evangelists preach: "Hey, everyone, protect yourself. Practice Safe-Sex.. Use a condom."

But how safe is a condom in the prevention of AIDS? At a recent conference of 800 sexologists, the following scenario was presented. "Suppose the lover of your dreams came up to. you and suggested that you bed together. But just before that person hopped in, he/she added, 'Oh, I forgot to tell you. I've got AIDS'." The question was then put to these experts: "How many of you would entrust your life to a condom at that point'?"

Guess how many of 800 experts raised their hand? Zero. Why? Because they know the facts! And here are the facts, courtesy of Dr. James Dobson of Focus on Family and Dr. Joe Mcilhaney, eminent gynecologist and author of the best-selling 1250 Health-Care Questions Women Ask.

The latex material of a condom is not solid. It is permeated with microscopic holes 5 microns wide - excellent for stopping sperm, which happens to be I 00 microns wide. But, how big is the little critter known as the HIV virus, you ask? It measures between. I and.3 microns easily passing through any condom. It's like riding a bicycle through a garage door! That's why 0 of 800 sexologists said they wouldn't trust a condom. They don't work to stop HIV.

So why - in heaven's name - do the Safe-sex evangelists keep on promoting the condom? The answer is simple. It's because condoms are all they've got. And they'd rather believe and promote a lie, than to mention any of God's words like "'self -control" "abstinence" or "fidelity". They'd literally rather die than change their sexually corrupt life-style.

From the very beginning, God set up the boundaries for healthy sex. He said in Hebrews 13:4 that "marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral."

Safe-Sex makes a mockery of marriage. It considers marriage obsolete. Marriage isn't even in the picture! Safe Sex doesn't care what kind of sex-act is performed BY whom, TO whom or for WHAT purpose. As long as it involves a condom, it's okay.

And that's exactly the way Satan wants it.

SAFE-SEX, GOD'S WAY

Real safe-sex is abstinence before marriage and mutual fidelity for life to an uninfected marriage partner. These are boundaries set by a kind and loving God. And they'll never change.

The established law of gravity says that if I choose to leap off a 30-storey building, I will die when my body hits the ground. That is inevitable.

The established law of sexuality says that if I choose to engage in sex outside of His boundaries, I will pay a dreadful price. AIDS is not God's punishment! STD's are not God's punishment! These are reminders that God has established certain moral laws and, yes, they can be violated - but only at great cost!

LESSONS FROM THE JOSHUA TREE

After Israel moved into the Promised Land, their leader, Joshua, had a frank talk with them (see Joshua 24). He said, "Look, you guys are surrounded by a people who don't know the Lord, who cling to evil, who promote all kinds of things that disgust God. You're hemmed in. They're everywhere! I'm not going to be around for much longer, so I want you to choose for yourselves who you're going to serve.

"Well? What's it going to be? Are you going to do like them, be like them, act like them? Or are you going to be different and serve the Lord, be obedient to Him and follow His ways?" Then Joshua added "As for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord."

We're in the same position today as the Israelites were long ago. We re surrounded by people who accept, practice and promote things that disgust God. Safe-sex is one of these things.

God asks us: "What are your plans? Are you going to be like everyone else? Or are you going to be different and follow Me?"

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