General Session 2: Al Mohler

In the second plenary session, Al Mohler outlined

2 opposite wrong approaches to sexuality.

1) Denial – don’t talk about it, ignore it, assume it is not there

2) Deification. We are living in a culture today that is re-deifying & sacramentalising sex. We cannot combat this by any kind of denial. All this means is that our children will be educated into a pagan understanding of sex. If we don’t educate the culture will.

Only 2 possible callings for Adult Christians

1) Marriage: this is the normal call. Adulthood normally means marriage biblically. Adulthood comes with adult responsibility.

2) Celibacy: this is not for self, but it is so that you could be deployed in KINGDOM MINISTRY without fetters. It is accompanied by a gift from God not to burn with passion.

4 Purposes for Sex in Marriage:

a. Partnership

b. Protection

c. Pleasure

d. Procreation

4 Enemies of Sex & Marriage:

1. Divorce
2. Abstinence
3. Defilement
4. Delay

Mohler was certainly his most provocative when talking about Delay: 100 years ago the average delay between puberty & marriage was 4-7 years. People reached puberty later and got married younger. Now 1o-15 years between puberty & marriage is often the case. God gave us a powerful sex-drive, because he intends something more powerful.

As young people struggle with lust the ‘denial’ approach would ask God to remove the sex drive. The ‘deification’ approach would say that the sex drive must be satisfied NOW. The biblical approach for those not called to life-long celibacy is to seek to marry a godly spouse and enjoy God’s wonderful gift of sex in the safety of His covenantal framework.

I hope that young men were given a vision of adulthood with responsibility. I hope that young women were not discouraged into thinking of a ‘left on the shelf’ mentality.