READING • GENESIS 19
Sexuality is part of God's creation
The Bible does not present the human body or sexuality as shameful in themselves. God created man and woman, gave them the ability to become one flesh, and commanded them to be fruitful. Like every good gift, sexuality is to be used within the purpose and boundaries God has given.
Created male and female
The Bible begins with God as Creator. Human beings are not described as accidents of nature, but as creatures deliberately made by God. Genesis records the creation of man and woman and immediately connects this with the blessing of family life.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
Genesis 1:27 • King James Version
"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth..."
Genesis 1:28 (excerpt) • King James Version
Sexuality therefore existed before sin entered the world. The ability of a husband and wife to become parents was part of God's good creation, not a consequence of the fall.
Marriage begins in Genesis
Genesis 2 describes the woman being made as a suitable companion for the man. The chapter then gives the pattern that Jesus himself later used when teaching about marriage: a man leaves father and mother, is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh.
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
Genesis 2:24 • King James Version
The next verse is also important. Adam and Eve were naked, yet they were not ashamed. Their bodies were God's creation. There was no need for embarrassment or guilt where there was no sin.
"And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."
Genesis 2:25 • King James Version
Sexuality is a gift - and a responsibility
THE GIFT
THE RESPONSIBILITY
Companionship
To love faithfully rather than use another person selfishly.
Marriage
To honour the covenant between husband and wife.
Sexual intimacy
To keep it within the relationship God has appointed for it.
Children and family
To accept the responsibilities that may come with sexual union.
Human desire
To practise self-control rather than allowing desire to rule the mind.
What changed after sin?
Genesis 3 records a sudden change after Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Their eyes were opened, they became ashamed of their nakedness, and they hid because they were afraid. The Bible does not say that the forbidden fruit chemically or genetically altered their sexual organs. What Scripture does say is that sin brought shame, fear, suffering and death into human experience.
"And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together..."
Genesis 3:7 (excerpt) • King James Version
The lesson is not that the body became evil. The problem was disobedience. From that point onward, human desires - including sexual desires - had to be brought under the rule of God.
The Bible speaks to the mind as well as the body
Jesus did not limit sexual faithfulness to outward behaviour. He taught that deliberate lust begins in the heart. A disciple therefore has to guard thoughts, motives and imagination as well as actions.
"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
Matthew 5:28 • King James Version
Jesus then used very strong language about the eye and the hand. He was not commanding self-mutilation. His point was that anything which repeatedly draws us into sin must be dealt with decisively.
A modern application
The principle applies to what we watch, read and search for; to websites, videos, images and private messages; and to the company we deliberately seek. A disciple should not feed a temptation and then expect it to become easier to resist.
Flee sexual immorality
Paul gives a short, practical command: do not stay near temptation and try to prove how strong you are. Leave it. Avoid the situation where possible. If temptation is severe, prayer and distance are wiser than confidence in ourselves.
"Flee fornication."
1 Corinthians 6:18 (opening words) • King James Version
The King James Version often uses the word "fornication" for sexual immorality. In the New Testament it refers broadly to sexual conduct outside the boundaries God has set.
Marriage is to be honoured
The Bible treats sexual intimacy within marriage as honourable, while warning against adultery and sexual immorality. The positive teaching is as important as the warning: marriage is not something dirty or spiritually inferior.
"Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge."
Hebrews 13:4 • King James Version
Jesus returns to the creation pattern
When Jesus was questioned about marriage and divorce, he did not begin with the customs of his own society. He went back to Genesis. His answer confirms the creation pattern of a man and a woman joined together as one flesh.
"But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female."
Mark 10:6 • King James Version
"What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
Mark 10:9 • King James Version
The Old Testament records men who had more than one wife, but the existence of a practice is not the same as God presenting it as the ideal. The creation pattern is one man and one woman joined as one flesh, and Jesus deliberately points his disciples back to that beginning.
Faithfulness within marriage
Adultery is repeatedly forbidden in Scripture because it breaks trust, injures families and violates the marriage covenant. Sexual faithfulness is therefore not merely a private preference. It is part of faithfulness to God.
BIBLE PRINCIPLE
WHAT IT MEANS IN PRACTICE
One flesh
Sexual union is not treated as casual or meaningless.
Faithfulness
A husband and wife must not seek sexual relationships outside marriage.
Self-control
Being married does not remove the need to control thoughts and desires.
Love
Sex must never be used to manipulate, humiliate or coerce another person.
Responsibility
A disciple thinks about the spiritual and emotional effect of conduct, not only immediate desire.
What about a disciple who has already sinned?
The gospel is not only a list of prohibitions. Paul wrote to believers at Corinth whose former lives had included many serious sins. He reminded them that repentance and a new life in Christ had changed their position.
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
1 Corinthians 6:11 • King James Version
Past sexual sin does not make forgiveness impossible. The call is to repent, turn from the old way of life, and follow Christ. Baptism marks the beginning of a new life; it is not a claim that the believer has never failed.
The same standard applies to everyone
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul lists many forms of wrongdoing. Sexual sins appear alongside idolatry, greed, drunkenness, reviling and extortion. The passage gives no permission for disciples to single out one class of sinner while excusing other sins that Scripture also condemns.
Truth must be joined with kindness
A disciple may hold firmly to the Bible's teaching about sexual conduct without treating another person with contempt. Every person is accountable to God, and every disciple also needs mercy. Biblical conviction should produce holiness in ourselves, not hostility towards other people.
Same-sex sexual relationships
Modern societies contain many different views about sexuality. A disciple must decide what to believe from Scripture rather than simply from prevailing opinion. In Romans 1:26-27 Paul describes sexual relations between people of the same sex as contrary to the created order, and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 includes same-sex sexual conduct within a wider list of behaviours from which believers were called to turn.
The Christadelphian understanding is therefore that sexual intimacy belongs within marriage between a man and a woman. This teaching concerns conduct; it is not a licence for hatred, ridicule, abuse or discrimination against people. The disciple's duty is to speak and behave with gentleness while remaining faithful to Scripture.
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified..."
1 Corinthians 6:11 (excerpt) • King James Version
The Law of Moses
Leviticus 18 sets out sexual boundaries for Israel. Among other prohibitions it forbids adultery, incest, male same-sex intercourse and bestiality. Christians are not under the Law of Moses as a national legal code, but the chapter helps us see that God did not regard every form of sexual conduct as morally interchangeable.
The New Testament gives disciples their direct instruction. This is why the teaching of Jesus and the apostles must remain central when Christians consider sexuality today.
What Genesis 19 teaches
Genesis 19, the reading for this lesson, describes the wickedness of Sodom. The men of the city surround Lot's house and demand access to his visitors for sex. The scene is one of threatened sexual violence, mob intimidation and gross abuse of strangers. It is therefore important not to reduce the whole chapter to a single modern slogan.
Other Bible passages add further detail. Ezekiel 16:49-50 speaks of Sodom's pride, prosperity, neglect of the poor and "abominations"; Jude 7 also points to sexual immorality. Together these passages present a society corrupted in several ways and brought under divine judgement.
Sexual violence is never an expression of God's gift
Coercion, assault and exploitation are the opposite of the faithful, responsible use of sexuality taught in Scripture. No person has a biblical right to force sexual activity on another.
Temptation is not the same as surrender
A disciple may experience desires that are difficult, persistent or unwanted. The presence of temptation does not mean that a person must obey it. Scripture repeatedly calls believers to self-control and to bring their conduct under God's will.
This applies to every disciple - married or unmarried, male or female. Different people may struggle in different areas, but nobody is exempt from the call to holiness.
Practical ways to guard your life
ACTION
WHY IT HELPS
Know your weak points
Recognising a repeated temptation makes it easier to avoid the setting in which it grows.
Control what you view
Images and videos can remain in the mind long after they have been seen.
Avoid secret relationships
Secrecy often allows emotional or sexual temptation to grow without correction.
Pray early
Do not wait until temptation has become overwhelming before asking God for help.
Seek wise help
A mature and trustworthy brother or sister may help when a struggle is becoming difficult to manage alone.
Keep busy in good things
Bible reading, prayer, service and useful activity help direct the mind towards what is wholesome.
Think on things that are pure
Christian self-control is not merely saying "no". The mind needs better things to think about. Paul tells believers deliberately to fill their thoughts with what is true, honest, just, pure and lovely.
"...whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report... think on these things."
Philippians 4:8 (excerpt) • King James Version
Sexuality and the disciple
The Bible presents sexuality as powerful because it can create deep bonds, shape families and strongly affect the mind. That power is not evil, but it must be governed. God's gift is safest and most beautiful when it is used according to God's purpose rather than merely according to human desire.
THE WORLD MAY SAY
THE DISCIPLE ASKS
"If it feels right, it is right."
Does this agree with the teaching of God?
"It is only private behaviour."
How does it affect another person, my conscience and my relationship with God?
"Desire must be expressed."
Can I exercise self-control for the sake of Christ?
"Everyone decides their own rules."
What boundaries has Scripture actually given?
What have we learned?
1. God created human beings male and female, and sexuality was part of His good creation before sin entered the world.
2. Genesis presents marriage as a man and woman joined together as one flesh, a pattern reaffirmed by Jesus.
3. The body and sexual desire are not shameful in themselves, but they must be brought under God's direction.
4. Jesus teaches that sexual faithfulness begins in the mind, so disciples must guard thoughts as well as actions.
5. Scripture calls disciples to sexual faithfulness within marriage and self-control outside it.
6. The New Testament treats adultery, fornication and same-sex sexual conduct as contrary to God's will, while also offering forgiveness and a new beginning to those who repent.
7. Biblical conviction must never become contempt or cruelty: disciples are called to holiness, gentleness and love.
8. Genesis 19 warns against a society marked by sexual violence and wider wickedness; it should be read carefully alongside the rest of Scripture.
9. No past sin places a repentant person beyond the reach of God's forgiveness in Christ.
Passages to read
Genesis 1:26-28 • Genesis 2:18-25 • Genesis 3:1-19 • Genesis 19:1-29 • Mark 10:2-12 • Matthew 5:27-30 • 1 Corinthians 6:9-20 • 1 Corinthians 7:1-9 • Romans 1:18-32 • 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 • Hebrews 13:4 • Philippians 4:8
VERSE TO LEARN • 1 CORINTHIANS 6:20
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE MISSION • 5
CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE MISSION • 5