I read these words by Eric Metaxas and they stuck: “Ideas have consequences; bad ideas have victims. And perhaps no ideas have produced more victims than those behind the sexual revolution.” Metaxas works with the Chuck Colson ministry, and they are going to do a short online course on the subject. I wanted to write this blog post because there are so many mixed signals these days, especially in the church. In fact, it is almost like the subject has grown so taboo that we don’t even talk about it anymore.

When did God ever permit us to delete one of his teachings from our witness? I often think about walking up to someone in heaven and having that person take my arm and say, “Why didn’t you tell me?” Even worse is the thought of having someone shout those words to me from outside the gates of heaven.

So, I will teach it, write it, and speak it: God created the sexual relationship to belong to a man and a woman who have stood at the altar and vowed to make that relationship sacred between one another and God. Is that an outdated message? Yes, to almost everyone but God. Bad ideas have victims, and the idea that the boundaries for the sexual relationship have changed with the times is one of Satan’s worst ideas . . . and most people, including Christians, believe it. Many believe it philosophically. Even more believe it practically.

Does a bad idea, or, in this case, Satan’s idea have victims? Consider these statistics:

• Since 1980 there have been about 1,503,494,000 abortions worldwide. In the United States, there have been about 544,000 abortions so far this year. The “good news” is that the number of abortions is in decline. 3-D sonograms are often the reason. God’s truth: It is a baby who deserves to live.
• Eighty-five percent of children with behavioral issues come from fatherless homes. Seventy-five percent of all adolescent children in chemical abuse rehab come from fatherless homes. Thirty-nine percent of jail inmates lived in a mother-only household. God’s truth: A child is blessed to have a mother and father who will give both love and discipline.
• Twenty-five percent of all Americans have an incurable STD. Many don’t know they have it. God’s truth: Purity is a healthy choice.
• Most people lose their virginity around the age of seventeen. Only 3 percent are abstaining until marriage. I checked that percentage out, not believing it. It is true, and some places I read said the number was less than 3 percent. The good news is that virginity is on the rise, mostly in highly educated and ambitious groups of people. God’s truth: Almost everyone is disobeying the word of God when it comes to his plan for marriage and the family. They are missing one of God’s richest blessings because God can’t bless their disobedience, only redeem it.

Have you wondered why most weddings, even those for our “church kids,” are more about the dress and the party than the purpose? Who are the victims of these bad ideas that have been taught or ignored? Our kids are the victims. The church is a victim. Our witness is a victim. Our culture, our politics, our world leadership, our finances, our sense of well-being, and our futures have all been victimized. When you think about it, there isn’t an area of our culture that remains untouched by this problem. We need to do what it takes to receive the blessings of God once again.

If we “sow” mixed messages from God’s truth, we will “reap” missed blessings. But if we speak the truth in love, God can use it to guide people back to his plan for their lives. Breaking God’s laws for the sexual relationship is a sin, but so are a LOT of other things. Sometimes that fact causes us to shrug our shoulders and accept sin, thinking, “Nobody is perfect.” But it is always better to reap blessings for obedience than it is to seek redemption for mistakes. And sexual sins have some of the darkest consequences. That is why Satan has worked so hard to change the way Christians think about the subject.

So, if ideas have consequences and bad ideas have victims, what should we do?

First, examine your own thinking. Do you really believe God’s word about the sexual relationship? Do you really believe that God will withhold his blessing from the person who commits sexual sin? If you do, you will speak up and share God’s truth on the subject. But you must share his truth with the grace, love, and conviction of his Holy Spirit. If you do the talking, it probably won’t go well. If God does the talking through you, your words will have his power, his love, his authority, and any word that comes from God’s Holy Spirit “shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

Whom has God placed on your heart today? Start praying and let the Spirit lead you to and through the conversations ahead. He is the only one who can change our heart and restore our character. I know God wants to bless our obedience to his word on this subject.

We will reap what we sow.