Sex and the Supremacy of Christ

In the eleven years I have been married I have read many Christian books on dating, marriage, relationships and sexual intimacy. Several of them have been mixtures of psychology and theology at best. Others were solidly grounded in scripture. Sex and the Supremacy of Christ falls into the latter category. In fact, it is unlike any book that I have ever read on the topic of sex. If you're single, check it out. If you're engaged, check it out. If you're married, check it out. You'll not be able to count on all your fingers and toes the things that you will learn regarding the theology of sex. The bottom line: everything is for God's glory, including sex. Piper, Dever, Mahaney and the other authors do a superb job at explaining how this all pans out in scripture. Read the rest of the review here.

Last Spring, Justin Taylor of Between Two Worlds Blog (and Desiring God Ministries) put out a call for bloggers to review a book he had a part in - Sex and the Supremecy of Christ. I was one of the lucky few who got in early enough to be blessed with the opportunity, and below entails my thoughts on the book. First, I would like to comment on how appropriate the subject for the book is for Christians today. As Christians, we are called to glorify God in all that we do, and within that fall our sexuality. This is often directly opposed by how the world that surrounds us views sex and sexuality. As yet to be perfected Christians we are impacted by the graphicness and pervasiveness of the inappropriate and negative message that society showers us with on a daily basis. This book serves to begin to balance that out by giving us a clear explanation on God's design for sex. What I liked best in the book: First, I greatly appreciate the readability of this book. With authors like John Piper and Albert Mohler, there is always the chance that it could quickly become very heady, making it a difficult read for the entry level reader. This is a book that I think most high school students could read, and I would recommend it for that application. I suspect this book will be challenging to those who have been taught to be ashamed of sex and sexuality. It is a tragedy that some in the body of Christ have perverted one of God's greatest gifts to us in this way. This book takes great steps to undoing some of that harm, and is a great reference for developing a biblically informed view of sexuality. While it is not specifically written as an apologetic against this, it nonetheless would serve ministries well that are helping people overcome those feelings of shame. The part I enjoyed reading the most was the section on Martin Luther and his wife. It added a needed lightness to what can sometimes be a heavy subject. It also was great to get a window into the life of one of the most influential Christians of all time. The section I initially felt I would not find very interesting was Dr. Mohler's segment on homosexuality. I was pleasantly surprised by what he had to say. I almost always find Dr. Mohler interesting, but the past two years I have been filled to the top with data, opinions, and stories about homosexuals and Christians. Dr. Mohler made it interesting, and informative, and I suspect I will read the section again. He did not present anything new to me, but he always has a way of saying things that makes me say "I wish I could have said it that way." I grew up in the church, and I can honestly say I did not hear much regarding any of the topics covered in this book spoken about at church. Sex was something people talked about in private. Sex was something that jokes were made about. Sex was everybody's dirty little secret. I think this book serves to shine a light in an area of much darkness for Christians throughout the world. I highly recommend the

recommend this book as a solid resource for churches, Christian leaders and individuals to teach and understand a total view of practical and Biblical teaching on human sexuality. Even though the book is a group effort of twelve different writers, it is comprehensive enough to challenge every Christian to grasp the concept that sexuality is not only good, but a God ordained creation for living as the creatures that he has made. While merely having the word Sex as the first word of any title of a book is sure to gain access to more eyes than not having it there, the title for the interested reader would be best The Supremacy of Christ over Sex. This being a book that comes with John Piper's name as an editor means that the focus will be on what he has termed Christian hedonism and the pleasure of enjoying God's creation, under his redemptive will in Christ, to the fullest extent lawful, to honor God to the greatest extent possible. Sex, in our time especially, seems to either be either an act of selfishness, guilt or, like the Gnostic heresy of old, a complete separation for the Christian between holy living and action. The purpose of this book is to remind, encourage and develop thought and action in people to embrace sexuality as part of God's world. Even the failings, brokenness, and sin that develop through sex can be redeemed. The book is divided into five sections covering the theological applications of God and sex and sin and sex in the first two sections. The middle sections of the volume deal with more practical concerns that men and women at various times of life regarding sex, and the book ends with very intriguing histories of Martin Luther and his wife and how the Puritans understood and applied sexuality. he last section holds interest to me as a reader of history, including church history. The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther's marriage to the former nun Katherine von Bora is described with all its unique joys and foibles. The Luther's are presented as a couple that married out of duty and grew in deep love as their family grew. It is a delightful tale worth checking, especially for what would be shocking to us, 16th century German wedding customs. The book concludes with an attempt to explain the 17thcentury Puritan approaches to sexuality and marriage written by Washington's Capitol Hill Baptist pastor, Mark Dever. Probably no other group suffers today from historical misrepresentation as the Puritans and Dever attempts to change the record a bit by explaining how revolutionary the Puritan approach to marriage was that we are still the beneficiary of it. His attempt to explain the Puritan approaches as a revolution against medieval asceticism helps to explain why marriages in the West developed from loveless matches to passionate matching. Probably no one in history valued the role of the wife towards the success of the growing passion between a Puritan husband and wife.

They say that the Victorians loved to talk about death but never mentioned sex. In the modern world we have reveresed that trend. This book is a substantial work bringing together contributions from some outstanding Christian authors on the subject of sex and the supremacy of Christ. Contibutors include John Piper, Scott Croft, David Powlinson and Albert Mohler so you should know immediately that you are in for a treat. I often feel that books containing the views of several authors sacrifice a consistent flow for am invaluable sense of community. In fact unusually for books of this nature S and S of G reads as one book. It is easy to forget that it started life as a series of talks given at a conference. The book covers Gods view of sex, addresses sexual sin and brokeness, addresses men and women, then ends with a section on the history of the christian view of sex. This book is a vital step in us developing a Christian worldview of this vital subject. I hope that many will read it and that it will be the subject of much discussion between friends and online. In an age that makes sex into a God, this book shows us that God is interested in sex. He invented it after all, which is probably proof positive that God does have a sense of humour. The book manages to steer clear of any notion that Gods love for us is in any way sexual. If you are anything like me, you may have gone "Eeewww" when someone has tried to spiritualise a particularly sensual bit of the song of songs. If so, you will no doubt be pleased the book claims that Solomon was celebrating sexual love not describing his relationship with God. God really does intend for us to enjoy sex within the appropriate boundaries he has placed on it. The book is perhaps slightly less practical than the last book on sex I reviewed- Hedges. Having said that CJ and Carolyn Mahaney contribute a chapter each both of which are very practical. If you are a wife you will want your husband to read C.J's chapter. If you are a man you will bribe your wife to read Carolyns!! There are some great quotes in the book, but my favorite is this from Piper: "There are many practical strategies for being sexually pure in mind and body. I don't demean them. I use them! But with all my heart I know, and with the authority of Scripture I know, that the tiny spaceships of our moral strategies will be useless in nudging the planet of sexuality into orbit unless the sun of our solar system is the supremacy of Christ." Overall I strongly recommend this book

It is always big news when a new book is released under John Piper's name. Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, while listing Piper as a co-editor, contains only a few pages of Piper's writing, with the rest being written by eleven other authors. The book is divided into five parts and eleven chapters. Allow me to provide a brief overview of each of these. The first part is entitled "God and Sex." The first two chapters comprise John Piper's contribution to the book. Piper asserts two weighty points. First, that sexuality is designed by God as a way to know God in Christ more fully. Second, that knowing God in Christ more fully is designed as a way of guarding and guiding our sexuality. Essentially he wants the reader to believe that sex was given to us so that God could use the language of sex as metaphor so we could know Him more fully. He makes quite a weak attempt at proving this assertion with passages from Ezekiel and Hosea. Unfortunately he is far from convincing and offers no substantial proof. While what he states may be true, and God may have created sexuality as a way to know God in Christ more fully, I do not find that Scripture explicitly tells us so. Thankfully these chapters are short and the book soon picks up steam. The third chapter, written by Ben Patterson, tells us that sex is good because the God who created sex is good. God is glorified greatly when we receive His gift with thanksgiving and enjoy it the way he meant for it to be enjoyed. We can only glorify God in our sexuality when we use it as He intends for us to use it. The second section deals with "Sin and Sex." The highlight of the entire book is David Powlison's chapter on "Restoring Pure Joy to the Sexually Broken." He provides biblical wisdom and encouragment for people who have abused sex, or who have been sexually abused. His counsel is loving and pastoral and will surely bring a glimpse of light to many for whom sex has become darkness. Many books have a chapter which alone validates the purchase of the book, and I would suggest that for Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, it is definitely this chapter. Albert Mohler takes over for the fifth chapter and writes about homosexual marriage being a challenge to the church. As always Mohler is well-researched and insightful. He counsels Christians to love homosexuals (and every other person) more than these people love their sin, but still to see homosexual marriage as a frontal assault on the institution of marriage. While homosexuality is a grave sin, we must not regard it as being the worst of all sins (as we are prone to believe). While it is surely an awful sin in God's eyes, we are all sinners and not one of us is innocent when it comes to sexual sin. Part three deals with "Men and Sex." Mark Dever and several co-authors challenge single men to live lives of sexual purity. They encourage men to adopt courtship as a model, for they feel it is more biblical than dating. I am not entirely convinced of this, but when