John Piper: Can God's Love Really Outweigh Sexual Desire?
Can the spiritual pleasure of a close relationship with God really trump the physical allure of sexual pleasure, theologian John Piper asks.
Piper, who serves as the chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minnesota, discussed a topic from his new book, Living in the Light: Money, Sex and Power, in a recent blog post, questioning if the power of sexual sin has the ability to outweigh God's power.
This is a tough topic, the theologian admits, because of the inherently tempting nature of sex. Unlike money or power, sex has an additionally powerful, tricky dimension because it offers physical satisfaction.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
For the immature believer, it may be difficult to understand that the spiritual power of God's love could actually outweigh the physical, more immediate satisfaction that accompanies sex, the teacher continues.
"[…] when a new believer or an immature believer compares the power of sex to the power of the beauty of Christ, these can feel like totally different kinds of attraction, and the question becomes whether the kind of attraction that the beauty of Christ has can really counter the kind of attraction that sexual hormones create," Piper says. "And I see that distinction. It is a real distinction. The spiritual joys, even ecstasies, which we can know in personal relation with Christ are, in fact, not the same physical kind as we taste in sexual craving."
Additionally, while sex offers us an "immediate, narrow, focused, visible or touchable sensation," Christ's love is "larger in [its] focus, deeper in the soul, more lasting and durable, taking in more of your personality — instead of just focusing on your body — and more personal and more relational."
To shun sexual temptation in exchange for a close relationship with Christ takes daily cultivation, Piper continues, referencing Ephesians 6:16 in which Paul carries his shield of faith to protect him from sin.
"The shield of faith represents a daily, ongoing cultivation of growing knowledge and growing trust and growing delight in our friend and King and Savior Jesus Christ, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month, growing the effectiveness of this shield when the arrows happen to fly," Piper explains.
The theologian concludes by encouraging believers to reject the initially powerful pull of the physical in exchange for something more permanent in Christ.
"I would plead with you to believe and to pursue the Christ who has depths and heights and unexpected dimensions of pleasure for you that if you will go hard after him day in and day out, these dimensions of pleasure will transform your life and they will pull the power plug on those sinful temptations," Piper explains.
Sex, if used correctly, is actually a gift from God meant to glorify Him, Piper wrote in a blog post discussing the same subject earlier this week.
"[…] money, sex, and power are good gifts of God that may be used with great love and effectiveness in serving other people and glorifying God," Piper explains.
Because these three things have the power to actually glorify God when used correctly, Christians must work to use them in a way that releases their potential as God's gifts.
