Monday, December 21, 2009

Best Sex

Shoot straight. That’s certainly what the culture does with its pervasive and assorted non-stop messages about sex and sexuality. What’s resulted is a do-anything sexual ethic void of any boundaries other than those one sets for himself or herself—and it’s assumed that’s where sexual freedom is to be found. “Not so!” says C.J. Mahaney. If you believe there’s something more, you believe correctly.

Mahaney, of Sovereign Grace Ministries, offers up a much-needed biblical corrective pointing to true and full sexual freedom in his accessible little book, Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God: What Every Christian Husband Needs to Know (Crossway). Rooted in the unfolding biblical drama and a deep understanding of God’s created purpose for His gift of sex, this book is forthright in setting out clear parameters for men in a world where the messages they usually hear and follow are destructive to relationships and lives. Mahaney reminds men that sexually satisfying intimacy is meant to bring Glory to God, and that “before you touch her body, you must touch her heart and mind.” He then goes on to describe ways to kindle romance, communicate and become immersed in “holy, erotic joy.” A wonderful chapter by Mahaney’s wife Carolyn is included at book’s end, offering “A Word to Wives.”

While Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God bills itself as a book for husbands, I highly recommend it as a book for mature young men who are not yet married. Not only will the book serve to outline a practical theology of sex for marriage, but it will help younger readers (and the youth workers who lead them) understand and practice their sexuality to the glory of God before marriage. My guess is that many older readers will find the book helpful, but finish it lamenting the fact that they had never discovered it before.

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