Dr Paul Allen

In Genesis 6:1–4, the reader encounters one of the most challenging passages in all of Scripture to interpret. Here’s the passage in the ESV. When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. Echoes from Genesis 1–3 People multiplying is an echo of Genesis 1. God made “man” (Gen 1:26–27), and then he commissioned his image-bearers to be fruitful and “multiply” (1:28). In 6:1, we read of this multiplication happening. The reference to God as “Spirit” in Genesis 6:3 reminds us of 1:2, the second verse in the Bible. There, th...

A young adult ministry leader from a Texas megachurch recently shared five ways believers can battle against the temptation of “secret” sexual sins, such as porn, lust, and masturbation.  JD Rodgers of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, who serves as the young adults' creative director of The Porch Ministry, warned a primarily young adult audience about the perils of sexual freedom, labeling it “one of the biggest rip-offs or scams that the world sells us.”  In a sermon titled “Battling Sexual Sin,” Rodgers began by reminding the audience that they were instructed in last week’s sermon to write on a card the thing that makes them most shameful and to submit it to the ministry. Rodgers recalled how when The Porch leaders reviewed the "thousands upon thousands" of cards, a lot of them mentioned struggles with lust, pornography addiction, homosexuality and "past sexual perversion."  He then listed five steps that all start with the letter “R” that young a...

Perusing various magazines and news sites in recent months, I’ve noticed a growing number of commentators who recommend we reexamine our society’s norms surrounding sexuality. Casual sexual encounters bring more misery than happiness, they say, and “consent” isn’t a high enough standard to bring about sexual fulfillment and freedom. The Problem of Being Cool About Sex Consider an article from Helen Lewis in the Atlantic last year, “The Problem with Being Cool about Sex.” Lewis claims that the new generation of feminists hasn’t reconciled “what we should want with what we do want.” Pornography has saturated the lives of young people and colored an entire generation’s expectations of what sex should be. “If two or more adults consent to it, whatever it is, no one else is entitled to an opinion,” or so goes the commonsense thinking about sexual encounters. The problem, Lewis writes, is that the sexual revolution’s promises haven’t panned out. “Our enlightened values—less stigma regarding ...

The sexual chaos of our times does not free us. It pressures us. It confronts us with questions we didn’t raise or even want. It claims to offer us ever-expanding options. But the truth is, our hyper-sexual culture robs us of the joy of our personal discoveries within the safety and integrity of Christian marriage. Let’s rethink our married sexuality. Let’s throw off the complications that are claiming too much of us. Let’s go back to what our Lord would be glad to bless in our married sexual experience. Here are four insights to consider. 1. Freedom “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth” (Prov. 5:18). The sage is advising his son about his wife and their married sex. He is encouraging his son to rejoice over his wife, savoring the endless refreshment of their sexual joy. “Let your fountain be blessed” is more than mere permission. It is a glad benediction. The wonderful message here is a young couple’s freedom in sexual experience, experimentation, expl...

CAN I LOVE WHAT JESUS DOESN'T LOVE? According to a new Gallup survey, more people consider behaviors “morally acceptable” that the Bible condemns. The Background: Beginning in the early 2000s, Gallup started tracking the views of people on the moral acceptability of various issues and behaviors. The overall trend clearly points toward a higher acceptance of behaviors that the Bible clearly condemns. In fact, as Gallup notes, the moral acceptability ratings on abortion, sex between unmarried men and women, having a baby outside of marriage, and gay/lesbian relations are at record highs. The first number in each category lists the percentage of people who consider the behavior “morally acceptable,” while the second number is the percentage that considers it “morally wrong.” An asterisk indicates an issue at a record high level of acceptance since Gallup began surveying the issue. Sex between an unmarried man and woman*—73 percent/26 percent Gay or lesbian relations*—69 percent/30 per...

1 Corinthians 7:8–9 “To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” A question from the first-century Corinthian church regarding sex in marriage moved the Apostle Paul to write 1 Corinthians 7, where he deals with various issues related to matrimony. Having acknowledged that God has not given every believer the gift of celibacy (v. 7), Paul in today’s point expands on this point and its relation to singleness. The basic question addressed in verses 8–9 is what single people are to do if they find that they do not have the gift of celibacy. First, Paul notes in verse 8 that it is good for single people—whether they have never been married, are divorced, or have lost a spouse—to remain unmarried.  Singleness is not to be despised in the church, and unmarried people should not be treated as second-class citizens. Moreover, to tr...

1 Corinthians 7:3–5 “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does” (V3–4). God’s Word does not frown on the sexual union of man and woman or view it as a necessary evil merely for the sake of procreation. Instead, Scripture tells us that sex is good and even holy when it takes place in the proper context, the one-flesh relationship of husband and wife. Clearly, we are to infer as much from the account of marriage’s institution in Genesis 2:18–25. Today’s passage also affirms the goodness of the sexual relationship between spouses. Paul’s teaching on sex within marriage is extraordinary. He says that husband and wife should give one another their conjugal rights (1 Cor. 7:3). Each has a right to enjoy sex and each has an obligation to help the other enjoy sex as well. Both spouses sh...

1 Corinthians 7:1–2 “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: ‘It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.’ But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” First Corinthians, was written in part to respond to a letter that the Corinthian church had sent Paul. This passage makes that clear, for the Apostle begins to address a matter about which the church “wrote” him (1 Cor. 7:1). In so doing, Paul gives vital practical instruction for honourable Christian living. Paul says that he will respond to an argument summarized by the phrase “it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman” (v. 1). Some have contended that this phrase represents Paul’s actual position, that he believed lifelong celibacy was a good thing for all people. However, the whole scope of 1 Corinthians 7 makes that view impossible. The Apostle does state that some advantages attend being unmarried and celib...

If  you read the Bible cover to cover, you’ll see there is no ambiguity when it comes to extra-marital sex. Simply stated, it is forbidden. Sex before marriage is called fornication. Sex outside of marriage is called adultery. And marriage is defined as the lifelong union of a male and a female. That’s how Genesis defines it and that’s how Jesus defines it. Church standards throughout history would reaffirm all these points. All sexual relations outside the confines of marriage (which, to repeat, has always and only been the union of a man and a woman) are considered immoral and sinful. But in today’s morally confused society, right is now wrong and wrong is now right, to the point that the Church of England has apologized for reaffirming basic, biblical morality. “We are Very Sorry” Say Archbishops After Issuing a Pastoral Guidance About Biblical Sexuality As reported by CNN: Top archbishops in the Church of England have apologized for guidance issued by the church ...