Human Sexuality

The position of Moody Bible Institute on human sexuality and marriage is grounded in the authority of the Bible as the divinely inspired and inerrant Word of God. Our position is also consistent with the teaching of the Church throughout the centuries.

Since the beginning of creation, God has revealed His intention for human personhood, sexual identity, and sexual intimacy in marriage. God created humanity in His image as male and female, thus giving all humanity value, dignity, and eternal significance.^[1] The distinction God created between male and female is part of His glorious plan to bless humanity. It is the foundation for all subsequent human life and is reflected in a person’s biological birth sex; embracing one’s birth sex honors this distinction as designed by God but misrepresenting one’s birth sex violates God’s generous intention for human relationships. The goodness and beauty of God’s creation is affirmed by Jesus Christ and is foundational for the New Testament view of human sexuality.^[2]

God designed marriage to be a monogamous, permanent, committed relationship between a male and a female.^[3] This divine design is the standard that defines appropriate sexual expression and is beautifully mirrored in the holy union between Christ and His Church.^[4] Marriage is the God-ordained context for the sexual union between a male and a female and is blessed with life-giving potential by God Himself. We believe, in joyful obedience to the Bible, that God created human sexuality and marriage as a glorious sign of His never-ending love. We praise and worship God for this magnificent blessing.

Tragically, with the entrance of sin into the world, humanity has distorted God’s design for human sexuality and marriage. All humanity now struggles with immoral desires and temptations to act in a way that is contrary to God’s purposes for human flourishing. Nevertheless, God responds with gracious and merciful love to identify sinful expressions of human sexuality.

With one consistent voice, the Bible teaches that any type of sexual activity outside the God-ordained marriage of male and female is sinful. Therefore, specific activities such as premarital sex, adultery, or homosexual sex are inconsistent with God’s holy purposes for sexual expression.^[5] We regard these divinely given guidelines and prohibitions as enduring expressions of God’s love, blessing, and protection of human life and dignity. We also condemn any act that violates this God-endowed human dignity—such as rape, sexual abuse, pornography, or sex trafficking—as an affront to God’s divine plan for His creation. 

We fully acknowledge that every human being struggles to some extent with issues related to human sexuality because of the fall of humanity into sin. While we affirm the biblical truth about marriage and sexuality, we also affirm that the grace and love of God in Christ extends to every human being without exception.

We rejoice in the good news that God has come in Jesus Christ to redeem humanity and restore us to a right relationship with Himself through the forgiveness of our sins.^[6] As we turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith, He breaks the power of sin in our lives and brings about a spiritual transformation that enables us to live holy lives.^[7] In our relationship with Christ, we find merciful restraint from our sinfulness. The Bible expects Christians to live out the ethical demands of their relationship with Christ as it relates to human sexuality.^[8] We acknowledge that our physical bodies and our sexuality are eternally significant to God, and we submit our bodies to Him as an act of worship. We anticipate the glorious second coming of our Lord Jesus, at which time our sexuality will be finally and fully delivered from the presence of sin to the praise and glory of God.^[9] We therefore reject cultural views and movements that are at variance with God’s design for human sexuality and marriage, willingly embracing and practicing biblical teaching as an act of worship and praise.

Knowing that Christ’s redeeming grace is our only true strength, all our efforts to love and support the members of our community will be oriented to the cross upon which Christ died as the final sacrifice for our sin. We seek to be representatives of mercy and love by upholding the biblical vision for true human flourishing. All members of Moody Bible Institute are expected to treat one another with respect and Christ’s love as we grow together in our common conformity to Him. We willingly submit ourselves to these biblical mandates in light of our call to holiness and to self-surrender. Members of our community will neither practice nor propagate positions or activities at variance with Moody’s position.

 

[1] Gen. 1:26-27; 5:1-3; 9:6; James 3:9

[2] Gen. 1:31; Matt. 19:4-5; Mark 10:6; Rom. 1:26-27

[3] Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5-6; Mark 10:6

[4] Gen. 2:24; 1 Cor. 6:15-17; Heb. 13:4; Eph. 5:25-33; Rev.19:6-9

[5] Exod. 20:14; Lev. 18:1-23; 20:10-13; Deut. 22:5; Matt. 5:27-30; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 5:1-11; 6:9-10, 18; 1 Tim. 1:9-11

[6] Rom. 3:21-24; Eph. 1:3-10; Col. 1:9-14; Titus 2:11-14

[7] John 3:16; Acts 16:30-31; Rom. 6:1-14

[8] 1 Cor. 6:9-20; Eph. 5:3-12; Gal. 5:16-26

[9] 1 Cor. 15:50-53; Phil. 3:20-21