The Law of God and Public Policy: Marriage and Sex (6)

All of these are prohibited by the Law of God.

“But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.” Deuteronomy 22.25

Temptations to illicit sexual practice come from all directions; thus, it does not surprise us that the Law of God is careful to enumerate many examples of adultery to guide the practice of His people. Prostitution was not to be practiced, “lest…the land become full of depravity” (Lev. 19.29). Rape was to be punished according to the harshest measure, capital punishment (so also with certain forms of fornication – but see previous comments on the practice of capital punishment). Bigamy was forbidden (cf. Lev. 20.14 and Lev. 18.18), as was any sexual activity with animals (Ex. 22.19; Lev. 18.23; Lev. 20.15, 16).

The very nature of these transgressions suggests how strong is the attraction to sexual enjoyment and how vulnerable is the human heart to lust and adultery. Illicit sexual practices are described as perversions, because they depart from the divinely-prescribed norm, and abominations, because they are an offense to God and a danger to society. American law and practice today understand this, at least as far as these four practices are concerned. I cannot help but wonder, though, given the rampant hunger for and availability of all things sexual in our day, whether public policy will be able to hold the line against these much longer.

Our society is caught in the midst of a tectonic shift of values in sexual practice. Having cut ourselves free from the teaching of God’s Law – where policy toward sexual practice began in this country – in favor of a more libertine and individualistic approach to sexuality, it seems inevitable, if the present drift continues, that any laws against sexual deviancy existing today – with the possible exception of rape – will collapse under the tsunami of sexual perversity which is flooding the land.

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