'Sexperiment' Pastor: Not Satisfying Spouse in Bed Is a Sin
Sexperiment author and Fellowship Church pastor Ed Young, who is challenging married couples at his church to have sex for seven straight days, believes that sexual deprivation and not satisfying a spouse within the lovemaking department are sinful.
"I think one day we will be held accountable regarding how we satisfied our spouse's sexually," Young told The Christian Post in an interview Friday.
"I would, in fact, off of Romans 12:1 say that sex is even an act of worship because Romans 12 said we can present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is a reasonable act of worship."
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Young teaches in his new bestselling book, Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy with Your Spouse, that depriving a spouse of sexual intimacy is a sin.
Husbands or wives who constantly say "no" are not only putting a spirit of rejection on their marriage, they are interfering with their fellowship with God, he says.
READ FULL INTERVIEW OF ED YOUNG TALKING ABOUT SEXPERIMENT HERE
In a chapter called "Stop Making Sexcuses...and Start Making Love," Young cites 1 Corinthians 7 to argue that regular sex in marriage is a biblical imperative:
"The sin of depriving your spouse of his or her sexual needs puts a strain on your fellowship with the Lord. The marriage relationship is a reflection of the relationship that Christ has with the church. Because of this unique correlation, when your marriage relationship is strained, your relationship with Christ is also negatively affected." (p.40)
To help his congregation connect how sex and faith relate to each other in the context of marriage, Young asked married couples at his church to have sex for seven straight days, starting last Tuesday. The event which coincided with National Marriage Week USA will conclude tomorrow on Valentine's Day.
"We are trying to tell people that the point is not to make 7 out of 7. It shouldn't be the point of it," Young told CP. "The fact is that sex is more than just sex. It's multifaceted and multidimensional. During this week, we are giving out what we call sexual chocolate, seven pieces of chocolate and wrapped around the chocolate are seven different reasons (divinity, unity, purity, priority, legacy, creativity, loyalty) why we should make love if you are married. And for singles to think about and pray about when they get married. We have seven different devotions people can go through online whether they are single or married to go through."
Young is also not the only evangelical megachurch pastor who believes the Bible is clear on Christians having regular and passionate sex. And he's not the only one who's recently written a book on sex either.
Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, also teaches a similar message to married Christian couples in his new book called Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together. His wife Grace is the co-author.
In the book, the Driscolls also teach that the husband and wife should engage in sex regularly because it's a God-given gift meant to be enjoyed in marriage.
"The biblical pattern for Christian marriage is free and frequent sex," the Driscolls write in their book. "The exception is when the couple agree that for valid reasons and a needed season they will abstain from free and frequent sexual activity to prayerfully devote themselves to a critical matter in the marriage."
But having sex on a regular basis can be tough, even for Young himself.
Young admits to CP that he got "tired" on Day 3 of the "Sexperiment" challenge because of non-stop speaking engagements.
"I just went to bed," he said. "We try to make up for it."
