What Is the Meaning of Sex? [eBook]

Sex.

We live in a world that loves it without understanding it. This book clearly explains the truth about sex and winsomely responds to society’s evolving views on human sexuality and gender.

From marriage to birth control, homosexuality to singleness, What is the Meaning of Sex? sets forth a distinctly Christian perspective, equipping you to engage our confused culture with a God-glorifying vision of human sexuality.

Denny Burk (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of biblical studies at Boyce College, the undergraduate arm of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as associate pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Burk edits The Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood and speaks and writes extensively about gender and sexuality. He keeps a popular blog at DennyBurk.com.

“Sexual confusion is one of the hallmarks of our age. Denny Burk steps into the midst of this confusion with a book that is as rich in theological insight as it is relevant to the challenge and the controversies of our day. We are in debt to Denny Burk for his careful thinking, practical application, and biblical conviction—all of which are on full display in this important new book.”
—R. Albert Mohler Jr., President and Joseph Emerson Brown Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Questions are swirling about as to the nature of human sexuality. Denny Burk reminds us that the answers to our questions are found in Scripture. He demonstrates conclusively that human sexuality is designed to bring glory to God. God’s glory is the purpose and heartbeat of our lives, and that includes our life as sexual beings. Burk’s study is exegetically faithful, culturally aware, and filled with practical wisdom.”
—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Associate Dean of the School of Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“It is ironic that the most private and intimate activity that takes place in human life—sexual intercourse—has become the most pressing public political issue of our day. This makes it imperative that Christians think clearly about this matter. In this book, Dr. Burk offers a thoughtful, clear and candid analysis of the issues. In doing so he has produced a volume which will be of great usefulness to pastors and people alike in thinking through the myriad ethical issues the church, families, and individual Christians now face.”
—Carl R. Trueman, Professor of Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary; author, The Creedal Imperative and Luther on the Christian Life

“Denny Burk is a Christian leader who is not afraid to take on the sexual revolution with the sword of the Spirit. His prophetic witness will help equip you to embrace what seems freakish in today’s pornotopia: the joy of sex, rightly ordered toward the glory of God.”
—Russell Moore, President, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; author, Onward

“This is a readable, enjoyable, practical, encouraging, wholesome, balanced, wise, refreshing, and deeply biblical approach to the ethics of human sexuality. This book is deeply needed in today’s confused society. I highly recommend it!”
—Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary

“Denny Burk has produced an elegant, comprehensive, and highly instructive book on human sexuality, as understood biblically, ethically, and theologically. Every pastor and seminary professor could benefit much from reading and interacting with the lucid discussions he offers, and all Christians will find here enormous help in thinking through the meaning of sexuality from a solid biblical perspective. This book will serve the church for decades to come in providing its sane and wise guidance.”
—Bruce A. Ware, T. Rupert and Lucille Coleman Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“This is a welcomed addition to a subject humans can never think about or talk about enough! It is biblically and theologically faithful, but it is also quite practical. All the ‘hot button’ issues are addressed fairly and comprehensively. Pastor-theologians will especially appreciate this fine treatment of an issue the Bible clearly addresses and our culture has hopelessly confused.”
—Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

“We live in a culture saturated in sexual immorality. The church can only properly address this culture when our ministry is drawn from the deep well of sound doctrine. Denny Burk draws water from this well and serves it up for Christians to drink. His book is richly biblical and profoundly relevant, and so serves as a reliable guide to the challenging questions of sexual ethics facing us today. If you want to understand these complexities and help others to do the same, then this book is for you.”
—Heath Lambert, Executive Director, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors; Associate Professor of Biblical Counseling, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams

“In a day of twisted thinking on marriage, gender, and sex, Dr. Burk gives us scripturally grounded, biblically solid, scholarly, practical insights into the intimate moments of life that should bring glory to God and the fulfillment of his beautiful plan.”
—Mac Brunson, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida

“Responding to the song of the Sirens, our culture steers to dash itself to death on the rocks of sexual sin. In this book, Denny Burk shows the way to the mast of biblical truth and urges us to lash ourselves to it. Read this book. Stop your ears. Turn from deadly sirens to the Lord Christ. Live.”
—James M. Hamilton Jr., Associate Professor of Biblical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment

“Dr. Burk has made a groundbreaking contribution to the modern debate on sexuality. He presents the biblical view of sex and demolishes current attempts to misrepresent the same. His application of biblical truth to contemporary cultural issues in sexuality is crystal clear. Whether a Christian pastor or believer, this volume will be your go-to book for help in engaging the changing sexual landscape.”
—Jerry Vines, Pastor-Emeritus, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida; two-time President, Southern Baptist Convention

“Denny Burk is one of evangelicalism’s brightest young minds, and he brings that mind to bear in What Is the Meaning of Sex? This book is a thorough, biblical, and judicious engagement of all things sexual. Burk biblically rebuts the sexual spirit of the age and equips the reader to confront the pressing cultural and ethical issues associated therewith. I wish every student in my seminary would read this.”
—Jason K. Allen, President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and College

“Clear writing, thoughtful arguments, wise positions, courageous countercultural stand. I learned some things I didn’t know and honed what I did. Denny is a skilled Bible interpreter and shrewd critic of politics and culture.”
—Andy Naselli, Assistant Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Bethlehem College and Seminary, Minneapolis, Minnesota

“Denny Burk is a true sexual revolutionary—not a revolutionary defined by 1960s standards, of course, but a revolutionary against the spirit of today’s sexual zeitgeist, which is marked by sexual confusion and brokenness. Denny calls us away from an Eisenhower-era sexual Puritanism and toward a view of biblical sexual ethics—patterned after the gospel—that connects us to Jesus’s cross and resurrection. Anyone familiar with Denny’s blogging will know his seamless arguments and elegant prose, a treat this book amplifies. And like his blogging, Denny tackles today’s toughest issues with biblical grit.”
—Andrew T. Walker, Director of Policy Studies, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission