Rotten Fruit: Sexual Sin in Culture

By

Jeff Dalrymple is currently the Director Abuse Prevention & Response at the SBC Executive Committee. Jeff formerly served as executive director of the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention, a national association of Christian ministries committed to child and youth protection. In his role with the SBC Executive Committee, Jeff serves as a catalyst to educate and equip Southern Baptists with abuse prevention and response. Jeff is based in Jacksonville, Florida and is married to his wife Kristil and together they have four children.

Editor’s note: Join the conversation in Dallas for “Safeguarding the Next Generation,” a panel conversation about child and youth protection in both ministry contexts as well as in homes and culture – Monday, June 9, 2 p.m. at the Dallas Omni Hotel’s Trinity Ballroom. Get more information here.

Sometimes life gets busy. Too busy to even take a piece of fruit for a quick snack when running out the door. This can have a negative effect when we purchase fruit for a healthy snack then let too much time go by and that fruit can deteriorate and turn from being something delicious and nourishing to something moldy, slimy and stinky.

Many of us probably feel confused and discouraged by the rotten fruit Western culture has borne over the last several decades. This change is largely due to shifting values around some of the most basic aspects of human existence, such as the existence of God, the meaning of life and the reality of objective truth, including moral norms regarding sex, marriage and the family. These ideas flourished in the counterculture movements of the 1960s, typically referred to as the Sexual Revolution, which denigrated marriage and saw sexual fulfilment and expression as one of the key aspects of human existence, unbound by the traditional confines of marriage between a man and a woman. At the time, this was characterized as a movement seeking freedom from tyrannical tradition. Most people living in the West today have bought into this narrative of sexual liberation. 

First of all, pornography use is widespread and normalized in American culture. Consider these statistics:

This is especially affecting our young people. Birches Health estimates 93 percent of teen boys and 62 percent of teen girls have been exposed to porn at a young age, with the average age of exposure between 9 and 13 years old. And these exposures develop into habits which continue into young adulthood, with 57 percent of young adults (18-25) using porn at least once a month.

Second, consider the confusion regarding marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman. Since the Obergefell ruling in 2015, attitudes towards same-sex marriage have changed dramatically. Gallup’s consistent polling on questions related to same-sex marriage reveal a 14-point increase in the last 10 years of those who say gay and lesbian marriage is acceptable and a 27-point increase on the same question in the last 20 years. 

There are also major issues related to heterosexual relationships. One legal group estimated 41 percent of first marriages, 60 percent of second marriages, and 73 percent of third marriages will end in divorce. Another found that approximately 40 percent of children in the U.S. experience divorce before turning 18. In fact, the U.S has one of the world’s highest rates of children living in single-parent households (23 percent), more than three times the global average (7 percent).

Sadly, several of the statistics cited above contribute to the pervasiveness of child abuse, since children in single-parent homes or in homes where sexually explicit material is viewed are more likely to be abused. One in 10 children will be a victim of sexual abuse before their 18th birthday. Ninety percent of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way, and 68 percent are abused by a family member. Children can be exposed to abuse online as well. A 2023 study in the U.K. saw an 82 percent rise in online grooming crimes against children in the previous five years.

In a sense, our culture certainly has been “freed” from Scripture’s teaching when it comes to sexuality, marriage and the family. But at what cost? What did we unleash when we freed ourselves from God’s good design?

We’re living with the results of that rotten fruit, and many young people have been harmed in the frenzy. This is a call for the Church to stand up and show the goodness of God’s plan regarding sexuality, gender and marriage. This is an opportunity for churches to help the lost who have experienced the emptiness of pornography and promiscuity.

As churches, it’s our job to be salt and light as we welcome those who ate of the rotten fruit of the Sexual Revolution. We have the message of freedom, hope, redemption and grace. Our churches should be the safest place for the vulnerable to hear the Gospel. Our leaders must lead with biblical qualifications and as a matter of stewardship consistent with our Christian worldview. I believe that abuse prevention is a Great Commission issue and that we have the hope for a hurting world that is desperate for fulfillment that can only be satisfied by Christ.

Learn more about SBC abuse prevention and response and access training, events and resources at sbcabuseprevention.com

This article originally appeared on baptistpress.com as part of the First-Person series.

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