Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God's Grand Story

“The Bible is the most important book the world has for all generations. The Bible is our guide to faith and life. Nothing can compete with it or improve it. But in Dr. Christopher Yuan’s Holy Sexuality and the Gospel, you are holding in your hands the most important humanly composed book about biblical sexuality and godly living for our times.”

“I read a lot of books, and Holy Sexuality and the Gospel is on the shortlist of most important books I’ve read in the past decade. There’s a desperate need for a biblically astute and theologically grounded yet warm and personal approach to human identity and how it does and doesn’t relate to gender and sexuality. This is that book. Holy Sexuality and the Gospel is profoundly relevant in an age of toxic confusion. It should be read by every person questioning their sexual identity as well as by every pastor, parent, friend, or sibling.”

“A truly breathtaking book that unpacks the soul issues of gender. This book not only gets at the heart of sexuality; it gets at the heart of the gospel. Yuan is an insightful thinker and keen storyteller.”

“In a world with many opinions surrounding sexuality, Christopher Yuan has given the church and beyond a resource tethered in something much more concrete—that is, the Word of God. And for that reason, I believe this book can lead many into the truth that will set anybody and everybody free.”

“Dr. Christopher Yuan has done something deeply and desperately needed: he has told the great story of what the Bible says about sexuality—and about same-sex attractions—in a way that neither compromises the truth nor the love that is at the heart of that story. God’s overwhelming love for us is expressed in his passion for us to be holy even as he is holy. So he never calls us to mere celibacy or mere happiness but to a transcendent holiness and joy. That is the fullness and the glory of walking with the God who died for us—and God forbid that we should settle for anything less.”

“Christopher Yuan is a leader of courage, conviction, and compassion whose life story echoes with amazing grace. This book offers a practical, grounded Christian vision of sexuality in a world culture confused by and obsessed with sex. As the church thinks through how to engage our neighbors on issues such as sexual orientation and gender identity, and on how to disciple our brothers and sisters in Christ who grapple with such temptations, this book will be of immense help.”

“What a gift Christopher Yuan is to the body of Christ. His journey into ‘a far country’ and back home into union with Christ has led him to grapple with hard questions we are all asking (or need to be asking) these days about sexuality, identity, sanctification (both the process and the goal), and what it means to mortify sin and wage war against idols of the heart. In his treatment of these important topics, Christopher is at once humble, compassionate, insightful, and unwaveringly committed to holiness, the authority of Scripture, and the glory of God. Penning this book no doubt required intense exertion and great courage. Thank you, Christopher, for being willing to stay the course—for the sake of us all and, preeminently, for Christ’s sake.”

“When it comes to sexuality, singleness, and marriage, we need all the good books we can get. And we certainly need this book from Christopher Yuan. Holy Sexuality and the Gospel is part biblical exposition, part theological exploration, and part pastoral exhortation. Christopher has given us a clear-eyed and warm-hearted work that will inspire and encourage the weary as well as instruct and (gently) correct those who have been more shaped by the culture than by the way of Christ.”

“I’m so very thankful for Christopher Yuan and his faithfulness in the ministry entrusted to him. I’m grateful that he has become a voice of clarity in the midst of so much theological and sexual confusion. I pray that many will heed his clarion call to a holy sexuality.”

“If you’re looking for a book on what the Bible teaches about sexuality, you’ve found a good one—one of the best, in fact, that I’ve read. But this book is so much more. It’s an inspiring call to take up our cross and follow Jesus, who’s worth everything to those he loves. I’m praying that God will raise up an entire generation like Christopher Yuan, who will lead us in courage and compassion so the world might know that Jesus saves.”

“My friend Christopher Yuan has written a book as biblically sound and culturally self-aware as it is pastorally driven. In Holy Sexuality and the Gospel, Christopher understands that cultural debates and scriptural debates are driven by even deeper currents: identity and belief. As Christopher writes, ‘The apostle Paul says that in Christ “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Thus, my identity is not gay, ex-gay, or even straight. My true identity is in Jesus Christ alone.’ That’s what our society needs to hear. I cannot recommend Holy Sexuality and the Gospel highly enough. It is a scandalous book for our age because it calls and draws readers to a bigger horizon than what secularism and theological liberalism offer. The book tackles tough issues ravaging the culture and the local church but does it with a tenor of wisdom and grace.”

“Christopher Yuan’s work tells us that one thing counts most—our identity in Christ and the enablement that comes with it. As he shows, such a focus helps us in all of life, especially in the areas of sexuality, sexual identity, marriage, singleness, and the community that meets needs of intimacy and family. Biblical balance in all of these areas can be a challenge in our culture, especially in knowing how to love and how to converse on these issues. This book does an excellent job of showing the way.”

“Dr. Christopher Yuan combines his own gripping story with astute biblically grounded insights into the whole matter of our true identity and its relation to our sexuality. God has a grand design for human flourishing, and this book presents it so engagingly. Dr. Yuan’s big idea—clearly written and argued—is holy sexuality as a key to human flourishing. The tone is gracious throughout, and yet the book is uncompromising in its biblical fidelity. I hope that this work is distributed widely and read deeply.”

“This is a book about sexual sanity, and God knows we need it. Our culture has unhinged sexuality from spiritual and biological realities and loaded it with a weight it is not designed to bear. It was never meant to define us. It cannot make our dreams come true. It will not complete us. As a gift of God kept in perspective, sexuality is wonderful. As an idol, it is terrible. More than ever, we need to know what holy sexuality is.”