Our sexuality is more than just a physical act, but rather the core of who we are as human beings.
— The Legacy Institute
The Legacy Institute defends a sacred, biblical truth about our personal identity. In three simple words: “Sexuality is core.” In fact, the very first thing Scripture says about our identity as human beings is “male and female”: “God created them male and female and blessed them” (Genesis 5:2). And so, because our sexuality is precious and central, it is in our sexuality where a person is often spiritually targeted.
In our culture, men are often “pushed” to act like women, and vice versa. We also see it in the homosexual agenda that aims to desensitize and normalize same-sex attraction. In recent years, we’ve seen it in the transgender agenda, too. Gender confusion results.
Especially in the greater-Seattle area, such facts make the mission of the Legacy Institute all the more important and refreshing, and we are delighted to share its “Divine Design” approach to sexuality.
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Sexuality Integrity
The Legacy Institute is marriage and family focused, but it does so by uniquely focusing on what comes before strong marriages and families: each person’s healthy sexual identity. It proclaims:
“We believe whole individuals build strong, healthy families, which are the foundation for successful cultures. A clear understanding of the true purpose and meaning of sexuality is vital to the formation of whole, healthy families. Without sexual integrity, both family and cultural foundations erode and ultimately collapse. Since the beginning of civilization, this truth has been verified anthropologically across cultures and throughout centuries.”
Healthy sexual identity is what the Legacy Institute calls “sexual integrity”. “Sexual integrity is expressing the gift of our sexuality throughout our whole lives in agreement with God’s intentional design.” The God who loves us and created us knows what’s best, and this includes our sexuality, too. “Sexual integrity involves more than just making good sexual decisions. It also involves knowing who we are as men and women and choosing the most appropriate and compelling ways to express our male and female natures.”
Impact
Their impact is impressive, as they promote “divine design” by educational resources, events, and radio teaching. Check out these amazing statistics:
With more than 3,000 radio shows, the primary way the Legacy Institute shares its message is by Carrie Abbott’s radio show, a show that has received praise from the late Dr. James C. Dobson, Founder of Focus on the Family (right):
In addition to the radio show, the Legacy Institute offers many resources. Here’s a sample of their materials you can purchase, including the popular books “Biblical Blueprints for Sexual Integrity” and “True Beauty”:
And, their Legacy Classroom for pastors, students, and parents, offers free resources on all emerging issues in our culture:
The Cry for Sexual Integrity
Of all the powerful statements on their website, this may rank among the very best:
We do not see sexuality merely as a physical act but rather, as a core part of our identity as a human person. We are sexual because God created us male or female. Our sexual nature, then, should be expressed throughout all of our being, in five aspects: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual. When we express our sexuality fully in each area of life, we are integrated, or whole. We have sexual integrity. . . . We offer a blueprint for male and female wholeness, sexual clarity, and a lifetime of healthy relationships. We call this the Relationship Model for Sexual Integrity.
In sum, the “Relationship Model for Sexual Integrity” means that first men appropriate their masculinity, which often involves questions of strength, and women appropriate their femininity, which often involves questions of beauty. Then, second, men and women work in complementary roles within the context of marriage.
In contrast to that model, modern culture often aims to undermine our sexuality, they say:
• Sexual clarity, a clear understanding of the beauty, power and necessity of male and female differences is being replaced by sexual confusion, the incorporation of “alternative” lifestyles and gender confusion that weaken healthy sexual identity and relationship formation.
• Marriage (the biblical, monogamous, lifelong relationship between one man and one woman) is weakened by sexual promiscuity, cohabitation and same-sex marriage. Modesty, once both instinctive and protected, is eroded by a steady stream of illicit images in the media, and through tacit parental endorsement of premature male/female relationships of their children.
• Children, historically viewed across all cultures as a sign of divine blessing, are now often viewed as hindrances to personal fulfillment and global economic “progress.”
There is no doubt that a lack of sexual integrity in men and women will eventually hurt children, as shown today by gay adoption, which robs a child of a father or mother, as well as not valuing the raising of children as our most important work.
Life, Love, and Legacy to Our World
The deepest, most controversial issues that divide our society today nearly always relate to sexual ethics. “Premarital intercourse, fidelity versus adultery, abortion, contraception, homosexuality, divorce – the most popular objections to Christian morality are all against the Christian view of sex,” points out Prof. Peter J. Kreeft of Boston College. That reality makes the Legacy Institute even more important. As catalysts of cultural change, the Legacy Institute stands ready not only to defend biblical truths but to offer deep healing to people’s souls.
Their mission is more than philosophical; their mission is existential, experiential, and life-changing.
Truth can heal, and their work “points to the truth that our sexuality is more than just a physical act, but rather the core of who we are as human beings. When we see our sexuality this way,” continues the Legacy Institute, “we begin to think differently and to live differently. We see order and design in our bodies, our relationships, and our families, and we are inspired and empowered to make decisions that bring life, love, and legacy to our world.”
A legacy rooted in God’s divine design is a heritage to which FPIW applauds, and it is an honor to stand alongside the Legacy Institute in order to support their vital work.
To follow the Legacy Institute, here are their links on social media: X, Facebook, and Instagram.