What We Believe

Statement of Faith & Sexual Theology for Altogether Beautiful Ministries

● The Bible is the divine, ultimate authority for all action, attitude, and belief. It is the only trustworthy, authoritative, unchangeable, sufficient word of God, and it is without error.
● There is only one true God who is living, eternal, personal, ever-present, sovereign, and
all-knowing. He is perfect, holy, gracious, and unchangeable in every way. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things.
● Jesus Christ has existed eternally and was sent to earth to be supernaturally conceived and born without sin. He is both completely man and completely God, who exists as one person with two distinct, united, and perfect natures.
● God created man in His own image with knowledge, righteousness, and holiness with the sole purpose of glorifying God and enjoying life with Him forever. Our purpose remains to glorify
God and enjoy God forever despite our sin.
● Salvation is only in and through the Person and perfect work of Jesus Christ, Son of God. Salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone. Man could never do
anything to earn salvation, save ourselves, or be deserving of salvation.
● Sanctification is not merely understanding one’s salvation more, but willful actions on the part of a true Christian to conform their lives to the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
There is nothing that can separate them from God’s love if they have truly been effectively called and converted to Christ Jesus.
● The Church is the Body and Bride of Jesus Christ. Every authentic follower of Christ who has ever lived is a part of The Church.
● A local church is a group of real, authentic Christ followers who are openly committed to Christ, each other, and the local body, under the authority, care, and leadership of called and qualified
leaders.
● We believe marriage is a binding covenant created by God between one man and one woman for our holiness, for our joy, as a picture of the gospel to spread the glory of God.
● According to the testimony of the entirety of God’s Word, the two grounds on which Scripture would allow a divorce are sexual immorality and desertion by an unbeliever.
● God establishes that the only normative pattern of sexual relations is between a man and a woman within the blessed union of marriage.

STATEMENT OF GENERAL SEXUAL THEOLOGY

● Our sexuality is part of God’s creation and is a good gift from God intended for us to take delight in.
● God’s revealed will for sexual expression includes sexual fidelity in marriage and chastity outside of marriage.
● Sexuality, like all parts of who we are as persons, has been affected by the Fall as evidenced by desires that are not in keeping with God’s will for sexual expression.
● God is working in our lives to redeem His people, and we, as sexual beings, participate in that redemptive experience.
● God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s
biological sex, determined at birth, is a rejection of the image of God within that person. Since the human body is a creation of God, we believe sexual identity must be solely determined by one’s
biological sex, determined at birth, and that it is not a choice open to any person – a choice often influenced by fallen human nature in ways contrary to God’s design.
● The term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union for their joint lifetime, as delineated in Holy Scripture as the first divine institution. It is God alone who has the ultimate authority to define marriage.
● God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other, and furthermore, that He has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in
outside of marriage.
● Any form of sexual immorality (including, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, pornography, representation of one’s self as being of the opposite biological sex, and any attempt to change one’s biological sex) is sinful and offensive to God.
● God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing attitudes or behavior directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the Church. Further, we believe that the faithful proclamation of Holy Scripture, including the call to repentance, does not constitute hate speech or hateful and harassing behavior, but rather is a fundamental part of the Christian’s mission to the world.

General Beliefs Regarding Sexual Health and Practices

Abortion: Altogether Beautiful Ministries believes in concurrence with the church and scientific community that a unique human life is formed at the moment of conception, and that this human being is an image bearer of Almighty God. Because every human being is highly regarded in God’s sight and therefore worthy of care, dignity, and respect, Altogether Beautiful Ministries condemns the act of abortion, defined as the intentional killing of a preborn human being. In standing against the killing of preborn humans, Altogether Beautiful Ministries recognizes the significant distinction between losing one’s child and taking a child’s life. In concurrence with the medical community, Altogether Beautiful Ministries recognizes that miscarriage management and treatment for ectopic pregnancy are not the intentional killing of a preborn human but are instead necessary medical interventions. Altogether Beautiful Ministries supports such medical treatment for mothers, which allow the grieving and healing process to begin as soon as possible.

Birth Control: As Scripture reveals that sexual relations within a covenant marriage between one man and one woman are meant to provide pleasure and enjoyment and are not solely for the purpose of procreation, Altogether Beautiful Ministries takes no position as to the use of non-abortifacient birth control and other contraceptives. 

General Sexual Theology: Please see our statement of faith and sexual theology

Masturbation : While Scripture does not discuss masturbation, we do believe that it gives us guidelines with which to shape how we view the act. AMB’s official stance is that the act alone is not a sin, and could have benefits if used appropriately. Unfortunately, when we hear about masturbation, it is usually associated with behaviors that are clear sins in scripture. We do believe masturbation is against God’s design for sex and sexuality if associated with addiction (1 Corinthians 6:12, 10:13), self harm (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), pornography (Psalm 101:3), unholy fantasies (Philippians 4:8), or withholding yourself from your spouse out of spite (1 Corinthians 7:5). 

BDSM & S/M: While scripture is not clear with many sexual acts, we believe that there are enough accounts to stand against both BDSM (Bondage, Dominance, Sadochism, and Masochism) and S&M (Slavery and Master). 

Christ demonstrates and states throughout Scripture that we as Believers are to live in freedom through him. (Galatians 5:1) We are to respect one another (1 Corinthians 13:4-8), we are to honor one another (Romans 12:10), and lastly we are to honor our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Neither BDSM nor S&M fit into any of these passages, or the many more like them. Therefore, we believe that these acts, even in a marriage, go against God’s design for sex and sexuality. We believe that they do not lead to closer intimacy and are designed to degrade those who were created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27)

Anal Sex: We take no scriptural stance on anal sex, however as women with medical experience and healthcare credentials we do recommend against it for health and safety purposes. We don’t think of it as a “backdoor”, we think of it as a sewage drain and anal play is a good way to get hemorrhoids. Ultimately, what you do with your sewage drain is up to you and your spouse.

Oral Sex: Within a covenant marriage oral sex can be fun, connecting, and very pleasurable. We even see a description of an oral sexual encounter described as a beautiful picture in Song of Songs chapter 5. We do not believe oral sex is a sin or dirty, but if fully consented by both spouses, can add a wonderful element to your sex life. 

Pornography: Pornography in any form is not part of God’s design for sex and sexuality. Intimacy was designed by God to be between one man and one woman united in marriage (Genesis 1:27, 2:24) and meant to draw one another closer together. Pornography introduces other people to the equation. Pornography is also a selfish sex. There is no emotional connection, there is emotional distance. There is no sacrificial love, there is only self pleasure. Pornography is devastating both to a marriage and to a relationship with God. We firmly stand against it in all forms (magazines, videos, movies, strip clubs, etc.) whether you are married or not. (Psalm 101:3) 

That being said, we do not believe that taking sexy pictures of yourself or yourselves together, for the eyes of your spouse only, can be classified as pornography. We encourage you to be careful in the way you take and send them, we recommend having those photos password protected, and we recommend talking about it and coming to an agreement with your spouse before you take them.