Is becoming 'straight' a godly goal? For the Christian, exchanging one set of sexual temptations for another set is not really progress towards living a life that gives glory to God. Rather, God calls every Christian to behave within the sexual boundaries set out in the Bible. And God does not promise to take away our struggles.

Jesus came to give us life in all its fullness (John 10:10). So, obeying his will on sex and relationships should not lead to a miserable life. When it comes to our views on sex and celibacy, are we being influenced by God’s Word, or by the prevailing view of our culture?

God knits each of us together in a unique and individual way. In a fallen world, this means that a person’s experience of same-sex temptations will be – at least to some degree – unique to them. Inevitably, then, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to supporting people.

The easy answer is that the Bible is silent on this issue, because the word "masturbation" itself doesn't appear. For such a subject, we must be careful of laying down burdensome rules (Col 2:16-23) but, if considering carefully what the Bible teaches in these areas, we see that masturbation is something Christians should avoid.

This is a convincing and well-written book on why the orthodox reading of the Bible on sex and relationships is right. It's highly readable and is written with real clarity and grace - De Young doesn't come across as if he has an axe to grind – just a genuine desire for people to hold to the truth.

In "Homosexuality and the Christian: A Guide for Parents, Pastors and Friends", Mark Yarhouse gives honest and accurate answers to parents, pastors and friends who have questions about homosexuality. He carefully develops a useful and clear three-tier distinction between "same-sex attraction", "homosexual orientation" and a "gay identity."

This book is aimed at helping same-sex attracted believers to hold on to a biblical, orthodox view of sexuality, and to walk that narrow way. The style of the book is easy, informal and conversational. It blends together relevant autobiography, popular culture references, good biblical exposition, accessible theological reflection, and wise, practical, pastoral counsel.

Although I'm not from a Christian background, I did grow up in a loving family. I listened intently to Gospel messages when I was 10 years old and started going to the church youth group, where I experienced God's love and started to grow in faith. My first memories of attraction and sexual feelings as a child were towards guys.

Being in an accountability relationship has been a source of great blessing in my life and, therefore, writing an article on the topic is a positive step forward for me. I am aware, though, that this subject is not always one that is met by others with the enthusiasm I view it.