Book Review: At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry, by Steve Gallagher

This book is relatively good in the way it approaches the ethics of sexual addiction. Gallagher identifies the types of attitudes and behaviors that lead to sexual sin, as well as those which keep sexual addicts from experiencing freedom. Gallagher also does a good job of describing the problem of sexual sin. He explains the important internal and external factors that lead to sexual sin. He also describes some of the negative consequences experienced by sexual addicts.

The primary thing I’ve found lacking in the book is a connection to the gospel. Over the course of the book Gallagher indicates that the addict should confess his sin, be mentored by someone who can provide godly instruction, note the consequences that come to sexual addicts, learn to deny selfish desires, stop making excuses, stop blaming others, become desperate for change, cry out to the Lord, develop new habits, separate from the world, realize there is a spiritual battle going on, put on the armor of God, follow Christ’s example, repent, receive God’s discipline, spend time in prayer and God’s Word, avoid atmospheres that provoke lust, cultivate gratitude, repent from complaining, give, serve others, pray for others, fulfill the needs of others, and love their wives. Yet you’ll notice that these are all imperatives—law without gospel.

Now, to be fair, there are a few glimpses of the gospel. In the chapter on repentance, Gallagher indicates that the sexual addict must come to a place of realizing that he is unable to overcome sin apart from God. Yet Gallagher doesn’t tie this explicitly to what God has done in Christ’s redemptive work. Moreover, this is a relatively short section of the book. The cross actually isn’t even mentioned until the last chapter of the book. Gallagher mentions the atonement as payment for the penalty of sin (although his point here is simply that this doesn’t mean that God’s law is no longer relevant). He does then go on to explain that God’s grace saves not only from eternal condemnation, but also from bondage to sin. This gets close, but he doesn’t really explain specifically how God’s grace sets sinners free or how Christ’s life death and resurrection serve as the basis for that freedom from sin.

As we deal with sin, sexual or otherwise, we must keep the gospel central. The message of the gospel strips away my doomed self-righteous attempts to fulfill the law. The knowledge that God no longer counts my sin against me provides me with the freedom to openly acknowledge my sin before Him. The redemptive work of Christ revealed in the message of the gospel empowers me to put the sin in my life to death. But these resources are not made available to the Christian in Gallagher’s book due to the lack of connection to the life-changing gospel. Tragically, this seems to be an all too common trend in current evangelical literature and preaching.*

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*For a thorough explanation of this problem, see Christless Christianity, by Michael Horton.