Clarity or Confusion?
4. Homosexuality
Feb. 14/15, 2004
Don Jaques
MAIN IDEA: Homosexual behavior is a sin. Homosexual desires are temptations that can be defeated through the work of the Holy Spirit.
POINTS:
Intro:
JOKE:After she woke up, a woman told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine’s day. What do you think it means?"
"You’ll know tonight." he said.
That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it - to find a book entitled "The meaning of dreams"
INTRO:Gay support group at OHHS? Gay marriage? Churches hiring actively homosexual men and women? It’s the issue that won’t go away, it seems. And Christians who oppose such things cannot escape the ugly labels of “homo-phobes”, “intolerant”, and “hateful”.
What I want to do today is to cut through the confusion of our culture and it’s views on homosexuality, and discover the clarity of God’s eternal word on this issue. We’re going to take a look at how gay theologians interpret this scripture, and how these interpretations are lacking. We will then discover the commonly held notion that people are born gay is simply a misrepresentation and an exaggeration of what scientists have truly discovered. I will close with how I believe God’s word would have us respond to people who are homosexual, with a word of hope and encouragement for any here today who are struggling with homosexuality.
Before I start I just need to say this: When we talk about homosexuality, we are talking about people.
• People with FACES
• People with NAMES
• People with STORIES
• People with PAIN.
• Sometimes, people who are Christian.
If we neglect the FACES, we neglect the GOSPEL.
I am indebted to an article by Joe Dallas, founder of Genesis Counseling, called Responding to Pro-Gay Theology for much of the research and insights I will share today.
MYTH 1. The Bible does not teach homosexual behavior is a sin. (Lev. 18:22, 20:13; Rom. 1:26-27, 1 Cor. 6:9-10)
Lev. 18:22 “‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
Lev. 20:13 “‘If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
Gay theology:
• Since these passages are contained in the holiness code which exhorts the people of Israel to separate from the practices of the surrounding nations, we are EXEMPT from these laws as Jesus freed us from the OT law and gave us a new law – the law of love.
• The word “detestable” does not usually mean something that is intrinsically evil, but rather something that is ritually unclean for the Jews.
• These passages are referring to the cultic practices of ritual male prostitution in the worship of idols, not homosexual behavior as we know it.
Problems with this interpretation:
• If we accept the idea that, as part of the “holiness code” these laws are no longer binding upon us, then we are forced to accept the following behaviors as acceptable as well, since these are prohibited right alongside homosexual sex.
o Incest with family members (Lev. 18:6-18)
o Sex with children (Lev. 18:17)
o Adultery (Lev. 18:20)
o Sex with animals (Lev. 18:23)
o Prostitution (Lev. 19:29)
• It is more accurate to say that Jesus has freed us from the ritual purity laws (e.g. avoiding certain foods, things like mildew, certain hairstyles, and clothes made of mixed fibers) than to say he has freed us from the laws governing MORAL purity.
TRANS: But even if one were to concede the point that perhaps the OT law found in Leviticus no longer applies, there are still clear passages in the New Testament which speak about homosexual behavior.
Rom. 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Rom. 1:21 ¶ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Rom. 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
Rom. 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Rom. 1:24 ¶ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
Rom. 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen.
Rom. 1:26 ¶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
Rom. 1:27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
Rom. 1:28 ¶ Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
Gay theology:
• When Paul calls homosexual relations “unnatural” he is not condemning them, but rather saying they are beyond the scope of normal behavior.
• The sin Paul is condemning is acting outside of one’s nature. (e.g. heterosexuals engaging in homosexual acts) Each person should act according to their nature, whether homosexual or heterosexual.
• Paul was condemning homosexual acts connected with idolatry, not loving, monogamous homosexual relationships.
Problems with this interpretation:
• To say Paul simply meant homosexual behavior is “not normal” instead of “against the plain nature of human biology” requires a level of mental gymnastics most of us cannot endure.
• The notion of heterosexual people engaging in homosexual acts was neither common in Paul’s day nor any other day. This is clearly not Paul’s meaning.
• If homosexual acts outside of idolatry were acceptable, we must also accept the other sins mentioned in this passage (in verse 29) as acceptable if not in the context of idol worship. What are they? They are greed, envy, murder, deceit, gossip, just to list a few.
TRANS: Clearly Paul is discussing homosexuality as one of the signs of the depravity of humanity apart from the salvation that Christ offers.
The final place in scripture that homosexuality is mentioned is 1 Cor. 6:9-10.
1Cor. 6:9 ¶ Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders (arsenokoite)
1Cor. 6:10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Gay theology:
• The Greek word “arsenokoite” here translated “homosexual offenders” is a word created by Paul which refers to male prostitution and pederasty rather than homosexual relationships.
Problems with this interpretation:
• Yes, Paul did coin this word. But he used the words “arsenes” and “koite” as found in the greek version of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) in the verses in Leviticus prohibiting homosexual acts. The fact that he did not use a more common word for homosexuals does not negate the clear sense of his meaning.
Is there any doubt what the scripture says? Homosexual behavior is sin, and as such is outside of God’s will for us, and must be repented of.
TRANS: But for most of us, when we try to talk with people about the moral rightness or wrongness of homosexuality, we will not hear these rather convoluted scriptural arguments. Mostly we’ll deal with one or two commonly held arguments: 1 – Science has proven that homosexual people are born that way. If God creates some people that way, then how can it be wrong? 2 – Since homosexuals didn’t CHOOSE to be the way they are, it is wrong to suggest that they can or should desire to change.
Well what does science REALLY tell us, and what does God’s word have to say to people struggling with inclinations to sin?
First, what has science truly discovered about genetics and homosexuality?
MYTH 2: Science has proven a genetic cause for homosexuality.
Headlines were made in 1993 when Dr. Dean Hamer of the National Cancer Institute studied 40 pairs of non-identical gay brothers and claimed that 33 of the pairs had inherited the same X-linked genetic markers, thus indicating a genetic cause for homosexuality.
All of a sudden the media latched onto this story, and exaggerated Dr Hamer’s findings to say that there is positively a “gay gene” which causes homosexuality.
Response #1: The argument is misleading and exaggerated.
First, Hamer’s results have yet to be replicated. In fact, a later, similar study actually contradicted Hamer’s conclusions. George Ebers of the University of Western Ontario examined 52 pairs of gay brothers, and found "no evidence for a linkage of homosexuality to markers on the X-chromosome or elsewhere."
Ebers also, with an associate, studied 400 families with one or more homosexual males, and found "no evidence for the X-linked, mother-to-son transmission posited by Hamer."
To my memory, no headlines were made when this study was released!
Some researchers, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, actually say the "born gay" theories are "unfounded and politically dangerous." Dr. William Byne of Columbia University calls the "inborn" evidence "inconclusive" and compares it to "trying to add up a hundred zeroes so you can get 1."
Response #2: It is illogical to assume inborn means morally acceptable.
Inborn tendencies towards certain behaviors (like homosexuality) do not make those behaviors moral. Studies in the past fifteen years indicate a variety of behaviors, such as alcoholism and violent behavior or even a propensity toward marital infidelity may have their roots in our genes.
Surely we’re not going to say that alcoholism, violence, and adultery are legitimate because they were inherited. So it is with homosexuality. Whether inborn or acquired, it is still, like all sexual contact apart from marriage, immoral.
Besides, one of the clear teachings of scripture is that each of us inherits a corrupt sin nature (whether it shows up in our genes or just in our behavior). Each of us is born with flaws in our character and/or genetic makeup that will lead us to break God’s law. This in no way makes such behavior excusable.
There are mental, psychological, physical and sexual aspects of our beings that God never intended us to have. "Inborn," in short, does not mean "divinely sanctioned."
MYTH #3: Since homosexuals did not choose their orientation, they cannot control their behavior or change it.
"Sexual orientation simply cannot be changed," a gay psychiatrist says confidently, warning "there may be severe emotional and social consequences in the attempt to change from homosexuality to heterosexuality."
Suggesting someone can change their sexual orientation is sometimes likened to suggesting someone can change the color of their skin or eyes or hair.
Response: While many mental health authorities believe homosexuality is unchangeable, many others believe it can be changed.
Dr. Irvine Bieber concluded (after treating over a hundred homosexuals) that "a heterosexual shift is a possibility for all homosexuals who are strongly motivated to change."[50]
Sex researchers Masters and Johnson (hardly a pair of standard-bearers for the traditional view!) said the "homosexuality cannot be changed" concept was "certainly open to question."[51] Drs. Wood and Dietrich, writing about the effectiveness of treatment for homosexuality, confirmed "all studies which have attempted conversions from homosexuality to heterosexuality have had significant success."[52]
But no one says it better than Stanton Jones, Chair of Psychology at Wheaton College:
“Anyone who says there is no hope (for change) is either ignorant or a liar. Every secular study of change has shown some success rate, and persons who testify to substantial healings by God are legion.”
Response: God’s word testifies to the possibility of change. (1 Cor. 6:9-11)
1Cor. 6:9 Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
1Cor. 6:10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1Cor. 6:11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Here Paul testifies that some of the people in the Corinthian church had been involved in all sorts of sin, including homosexual behavior, but that was in their past! They had been washed, they had been sanctified, they had been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God!
This is the good news of the gospel.
Every person here today has a sin problem. We all have tendencies to do things which God has prohibited, or NOT to do the things God has instructed.
But by the same token, every person here today can be made new from the inside out. Every person here, through repentance from sin and faith in the saving power of Jesus Christ, can overcome the sin that plagues them.
Heterosexual people and homosexual people can be delivered from their sinful nature by the power of the blood of Jesus, and the innerworkings of the Holy Spirit. But the first step toward healing is always the same: repentance.
CLOSING:
So then, What is our response toward homosexual people to be? I think that it depends on where they fall into these 3 categories (by the way these categories could work for any sin you’d like to use to fill in the blank.)
Non-Christian homosexuals.
Unrepentant Christian homosexuals.
Repentant Christian homosexuals.
Scripture’s teaching toward the first two groups is found in 1 Cor. 5:9-13:
1Cor. 5:9 ¶ I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people —
1Cor. 5:10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
1Cor. 5:11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
1Cor. 5:12 ¶ What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
1Cor. 5:13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
Toward Non-Christian homosexuals, then, we are not to judge them. We are not to try and remove ourselves from contact with them. If we tried to do that, Paul said, we’d have to leave this world!
Quite on the contrary to removing ourselves from contact with them, I believe Jesus would have us establish friendships and seek ways to demonstrate kindness and love and mercy toward homosexual people. Jesus never demonstrated fear or revulsion toward people, including lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes. He loved them. And he encouraged them to repent from their sin.
Toward Unrepentant “Christian” homosexuals, our response is to not associate with them. 1 Cor. 5:11 says we are not to associate with anyone who calls themselves a brother but is involved in explicit sin. Paul actually goes so far as to say we should “expel” such a person from among the church.
Does this mean we go around expelling people when they fall into sin? NO – when our brothers and sisters in Christ fall into sin, including homosexual behavior, we are to lovingly correct them.
Luke 17:3 So watch yourselves. ¶ “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
But if they refuse to hear correction from the word of God and from other believers who love them, such people become a cancer which threaten the health, the reputation, and the effectiveness of the church to fulfill it’s mission. As such, unrepentant sinners, living in defiant opposition to the word of God, are not to be allowed to fellowship with true believers and seekers.
TRANS: But what about the 3rd category, those who are Christians who are struggling with the temptation to act upon homosexual desires, or who in fact have fallen into such sin, but are repentant and doing everything possible to follow God’s law.
Toward repentant Christian homosexuals we must provide support, encouragement, and grace.
To such people we MUST provide support, encouragement, and the same grace that we would hope to receive in our struggles with our own sinful nature.
It is for sinners desiring to find new life that Jesus Christ came. It is for people who want to change their inner propensity to sin that God gives his Holy Spirit. And it is for sinners who repent that God promises new life.
Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
The invitation to come and receive times of refreshing is made to all – heterosexual, homosexual alike. Come repent of your sin – change your ways – and the Holy Spirit will provide the power to change. It may be a long journey or a miraculous healing – but He is there for you.
SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:
If you had a close friend share with you they were homosexual, how would you respond (honestly)? How do you think you should respond?
Read 1 Cor. 5:9-13. What do you think Jesus would do about the starting up of a gay support group at the High School? What scripture or principle from scripture comes to mind?
What would Jesus do if the government of his day attempted to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples? Again, what scripture comes to mind?
How do you think Christians should respond to these issues today?
What attitudes or behaviors could accurately be called “homophobia”? What is the difference between “homophobia” and holding to the scriptural truth that says homosexual behavior is sin?
