What does the Church Say About Homosexuality
Leviticus 18:22
A few weeks ago the church down the road ran a couple of messages on its sign that said “Homosexuality is a sin. The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.”
The newspaper called and asked me my opinion. I told the reporter that I thought it was great that the preacher there had the courage to speak the truth on a subject that was in the national spotlight.
Then the paper became a daily crucifixion of my self and this church as being hate mongers, intolerant, self-righteous, narrow-minded, unchristian bigots.
I felt there needed to be a response from this church but did not trust the newspaper as the proper venue for such a response. So, today I are giving my response to the editorials and to homosexuals who need to hear the truth about what the Christian faith says to them.
The issue is tremendously complex, too complex and large to cover in a single sermon. So… I am going to say that this is a Christian church that believes the bible is the authoritative, inerrant, trust-worthy word of the one true God. It is our ultimate source of authority. Thus our starting point and our guide will be the bible.
So we will be answering the question, “What does God say about homosexuality and all other sins.”
We are to examine this subject in the same way we should any other subject; as sinners redeemed by grace, not as moral superiors.
One of the charges leveled at this church and me is that we are homophobic. This morning I want us to answer the question, “Are Christians Homophobic?”
In a September, 1992 editorial in The New York Times, Dr. Richard Isay, chairman of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Issues Committee, of the American Psychiatric Association, defines homophobia as “the irrational fear and hatred of homosexuals.”
The problem is this definition cannot apply to a Christian addressing the subject of homosexuality. Why?
As for IRRATIONAL: Rational means according to reason. It means to have a sound basis or foundation for what you say or believe. Christians do have a very sound basis for what they say…. GOD”S WORD!!!! The Christian message is founded on the inerrant, unchanging, authoritative word of God… the bible.
As to FEAR OF HOMOSEXUALS: Christians do not have a fear OF homosexuals… we have a fear FOR homosexuals. We fear because we know that the wages of sin…. All sin…. Even homosexuality…. is death = eternal separation from God in hell.
Christians fear that if homosexuals, and murderers, and adulterers, and co-habitors, and liars, and thieves and all sinners do not hear the gospel, confess their sinfulness, and accept the salvation offered through Jesus Christ… they have no hope.
As for HATRED OF HOMOSEXUALS: Christians are not to hate anyone. The scripture is clear that we are to abhor sin, in order that we are to avoid it. God too abhors sin. But, like God, we are to love all persons. We are never allowed to mistreat, be rude to, or be unloving to any persons.
Therefore… irrational fear and hatred of any group is impossible for obedient Christians.
But… so is denying the truth of the Word of God.
Thus Christians are called to walk a fine line between being faithful to the Word of God, not compromising the truth of scripture and not allowing ourselves to act in any way that is unloving towards those who are involved in sin.
Do you see the catch 22 of being a modern Christian: If a Christian condones homosexuality, he is in open rebellion to the Word of God. On the other hand, if a believer opposes homosexuality, the world says he is irrational and/or hateful. There is no way for the Christian church to win.
For the church the question that needs to be addressed is that of theological beliefs. The subject of homosexuality as a sin has nothing to do with the Constitution of the United States of America, but it has everything to do with the Word of the Living God. The issue is, "What does the Bible say about homosexuality and homosexuals?" The issue is not what "feels right," what the government says, what science says or what preachers say. The only issue is, “What does the Word of God say?”.
So… What does the scripture, the Word of God, say about sin, and specifically about homosexuality?
First of all… the term, homosexuality, is not found in scripture. It is referred to by another term, “sodomy.” The term comes from the inhabitants of a town named Sodom. It was a town in the OT where Lot lived. You will find the story in Genesis 19. There we read that the inhabitants of the town were homosexuals.
If you use a topical bible, and look up Sodom or sodomites you will find all the scriptures that refer to homosexuality.
I have a list of them on the table out front, please pick one up on your way out. For the purpose of time, let me summarize them… Without exception, sodomy (homosexuality) is always portrayed as sinful and abhorrent to God. In fact, Sodomite and Sodom became synonymous with sin.
I will use only two passages to address the subject, one OT and one New Testament.
Leviticus 18:22, 29 Is as concise and as simple as God can make it…”Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; it is a detestable thing… Everyone who does these detestable things -such persons must be cut off from their people.”
I Corinthians 6:
Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.
So, for the purpose of this sermon, since this is a Christian church that claims to believe in the bible as the written word of the one holy God… it will be a given that…. Homosexuality is a sin according to God’s word.
However, the purpose of this sermon is not to prove that homosexuality is a sin. The purpose of this sermon is to address the issue of what the church, the bible, and God have to say to those who are caught in that lifestyle. Does it have any hope to offer?
Here is the premise of this message: We believe that it is the Christian faith, and only the Christian faith that offers love, acceptance and hope to those who are caught in the lifestyle of homosexuality.
Here is God’s message to every person here.
1. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. That plan includes what scripture calls abundant and eternal life.
Abundant life is life here on earth that is filled with joy, hope, peace, love, blessings, health, and every good thing that you can imagine. Eternal life is the life that we will have in heaven with God, after we die in this world.
This is not a new plan. It has been God’s plan since before He created the first thing. God loves us and wants to live in harmony and in communion with us. We see that in the relationship he had with Adam and Eve in the garden. It was a relationship of perfect intimacy.
2. BUT MAN DESTROYED THAT PLAN BY HIS SIN.
Adam and Eve intentionally disobeyed God. When they did, the union, the intimacy was spoiled, broken and destroyed.
We too, every one of us here, has also sinned and destroyed the intimacy with God that he desires.
3. THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH.
That truth is found stated in Romans 6:23. It is illustrated in Genesis where because of their sin, God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden. Out of his presence. They were barred from intimate communion with God. And God was robbed of intimacy with them.
Now let me stop here and address a very important issue. Why did God cast them out of his presence.
A. Because God is holy and pure and can not abide sin.
B. Because He had made a law and God does not lie.
C. Because God knew something that Adam and Eve did not… their sin was going to keep them from coming to heaven and would cause them to go to hell… the place of separation from God.
D. So that He save them from that hell and could bring them back into that intimacy with Him.
They were spiritually dead even though their body was alive.
God needed to show them that they were separated, so they could come to the realization of how serious their sin was and could confess the sin and be redeemed.
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NOTE!!!!
Now, while we are on the issue of sin let me say this: I do not believe it is scriptural or Christian to single out a particular sin and say that one sin is more wrong or deserving of God’s wrath than another. Homosexuals are not to be singled out and rallied against by Christians. Their sin is no greater than anyone else’s.
In fact… the sins I struggle with are just as black, just as godless and just as worthy of the wrath of God as are the sins of any other person. The idea that there is a hierarchy of sin is man’s concept; not God’s. It is a way of making ourselves feel better about ourselves by making others look worse.
Sin is sin is sin is sin!!!!! PERIOD!!!!!
And sin, ALL SIN, separates us from the presence, the blessings, and the plan of God.
So:
Because we have all sinned
Because the wages of sin is death
Someone had to pay the price for our sin.
We were unable, unacceptable as a sacrifice, as payment.
Someone else, someone acceptable, someone unstained, unspoiled by sin had to pay for us.
There was no one like that, because ALL HAVE SINNED!!!!
It was a hopeless situation that man was in.
But God did not cease to love us when we sinned!!
In fact, it was because of our sin that God was able to prove just how great and deep and strong and unlimited his love really was.
So in Romans 5:8 we find the next truth…
4. But God showed his great love for us by sending His only begotten Son to die for us, to pay our price, to be our acceptable sacrifice.
Do you get that? God loved us so much that he turned to his only son and said, “Son, you are my perfect, holy, righteous son. I love you with all of my being.” And then he raised the knife over his head and drove it through the heart of Jesus.
The bible says, and even the unsaved world echoes the truth, “No greater love has any man than this, that he would lay down his life for a friend, or his child, or his fellow soldier, or his wife.”
That is the ultimate proof of love… to be willing to die for someone else.
The scripture tells us that God loves us that much.
Even though we are still sinners, even though we are selfish, worldly, rapists, homosexuals, liars, cheaters, thieves, murderers, WHATEVER!!!!
God still loves us and sent Jesus to die for us in order that the wages of our sin could be paid in full.
Then God went further, he took his great gift, salvation, forgiveness, and stretched it out offering it to us.
It was offered by grace…. It was totally unmerited, unearned…. Just a gift… free for the taking.
NOW HERE IS AN IMPORTANT POINT: Don’t miss this because this is critical… God offering it to us did not make it ours.
There was something that you have to do for it to be yours. YOU HAVE TO REACH OUT AND TAKE IT… RECEIVE IT!
HOW?????
The answer is found in Ephesians 2:8- 9 For BY GRACE are you saved THROUGH FAITH…
BY GRACE--- God offers his forgiveness, eternal and abundant life as a gift.
THROUGH FAITH--- we must receive it by believing that Jesus died on the cross and that death, burial and resurrection was sufficient to pay for our sins and set us free from sin.
But there is more…
1. AGREE --- it really means “agree with”. We have to agree with God that we have sinned, that our sin is serious, that because of our sin we are separated from God and hopeless to do anything about our sin.
For the Liar; he must admit that God is right in saying that lying is a sin, and that he is guilty of that sin.
For the adulterer; he must admit that God is right in saying that adultery is a sin, and that he is guilty of that sin.
For the homosexual; he must admit that God is right in saying that homosexuality is a sin, and that he is guilty of that sin.
2. BROKEN--- Repentance is the one sure sign of agreeing with God about sin. When we see sin as God does, when we see it as vile and offensive, when we realize that we have sinned against the righteous and holy God who loved us so much that he allowed his Son to die for us… the only possible reaction is SORROW AND CONTRITION.
David was a godly man… but he sinned too. In fact, he committed adultery and murder.
But don’t miss this. Sin, for David… was an act… an occasional slip… a temptation that burned inside of him and he fought with it… and occasionally gave into it… NOT A LIFESTYLE!
That is why the bible says David was “a man after God’s own heart.” He was a man who had a heart for God, who loved God, who sought to do God’s will… that was the rule of his life. Sin was the exception.
ALSO--- HOW DID DAVID RESPOND TO SIN! When Nathan the prophet, came to David and accused him of his sin… how did David respond?
He didn’t say, "This isn’t fair. I love Bathsheba. Surely God will take that into consideration. It’s the way I am and I can’t change. Surely God understands my situation. I mean, the law was written years ago. It is time for God to update His Word."
David didn’t do any of these things. Instead, after he was confronted with his sin he said, "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Samuel 12:13) and he repented of his sinful activity.
He put on sackcloth and ashes… the clothes of one who is in mourning because he was mourning for his sin.
Other great men and women of God sinned. But their response is what proved their new nature.
Peter sinned, but he repented.
Even Judas repented of his sin… He was broken by his sin to the point of suicide. That shows the true nature of Judas… he was indeed a Christian. Yes he sinned. Yes he sinned a grievous sin. He betrayed Jesus! But he was broken by his sin.
What is God looking for in those who come to him? What causes Him to receive or reject those who come? What sign can we look for in true Christians?
REPENTANCE!!!!!!!!
Understand, repentance means two things in the scripture.
EMOTION- Repentance is the brokenness of heart and mind… the change that must first take place in a person’s heart and mind that tells them that they are wrong.
Luke 15:7 The Prodigal’s son had to “come to himself”. He came to the point where he was convinced of his sin and was broken by it.
ACT—The act of turning away from your sinful ways, to stop doing that sinful thing, to stop allowing the old sinful nature to control you.
God does not expect a person to change their sinful ways before they are saved.
God expects sinful, unsaved, lost persons to act sinful, and unsaved.
They have no choice because they are powerless to change. Satan and temptation and the old ways have them bound in chains of sin and locked away in a prison of their own making.
They do not have the keys to the chains, to the prison door of sin. They are hopeless to change.
God does not look for the one who comes in faith, seeking forgiveness and salvation to change before he comes. WE COME IN OUR SIN… BUT BROKEN BY THE SORROW FOR THAT SIN AND SEEKING TO BE FREE FROM THAT SIN.
If that is the attitude of the heart and mind… God will receive that one… forgive him… and save him.
But then God will look to see the ACTS OF REPENTANCE!!!
There is an old saying; “The proof is in the puddin’”--- God says the proof is in the repentin’.
In Matthew 3:2, 8 Jesus said “Repent all of you… Bring forth therefore fruits (evidences) that serve as proof you have really changed.”
Once we have truly believed we are sinners and that Jesus paid our ransom. After we have been broken by the sin and asked Jesus to forgive us… then God expects to see the fruit of repentance…. CHANGED ACTIONS?
Once we are washed in the blood of Jesus, once our sins have been forgiven and washed away… God gives us THE HOLY SPIRIT. A piece of him in us to serve as a compass… to convict us of right and wrong.
AND TO GIVE US POWER TO OVERCOME THE OLD NATURE!!!
That old sin will not just pick up and leave. IT MUST BE DRIVEN OUT!!! The temptation must be fought against and overcome.
Before you come to Jesus you can’t do that. You are powerless against sin.
But when the HOLY SPIRIT comes into your life, then “Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.”
We have a power in us that is greater than the power of the temptation. WE CAN WIN! WE CAN OVERCOME!! WE CAN BE SET FREE FROM THE POWER OF SIN!!
I said earlier that those who are caught in a lifestyle and past of sin do not have the keys to the chains, to the prison door of sin. They are hopeless to change.
Praise God for Revelation 1:17-18 “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the One who lives; I was dead, but look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys to death and hell.
Do you see that! Do you get the great hope of that promise? Jesus was saying that he has the power to set people free from the chains and prison bars of sin. He has the key and he can unlock the chains of sinful habits and temptations and deliver us from the prison of eternal hell.
Jesus died to pay the ransom price for our sins, to cancel the debt of sin. He was dead three days, descended into the depths of hell, grabbed our title, our pink slip out of the hand of Satan, and then when he rose, he knocked the top out of the grave and the grave no longer has the power to hold us.
The sinful nature has no power over us, temptation has no power over us, and even death can not hold us.
For the adulterer… adulterous temptation and tendencies and habits can not hold us, can not control us… we have the power to say NO! We have the power to be free!!
For the thief, the temptation to steal no longer has the power to control us. Greater is he that is in us (GOD) than he (SATAN) that is in the world.
For the Homosexual… there is hope. Society, medicine, psychology, and government say, “They can not change. They are born that way.” They offer no hope or help to the person trapped in a sinful lifestyle.
Jesus Christ is the ONLY hope, the only way to be set free… He promises that he has already done everything necessary to set you free from the power of sin… the sinful past, the sinful yearnings, the sinful mindset.
Praise God there is hope for sinners…. All sinners.
Praise God for 1 Corinthians 6:9-12 that says, 9 Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither those who practice fornication nor those who practice idolatry nor those who practice adultery nor those who practice prostitution nor those who practice homosexuality10 nor those who practice thievery nor those who practice greed nor those who practice drunkenness nor those who practice slanderer nor those who practice robbery will inherit the kingdom of God.11 That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
The “unrighteous” in verse 9 are from a Greek word meaning, “a persistent course of unrighteous doing.” Not those who occasionally slip into the sin of robbery or homosexuality or adultery… but those who persist in an ongoing, unrepentant lifestyle of sin WILL NOT GO TO HEAVEN.
But listen to the hope in verse 11… and such WERE some of you…BUT YOU ARE CHANGED!!!!!
The past tense of the word “were” and the present tense of the term “are” indicates that they are no longer what they were.. they have been delivered.
What other place offers this hope to robbers.. to prostitutes… to alcoholics… to fornicators???
The hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that YOU CAN BE CHANGED AND SET FREE FROM YOUR SINFUL LIFESTYLE!!!
Only one thing is left…
3. CONFESS… that you are powerless to help yourself and that you want God to come into your heart and life and set you free.
Ask him to come into your life, break the chains of sin, open the prison door of addiction, and set you free to live life as a new creation.
There is a prayer called “The sinner’s prayer.” You need to pray that prayer today.
If you ADMIT that you are a sinner, if you are BROKEN by your sin, and if you are ready to ASK God to change you and set you free…
You can pray a prayer like this one or you can repeat this one after me…
Dear Jesus, I admit that I have sinned. It was a sin of my choosing. I admit my guilt. I am sorry for the pain I caused you. I am sorry that I rejected you. But now I am ready to accept you. I ask you to accept me. Wash me clean in your righteous blood. Set me free from the prison of my own sinful past. Come into my heart and mind and give me to power to make the right choices. I want to be pleasing to you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins. Thank you for raising Him from the grave. Thank you for beginning this new work in my heart. I ask you to continue to work in me to make me what you want me to be. In Jesus’ name I thank you. Amen.
Now we are going to have what we call the Invitation Hymn. At this time I will move down front and stand there while the congregation stands to sing a hymn. While they are singing it is the time for you to reflect on what you have heard here today… not just from me…. But what God has said to you.
If you have prayed that sinners prayer and God has washed away your sin… any sin…. Lying, cheating, or any other sin… this is the time you come down the aisle and make a public stand to say… I have decided to follow Jesus. Praise God he has set me free.
Or maybe you know someone who needs to be set free and you want to come down here and I will pray for them with you.
If God has spoken to you today and you want to make any decision or just come and kneel for prayer… this is the time as we sing hymn number _311 - Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart.
Rev. Rick Pendleton
Palm Harbor, Florida
randdp@peoplepc.com
