A Culture in Chaos: A Bibical Response to Gender & Sexuality-Session 3

A bit of follow-up about the equality of sin from our last session.

We ended our time together last time by simply asking, are there any other moral issues or sexual issues that, if we find that somebody has a same sex orientation, would it trump the teachers of Scripture and make that okay? We are just simply asking the logical question, not necessarily making a moral equivalent between the two.

We actually see this issue kind of come up in 1 Cor 5. 1-13

1 Corinthians 5:1–13 ESV

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

You see, in this chapter, Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for accepting an illicit relationship. A man is having sex with his stepmother, which is clearly forbidden in Lev 18. He’s having sex with his stepmom. Now, Paul doesn’t inquire and say, “Gosh, do they love each other? Does he have this orientation? Do they care about each other?” He doesn’t say that. It was the relationship in itself that was forbidden. Paul says they should mourn and remove the one who has done this. That means that wrong things can be done with good intention.[6]

Is This a Gospel Issue?

Introduction

Is the topic of homosexuality a gospel issue? Is this an issue Christians should divide over? Is this a subject that gets to the heart of what Scripture teaches about the character of God and the nature of sin?

What are we really asking when we ask this question?

Can You Be Gay and Christian?

How would you go about answering this question?

As people often ask me, “Well, can you be gay and can you be Christian?” And of course when you ask, “Can you be gay and Christian?” it depends on what you mean by “gay,” and it really depends on what you mean by “Christian.”

If by “gay” you mean, “Can you have same-sex attraction and be a Christian?” Of course. I don’t know anybody who would debate or doubt that. If you mean by “gay” sexual orientation, which is typically understood not just as an attraction but kind of an ongoing, seemingly more permanent sense of attraction to the same-sex—“Can you have same-sex sexual orientation and be Christian?” Of course you can.

But if you mean by “gay” being involved in certain same-sex sexual behaviors and be a Christian, that’s where I’d say we need to take a close look at what the Scripture teaches.

Desire for Christian Unity

Justin Lee, who I’ve mentioned earlier, is the head of the Gay Christian Network. He wrote a very interesting book called Torn, and he describes how he grew up as a gay Christian, became okay with his same-sex attraction, and embraces the revisionist view of homosexuality. He started the Gay Christian Network to bring Christians together from around the world to worship and to hear messages together and to kind of show that there’s unity within the body of Christ even though they differ on this issue. So he said,

“I wanted to model for the church and the world that it is possible to live in loving, Christian community in the midst of significant theological disagreements.”

Now, when you first look at that, of course we should try to live together in Christian unity and we should show love and respect for each other on theological differences, and I respect him and admire him for trying to do that.

How should we then understand the concept of Christian Unity?

Some Disagreements Permissible

Now, the Bible does allow for disagreement in freedom on certain issues. Paul says nothing is unclean in itself in the context of dietary restrictions and the Sabbath. Read Romans 14:1–15, (where Paul addresses both side of the feast and dietary laws and welcoming those who differ) and it clearly shows that Paul permitted people to continue practicing certain aspects of the Mosaic law, as long as it wasn’t required and didn’t drive a wedge between believers.

Some Issues Non-Negotiable

Paul also reminds his readers of certain issues that are nonnegotiable. So Paul’s kind of saying, “Here’s some issues that are negotiable.” Christians can disagree about exactly how they practice certain things related to the law. Christians can disagree about the Sabbath. But then there’s some issues that are not negotiable, where Paul seems to say the gospel itself is at stake. Paul discusses homosexual practice in the context of those who will not enter the kingdom of God. Now, of course, he mentions a bunch of other sins here as well, but he places homosexuality within this context.

First Corinthians 6:9–11

In 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, Paul says,

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral [porneia], nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. [And then he says,] And such were some of you. 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.

So Paul seemed to say there’s negotiable issues, but then there’s nonnegotiable issues that separate somebody from the kingdom of God, and he puts homosexuality, in terms of practicing it, in that context.

As a believer who reads Paul trying to understand what he is saying, I don’t feel the comfort to say, “Well, this is a secondary issue. Well, this is not very important.” Paul felt it was an issue that separated people from the kingdom of God.

Unity for the sake of unity should never be at the expense of the Truth. This is heresy of the highest degree!!

Warnings against False Teaching

In fact, the Scripture has some strong warnings for those who change the nature of Scripture. For example, Isaiah 5:20, says,

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”

In Revelation 2:20–21, Jesus rebukes the church of Thyatira for being permissive of a false teacher. Listen to what he says. He says,

“But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”

Conclusion

Friends, ultimately God will judge people’s hearts. Fortunately we don’t have to do that. We don’t have to judge people’s eternal destiny. That’s in God’s hands. But I think we do a disservice to people if they ask us honestly, “Is homosexuality an issue that can separate somebody from the kingdom of God, in terms of practicing it?” Paul seems to say very clearly in 1 Cor 6 that if that is a behavior, it’s one that needs to clearly be repented of.[7]

Background for Examining Texts about Homosexuality

Assumptions of the Revisionist Movement

Introduction

Now it’s time to shift into the actual biblical evidence, but before we look at the particular passages relevant to the topic of homosexuality, let’s take a look at some of the underlying assumptions, hermeneutically speaking, that shape this debate in itself. It’s only when we really understand some of the presuppositions that people bring to the text that we’ll be able to see how they come to the conclusions that they come to.

Now, not everybody who adopts the revisionist view will necessarily take all of these positions that I am going to lay out; some agree with others and leave them out, but as a whole, these are representative of some of the underlying principles that shape interpretation by those who adopt the revisionist view.

UPCUSA Guidelines for Interpreting Scripture

Now, specifically, these are guidelines for interpreting Scriptures from the Reformed confessional heritage of the United Presbyterian Church USA—what’s called the UPCUSA—and we are going to focus on those that seemed to be adopted a little bit more widely even outside of that denomination.

Guideline: Jesus Is the Center of Scripture

So first one, the guideline, is, “Recognize that Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, is the center of Scripture.” That sounds great.

Jack Rogers says, “Jesus was not a legalist. In order to follow Jesus, we are called upon to show love for God, our neighbors, and even our enemies. Jesus showed love even for outcasts of society. It is demanding and humbling to try and follow his example. Can you imagine Jesus turning away someone who is despised, discriminated against, and distraught to the point of attempting suicide? I cannot.”[3]

Response: False Choice

Now look, in response, of course Jesus would show love for the outcasts and those who are distraught. The question is not this is a false dilemma that he is saying—either totally accept certain behavior or reject somebody. Jesus didn’t do that. He was clearly a friend of sinners who behaved in a way that He disagreed with, but He showed love and grace and acceptance to them. But Jesus also said in 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” So loving God involves that we follow what He teaches is true. That’s in 1 John 5:3.

Guideline: Focus on the Plain Text of Scripture

The second guideline: “Let the focus be on the plain text of Scripture, to the grammatical and historical context, rather than to allegory or subjective fantasy.” Again, that seems to be solid.

Jack Rogers once again says, “It seems wise to ask whether biblical statements that condemn idolatrous and immoral sexual activity can appropriately be applied to the sexual relationships of contemporary Christian gay and lesbian people who are neither idolatrous nor immoral.”

Response: Begs the Question

In response, yes, let’s focus on the clear meaning of Scripture. But his point assumes that contemporary gay and lesbian people can be in relationships of the same-sex and not be immoral. He’s begging the question. He has to provide some biblical justification that this is acceptable. But I also wonder, if this ethic is applied consistently, we are left wondering what parts of Scripture are still even relevant today. It’s a fair question.[4]

Guideline: Depend on Guidance of the Holy Spirit

[The] third guideline is, “Depend on the guidance of the Holy Spirit in interpreting and applying God’s message.”

Rogers says, again, “It seems that the Holy Spirit is once again working to change our church—making us restless, challenging us to give up our culturally conditioned prejudices against people of homosexual orientation.”

Response: Holy Spirit Does Not Contradict Scripture

Friends, this is an incredibly presumptuous position. How could the Spirit work in ways that contradict the Spirit-inspired Scriptures? How could the Spirit work in ways that contradict the Spirit-inspired Scriptures?

Guideline: Be Guided by the Doctrinal Consensus of the Church

Guideline number four: “Be guided by the doctrinal consensus of the church, which is the rule of faith.”

Rogers says, “At first glance, it might appear that the consensus of the church has been against the full acceptance of people who are homosexual. We must remember, however, that until very recently it was the practice of the Western church to deny full rights of membership to people of color and to women.”[5]

Response: No Trajectory of Greater Acceptance for Homosexuality

Well, in response, the church has been unanimous in its rejection of homosexual behavior, not homosexual people—very different things.

Homosexual behavior, there is no debate about this, and this is remarkable when we consider the issues the church has debated historically—the morality of war, baptism, nature of the Trinity, divorce, age of the earth, end times etc. There has been no debate just until modern times about the morality of same-sex behavior.

When you compare the issue of women and slavery and homosexuality, Professor William Webb has written a very important book called Slaves, Women & Homosexuals. He argues and demonstrates that there is a trajectory of greater acceptance for women and slaves in the Bible, meaning that God took a patriarchal society in which slavery was acceptable and He transformed it slowly, generation after generation, towards a more liberating and empowering view for slaves and for women. God took a broken people where they were at and moved them over generations towards the ideal. But he says there’s not a single bit of trajectory on the issue of homosexuality. In fact, as we’ll see later, Jesus was more conservative on sexual issues. The trajectory goes different direction.[6]

Guideline: Interpretation Must Be in Accord with the Rule of Love

Number five: “Let all interpretations be in accord with the rule of love. The two-fold commandment to love God and to love neighbor.”

On this one, Jay Michaelson says, “Love, in other words, tells us how to read. When I am offered competing accounts of what a text or teaching means, love sways the balance.”

Response: What Does It Mean to Love?

Look, everybody agrees that we should love. It’s not like one side says, “Let’s intentionally hate,” and the other side says, “Let’s love.” Both sides are actually trying to do what they think is loving, but the question is, what does it mean to love? What is true love? Well, Jesus said in John 14:23, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. Jesus had the profound ability to balance genuinely loving people, showing grace, showing mercy, building relationships without compromising truth, and that’s exactly what we are called to do.[7]

Why Doesn’t the Bible Address Homosexuality More?

Introduction

Why doesn’t the Bible mention homosexuality more? This is clearly a hot subject today. Shouldn’t the Bible writers, if it was that important to God, have spoken on this issue more? You know, there are 6 passages that explicitly address the topic of homosexuality out of 31,000 verses—6 passages, 31,000 verses. Now, 3,000 verses allegedly address God’s concern for the poor, so the poor is this massive subject, 3,000 verses; homosexuality is only a few passages. Maybe we’ve gotten out of balance here on the subjects that we should address. So why doesn’t the Bible address this more? Let me just ask a few questions that’ll maybe help us process this.

Is Frequency Indicative of Importance?

First off, is it a good hermeneutic to determine importance of an issue based on how much it appears in the Bible? Is this a good approach to determining importance in Scripture based on how much it appears in the Bible?

Original Sin

Look, Paul barely mentions original sin—it’s in Rom 3 pretty clearly, but he doesn’t often mention original sin explicitly. It doesn’t show up explicitly in many different places in the Bible. Well, why not? Does that mean it’s unimportant? I think a case could be made that the gospel rests on understanding original sin. It’s assumed, but it’s not explicitly stated.

Care for Creation

The Bible does not frequently mention care for creation. Does that get us off the hook of showing responsibility for preserving environment? No, when we understand God, His stewardship, why He’s placed us here, even though the Bible doesn’t explicitly state it, we know that that’s an assumed truth and a responsibility that Christians have.

Anachronistic

But also, should we expect the Bible to address an issue in depth that has only really been debated over the past half century? Why would the Bible go into depth on this issue, which is hot right now in our time, but which was not for the first two thousand years of the church and may not be sometime into the future. I mean it strikes me as very anachronistic to expect the Bible, when many of the letters and writings were written to certain people at a certain time—yes, with universal application, but addressing particular issues—when their issues were different than our issues today, why should they address it?

Creation Narrative of Human Sexuality

But third, the Bible gives a creation narrative of sexuality that is assumed throughout the entire Scriptures, and it’s frequently referenced. We see it begin in Gen 1 and in Gen 2, but it’s referenced in Matt 19:3–6, we see it in Eph 5:21–33. So there is a creation narrative that is built in the beginning of the Bible, and it’s assumed and referenced to throughout the entirety of the Scriptures.

Six Key Passages on Homosexuality

But fourth, there are actually more passages that deal with the issue of same-sex relationships than you might think. Now, I do find it kind of ironic that critics often say the Bible doesn’t speak about homosexuality, but then they turn around and they find issues of homosexuality in stories such as David and Jonathan, Ruth and Naomi, Jesus and the Roman centurion, when clearly homosexuality was not at play there.

So here are the standard texts that we will break down and we will look at them, but these are the key texts in particular and explicitly that deal with the issue of homosexuality to greater and lesser degrees.

One is Genesis 19:4–11, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. You have Leviticus 18:22, and you also have Lev 20:13. Move to the nt, Rom 1:26–27. Paul deals with it again in 1 Cor 6:9, and following and then again in 1 Tim 1:10.

Conclusion

So if the Bible was written to a modern context today, specifically in writing letters to churches today, of course Paul would deal with it more. But it wasn’t. It was written at a different time to different people, but we see an underlying theology that addresses it and then some specific passages that deal with it, which we will look at in due time.

[1]McDowell, S. (2017). AP371 A Biblical Response to Homosexuality. Lexham Press.