08 Our Identity (Pt. 2)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Annual Meeting - March 12th following service

*CHURCH UPDATES: Digital and paper connect Card

DECLARATION:

Ephesians 2:20–22 (ESV)

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

SVCC is built by God, upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone.

We are joined together by union with Christ, we are growing, and we are a dwelling place of God by his Spirit.

Prayer for...

INTRODUCTION:

Review:

WHY?…

TODAY:

Opening Scripture:

Jesus’ comments on marriage/sexuality: “one flesh”

Matthew 19:3-6 “3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.””

Mark 10:6-9 “6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.””

How Should We Think about Homosexuality? (Chapter 2: Science, Homosexuality, and the Christian Sexual Ethic)

A Christian understanding of human sexuality is that it reflects who we are as much as or more so than what we do. Our sexuality instructs us of our need for God as we experience in our sexuality a longing for completion in another (eros).

The only time at creation that God said “not good” was when God said MAN SHOULD NOT BE ALONE… (Ge. 2:18).

THIS DOES NOT NECESSARILY NECESSITATE MARRIAGE FOR EVERYONE!

THIS DOES NECESSITATE COMMUNITY WITHIN HUMANITY

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Sexual Identity

Same Sex Attraction > Behavior > Labeling > Disclosure of identity (Yarhouse, page 33)

A 1994 study suggested on 2-3% of US population reported a homosexual orientation. (The Social Organization of Sexuality)

US Census report done in 2019 shows a national average of 1.5% of same-sex couple households

Causes of Same-Sex Sexual Attraction: Probably several contributing factors (not much funding has gone into environmental factors, most funding has been into the biological hypothesis (Yarhouse, page 14)).

Arguments for a Homosexual Identity & Some Responses

Lot in Sodom (Ge. 19:4-11) is often described as the sin of inhospitality or gang rape in stead of homosexuality

Biblical Response: If intercourse (Strong’s #3045 = “know”) is what is meant in v. 8 then the same verb in v. 5 has the same meaning.

Leviticus 18:22 “22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”

Deuteronomy 12:31 “31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.”

Others argue that these laws no longer matter because the Mosaic law has been done away with.

Romans 1:22-27 “22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

1 Timothy 1:8-11 “8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 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.”

“In the area of sexual identity, a truly Christian understanding begins with recognizing that there can be a “diffusion of the self” in which the person passively allows a gay identity to supersede a Christian identity”

Source: Mark A. Yarhouse, How Should We Think about Homosexuality?, ed. D. A. Carson, Questions for Restless Minds (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2022), 62.

Galatians 2:19-20 “19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

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Gender Identity

trans* or cisgender?

cultural constructs of masculine vs. feminine

EXAMPLE: Sprinkle, Preston M.. Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say (p. 81). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

In the Bible, men often kiss other men (1 Sam. 10:1) and cry (Gen. 33:4). They are tender and called to be tenderhearted (Eph. 4:32). They are profoundly emotional (the Psalms) and relational (1 Sam. 18:1–5). They are called to turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:39), to love—not kill—their enemies (Matt. 5:44), to weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15), to raise up and teach children (Eph. 6:4), to be sensitive (Eph. 4:2), to be kind (Prov. 11:17), and to be peacemakers (Matt. 5:9), if they want to truly be men.

WHO SHOULD TEACH THE KIDS? Eph 6:4 “4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

Biblical women also defy current stereotypes. Sure, the Proverbs 31 woman is an “excellent wife” (v. 10 ESV) who rises up early and “provides food for her household” (v. 15 ESV), who makes “bed coverings” and “linen garments” (vv. 22, 24 ESV). But then she taps into her entrepreneurial skills and sells those linen garments for a profit after she “considers a field and buys it” (vv. 24, 16). She’s wise, hardworking, has strong arms, and engages in social justice in her spare time (v. 20). Fortune 500 companies long for a CEO as qualified as the Proverbs 31 woman. Women in the Bible do all sorts of things

WHO SHOULD DO THE HARD WORK OF PLANTING? Prov 31:16 “16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.”

Biological gender vs. gender identity (i.e. Gender Dysphoria):

Preston Sprinkle, in his book Embodied, defines someone’s biological sex as being male or female based on the “presence or absence of a Y chromosome, internal reproductive organs, external sexual anatomy, and endocrine systems that produce secondary sex characteristics.”2 He then defines gender identity as “the psychological aspects associated with being male or female, or ‘one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both, or neither.’”All Other Identities Must Be Congruent With Our Christian Identity

CHRISTIAN IDENTITY Galatians 3:26-29 “26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

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Conclusion/Reflection:

How do we disciple people?

“Our cultural moment is an outrageous one. What we need is a different way. A fresh posture. A radically biblical community. One that affirms bodies, rejects stereotypes, pursues truth with humility, and lavishes grace on everyone who fails.”

Sprinkle, Preston M.. Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say (pp. 223-224). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

How Should We Think about Homosexuality? (Trajectory 2: Move from Homosexual to Heterosexual Orientation)

“What is more important to the Christian is not heterosexuality but a Christ-like life devoted to God (e.g., 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Thess 5:23).”

1 THESS. 5:23 “23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 TIMOTHY 2:21 “21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

SOURCES:

CenterForFaith.com

Ryrie, Charles C. Biblical Answers to Tough Questions. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1991.

Sprinkle, Preston M.. Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say. David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/school-of-psychology-counseling-and-family-therapy/sexual-and-gender-identity-institute/

Yarhouse, Mark A. How Should We Think about Homosexuality?. Edited by D. A. Carson. Questions for Restless Minds. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2022.