HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE: WHAT DOES GOD SAY?

HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE: WHAT DOES GOD SAY? Genesis 1:27-28 Genesis 21:1-4 1 Corinthians 6:9 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; Stanley Grenz, Welcoming But Not Affirming; John W. Kennedy, "The Marriage Battle Begins" (Christianity Today,Sep 2003); Walter Wink, "Homosexuality and the Bible"; John Stott, Homosexual Partnerships? September 7, 2003 [Additional Notes] Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] June 26th this year, the Supreme Court decided in the case of Lawrence and Garner v. Texas to strike down the Texas state law prohibiting homosexual sodomy. Quite aside from the decision itself has been widespread concern on the part of conservative thinkers inside and outside the church that this decision will lead to the changing of laws concerning the definition of marriage. What seems inevitable is what gay activists have openly admitted is the "next step" in their agenda-to legalize homosexual marriage. Justice Kennedy wrote, "The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives. The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime." The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is about to rule in favor of legalizing homosexual unions. Matt Daniels, founder of the Alliance for Marriage in Springfield, VA, contends, "Laws defining marriage as between a man and a woman are in the gun sights of the courts." This could invalidate the Defense of Marriage Act, based on the Constitution's Article 4, and signed into law just seven years ago. As a result, many Christians, along with other conservatives, are forming an alliance to promote a constitutional amendment in line with that Marriage Act in order to fend off the legalization of homosexual marriage. In 1960, every state in the union had anti-sodomy laws. Today only three states outlaw sodomy between homosexual partners. Public opinion has been interesting. Recently the Gallup Poll indicated that a record 60 percent of Americans say that homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal and that homosexuality is an acceptable alternative lifestyle. That was in May of this year. In July that support fell to only 48 percent! Apparently the impending legalization has people worried and second-guessing their assumptions all over again! I understand there was a massive public outcry over Madonna's public kiss of other female performers at the Music Video Awards. Good! If we as a culture want to thoughtlessly sympathize with the homosexual agenda, we should sit up and realize that's the kind of garbage we are opening ourselves up to! Well, that was a short review of what some leaders of differing persuasion and the public in general feel concerning homosexuality as a lifestyle. But I'd like us to take a few minutes this morning and find out what God thinks of the idea. I rarely focus on a political or social issue like this-I prefer to do straight biblical text preaching--but I do so today for a couple of reasons. One, it is such a lightning rod for strong feelings, and everyone is talking about the subject. As a matter of equipping us believers with a biblical perspective, I want us all to be able to discuss the topic intelligently and scripturally when we dialogue about it, especially with unbelievers. Secondly, this is an issue concerning which Christians must be vocal. We really are at a watershed period in the moral direction of our country and culture. The legal recognition of the sacred institution of marriage is under grave threat. In fact, it is as simple as this-our nation's courts are at the threshold of decisions concerning home and family that will condone, legalize, legitimatize and encourage a brand of sexual behavior that the God who created us says is "detestable." (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13) Thirdly, several of you have mentioned on more than one occasion you felt the flock could use more teaching on this subject. There is considerable commentary and opinion pushing from the Gay Liberation Front and a liberal press concerning the rights of those with alternative sexual preferences. That tends to challenge the ideals of young people and gradually erode good values. Bombarded by homosexual propaganda, Christian young people are slowly beginning to believe the position that homosexual behavior is a valid option, and okay with God. In fact the persistent and insistent message is being obligingly carried by the liberal press and doing its best to try and shape public opinion into one of acceptance. In the August 23 issue of World, Gene Edward Veith writes, "Gay activists, feeling invincible with all of their victories, held a summit at the United Nations, in which the next phase of their conquest of the culture's moral code was announced. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission listed the remaining laws that it wants changed, including 'age of consent' laws. That is to say, the laws against pedophiles, apparently the next group to come out of the closet and to insist on the legality and the morality of their sexual preference. "At the meeting, as reported by the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the IGLHRC, called for a 'showdown with religion.' One panel member, Princeton University professor Anthony Appiah, called for limiting religious freedom whenever it poses a 'challenge' to the homosexual agenda. This would involve criminalizing as 'hate speech' religious teachings and Bible readings that brand homosexuality as sinful - a measure already on the books in Sweden and that is being considered in Canada." I want to be a voice of reason this morning. Again, I pose the question, What does God think about homosexual behavior? "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." (Leviticus 18:22) If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable." (Leviticus 20:13) In 1 Timothy 1:9-10, Paul wrote that the law is good if one uses it properly. "We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers; for murderers, for adulterers and perverts (ARSENOKOITOIS-the New Testament Greek word for homosexual practitioners)…" We'll refer to 1 Corinthians 6 in a moment, where the same word is used, but in condemnation. In Romans 1 the apostle Paul is describing the downward spiral of sinners and sinful behavior when people disregard God and worship creation instead of the Creator. Near the bottom of that spiral come these verses where he says, "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 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 their bodies the due penalty for their perversion." (Romans 1:26-27) The very term sodomy derives from the perverse sexual behavior of the men of Sodom. The story is in Genesis 19 where the men of the town (both young and old) clamor to sexually assault the God-sent angels who arrive in the form of men at the home of Lot . They are judged, not just for their mistreatment of those messengers, but for the ongoing perverse behavior that gave Sodom it notorious name. Arguments come from gays who want to soften the story, saying the sin they committed was not homosexual behavior, but lack of hospitality! Others try a different slant and insist that the sin for which they were judged by God was actually attempted rape, that it was the violence of the action that was wrong, not the deviant sexual behavior. But the New Testament interprets the sin and condemnation of Sodom quite differently. "Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." (Jude 7) Regarding homosexual marriage in particular, the only way to get God's point of view is look at the revealed Word and see what God says about marriage. The first, account of the creation of human beings is in Genesis 1. There, in verses 26-27, we read, Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." These verses seem to go out of the way to emphasize the two sexes, genders. Why? Because it is the union of a man and a woman that will accomplish the will of God in procreation. Immediately following these verses, the Bible record goes on to say, God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it." [webmasters note: Genesis 1:28] All the rest of the Bible, and the rest of human history, by the way, attests to the perfect plan of God to multiply people the only way they can be multiplied, through the sexual union of a man and a woman. This plan of procreation consecrates the very act of sexual union and defines it. Homosexual union has always been an aberration of that plan, and it never produces offspring. The next reference to the creation of humanity is in chapter two, where He gives us the record of bringing the first man and the first woman together. At that point, He says, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." [webmasters note: Genesis 2:24]  That "one flesh" reference-that's sex talk. He intended them to be united, physically and spiritually. Throughout His entire creation, from plants to people, His design is to bring together two differing sexes for purposes of procreation and unity. Same sex union is never referenced in scripture, except as something that displeases the Creator. Moreover, you can't have children in homosexual partnerships. Rosie O'Donnell came out of her not-so-opaque closet a couple of years ago. She has three adopted children, living with her and who-knows-who-else-now in a lesbian relationship. She said, "I know I'm a really good mother, and I have every right to parent [these children]." What she didn't say was that children who are raised in homosexual-parent homes are much more likely to become promiscuous, to engage in substance abuse, commit more crimes, do poorly in school and end up in poverty. Jakii Edwards, herself raised in a "gay home" said, "it does hurt the children to come up in gay homes. When a child [sees] mom kissing mom and dad kissing daddy, it leaves the child with gender identity issues. We question whether we have to be gay like mommy [or daddy] is gay. It causes a lot of turmoil." She says everyone she knows who was raised by a gay parent "has major anger issues…" Jakii campaigns across the country to remind a confused culture that if we really care about the needs of children, we'll do everything in our power to promote healthy, two-parent, heterosexual families. After all, she says, "what made June Cleaver, Donna Reed, and Carol Brady great moms was not the fact that they wore aprons and pearls. It was that they married their children's fathers." The Creation design simply does not accommodate homosexual behavior; neither does it accommodate homosexual marriage. Let's turn to our other text for the morning, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. In 1 Corinthians, especially in the middle chapters we witness Paul addressing a list of issues about which the believers have apparently asked his advice through earlier correspondence. In chapter five, it was the issue of the church member who was shacking up with his own stepmother. Chapter six begins with the subject of Christians taking each other to court in lawsuits. He closes his counsel there with these words: "The vary fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers." (6:7-8) This seems to remind him of the wickedness of the human condition. And he starts to preach. Verse 9 -" Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters no adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, your were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) There are two important messages here. First, there are immoral activities that do not mix with the Kingdom of God, included in which, with no apology or mitigation whatsoever, is homosexual behavior. Secondly, there is cleansing, forgiveness and healing for those who do them. The first of two words used here in this passage is translated "male prostitutes". I am trying to be delicate here when I say the Greek word Paul used is MALAKOI and means, literally, the soft ones. They are the younger, effeminate men in Roman society who were basically "for hire" by other men. The second term used in the same phrase refers to the "other men." Earlier I touched on the word translated "homosexual offenders"-ARSENOKOITAI. It is a compound word, joining ARSENO (man) and KOITES (from which we get our word coitus; sometimes it is translated euphemistically as "sleep"). This term was used universally in the first century to refer to men who sleep with other men, both in the New Testament and in other Greek references. One of the leading theologians defending homosexuality says this word is better translated "couch potato" because it refers to a man who is lazy or (and I didn't make this connection either) economically exploitative. In the same article this scholar accused the apostle Paul of having rigid gender codes and "perhaps his own fears about his sexual drives"! That's an example of wrongly handling the word of truth in order to make your point. If we ignore such interpretive intrigue, and just go right to the biblical text for the plain meaning, we find that homosexual activity is clearly a sin that offends the holiness of God. In fact, using a fourth-grader's skill level in logic, Romans 1 teaches further that it is among the more reprehensible of the kinds of sins that men and women can commit. Paul describes the homosexual offenders as among those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. What he does not mean by that expression is that homosexuals are beyond redemption and cannot be saved. People who practice homosexuality are sinners just like you and just like me. What they do rises out of who they are-sinners. That's what sinners do-they sin. So, what does it mean that they cannot inherit the kingdom of God? It means, like you and I, homosexual sinners are lost and separated from God because of their sins, just like heterosexual sinners are. And one of the sins that separates people from God is homosexual behavior-that is, acting out homosexually. Now, if it is sin, how can it be okay with God to practice it, with or without a state-sponsored marriage license? What I'm saying is, if it's sin, it's sin. And no amount of legitimizing can sanitize it into something holy like marital, heterosexual union. What this passage establishes is nothing more than this: homosexual behavior is sin, just as drunkenness and slander and greed are sins, just as adultery, idolatry, and thievery are sins. That's the first message of this text. The second is this: There is cleansing, forgiveness and healing for homosexual practitioners. Did you catch the pastoral reminder from Paul to the Corinthian believers? "That is what some of you were." (the King James version here says, "Such were some of you." [webmasters note: 1 Corinthians 6:11: KJV] ) "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." (1 Corinthians 6:11) Believers, you must judge sin and name it for what it is, but don't you get judgmental. You were among those sinners listed above. And it is only by the grace of the Lord Jesus that you have been saved and made righteous in God's sight. It is not by anything you have done for yourselves. So, don't go getting "uppity" about the sin of homosexuality, acting like you're better than they. We ought to be on our knees thankful to God that we never fell victim to those tendencies and temptations. Because of the love, mercy and grace of the Lord, though we once were caught up in a few brands of our own sins of choice, we are now saved, forgiven and delivered. Now, our attitude toward others who are caught up in sin ought to be like that of Jesus, who wept over Jerusalem, and who gave His life to bring them back to God. Conclusion If God exists, and He does, He is the only One who rightfully can say this behavior is acceptable and that one is not. He is our standard of holiness and righteousness, and not we ourselves. What is wrong is wrong even if everybody is doing it, and what is right is right, even if nobody is doing it. A change in the cultural climate is no basis for determining that what the Bible once called sin is now okay. Neither are our feelings to be the basis for our determining right and wrong. What does that mean for us as Christian people? It means that, in our role as salt and light influencers in this world, we are to represent the heart of God to those around us, and to be defenders of righteousness. You have the right and the responsibility to stand up for biblical morality. One year ago a Michigan high school student who wanted to share her religious objections to homosexuality during her school's annual Diversity Week was forbidden from doing so by school officials and as a result has filed a federal lawsuit alleging her free speech rights were violated. The Thomas More Law Center is helping her in her case. The student, Betsy Hansen, and her mother are suing Ann Arbor Public Schools and several of its administrators and faculty members from Pioneer High School. The mother said she objects to the school's practice of promoting religious beliefs that conflict with the religious beliefs of her children and family. The lawsuit alleges that during the school's Diversity Week in March, Betsy's attempt to make statements critical of homosexuality during a panel titled "Homosexuality and Religion" was quashed by school officials. Her view was deemed a "negative" message and that would "water-down" the "positive" religious message that they wanted to convey, according to the lawsuit. School officials denied Betsy's request to have members on the panel who would present the dominant Roman Catholic belief that homosexuality is immoral. They also created written guidelines that prohibited, among other things, members of a student panel also discussing the subject from making comments that "target" another person's "sexual orientation." Richard Thompson, chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, said, "In their zeal to promote the homosexual agenda during this so-called 'Diversity Week,' school officials gave a powerful lesson of intolerance and bigotry toward traditional Christian beliefs." That is what Christians are up against as we go against the rising tide in our culture. We can either roll over and play dead (or disinterested) or we can step up to the plate and represent the values and will of the God who made us, and the Christ who saved us. Recommended Resources for Christians studying the issue of Homosexuality Good books on the broader issue Bogle, Darlene. Strangers in a Christian land: Reaching Out with Hope to the Homosexual. (Chosen Books, 1990) Dallas, Joe. A Strong Delusion: Confronting the "Gay Christian" Movement (Harvest House, 1996) Davies, Bob and Rentzel, Lori. Coming Out of Homosexuality - New Freedom for Men and Women (InterVarsity Press) Enroth, Ronald and Jamison, Gerald. The Gay Church (Eerdmans, 1974) Fee, Gordon. The First Epistle to the Corinthians Eerdmans, 1987) Grenz, Stanley. Sexual Issues (Westminster John Knox Press, 1997) and Welcoming But Not Affirming (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) Moore, Gareth. Christianity and Homosexuality (Continuum, Intl. Pub. Group, 2003) Satinover, Jeffrey, MD. Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth (Baker Book House) Siker, Jeffrey, ed. Homosexuality in the church: Both Sides of the Debate (Westminster John Knox Press, 1994) Stott, John. Homosexual Partnerships? (IVP - Viewpoint pamphlet, 1995) Yamamoto, J. Isamu, ed. The Crisis of Homosexuality (Victor Books, 1990) Worthen, Anita and Daview, Bob. Someone I Love Is Gay - How Family and Friends Can Respond (InterVarsity Press) Organizations Exodus International is a worldwide coalition of Christian ministries that offers support to men and women seeking to overcome homosexuality. Many of these ministries have specialized services for family members and friends, including support groups, one-on-one counseling, and literature. For a free packet of literature on the work of Exodus, including a complete list of referral ministries, contact: Exodus North America, P.O. Box 77652, Seattle, WA 98177 (206) 784-7799 www.exodusnorthamerica.org National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) is an organization of nearly 700 professionals across the country who treat homosexuality from a variety of perspectives. Contact them by writing: NARTH, 16633 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1340, Encino, CA 91436 (818) 789-4440 www.narth.com Homosexuals Anonymous - HA, P.O. Box 451, Reading, PA (610) 376-1146 Regeneration Books has many excellent books to help you understand the issue surrounding homosexuality. You can receive a free catalog by contacting them at: Regeneration Books, P.O. Box 9830, Baltimore, MD 21284 (410) 661-0284 Other helpful websites: Portland Fellowship -- www.portlandfellowship.com Ex-gay Testimonies -- www.stonewallrevisited.com What you can do 1. Pray for your government officials by name in obedience to the command at 1 Timothy 2:1-3 2. Contact your federal government representatives, senators and the Supreme Court and respectfully declare your outrage at decision in the Lawrence and Garner v. Texas (sodomy) case, and your sincere hope that if and when the issue of homosexual marriage comes before them, they will represent the same Judeo-Christian values that have kept our nation strong and morally-centered in years past. [webmasters note: Senators below are correct for IL as of September 8, 2003. If you are visiting this site from a different state or if you are visiting here at a later date you may need to verify your senator and represenatives at: www.senate.gov and www.house.gov respectively] Illinois Senator Richard Durbin, 364 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-2152, local (217)492-4062 Email: <dick.durbin@senate.gov> Illinois Senator Peter Fitzgerald, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-2854, local (618)692-0364 Email: <senator_fitzgerald@senate.gov> Find your U.S. Representative by going to www.house.gov and write to him/her at the address provided. Supreme Court of the United States US Supreme Court Building, 1 First Street NE Washington, D.C. 20543 3. Sign (legitimate) petitions that are national in scope, declaring your opinion concerning  moral issues. Recommended - those endorsed by such organizations as the ACLJ (American Center for Law and Justice) and Focus on the Family 4. Befriend someone to whom God leads you who is caught up in sin (homosexuality or other) and gently and respectfully share the good news of Jesus Christ with them (1 Peter 3:15) If you are struggling with homosexuality: 1. If you have not given your life in trust to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, do so (there are counselors at MECF who can help you, both to trust Christ and with homosexual issues). 2. Pray that God will deliver you and will renew your mind through the gospel of Christ. 3. Be willing to let God change things in your life. 4. Read and study God's Word as your source of knowledge of God and His ways. 5. Establish new relationships and break with former associations. Become part of a Bible-teaching church like MECF where you can form friendships with committed Christians. 6. Seek professional help from a Christian psychologist or a pastor who is qualified to counsel you in these areas with biblical values, real concern and proven skill. Call 244-9070 7. Look for a Christian support groups in your area: those that can help with the issues you are struggling with, and those you can become family with, like an MECF Cell Group.   [Back to Top]