Holy Sex: What does the Bible say about Homosexuality?
Notes
Transcript
Today is sermon #2 in our series “Holy Sex.” H-O-L-Y.
God has a holy vision for our sex lives—it’s a high bar—that is His challenging and convicting view of sexuality and sex for many of us.
but also His encouraging word for us (b/c it is God who makes us holy because of Jesus Christ). He makes us holy and clean in His sight when we believe in Jesus and surrender to Jesus.
and when that happens His vision for sexuality is beautiful.
So...Last week, we looked at the cultural views of sex (“sex is no big deal, sex is a very big deal it’s your identity; I can do what I want; sex is dirty”,) sexual activity that are being taught us, and responded with a Biblical view.
This week, we will start to apply this to what the Bible says about homosexuality overall.
And just by way of intro a few things:
1. 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” I believe that God’s Word is the inspired Word of God, completely without error. This is the foundation and the worldview for all truth. even if that truth is difficult we believe it is for our good and God’s glory.
I suppose there would be other ways to tackle this topic of same sex sexuality—my concern first is what the Bible says b/c that is our truth.
and my goal next week is to look at some objections that you or others might raise against what I am saying today
2. I am speaking today with a few types of people in mind. Some of you are Christians are very convinced that the Bible teaches that same sex—sexual activity, same-sex marriage is wrong and sinful, so you probably would easily agree with everything I say. You know truth, but my challenge would be to have more grace and compassion and empathy in that truth.
On the other hand, some of you may not like what I have to say or the Bible says (might be hostile towards it)—and you easily show grace towards people who live a gay lifestyle but struggle with truth. I would encourage you to listen to God’s Word—He gives us these instructions for our good.
And then furthermore there might be some here who are confused. You call yourself a Christian but may have heard more talks, read books or podcasts where Christians are saying the Bible supports same sex sexual activity under certain conditions—so you are confused. “What does the Bible say about homosexuality?”
3. I know this affects real people…what I am saying is not in isolation—you perhaps know and love someone currently living out a same-sex relationship. You know someone who may be experiencing same sex attraction and it is confusing for that person and difficult for you to know how to help them. Perhaps you yourself experience same sex attraction and are confused and scared to even tell someone. I know that what I say would be difficult for family and friends I know that live a gay lifestyle. I love and appreciate all of them—they are dearly beloved, made in the image of God.
I have you all in mind today as I preach. My goal is to preach and teach the truth in love. Grace and truth. Both. I am not trying to be hateful—I believe it is loving to present the truth especially from the Creator of the Universe who loves you and wants to know you.
so what does the Bible say overall about homosexuality?
And I suppose I could start by looking at the ideal—that God designed.
In Genesis 2:18-25, I won’t read the whole thing—but after God made Adam, God said “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
We see God making the first woman—Eve from the side of Adam.
And God brings her to the man.
Genesis 2:23-25 says this
23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Genesis 1-2 before sin had entered the world—God lays a clear standard for marriage and sexual activity.
marriage and sexual activity are designed by God between one biological man and one biological woman—all in the context of marriage.
A man leaves his family of origin and forms a new family with his wife. It is so close they become one flesh—they are one legally, socially, economically, emotionally, relationally, and even physically in the one flesh union of sex between a husband and wife. and that one flesh union in sex between a husband and wife is an expression of the husband and wife’s unity and of the covenant they make before God.
If we only have this passage and none other that I would mention—we see this about marriage and God’s design for marriage and romance...
Specifically marriage is not
Between 3 or more people. only 2. Polygamy is wrong. Now the Bible displays polygamy in some of the OT characters but the Bible reports it—it does not support it.
It’s not between a person and an animal. Bestiality is wrong. Adam needed someone like him and different—God gave him Eve. A Woman. like but different.
It’s not between an adult and a child. It’s between 2 adults. Child abuse is wrong.
It’s not between 2 biological men or 2 biological women. It’s between one man and one woman.
Jesus Himself would quote this Genesis 2 passage in Matthew 19 as well. Matthew 19:4-6
so just in Genesis 2 alone—we see that marriage is designed between one man and one woman, and sex is designed in the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman.
Let’s keep that passage in mind as we now start to turn to other passages that directly refer to same sex activity.
Turn to Genesis 19 and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Even if you don’t know much about the Bible—Sodom and Gomorrah are synonymous with wickedness and judgement in Scripture b/c of this event.
In it, we read that 2 angels disguised as human beings visit Abraham’s nephew Lot.
Lot convinces these 2 angels (disguised as men) to show them hospitality and let them stay the night.
and look at what the text says
4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house.
5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.
8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.
11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
As we keep reading, we learn that God destroys both Sodom and Gomorrah with burning sulfur. and their example is a reference of extreme wickedness in Scripture and also extreme judgment from God.
The city Sodom is also where we also get that word “sodomy” from.
so this is a horrible event. it’s a wicked city (Lot is not much better offering his 2 daughters)
some may argue that Genesis 19 is hardly a picture of 2 men or 2 women in a committed, consensual relationship. Genesis 19 is more about violent gang rape. While I agree with that to some extent—the rest of the Bible refers that some of Sodom’s sin overall (not just here) was sexual and included homosexual activity.
if you look back at vs. 4—it mentions all the men—young and old. all of them were engaged in this type of behavior.
Look at Ezekiel 16:49-40
49 “ ‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
that word for “detestable” is translated “abomination” other places.
It is the same word used in Leviticus to describe homosexual activity.
look at this:
22 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.
(or an abomination)
or Leviticus 20:13
13 “ ‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
certainly the Bible mentions other sins as detestable and abomination as well. but this is another challenge about homosexual activity.
Jude 7 says this
7 In a similar way, 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.
literally the word perversion could be translated “other flesh.” some translations put it as “unnatural desire.” this reference to perversion or “other flesh” or “unnatural desire” is a reference to homosexual activity.
so to conclude this part on Genesis 19 “While the violence associated with homosexual behavior in Sodom certainly made the offense worse, the nature of the act contributed to the overwhelmingly negative assessment of the city.” (Kevin DeYoung “What does the Bible really Teach about Homosexuality...”
where else does homosexuality show up in Scripture?
the next main place it shows up is in Leviticus—the law God gave Moses to the Israelites.
and we read those;
and by the way in those verses in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13—I encourage you to look them up sometime—they are in the context of other sexual sins like incest, bestiality, polygamy, and adultery.
it also shows up again in Judges 19:22-25.
but let me go to the NT. if you could argue that well “That’s the OT—let’s look at the NT” the NT makes it clearer
The apostle Paul says this:
9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men
10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
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.
The church of Corinth that Paul was writing to struggled with lots of issues. division; a case of incest; lawsuits; people sleeping with temple prostitutes—and in the midst of it—Paul says very clear, very simply…to challenge them
that those who participate in same sex activity will not inherit the kingdom of god. meaning they are not saved, forgiven, made new now; nor will they be with God forever.
now, of course, Paul doesn’t just mention homosexuality—but also other sins—the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, thieves, greedy,—how many of us struggle with greed. and more.
slanderers—how many of us struggle with gossip and talking bad about people
but it does say so clearly that those who participate in same sex activity will not inherit the kingdom of God—meaning very clearly they are not saved or a part of a God’s kingdom now nor will they be for eternity.
and let me go to 1 Timothy 1:8-11 where Paul says
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.
9 We also know that the 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,
10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
again another list from Paul—Paul seems to be quoting part of the 10 commandments--
fathers and mothers — honor your parents (#5)
killing, murdering—thou shall not murder (#6)
sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality - don’t commit adultery (#7)
slave traders — that involves stealing—thou shall not steal (#8)
liars/perjurers - don’t bear false witness (#9)
all of these activities are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
so so far—Paul is saying this: homosexual activity is not a blessing to be celebrated and solemnized but a sin to be repented of, forsaken, and forgiven.
finally, let me read Romans 1:26-27
perhaps the strongest passage against homosexual activity
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.
27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
This passage in the first 3 chapters of Romans—Paul is laying out the bad news before the good news. That all of us are sinners. All of us deserve God’s judgment.
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
All of us suppress or hold back God’s truth and all of us are guilty as sinners before a holy, perfect God who made us and loves us.
Paul says the root of this suppression is idolatry—meaning we substitute God and the role He is meant to play in our lives with ourselves or something else.
Look at this idolatry
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.
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
Paul says all of us do this—we substitute God for a created thing including ourselves—we put ourselves in this.
And here is the consequence.
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.
25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
the Consequence of idolatry and suppressing God’s truth—is God gives us over to what we want in our hearts, our sinful desires. He says “You want that…Go ahead—let’s see how that works out.” Sometimes God’s judgment is direct intervention but sometimes his judgement is seen in taking his hands off and saying “Here you go.”
and then homosexual activity is mentioned as an expression of this.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.
27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
notice—the Bible calls homosexual activity “unnatural.”this is hard for some of us to hear
and so some have pushed back and said, “Well maybe Paul is against those who go against their natural sexual orientation. so if someone is heterosexual in orientation and they live out a homosexual lifestyle, that’s what Paul is against, but is someone has a homosexual orientation and they live that out—then Paul is ok with that. that would be natural for them.
I don’t think that can work.
Sam Allberry, a Pastor who experiences same sex attraction says this—the words for natural and against nature do not describe our subjective experience of what feels natural…but instead refers to the fixed way of things in creation. The nature that Paul says homosexual behaviour contradicts is God’s purpose for us, revealed in creation, and reiterated throughout Scripture.
someone may say “But God made me this way.” but Paul’s point is Romans 1 is that our “nature” as we experience it is not natural as God intended it. All of us have desires that are warped as a result of our fallen sinful nature. Desires for things God has forbidden are a reflection of how sin has distorted me, not how God has made me.”
so this idea of living our unnatural relationships is going against God’s nature—his design in Genesis 1-2.
What can we conclude from all this?
Same-sex sexual activity is wrong and sinful. I believe you have to try pretty hard to make the Bible say otherwise. I have heard arguments that the Bible is against same sexual activity that is rape, abuse, polygamous or adulterous but is for a committed same sex partnership. but I have a really hard time in seeing how the Bible even supports that. and I know that’s difficult for some of you to hear (and I will tackle why that is difficult next week), but we dare not support or approve or affirm what God is against. It is not loving for me to preach lies.
However, homosexuality is not the only form of sexual immorality; it’s one of many. The Bible is against all forms of sexual immorality—includes other sexual sins like incest, bestiality, pre-marital sex, adultery, pornography along with masturbation, and lust! living together before you are married most often I would not advise because God has reserved sex for one man and one woman in the holy beautiful covenant of marriage. Jesus even raised the bar of the sexual holiness when he said this
Matthew 5:27
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Jesus sets a high bar of sexual purity, holy sexuality! that applies not just to action—but our thoughts.
and even in our thought life!
and I love how this challenges us as the lust-er
this passage should convict us—all of us are sexual sinners.
but also protects the one being lusted after. Jesus cares about the people we lust after—even in our thought life, Jesus is protecting other people.
all of us are sexual sinners.
3. Homosexual activity is also not the only sin that God is against in these list I read. but greed is mentioned, lying, stealing, murder, Romans 1 mentions envy, strife, gossips, arrogant ones, those who disobey their parents. All of these sins, including homosexual activity are deeply reflective of our idolatrous hearts Paul says, exchanging God’s truth for lies.
in fact, you could argue the Bible isn’t fixated on homosexuality at all. It mentions other sins a lot more—doesn’t mean sexual sin is serious—it is one of many forms of our rebellion against God. all of us are sinners.
4. there is a difference between same-sex sexual activity and same-sex attraction. The Bible is against same sex sexual activity anytime. In a similar way it is also against heterosexual activity outside the context of marriage.
but if you are experiencing same sex attraction, I don’t believe that is sin in and of itself. If you are experiencing same sex temptation, it is not wrong to be tempted. It’s what we do in that moment and how do we respond to temptation—do we entertain the thought? Does that attraction turn into lust? I dwell on it, and have to have it.
This is true if you are heterosexual—you may notice that someone of the opposite sex is handsome or beautiful. It’s not wrong to notice it—but what do you do with that thought. how do you respond to that temptation?
Somewhere along that line if you dwell on it—it can turn to lust where you imagine having them in bed.
Same sex attraction is not wrong, but same sex sexual lust and same sex sexualactivity are wrong all the time just as for those with heterosexual desire—lust and sex outside of marriage are wrong.
5 there is hope for us all in Jesus! sin is not inescapable. and it is worth it to follow Jesus!
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.
this doesn’t mean that sexual temptation will go away whether you experience same sex attraction or heterosexual attraction—but they do not define you.
our goal is if you are living a gay lifestyle or experience same sex attraction—the goal is not to make you heterosexual—b/c that doesn’t solve sexual sin. the goal is to bring you to Jesus—like all of us—to believe that we are sinners. to believe that Jesus provided a way for us to be forgiven and made new through his life and death on the cross, and to come under the lordship of Christ—to allow him to be king. This is repentance. to have a relationship with Jesus
all of us can be made new through the wonderful sacrifice of Jesus Christ. all of us are not defined by our sexual desires, urges, lusts, or activity—we can be made new and defined by the king of kings and lord of lords
God has given us these things for our good and for His glory
next week...
objections next week—reach out to me...
For example, the Bible hardly mentions it or Jesus never mentioned it...
or the Bible is against abusive forms of homosexuality but is ok with a committed, monogamous, faithful same set relationship as long as they are committed
What about other sins?
Isn’t the Church supposed to be a place for broken people?
You’re on the wrong side of history
“It’s not fair”
Isn’t God a god of love? Who are we to judge?
Can’t we as Christians just agree to disagree on this like other things?
resources...
5. the reason that same sex activity exists in Romans 1 is that we have substituted God for idols—for created things! including ourselves! We have suppressed the truth about God and exchanged it for a lie.