"The Bible and Homosexuality: Where We Go From Here"

Here are the notes from Sunday's message at New Life Community Church.  This was the second message dealing with "The Bible and Homosexuality" and dealt particularly with "Where We Go From Here."  The broader series is CHRIST AND CULTURE.  If you would like to listen to this message, you may do so by going to our website at www.newlifesite.com.  God bless!

Christ and Culture, Part 2                                                                 Sunday, July 28, 2013

 “The Bible and Homosexuality – Where We Go From Here”

¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, …. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  John 17:11-18 (NIV)

Three Questions:

1.      What does the Bible say about homosexuality and same-sex marriage?

2.      What are the objections being thrown at us by our culture?  How do we answer these?

3.      Where do we go from here?  What should be the appropriate Christian stance and response concerning homosexuality, same-sex attraction, and gay identity?

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.  I Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV)

of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do …  I Chronicles 12:32 (NKJV)

Objections, Myths, and Questions:

1.      But God made me this way?  Is it a choice or is it genetic?

2.      Why don’t we just live and let live?

3.      Why are we making such a big deal about one particular sin?

4.      But Jesus never addressed homosexuality.

5.      Is it possible to change sexual orientation?

6.      Are homosexuals irredeemable?  Can homosexuals go to heaven?

7.      If it doesn’t hurt anyone, why is it wrong?

8.      Why shouldn’t two people who want to love one another for a lifetime be allowed to do so?

9.      Can the Bible even be trusted in what it says about homosexual activity?

Objections, Myths, and Questions:

1.      But God made me this way?  Is it a choice or is it genetic?  The Gay Gene.

No evidence of a genetic origin of homosexuality.  If it is genetic, is it an unalterable aspect of identity?
What about the “alcoholism gene” or the “warrior gene”?
The old “nature vs nurture” question.
Even if it were, example of individuals with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or addictive tendencies.

2.      Why don’t we just live and let live?

This is the chief temptation to Bible-believing Christians.  Don’t make trouble.  Leave it alone and it will go away.  Problem:  we become only concerned about that which takes bread off our own table. 
The Gay Agenda involves three stages:

ACCEPTANCE

APPROVAL

PROMOTION

3.      Why are we making such a big deal about one particular sin?

Aren’t there other sins that are just as bad that we don’t worry about at all?

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

4.      But Jesus never addressed homosexuality.

Underneath this question is a misunderstanding about Scripture.
 

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, II Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)

5.      Is it possible to change sexual orientation?

I Corinthians 6

6.      Are homosexuals irredeemable?  Can homosexuals go to heaven?

There is only one sin that the Bible describes as unforgiveable.  That is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.  A larger question would be can an alcoholic go to heaven?  Or a drug addict? Or a mass-murderer? 

Only one reason anyone goes to hell.  Because they rejected the forgiveness and life that is in Jesus.

7.      If it doesn’t hurt anyone, why is it wrong?

Sin is never based in Scripture on man’s understanding of right and wrong.  It is based on God’s.

8.      Why shouldn’t two people who want to love one another for a lifetime be allowed to do so?

What happens behind closed doors is a matter of personal conscience before God.  What happens by way of normative activity in our culture is quite another.

9.      Can the Bible even be trusted in what it says about homosexual activity?

The Bible has been used to support many evil things throughout human history.  How can we now trust the Bible to speak to homosexuality?

Where do we go from here?

1.     Build strong, biblical FAMILIES. 

FBI policy concerning counterfeits

2.     Biblical understanding of GENDER and SEXUALITY.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  Genesis 1:26-28 (NKJV)

3.     Correct view of all SIN. 

Consistent in our moral positions. 
No sin is worse than any other sin.

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV)

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Colossians 3:5-8 (NIV)

Romans 1

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.  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.  Romans 1:24-27 (NIV)

²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.  Romans 1:28-32 (NIV)

For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?  I Peter 4:17 (ESV)

4.     Be PATIENTLY REDEMPTIVE.

If you are struggling against sin, we will help you.

5.     Use “TOUGH LOVE” only when people stop trying. 

If you stop struggling against sin and begin accommodating it, we must speak.

6.     Preserve RELIGIOUS FREEDOM without fostering HATRED. 

Religious freedom cannot be classified as a “hate crime”

7.     The first question should be RELATIONAL and secondarily MORAL.

Don’t be surprised when people far from God act like people far from God. 

8.     Be EVANGELISTIC. 

Jesus invites first and only condemns as the last resort.

9.     Show the LOVE of God while BELIEVING the Bible. 

We must dispel the idea of hatred while also holding up the validity of truth.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,  I Peter 3:15 (NIV)

Culture Wars, the Bible, and the Gay Agenda

Culture Wars, the Bible, and the Gay Agenda

The pace of change is accelerating in our world.  Every year, every month, every week it seems the ground shifts under our feet.  From a Christian, Bible-believing perspective, the past forty years have seen a succession of issues that have been at the fore-front of this transition.  The current hot topic is homosexuality.[i]

With the events of recent weeks (particularly the Supreme Court decision of June 26), the gay community is celebrating another victory in their quest for mainstreaming the homosexual lifestyle.  This is a huge shift.  Beginning with the gay liberation movement in the 60's, there has been a steady growth of pressure toward acceptance and approval of the gay agenda.  Particularly concerning same-sex marriage, public opinion has dramatically shifted in a relatively short period of time.  Even the President of the United States admits this, saying that his own personal views have "evolved."  In his run for the Senate in 2004, he opposed gay marriage.  Then, in his 2006 book The Audacity of Hope, he cited his own personal faith as a reason for opposing same-sex marriage.  Now, he says that those positions were "on the wrong side of history."  In many ways, the trajectory of President Obama's views on same-sex marriage has paralleled the views of our nation – or so it seems.

At the center of the controversy is the Bible itself.  What does the Bible say about homosexuality, same-sex attraction, and same-sex marriage?  There are 11 passages of Scripture that speak directly to homosexuality.[ii]  There are numerous others that deal with gender identity, marriage, and sexual morality.  The plain truth is that uniformly the Bible calls homosexual activity sin.  It is described as unnatural and the result of a distortion within those who practice it.  Though this may seem harsh or unfair to some, it is the clear teaching of Scripture.

I am aware of the numerous arguments that seek to interpret the Bible differently.  The "clobber passages" have been subjected to intense efforts to modernize them or minimize them.  But they still say the same thing.  Homosexual activity is not the will of God, but instead rejects God's creation plans and is an outgrowth of the sinful fallen-ness in man's heart.

Openly gay British actor Ian McKellen (who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movies) is a good example of the view of many concerning what the Bible says about homosexuality.  In a November 2009 interview with Details magazine, he said that when he stays in a hotel he promptly takes the Bible out of the nightstand and rips out Leviticus 18:22.  That verse says, "You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination."  Our culture is, in similar fashion, seeking to tear pages out of Scripture.  Passages such as Romans 1:21-27 and I Corinthians 6:9-11 speak clearly.  Ultimately, the question is not what the Bible teaches, but rather will we pay attention to the Bible at all.

The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah have existed throughout human history resurfacing periodically to seek free and full expression.  With the flourishing of neo-pagan modern media, we are witnessing a re-birth of ancient Greek and Roman decadence.  All who seek to resist this resurgence are demeaned, demonized, or even hated. 

Indicative of this view are the attitudes expressed by Justice Anthony Kennedy in his majority opinion on the recent Supreme Court decision that struck down the 1997 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  That legislation had defined marriage as between a man and a woman and gave the states the right to refuse sanctioning same-sex marriages.  In essence, all who supported DOMA are called hateful bigots, and enemies of the human race.  They are accused of being motivated by a "desire to harm a politically unpopular group."

These are disturbing attitudes.  They indicate an increasing divide that has been called a CULTURE WAR.  In this war, the two opposing sides throw invectives and accusations at each other.  Both seek to caricature the opposing side in the worst possible light.  The pro-gay factions describe conservative Christians as hateful bigots, narrow-minded relics of the Dark Ages, and hypocritical religionist with superiority complexes.  At the same time, conservative factions have described homosexuals in hate-filled terms such as "faggot", "queer", "perverted", and worse.  I am sad to say that, at times, many in the Church have used these terms and displayed these attitudes.

There must be a biblical, Christ-honoring ground on which we can stand without deepening this vicious divide.  Compassionately and courageously, we must seek to be "blameless and pure, children of God in the midst of an increasingly god-less society." (Phil. 2:15)

So, where should we stand?  Let me suggest the following as a beginning point:

1.      Scripture declares homosexual activity to be sin.  We cannot remain faithful to God if we back away from Scripture.

2.      Before God, no one sin, including sexual sin, is worse than another.

3.      Homosexual sin can be forgiven just as any other sin.

4.      The Cross of Christ provides the power sufficient to transform sinful sexual attractions.

5.      It is always the duty of Christians to love and accept the sinner while ministering to the sin.

6.      Disagreement with one's lifestyle does not constitute hatred of the person.

7.      Freedom of religion means that we are allowed to believe the Bible without having our faith classified as a "hate crime."

8.      Acceptance of homosexuals should not morph into mandated approval of homosexuality.

There is much more that should be said and must be said.  May Jesus help us to represent Him well.  I am reminded of the story from the John 8 where the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in sexual sin.  Jesus spoke to the Pharisees and he spoke to the woman.  He told the Pharisees, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first" (John 8:7).  In essence, Jesus is saying, "STOP THROWING STONES AT THE SINNERS."  But, He also says to the woman, "Go, and sin no more" (John 8:11).  He calls out to those caught in sexual perversion and sin and invites them to purity.  He says, "YOU CAN BE FORGIVEN AND BREAK THE PATTERNS OF DESTRUCTION."

The chaotic environment surrounding homosexuality can become the backdrop in which the church can shine more brightly than ever.  The world at its worst needs the church at its best. 

To that end may we be missionaries of God’s God sent into a world full of guilt and shame.

---

[i] Other issues have included abortion, feminism, ecology, freedom of speech/expression, freedom of worship and a host of others roughly following the conservative vs. liberal divide.

[ii] The passages of Scripture that directly address homosexuality:

1.      Genesis 18:1-11

2.      Leviticus 18:22

3.      Leviticus 20:13

4.      Judges 19:16-24

5.      I Kings 14:24

6.      I Kings 15:12

7.      II Kings 23:7

8.      Romans 1:18-32

9.      I Corinthians 6:9-11

10.  I Timothy 1:8-11

11.  Jude 7

Man's Preparation and God's Presence

One Year Bible

Old Testament passage for Sunday, July 21, 2013:  II Chronicles 4:1-6:11

¹¹ And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves …), ¹²  … clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets— ¹³ indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,”  that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴ so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.  II Chronicles 5:11-14 (NKJV)

Immense preparations had taken place.  Solomon, following the instructions of his father David, had built an incredibly ornate Temple sparing no expense.  Gold, silver, and intricate ornaments were surrounded by oak, cedar, and the finest of tapestries.  Solomon completed the finishing touches and, in grand fashion, brought in the one element central to the entire Temple: the ark of the covenant. 

Then, a "God moment" took place.  God showed up. His glory came in like a cloud.  All man's preparations were met with divine presence.  The eternal met the temporal.  The transcendent, unlimited God inhabited a limited, specific location.  There are mind-blowing elements in this story.  Our understanding of God, man, and creation come into play. 

John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”  The heavenly meets the earthly and the result is the glory of God being revealed.  That’s God’s plan.  It is what happened with Solomon’s Temple.  It is what happened in Jesus.  It is what we read happened in the Early Church in Acts 2.  And God wants it to happen in each of us.

There are two elements that work together in revealing God’s glory.  There is the human element and the divine.  From the human side there is PREPARATION.  We seek to give God our very best.  God deserves our best offering, not our left-overs.

But, when you have done your very best to prepare that which will bring Him praise, even then it is never fully enough.  GOD MUST COME.  He must fill the house.  Preparation is nothing without PRESENCE.  It may be a grand house, but it is nothing unless God Himself comes.

II Chronicles 5 is a vision of what God wants to do in the Church – and in your life.  He calls us to build with the best of materials.  We are to take great care to obey His building instructions.  He wants to then come and so fill the house with His glory that we are knocked out.  As it was in the days of Solomon, so may it be in our day – even better!

CHRIST AND CULTURE: "The Bible and Homosexuality"

Here are the notes from today's message at New Life Community Church.  The title of the message is "The Bible and Homosexuality" and is  part of a larger on-going series entitled CHRIST AND CULTURE.  If you would like to listen to this message, you may do so by going to our website at www.newlifesite.com.  God bless!

Christ and Culture, Part 1                                                                 Sunday, July 21, 2013

 “The Bible and Homosexuality, Part 1”

¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.  ¹³ “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  John 17:11-18 (NIV)

Vs. 11.  In the world

Vs. 14.  Not of the world

We usually stop there.  But, there is a third element:

Vs. 18.  Sent into the world.

Illustration:  If our culture were like a huge river, where are we in respect to the river?

a.       Swam to the shore and got out.

b.      Over near the edge hanging on trying not to be swept away.

c.       Out in the middle swimming upstream.

H. Richard Niebuhr:  Christ and Culture.  5 ways Christians respond to culture.

Three ways we engage our world:

1.     REJECT the culture                   (Christ AGAINST Culture)

2.     RECEIVE the culture       (Christ OF Culture)

3.     REDEEM the culture        (Christ TRANSFORMING Culture)

I want to deal with 3 questions in our time today and next week.  Those 3 questions are:

1.      What does the Bible say about homosexuality and same-sex marriage?

2.      What are the objections being thrown at us by our culture?  How do we answer these?

3.      Where do we go from here?  What should be the appropriate Christian stance concerning homosexuality, same-sex attraction, and gay identity?

Introduction:

Three big events in the past two months.

1.      The Boy Scouts

May 23.  Irving, Texas.

2.      Exodus International

June 19.  Irvine, California

3.      The Supreme Court

June 26. 

Massive Transformation of our Society and Culture

Three Steps in the Gay Rights Agenda:

1.      ACCEPTANCE of homosexuality

2.      APPROVAL of homosexuality

3.      PROMOTION of homosexuality

May 11, 2013.  California SB 1437.

The Bias Free Curriculum Act would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in textbooks, classroom materials and school-sponsored activities.

SB 1437 would alter K-12 public education textbooks, instructional materials, and school-sponsored activities to positively reference transsexuality, transvestitism, bisexuality, and homosexuality, including homosexual "marriage." 

President Obama’s views on same-sex marriage have “evolved”.  But the Word of God does not change.

There are 11 passages that deal directly with homosexuality.  There are numerous other passages that deal with gender identity, marriage, and sexual morality.

The passages of Scripture that directly address homosexuality:

1.      Genesis 19:1-11

2.      Leviticus 18:22

3.      Leviticus 20:13

4.      Judges 19:16-24

5.      I Kings 14:24

6.      I Kings 15:12

7.      II Kings 23:7

8.      Romans 1:18-32

9.      I Corinthians 6:9-11

10.  I Timothy 1:8-11

11.  Jude 7

 

Genesis 1:26-28

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  Genesis 1:26-28 (NKJV)

Three Creation Truths

1.     GENDER identity is important to God.

2.     The PATTERN for marriage is ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN for a LIFETIME.

3.     Marriage is tied to REPRODUCTION.

Genesis 19 and then Judges 19.  Sodom and Gomorrah.  The sins of Gibeah

Leviticus 18:22 (Lev. 20:13)

“Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin.  Leviticus 18:22 (NLT)

Romans 1

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.  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.  Romans 1:24-26 (NIV)

I Corinthians 6

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.  I Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV)

Objections, Myths, and Questions:

1.      But God made me this way?  Is it a choice or is it genetic?  The Gay Gene.

2.      Why don’t we just live and let live?

3.      Why are we making such a big deal about one particular sin?

4.      But Jesus never addressed homosexuality.

5.      Is it possible to change sexual orientation?

6.      Are homosexuals irredeemable?  Can homosexuals go to heaven?

7.      If it doesn’t hurt anyone, why is it wrong?

8.      Why shouldn’t two people who want to love one another for a lifetime be allowed to do so?

9.      Can the Bible even be trusted in what it says about homosexual activity?

Where do we go from here?

1.      Build strong, biblical families.  FBI policy concerning counterfeits

2.      Correct view of all sin.  No sin is worse than any other sin.

3.      Consistent in our moral positions. 

4.      Be patiently redemptive. If you are struggling against sin, we will help you.

5.      Use “tough love” when people stop trying.  If you stop struggling against sin and begin accommodating it, we must speak.

6.      Preserve religious freedom without fostering hatred.  Religious freedom cannot be classified as a “hate crime”

7.      Don’t be surprised when people far from God act like people far from God.  The first question should be relational and secondarily moral.

8.      Be evangelistic.  Jesus invites first and only condemns as the last resort.

9.      Show the love of God while believing the Bible.  We must dispel the idea of hatred while also holding up the validity of truth.

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:13-16 (NKJV)

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.  ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life.  Philippians 2:12-16 (NIV)