Homosexuality and The Bible:
Part 2*
Dave Redick
Is there such a thing as an "alternate lifestyle" in the Bible relating to human sexuality? Yes there is, but it isn't homosexuality or lesbianism. The only "alternate lifestyle" the Bible accepts besides male/female monogamous marriage is celibacy
Introduction
In the wake of the "Ellen" incident on ABC TV last week, my good friend, Alan Walker wrote a sermon on the subject, just as I did. While it pains me to admit this in your presence (smile), I think I like his better than mine. I don't have time for the whole message, but I will share with you his title and outline.* Alan makes his point in an interesting way.
Alan's title was "Ellen, There Are A Few Things You Need to Know."
Then his main points were:
1. Ellen, I want you to know that God loves you, but you're making it hard for Him to continue doing so...
2. Ellen, God is the Almighty and Awesome God of absolutes.
3. Ellen, you need to know immorality isn't funny, no matter how you portray or package it.
4. Ellen, there's one more thing I feel you need to know. You ought to repent.
Last Sunday evening, I covered with you the first half of a lesson called What the Bible Says About Homosexuality. I showed you how homosexuality is contrary to the order of creation, something that was never a part of God's design. God created a wife for Adam, not a husband. Then we looked at homosexuality in the Old Testament. I won't repeat that teaching here. Probably a good representative verse for that part of the message might be Leviticus 18:22 -
"You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination."
Finally we looked at what the New Testament has to say about homosexuality. I would choose I Corinthians 6:9-10 as a representative verse.
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
In this message I want to cover several other items relating to the same issue of homosexuality and the Bible. First, let's deal with
I. The "Silence" of Jesus.
There are some who say that Jesus was not opposed to homosexuality since He did not mention it during His ministry on earth. This "argument from silence" makes an effective point if you know little of the Scriptures. Of course, by that same line of reasoning we would have to conclude that Jesus was not opposed to incest, public nudity, sorcery, strife, jealousy, and quite a few other sins, since He did not mention them by name either.
Actually, those who would use this line of reasoning in favor of homosexuality are either ignorant of the chain of inspiration from God to man or are purposely suppressing the truth. Let me show you what I mean.
There is a chain of transmission in Biblical truth. Follow me as I describe it.
Jesus, was God in flesh and spoke with the full authority of deity. We read in Hebrews 1:1-2:
"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."
But Biblical authority didn't stop there. Jesus gave authority to His Apostles to speak binding words to us as well.
Jesus indicated that the Apostle Peter had the power to bind and loose God's commands in Matthew 16:19,
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
In turn, Peter, with the power to bind and loose on earth put his stamp of approval on Paul's writings as Scripture in II Peter 3:15-16,
"and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all {his} letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the scriptures, to their own destruction."
Jesus pronounced Peter's authority to bind and loose commandments on earth. Peter called Paul's writings "Scripture." Each man therefore, caries the authority to reveal the will of God as Apostles. Both Peter and Paul condemned homosexuality. Actually this chain of transmission of Biblical authority is what is behind Paul's words in I Corinthians 14:37: "If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment."
Also relevant to this subject is Jesus' promise to the Apostles in John 16:12-13 that after His departure the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth.
"I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come." [spoken to His Apostles]
To reject the teaching of Peter, Paul, or any of the other Apostles is to reject the teaching of Jesus.
Paul, who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, condemned homosexuality, as we've already seen. Peter put his stamp of approval on Paul's authority to write Scripture. Jesus put His approval on Peter. Therefore, it is a moot issue to say that Jesus said nothing about homosexuality.
Let's consider next the matter of
II. The "Alternate Lifestyle" Spoken of in the Bible.
Is there such a thing as an "alternate lifestyle" in the Bible relating to human sexuality? Yes there is. But it isn't homosexuality or lesbianism. The only "alternate lifestyle" the Bible accepts besides male/female monogamous marriage is celibacy. Jesus spotlighted this alternative in Matthew 19:11-12 when he said,
"But He said to them, 'Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.'"
A eunuch is a celibate - one who does not have sexual relations with the opposite sex by choice.
Paul also emphasized the celibacy alternative when he wrote to the Corinthians about alternatives to marriage in I Corinthians 7:7-9,
"Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am [celibate]. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn."
Note that these verses follow what Paul already said about homosexuality in I Corinthians 6:9-10.
Is homosexuality a legitimate "alternate lifestyle?" Not according to the Bible. The Bible indicates it is a deviant lifestyle and that those who practice it will be excluded from the Kingdom of God.
People say Jesus didn't condemn homosexuality by name, and they are right, but His chosen Apostles did and He gave them authority to bind and loose commandments.
Some say that homosexuality is just an "alternate lifestyle," but the Bible indicates no such thing.
There are other attempts to give homosexuality credibility. One such is
III. The Argument Made That There Are Two Kinds of Homosexuals.
(You may not have heard this, so play close attention.)
Some people talk about two different kinds of homosexuals - inverted and overted homosexuals. According to them, and inverted homosexual is a person who has no desire for the opposite sex, but doesn't practice sexual acts with his own sex. The overted homosexual, according to this line of reasoning, has no desire for the opposite sex and does practice sexual acts with his own sex. Thus, (they say) the inverted homosexual has only a homosexual orientation, while the overted one actually engages in homosexual activities.
While such distinctions are common among people in the pro-homosexual camp, there is no such distinction made by the Bible. The person without sexual attraction to the opposite sex is not a homosexual at all! Rather, according to the Bible, he is a person with the gift for celibacy. Such a person should not look upon himself or herself as a potential homosexual, nor should others consider him/her that way. This is an important point! Unless such a person understands it (the idea that he has the gift of celibacy) he may become prey to the homosexuals and begin thinking that homosexuality is the natural state for him. A young man, for instance, concludes that since he isn't attracted to girls, he must be a homosexual and should pursue that. Nothing could be more wrong! Such a person is probably one with the Biblical gift of celibacy.
(By the way parents, it is not wise to put pressure on your young people to get into opposite sex relationships early just so you can be assured they aren't gay. For one thing, until they are of marriageable age, such relationships are dangerous. For another, if they have the gift of celibacy, you could be forcing something not natural for them. Guide them, yes. Encourage them to do right, yes. But don't force them into opposite sex relationships. And don't say what I heard one parent say when their son got a girl pregnant and they weren't married: "Well, at least he isn't GAY!" Fornication is just a wrong as homosexuality!)
Pro-homosexuals teach that it is not wrong for a person who is "naturally" attracted to his own sex (and thus, it seems right to him) to be a functioning homosexual. But just feeling something is right doesn't make it right. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death."
Being tempted to act out desires is not restricted to homosexuals. Every person is tempted by his own desires. That is what temptation is all about. Just because we have certain desires doesn't mean it is natural or right to express them. We are to control our desires, not let them control us!
Romans 13:13-14 says, "Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts [ie., strong desires]."
Of course, a talk such as this wouldn't be complete without dealing with the issue of
IV. The Cause of Homosexuality.
Is homosexuality something that is genetically determined or is it something that is learned by behavior? The jury is still out on that one. Some evidence of late may be indicating some link between homosexuality and genes. However, I will hold off a verdict on the issue until things are more conclusive. Researchers have been wrong in their conclusions before, so I'd hate to build a case on a false premise.
The real question that is pertinent is whether or not homosexuals are responsible for their behavior or whether they are born that way and thus, somehow not responsible.
We have already seen that the Bible calls homosexuality sin. God calls men and women everywhere to take responsibility for their sexuality and to stop sinning. Therefore, I conclude that, regardless of the issue of heredity, when a homosexual learns that his behavior is wrong, he must determine to stop it. There is no excuse that will withstand the judgement of God. God didn't say "repent unless you're born that way." He simply calls on all everywhere to repent! I like the way a Salem area talk show host put it recently: "If you were born with an overwhelming desire to take a gun and shoot yourself, wouldn't you try to find some way to control it?"Homosexuality is sin caused by temptation. Various kinds of environments can augment the lure of the temptation and reduce resistance to it. For instance, there is the external environment. Some studies seem to indicate that a boy who has a close binding relationship with his mother while at the same time has an indifferent father may be more likely to identify with the parent of the opposite sex in dress and mannerisms. People who live in highly concentrated homosexual populations may be more likely to engage in some homosexual acts. None of these external influences, however, is justification for sin in the Bible.
While we're on the subject of causes, what about cures? Although the condemnation of homosexuality didn't change throughout the Bible, the way to handle it did. The Old Testament called for the death penalty or expulsion from the land. The New Testament calls for a change in the person. God doesn't call us to change things that cannot be changed.
Can God change a homosexual? Yes! Paul talked about a church that had former homosexuals in it. But they were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. (See I Corinthians 6:9-11). Our culture says that change is difficult if not impossible, so they conclude that change is not necessary. What is not possible in our culture, though, is always possible through Christ. The first step is accepting responsibility by admitting that homosexuality is wrong and that one has decided to change.
Conclusion
I would like to conclude this message with a few words about this issue and the church.
The church should never condone what God condemns. She must always stand against what is wrong as defined by her Head, Jesus Christ in His word, the New Testament. But it goes beyond that. According to Acts 17:30 God,"having overlooked the times of ignorance, is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent," That call includes homosexuals. Though they are sinners like everyone else, they can be saved when they are willing to forsake their sin and come to God, through Christ, determining to live His way. They must determine to leave their wrong actions behind, though, just like others with other sins.
Let me say one more thing about the attitude of the church. It would probably be easy for most of us to condemn those who practice this sin as though we are the Great Judge. We are not. Last week I considered a verse that may have something to say about our attitude on things such as this. Proverbs 24:17-18 says,
"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see it and be displeased..."
From time to time there is a story on the news about a homosexual who is beaten or gravely mistreated by people who hate him and what he stands for. It is easy when we hear that to cheer them on, saying, "Yeah, give it to him! Kill him!"
In light of Proverbs, is that the right attitude? I think not. It is still true that we are to hate the sin but love the sinner enough to hope he is saved and be sad when he is destroyed.
It isn't easy to show love to the sinner while rejecting the sin. But that is exactly what God has called us to do. It takes a mature person to do that. Let's be sure we do it right.
Footnotes: Use your "Back" button to return to your place.
Author's Note: Part 1 of this two part message can be found in the archive.
Alan's message to "Ellen" can be found at The Preacher's Corner.
Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.
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