Last month, Kentucky State Representative Napier announced in the opinion section of our local newspaper that he had filed a resolution to be considered to try to amend the U.S. constitution (7/22/03, Advocate Messenger). This amendment would officially recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman. He introduced the resolution following the Supreme Court decision of Lawrence v. Texas, in which Texas' sodomy law--the law which made the practice of homosexuality illegal in that state--was struck down as unconstitutional. Mr. Napier said that he was concerned that the Supreme Court decision was "the first step towards the complete legitimization of the homosexual lifestyle".
More recently, the President was asked about his stand on homosexuality: whether or not it was immoral. Essentially, Mr. Bush said that the issue, as far as Washington was concerned, was one of "the definition of marriage", and that he believed "in the sanctity of marriage." He felt that "marriage is between a man and a woman."
The definition of marriage has long been understood to be a relationship between a man and woman--a husband and wife. The only reason that the definition is being reconsidered now is because some are seeking, as Mr. Napier observed, to legitimize the homosexual lifestyle. The fact that homosexuals want to be able to marry is only a symptom; the problem is that homosexuality is indeed immoral, and homosexuals feel that being joined in marriage lends some form of legitimacy to it--that it will make it all right.
But from the very beginning of time, homosexuality was not intended for mankind. In the very first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, we read in 2:7 that "...the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." God had created man after His own image; but in verse 18, we find that "...the LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.'" So God caused this first man to sleep and took one of his ribs; then God formed the woman from his rib. In verses 23 and 24, "The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.' For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh." From the very beginning, marriage was intended to be between one man, and one woman--a husband and wife; and the two would become so much a part of each other in marriage that they would be as one. This is what God intended to be the natural way of things.
In the first chapter of that same book, we read a charge that this first couple was given: in verse 28, "God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." God expected them to be able to fill the earth--something only possible with the pairing that God provided, male with female.
Now, some might argue that "the first few chapters of Genesis is only an allegory--it was not intended to be interpreted literally." This argument is used to try get around many of the ideas implied there, things from divorce to evolution; but as Christians, we dare not try to water this passage down like that. You see, a Christian is supposed to be a follower after the Christ--Jesus; and He Himself took this passage literally.
In the book of Mark chapter 10, some of the religious teachers had come to Jesus to test Him. They asked Him about whether a man could divorce his wife; and in verse 6, Jesus said, "...from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." In this passage we see several things: first, marriage is between a man and a woman; second, God makes the two to be as one; third, as a result, we also see the sanctity of marriage--man ought not to dissolve it in divorce. But lastly, Jesus took the Genesis account of creation literally, basing his whole argument on that fact, pointing out that from the beginning of creation, this is what was intended.
We cannot be follower of Christ and believe that the creation account is allegory.
So we see that homosexual relations were not intended from the beginning of time; yet, God takes it more seriously than as something simply unintended. Under the law of Moses, it was a sin. It's written in Leviticus 18:22, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." God didn't take kindly to it; it was an abomination to Him. Therefore, the penalty for it was death. Look in Leviticus 20:13: "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them." The word bloodguiltiness simply meant that it was their own fault that they were to die; they would die for their guilt. You see, God took this crime--this sin--very seriously.
This sexual perversion has been around for ages. We see an account of an entire city that was caught up in this sin in Genesis 19. There, God had sent two angels to test the citizens of the city, because (as we see in 18:20) the outcry against it was great, and their sin was exceedingly grave.
The angels came to the city in the appearance of men. They would have slept in the open square of the city, but a righteous man named Lot asked them to come into his house for shelter. In verse 4 of chapter 19, "Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.'" The men of the city of Sodom wanted to have sexual relations with the angels that they thought were simply male strangers. This is confirmed in the book of Jude verse 7, where we find that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah went after strange flesh--that is, they had sexual relations with that which was unnatural.
Because of their sin, we find in Genesis 19:24 and 25 that, "...the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground." God utterly destroyed Sodom and all of its people; and in verses 27 and 28, Abraham "...looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace." God took their sin very seriously--and because of their sin and God's judgement upon them for it, homosexuality has for centuries been referred to by the word "sodomy". Again, as Christians we have to recognize that this account is also not fiction, but is historical fact--because Jesus himself referred to the city's destruction as fact in Luke 17:29 and 30. There, we read, "...on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed." In other words, it took them by surprise.
Yes, God took the sin of sodomy, or homosexuality, very seriously--and He still does today. In Romans chapter 1, Paul the apostle wrote that although God had shown his existence through all the works he had made; even so, some worshiped animals, and other things God created rather than God Himself. Because of that, we see in verse 26 that "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." God left them to themselves--and they abandoned themselves to wickedness. They left the God-given nature of sexual behavior for that which was unnatural--homosexuality. And so, after listing a listing a number of sins they were guilty of, Paul concluded in verse 32 that "although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." Paul spoke in the present tense--that the ordinance of God still condemned those behaviors, including homosexuality.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9,10, Paul clearly described God's position about homosexuality: "...do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [that is, those who submit to homosexuals], nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." It almost seems as if, just so we don't miss his point, Paul mentions things dealing with homosexuality twice.
This past week, there has been a great deal of controversy in the Episcopal Church. Their house of Bishops has been considering whether to appoint as a fellow bishop Mr. Gene Robinson, an openly homosexual priest who has lived with his male partner for 13 years.
Those who would like him to be elected say that he and his partner have a committed relationship--that they want to be with each other only as partners, for as long as they live--and that that makes it within the authority of scripture (Gay Bishop Candidate Faces Final Hurdle, CNN Minneapolis, 8/4/03); but if they read the scriptures, that isn't what they would find.
Remember, in Mark 10, Jesus Himself said that "...from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE", and that God had joined them in marriage. From the beginning of time, God intended the sexual relationship to be only between a man and a woman, and only within the marriage relationship. Commitment to one another does not change the fact that homosexuality is sin.
How then would this affect the Christian? How should we behave when we are faced with the reality of this sin all around us?
There are several passages that come to mind, but perhaps one of the first we should consider is one that we have already begun to read--and that is 1 Corinthians 6:9 and following. It began, "...do you not know that the unrighteous will 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, will inherit the kingdom of God." But Paul continued, "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."
There are some things we need to recognize in this passage: number one, that homosexuality is a sin. There can be no doubt about that. But, number two, it is no worse (and no better) than any other sin. It is included with adultery, fornication (which includes sex before marriage), stealing, and drunkenness. We may have a tendency to think of it as if it were worse, but all sin separates us from God, as we read in Isaiah 59:1,2, and the fact is that "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). You and I both have committed sin, and that put us all in the same sinking boat. Fortunately, there is a point number three--Paul said that such were some of them, but they were cleansed from that sin. There is hope for the homosexual. Contrary to popular belief, the homosexual can turn from his sin, and turn to God--in the same way that every other sinner must.
We read in Romans 5:8,9 that "...God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." Christ died because he loves each one of us--including the homosexual; and every sin that man will commit can be put away and forgiven. It's all up to us, each individual. Christians should neither fear nor hate homosexuals, although we should abhor their sin, and every other sin that men commit. Instead, we should show them that there is hope in Christ--there is forgiveness for all those that love and obey Him.
