A BIBLICAL EXAMINATION OF HOMOSEXUALITY AND SAME SEX UNIONS - PART II

PART 2: THE ALTERNATE LIFESTYLE 

Sin Defined

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” Leviticus 18:1-24

   As early as the book of Leviticus, the prohibition of unclean relationships is made plain. An abomination is nothing more than sin in the eyes of the Creator. It is an aberration of the divine design of the man-woman relationship that He intended for mankind.

   This is the same sin that is described in Genesis 19:5 when the men of Sodom implored Lot to bring the travelers out so that they might “know them carnally.” There is a similar scenario in Judges 19:22.

     Man’s Rebellion

“For this reason God gave them up to vile passions.”  Romans 1:26a

   Paul describes in the first chapter of Romans the debase nature of the Gentiles who committed this sin of homosexuality. In verse 18, we read where “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” The Bible states plainly that men suppress the truth, and this means that they do it knowingly. How do they know? Because in verse 19 it says, “that what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” This means that every man has an internal witness to what is right and what is wrong. Since every man bears the image of the Creator, it follows that man possesses a conscience that can reason right and wrong.

   So, as we come to verse 26, God has given them up to their vile passions, because man had rebelled and rejected the fact that God exists and has revealed Himself to mankind.

“For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” Romans 1:26b-27

   But the rejection of God didn’t end here. Man went on to rebel even further by doing those things that even nature proves to be wrong. Engaging in same sex relationships of which the Scriptures state are shameful. In 1 Corinthians 5:1, Paul writes that the sexual immorality reported among the Corinthians was not even named among the Gentiles. This sin that he spoke of was that of a man living with his father’s wife. How much lower on the scale of degradation must this sin of homosexuality be!

      Husbands and Wives

“Wives, submit to your own husbands…Husbands, love you wives, just as Christ also loved the church.” Ephesians 5:22 & 25

The New Testament teachings concerning the family are very specific: marriage is to be between a man and a woman. There are no other alternatives. This is the Divine design for mankind in order that he might realize all the blessings of this life through loving relations with the opposite sex. Each time that the Scriptures deal with marriage and the family, it always speaks of the relationship between a man and a woman. (See also, 1 Peter 3:1-7; Col. 3:18-19) To see something other than this in God’s order is to attempt to introduce a different morality than that which the Creator intended. 

     The Problem of Relative Morality

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25

   Anyone who studies the book of Judges will realize that not all the events of this book spell out evil times. For the wonderful story of Ruth occurred during this timeframe. And just because there was no king in the land does not prove that this was the reason why men acted sinfully. But the real reason lies in the fact that Israel lacked an objective basis to live by. They had rejected the authority of God as He had revealed Himself to them through the Scriptures and by the prophets. And therefore each did what he thought was right in his own eyes. There is a direct parallel with this thinking and that of our 21^st Century culture. It is what we might call relative morality. Whatever a person wants to do at any given moment is his own choosing, and he has a right to think and do whatever he likes regardless of the overall consequences. It is a denial of any absolute truth or values.

   For the Christian, this should not be. We who claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, stand at the crossroad and must take a stand for absolute truth as it has been revealed to us in God’s Word. Too often Christians have caved in to the moral slide of our culture. It is concerning this surrender of Biblical moral values that we turn our attention.    

A BIBLICAL EXAMINATION OF HOMOSEXUALITY AND SAME SEX UNIONS - PART I

It’s a day of reckoning for 21^st Century Christianity. We are confronted by a constant flow of humanism with its anti-Biblical ideology, ranging from relative morality to an intense drive for personal peace and affluence.  In its dust it leaves the memory of a time when Christian values were prominently held in our culture.

Today we are faced with the issue of gay unions and the desire of some to legalize these unions in order to place upon them an indelible stamp of approval. Unfortunately there are some who claim Christ as their Savior that are willing to go along with this in order to appear open and tolerant of those who have an ‘alternative lifestyle.’ These have broken ranks with the true Church of Jesus Christ, compromising true doctrine in order to ‘keep up with the times.’ What they are saying and doing may appear to the world at large to be good, compassionate and tolerant. But it is simply a compromised position of Biblical truth and a direct affront to the Creator. 

There is no way of knowing how long we have to stand at this crossroad. But it seems imperative that if Christianity is to move forward and have a positive impact in the world, it must do so with a united front behind the only objective truth at our disposal: the Bible, the Word of God.

A practical Christian response to this issue will be presented in 3 parts:

PART 1: THE DESIGN OF THE CREATOR

PART 2: THE ALTERNATE LIFESTYLE

PART 3: THE BIBLICAL RESPONSE

PART 1: THE DESIGN OF THE CREATOR

In The Beginning

“Male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27

On the sixth day of creation, God determined to make man in His own image and likeness. But notice that in Genesis 1:27, even prior to His creating Eve, Scripture states, “in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (emphasis added).” In the mind of the Creator there was a distinction made for the sex of mankind, male and female. And the reason for this is shown in verse 28. For here it states that “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.’” It should be obvious for anyone to see that in order to be fruitful and to multiply that it necessitates a male and a female to reproduce.  This is true for the lower order of creation as well as for mankind, the higher order of creation. The major difference is that man was created with the image and likeness of the Creator for a more noble purpose: to multiply and have dominion over God’s creation.  

Eve

“It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Genesis 2:18

   Again on the sixth day of creation, God recognizes that man must have a like companion. But before He creates Eve, notice in verse 19 that God brings the lower order of creation to Adam in order for him to give them names. This served two purposes, to present Adam with dominion over the lower creation, and to demonstrate the uniqueness of man. Adam found no helper comparable [i.e., a helping being, in which, as soon as he sees it, he may recognize himself (Delitzsch)] to him among the lower order of creation, and rightfully so, for man bears the image of his Creator and is more noble than the animals.

   Next, God creates the woman from the rib of Adam. And again, as God did with the animals, He brings the woman to the man. This presenting of the woman to man demonstrates two things. First, that there is a purpose for the sexes. In the mind of the Creator, there is a design for mankind to reproduce and to be fruitful and to multiply. And secondly, this exhibits in a clear and unmistakable manner that there is order in God’s creation. And He gave this His divine stamp of approval: “God blessed them…” (Genesis 1:28).

The Divine Plan for Marriage

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  Genesis 2:24

At the institution of marriage, God specifically states that the relationship is to be between a man and his wife, a male and a female. Notice also that the man comes from a father and a mother. There is no reference to an ‘alternate life style’ between members of the same sex. Jesus restates God’s original intent as it is recorded in Matthew 19:4-6. Paul supports this also in Ephesians 5:31. In fact, when the New Testament writers speak of marriage, they always refer to a husband and a wife (Eph. 5:22ff; 1 Peter 3:1ff). It is intellectually dishonest to try to redefine these terms (husband/wife) to mean anything other than a male and a female. A wife is never a male. A husband is never a female. And God never intended for His creatures to sanction or participate in same sex unions.

The Ascension and Session of Jesus Christ

An important event in the Christian calendar is the Ascension and Session of Jesus Christ, which was commemorated yesterday, May 14^th. This historical occurrence took place 40 days after Easter, the day Christ was resurrected from the dead. It was foretold in Psalm 68:18: “You have ascended on high” and is described in two New Testament passages, Luke 24:49-52 and Acts 1:9 -11. 

In the account given in the first chapter of Acts, Jesus assures His apostles that they would receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Luke then states that Jesus “was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” The apostles had already witnesses their Lord’s defeat of death, so this would certainly have been an equally amazing occasion for them, seeing Jesus ascending bodily into the heavens.

So where is Jesus Christ now? Paul writes in Colossians 3:1 that He is seated at the right hand of God. This period of time is termed the Session of Jesus Christ. It is a period of special activity which the theologian Lewis Sperry Chafer states that “Christ is now engaged in a ministry which determines the service and destiny of all those who have put their trust in Him.”  

What He is doing presently is a matter the Scriptures have not left silent. Christ stated in John 14:1-3, that He was going to prepare a place for all believers to be with Him forever after death. The writer of the book of Hebrews 7:25 declares that He presently makes intercession to the Father for all believers, as well as being an advocate on our behalf (Hebrews 9:24; 1 John 2:1). He is also said to be the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23) which includes all those who trust in Christ.

And there is every reason to expect His return to earth at the end of time. For when the apostles were watching Him ascend into heaven, Luke mentions that there were two men in white who spoke to them saying, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” John affirms this in Revelation 1:7: “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.” Christ will return to establish His kingdom, to put an end to evil, to vanquish His enemies, and to eliminate the last enemy, death (1 Corinthians 15:26).

Jesus asserted that no man knows the day or the hour of His return (Mark 13:32). He stated further in Acts 1:7 that “it is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.” Instead we are to comfort ourselves with the fact of His present ministry for us in heaven and to demonstrate our confidence actively waiting for His return.