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Dear Ed: What Do You Believe about Homosexuality?
Thank you for asking us how we deal with same sex relationships in the church. It is a tough question because there are opinions and attitudes that bounce all around the issue. We need to deal with it from God’s Word and with the grace that abounds in His Love. Because the question has been asked several times in the last few weeks, I wanted to spend a little time and give something more than a quick answer.
At my Church, we welcome all believers and seekers of truth who come and worship with us. That includes those who are living in any form of the sin nature, doing any one of a number of things that fall outside God’s will. Church is a place where we can all come to the Father openly and without fear.
Someone involved in the gay or lesbian lifestyle is welcome and will be free to worship with us and fellowship with us, hear the Word taught from the pulpit with us and react as anyone else would. However, he or she would not be accepted in membership any more than a couple living outside the marriage covenant, or any one involved in any number of Biblically errant behaviors. We do consider the homosexual and lesbian lifestyles to be sin and I will try to clearly show you why. The Bible looks at this as one of a number of things that displease God. Here is a short list:
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 homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. 1 Cor 6:8-11 NKJV
To understand God’s perspective on homosexuality, we have to go back to the Book of Genesis and see where it first appears, in the city of Sodom.
"Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 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 know them carnally." Gen 19:4-5 NKJV
Lot was so afraid for the rape of the men in his house that he tried unsuccessfully to bargain with them:
So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men,” Gen 19:6-8 NKJV
Ezekiel made it clear what God thought of this practice when he spoke these words of God in prophecy:
Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit. Ezek 16:49-51 NKJV
God [through His prophet] said they committed abominations before Him.. And…In Jeremiah, we see that there were lying and adulterous false prophets in Jerusalem whom the Lord, in His anger, called horrible and placed them in the same level of wickedness as Sodom.
"And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: They prophesied by Baal And caused My people Israel to err. Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. Jer 23:13-14 NKJV
The word, Sodom and its extension, Sodomite are clear and strong terms. You can’t mistake the root meaning. The definition of SODOMITE is as follows: [SAHD um ite, SAHD uh me]-one who practices sodomy; unnatural sexual intercourse, especially that between two males. These English words are derived from SODOM, an ancient city in the land of Canaan noted for such depraved activities.(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
I think the strongest New Testament doctrinal position on the subject is Paul’s teaching on the matter to the Romans, who were no strangers to homosexuality. Please read it carefully, because it unmistakably states the Biblical doctrine for both the gay and lesbian lifestyle.
"Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. 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." Rom 1:24-28 NKJV
Let’s look at it a little more closely. The Biblical words describing these practices of homosexuality include uncleanness, lust, dishonor, vile passions, against nature, shameful………
The word Uncleaness has strong ties to many actions that were prohibited by God in the Old Testament Levitical laws. The Greek word in this verse is akathartos (ak-ath'-ar-tos); meaning impure (ceremonially, morally [lewd] or specially, [demonic]).
Uncleanness always generates more uncleanness. Here is a divine judgment in which God handed the Gentiles over to disgraceful passions. Women are charged with homosexuality in verse 26 and men in verse 27. Paul uses straightforward language to condemn perversion of sex from its rightful place in the marriage relationship. He regards the union of the sexes in marriage as a natural relationship. But here women exchanged natural sex relations for that which is contrary to nature. The men did the same thing. Paul pictures the depravity and degradation of men inflamed with sensual desire for each other.
This is followed by the note of judgment. In themselves . . . that recompense . . . which was necessary. Paul does not go into detail as to the exact nature of the judgment-the psychological and physical consequences. But the nature of the penalty is said to correspond to the enormity of the sin. (from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)
[And likewise the men ...] The sin which is here specified is what was the shameful sin of Sodom, and which from that has been called sodomy. It would scarcely be credible that man had been guilty of a crime so base and so degrading, unless there was ample and full testimony to it. Perhaps there is no sin which so deeply shows the depravity of man as this; none which would so much induce one "to hang his head, and blush to think himself a man.
And yet the evidence that the apostle did not bring a railing accusation against the pagan world; that he did not advance a charge which was unfounded, is too painfully clear. It has been indeed a matter of controversy whether pederasty, or the love of boys, among the ancients was not a pure and harmless love, but the evidence is against it. The crime with which the apostle charges the Gentiles here was by no means confined to the lower classes of the people. (from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
I think it is pretty clear that this practice is something God finds unclean and a perversion of His purpose for us in ‘natural’ relationships.
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Eph 5:1-5 NKJV
And again, we need to realize that, as Christians, we have the indwelling of the Spirit of God. We better keep this temple holy.
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." 1 Cor 3:16-17 NKJV
And, again, this Godly perspective of who and what we are and how we need to keep our bodies pure for Him is spoken clearly:
"Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." Cor 6:18-20 NKJV
Ed Decker
www.saintsalive.com
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