Homosexuality: a Sermon Series in 1 Timothy

Sunday, October 18, 2009

“Homosexuality”

3^rd in the “House Rules: I Timothy” Series

Teaching Pastor Barry Wingfield

Opening: A Letter from a friend and a speech by President Obama

These two voices present some very common questions in the ongoing cultural and spiritual debate around homosexuality:

Are relationships between 2 men or 2 women just as real and admirable as a marriage between a man and a woman?

Does the church misinterpret scripture when it declares “homosexuality is a sin”?

Is God honored by all committed, monogamous relationships regardless of orientation?

Should the church “embrace” gay couples as it does heterosexual marriage?

Are some people created by God to be homosexuals?

We will shortly respond to these questions and other questions. Let me encourage you to not try to write down everything said this morning. To encourage you to listen without the pressure that some feel to copy everything you see on the screen, you’re basically only going to see the outline you have in your worship guide. Immediately following our services this morning, I’m going to post the text of this message on our CBF blog because I know that several small groups (HomeTeams) that meet on Sunday nights have already told me the about the discussions last week’s message prompted on this topic. And as always, the audio of this message will also be posted on our web site by the end of Monday.

But first you may be asking why in the world are we bringing up this topic in church? Actually, it’s the Spirit of God that brought it to our attention through His inspiration of the writings of the Apostle Paul in his letter to his young apprentice, Timothy.

In our verse by verse study of 1 Timothy, we came to 1 Timothy 1:10 in last week’s message. What we found there as we looked at different translations of that passage is that some versions of the New Testament list “homosexuals” or “those who practice homosexuality” along with the list of practices that were in obvious opposition to God’s moral standards. Other versions, like the NIV and the KJV used other words. As we studied the Greek wording behind this passage, we saw that it was clear that Paul was using a word that is clearly defined as same-gender sexual activity, what we in this century have come to define by the word “homosexuality”.

We then listed some reasons, in addition to the challenge we find here when we use more than one translation for bible study, for devoting the entire message today on this topic. For review, here is what we said last week (and we heard by example already today):

1. Many Christians have come to question whether or not the Bible condones homosexuality.

2. Public attention to church stances on homosexuality

3. Current exposure to this lifestyle through the media

4. Christians haven’t been and won’t be immune to the impact of this sin in the lives of their families even though it has been mostly avoided by most churches.

Before we go any further, we have to briefly mention what we’re comparing homosexuality to. Homosexuality is mentioned in Paul’s list in 1 Timothy 1:10 because it stands in opposition to the holy lifestyle that the law had always called people to. So, homosexuality stands in opposition to God’s design and intention for sexual relationships. So, what is the…

The Soul of Sex

In Genesis 2: 21-25 we learn that God created man and woman, established the covenant of marriage, and sealed it through sexual intimacy. In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus reaffirms this as the God ordained model, ideal, and goal of marriage. Sex was created by God and it was given a bonding property, or characteristic by Him. When consummated within the marital relationship between a man and a woman who seek to honor God, this bonding is not only physical and emotional, but also spiritual and transformational.

Dr. Tim Alan Gardner in his excellent book : “Sacred Sex” summarizes all of these scripture’s and others and appropriately defines the soul of sex as holiness.

The Soul (heart, purpose)of sex as intended and created by God is the physical, emotional, spiritual, and transformational bonding of a man and a woman into holy oneness with each other and with God.

Some say that this bias found in the Bible constitutes “homophobia.”

Is the Bible “Homophobic?”

If you ask your word processor to define this word, it will go to as Encarta or Webster and pull up a definition like this: showing an irrational hatred, disapproval, or fear of homosexuality, gay and lesbian people, or their culture.

Based on this definition of the word ‘homophobic’, the answer is resoundingly “no”. How can we conclude this?

1. Based on God’s own design and intention for the goodness and blessing of marital sexual intimacy, there is nothing “irrational” about a designer ‘disapproving’ of attempts to cheapen or alter His design.

2. God doesn’t hate gay and lesbian people. The Bible clearly teaches that He loves them sent His son to die for them just like He did for everyone in the world, all of whom are sinful.

3. God does not fear any man or woman or any culture of humans. Humans fear Him, not the other way around.

But this is not to say that the Bible is silent on the topic of homosexuality. It’s definitely not.

Homosexuality in the Old Testament:

Genesis 19:5-6

Lot, Abraham’s nephew, calls the intentions to have sex with his male visitors of the men of Sodom a “wicked thing.” Was he right to say that God considers these intentions “wicked”? Was this the sin for which God had determined to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? While it probably wasn’t the only “sin” in these cities, the narrative of this account clearly points to this “wicked” behavior as a definitive indicator of the overall wickedness of the cities. Is this interpretation consistent with God’s view as described in the rest of the OT and NT?

Jumping ahead for just a minute, we find New Testament commentary on this OT account to help us here. Jude 7 says this…

Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13

These passages are right in the middle of God’s instructions about all deviations of His design of marriage between one man and one woman for life. Surrounding these two verses are God’s condemnation of incest, adultery, and bestiality. In other words, homosexuality, like all of these other sexual deviations, represent what Erwin Lutzer (author and long time pastor of Moody church in Chicago) calls Alien Bonds (From The Truth about Same-Sex Marriage, 2004, Moody Press). As opposed to the Holy Bond that sex provides in marriage that we discussed a moment ago, Alien Bonds are any sexual contact that occurs outside of the heterosexual marriage covenant. This includes sexual abuse, pre-marital sex, incest, adultery, bestiality, pornography, and all forms of “virtual” sex between unmarried persons through the internet.

New Testament writers, in addition to Jude, affirmed this Old Testament view of sex and of the Alien Bond of homosexuality.

Homosexuality in the New Testament:

Romans 1:26–27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:10

The recorded words of Jesus in Matthew 19, the inspired written words of Paul & Jude clearly agree with the codified behavioral laws of the OT. The position of the biblical writers is that marriage is the proper context for the sex act and forms the boundary within which the sex drive is to be exercised and any lifestyle of sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage, including but not exclusively homosexuality, is evidence of a heart and life that is not living in honor of the Lord of creation, Jesus Christ.

There are those who disagree with these conclusions:

Randy Alcorn in his book “Christians in the Wake of the Sexual Revolution” (1984, p. 145) summarizes the modern “gay theology” argument that he says is rooted in the 1955 work of D.S. Bailey:

1. The sin of Sodom was inhospitality, not homosexuality. (Remember Jude 7?)

2. The OT prohibitionsagainst homosexuality are in the same class with prohibitions against eating rabbits and oysters and picking sticks on the Sabbath. (They’re no longer relevant. This ignores the NT confirmation of the OT sexual ethic.)

3. Prohibitions against homosexuality were applied only to priests, and even then for matters of ritual and symbolic purity. (This isn’t implied anywhere in the OT.)

4. Homosexuality was prohibited because of Israel’s obsession with population growth. (This ignores the description of it being “detestable” in God’s eyes in Lev. 19.)

5. Jesus never condemned homosexuality. (Jesus affirms the original intent of sex in marriage in Matt 19.)

6. David and Jonathan, the apostle Paul, Mary and Martha, Lazarus, and Jesus himself may have been homosexuals. (There is absolutely no historical, archeological, literary, or biblical evidence that this is true or even considered to be true until recent years.)

These positions are still held and promoted today. I have read these same arguments articulated in sermons from churches across the country and here in our own community within the last few months.

Let me briefly respond to a few other arguments that are being espoused by professing homosexuality approving “Christians”:

1. “The Bible has been mis-translated many times, how can we be sure that the Bible we have now is trustworthy when it condemns homosexuality?”

As opposed to all other accepted documents of at least 1^st century antiquity, there are around 6000 hand written copies of scripture written in Greek that date to this time period that textual critics (those that study the reliability of these documents) have available to them. From these texts, various translations are written for those who don’t read Koine Greek (a “dead” language no longer spoken). A great benefit we have today is that we can read and compare multiple English translations of the original Greek scriptures to draw on the scholarship of hundreds of Greek scholars. In other words, when you study (and I encourage you to do this) several translations of any particular text, you can be assured that you are getting to read precisely what God inspired to be written. So when centuries of scholars, critics, and translators all agree that in the original text homosexuality is specifically noted as an example of a lifestyle contrary to that of faithful followers of Christ, it’s not in there by mistake.

2. “None of these passages condemn monogamous, committed, homosexual relationships.”

Those who argue this are saying that particularly in the NT what is being condemned is unfaithfulness and sex with children (abuse). This is the argument of professing Christians and others who argue that the answer to this whole issue is to legalize marriage. The idea is that this would remove the argument for this being seen as a biblical sin. This is a very weak argument because even those who make this claim would agree that making killing people legal, as was done in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s & 1040’s, in no way removed murder from God’s view of it as “sin”. Cultural definitions of sin do not and have never defined God’s view of sin as revealed in scripture.

3. “Shouldn’t the Bible be weighed against the experiences of God’s creation who know with all their hearts that God has created them just as they are?”

Again, it’s not human experience that defines biblical ethics or holy behavior. This is basically a humanist argument that if taken at face value really calls for the total ignoring of scripture. You can’t say that I’ll accept the parts of the Bible that agree with my experience and reject the parts that don’t with any degree of legitimacy. If you elevate human experience to the level of authoritative over scripture, then you have negated the value of biblical authority altogether.

Answering Contemporary Questions on Homosexuality from a Biblical Perspective:

Does where it comes from matter?

No and Yes. No in the sense that regardless of the beginning point of the thoughts, desires, or orientation, the scripture calls for all people who recognize their own sinfulness to repent of it, including practicing homosexuals. But this is also true for murderers, liars, money worshippers, parent haters, adulterers, and drunkards. Does it matter where any of these lifestyles began when it comes to what God calls them to do with it? No. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to “go, and sin no more”. He didn’t wait until he discovered if she had a past that justified her actions before he offered her the solution to her present sin.

Yes it matters in the sense that those who seek authentic repentance and rejection of this lifestyle will need to confront the sins of their past, whether of themselves or of those sins of others that may have provided the pathway to homosexual behavior. It also matters for those in a discipling relationship with them to be willing to walk with them and pray with them through the damage of the past in order to experience release from it through the power of the Spirit of Christ. Do we know with pinpoint certainty where each case of homosexual behavior comes from? No. Can we identify patters that commonly lead to the possibility of homosexual activity? Yes.

In simple description the most common scenarios develop around these areas:

1. Sexual abuse. As described in the letter read earlier, sexual abuse, particularly in childhood and adolescence from a same-gender trusted adult, often distorts normal sexual development and introduces confusion, pain, and hatred around sexual identification. Sexual abuse is a serious problem and the church nor its families are immune to it. We must offer help, hope, and healing through the power of the love of Christ to all who have been abused by this horrible sin, regardless of whether it has led to homosexuality or not.

2. Family dysfunction. Typically the pattern that most often encourages homosexual tendencies and behavior is that of a domineering or enmeshed mother and a detached or absent father. Due to the fact that social researchers tell us that there are more than twice as many homosexual men as there are homosexual women, this family scenario most often affects males (but not exclusively). We must teach biblical principles of marriage and family life on a regular basis. Men, we must be diligent about keeping ourselves accountable to our roles as loving, connected, spiritual leaders of our children.

3. Other factors? There is actually mix of all these and other factors that all have been suggested as also contributing to homosexuality including genetics, media indoctrination, simple experimentation, and others. None of these have ever been proven to be sole factors in the rarity of homosexual behavior. (And it is rare; social scientists estimate less than 5% of the male population and less than 2.5% of the female population.)

What should a practicing homosexual who desires to please God do?

Adopt God’s sexual ethic as your own. Stop all sexual activity, confess all homosexual acts as sin, ask God for an authentic relationship with Him, study His word, surround yourself with a community of believers seeking to be more like Him. This last part, or a person’s fear of it, sometimes is what keeps a person from doing any of the previous things. The fear of lack of acceptance and forgiveness from Christians is what typically drives a person struggling with same sex attraction to a peer group or a community of those who embrace homosexuality itself.

What should a person with homosexual inclinations who desires to please God do?

Seek out the support and encouragement of Christians who can help you fight sexual thoughts and temptations. Regardless of what you see and hear in the media, many, many men and women have with God’s power, successfully live celibate or biblically married lives.

How should a Christian interact with a practicing homosexual who defends it?

In jobs outside of ministry that I’ve had at times over the past 20+ years, I have worked with and for homosexuals who defend their lifestyle so I answer this with people and names in mind that I respect as co-image bearers of God. We are called to respond with kindness, love, prayer, and truth. Develop an authentic relationship where differences of beliefs can be expressed and truly heard. Share with them the love of God and His call to repentance and faith and forgiveness. Explain that before coming to Christ, all of us have been so mired in sin that learning to discern what sin is and what it isn’t is part of maturing in our faith. Share that although this process is sometimes long and difficult, we can find assurance of our daily choices by submitting to clear biblical instructions for life, some of which will call us to immediately separate from previous practices. The power of Christ has been equipping people to do this for over 2000 years. He has been freeing them from adultery, idolatry, prostitution, greed, alcoholism, homosexuality, and thievery (1 Cor 6:9,11 : “nor homosexual offenders…and that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justifies in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” NIV ). Now you aren’t likely to get to all of this in one conversation or even in one year of conversations. But you can get to kindness, love, and prayer from one conversation and so we all have a place to start.

How should the church respond to homosexuality?

With a definitive biblical stance: Homosexual practice is sin. Homosexual temptation is not.

I take it for certain that the physical satisfaction of homosexual desires is sin. This leaves the [homosexual] no worse off than any normal person who is, for whatever reason, prevented from marrying. . . . our speculations on the cause of the abnormality are not what matters and we must be content with ignorance. The disciples were not told why (in terms of efficient cause) the man was born blind (Jn. IX 1-3): only the final cause, that the works of God [should] be made manifest in him. This suggests that in homosexuality, as in every other tribulation, those works can be made manifest: i.e. that every disability conceals a vocation, if only we can find it. . .

- C. S. Lewis (quoted in Sheldon Vanauken's “A Severe Mercy”, pp. 146-148)

How should the church respond to homosexuals?

1) With love; enough of it to tell them the truth. So we teach the gospel of salvation by grace through faith that clearly demonstrates that the power of Holy Spirit transformation is available to all persons, including those who have engaged in homosexual acts, confessing that for him or her, just like all of us, Jesus “bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds” we are all healed. 1 Peter 2:24.

2) By praying for and demonstrating a heart of compassion and love for all who are lost, including those who engage in homosexual behavior, and intentionally developing meaningful, redemptive, relationships. Let me say this one thing again: For those engaged in homosexual culture or behavior, the idea of bringing their past to a Christian community that is committed to biblical authenticity, and their fear of the church’s response if they do, is often times what keeps a person adverse to the church of God. The fear of lack of acceptance and forgiveness from Christians is what typically drives a person struggling with same sex attraction to a peer group or a community of those who embrace homosexuality itself.

A story like the following needs to be much more common with God’s people:

http://www.dennisjernigan.com/djs-story

“I need to tell you about what I consider to be the most painful part of my life, a part I tried to hide. Since I felt so rejected, I allowed it to permeate every part of my life. What I didn't realize was that Satan was lying to me, all the while trying to keep me from God's plan for my life. This included the sexual part of my life. In this area I felt so ashamed and afraid of rejection that I became even more selfish and perverted in my way of thinking. As a boy I needed a role model to show me the way to manhood. But because I felt rejected by the main man in my life I, in turn, rejected him and began to yearn for intimacy with a man in perverse ways. Because of this wrong thinking I came to believe I was homosexual. It must have begun early in my life because I remember having those feelings for the same gender at a very early age. I hid this from others through high school and through my four years at Oklahoma Baptist University even though it wasn't hidden from those I had relations with... I cried out to God and lifted those burdens to the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, I can't change me or the mess I've gotten myself into--but you can!" And you know what? He did change me!

At that time I acknowledged the fact that I was totally helpless and I turned everything in my life over to Jesus--my thoughts, my emotions, my physical body...and my past. Basically, I took responsibility for my own sins and yielded every right to Jesus--my right to be loved, my right even to life. Because of my choice to sin, I deserved death and hell--and that's where Jesus came in....

Another major point of change for me came during this same time in 1981--yet another divine setup! A close friend found out about my past. I knew I would be disgraced and rejected now!... But that's not what happened! This friend was a true friend. He told me he loved me and was willing to stand with me as I walked through this time of deliverance in my life. And you know what else happened? God began to bring others into my life who were willing to love me unconditionally and to walk with me through the trials of my life--no matter what--for my complete healing...

In 1983, God called me to marry my wife, Melinda. I assumed that since I considered myself to be healed that there was no need to share my past with her. But I soon realized that I was really still trying to hide--which meant I still carried a burden and that I was still more concerned with what man thought of me than what God thought of me. Soon after we were married, the babies started coming! And with the babies, the added pressure of responsibility to deal with the real issues of total healing in my life. Hiding the truth would keep me from the healing God wanted for me in my life....

Because I hid these things from others, my relationships could never truly be what God wanted them to be--because in true love there is no fear. I was always afraid to tell anyone because I thought no one would love me. Why am I telling you now? Well, on July 13, 1988, I realized God wanted to take the greatest failures and weaknesses of my life and make them my greatest strengths--and that Satan wanted me to keep them hidden so he could use them against me. But like the prostitute, Mary Magdalene, I realized that to hide those things kept me from fellowship and freely loving the One I loved the most--Jesus. Not only this, but if I confessed my past freely, Satan would have no ammunition against me. So here's what I did. In July of 1988, I shared what I just told you (in a much more brief way!) with my church...and something beautiful took place. People began to come out of the woodwork who had been hurting just like me and even more so, men and women who were involved in homosexuality (sodomy), women who were abused by their fathers, those who had been raped and never told anyone, and even those who had abortions, etc. As they confessed their sins and hurts, Jesus was able to begin healing all their past. On that day, I publicly laid down my life and my reputation to serve Jesus in an awesome way. However, I want my life to be broken and poured out life the perfume Mary Magdalene used to wash Jesus' feet even though they said she was foolish. I want to lay down my life and reputation for others just as my Lord Jesus did for me. Imagine that--the perfect King of the Universe humbled Himself and gave up all His power and glory because He loves me! I can do no less!...

Your circumstances, your sins, your wounds, etc., may all be different than mine, but the answer is still the same--Jesus. You may have been sinned against and wounded very deeply. For those times you are not guilty! If you have been used or abused in any way, you can be healed. Do not receive the false guilt that Satan would try to put on you because of circumstances that were beyond your control. I urge you to deal with your own heart and the things you were (and are) responsible for--like attitudes, actions, thoughts, and feelings! There is hope for the hurting. If you are like me, you may need radical surgery. Surgery may take more time than it takes to put a Band-Aid on a wound. But surgery generally gets to the cause and doesn't just cover up or pacify the symptoms of the wound. If you are willing, you can get to the root(s) of your sin(s). I urge you to get to the root of and deal with whatever you may be facing.

I've been there and found the way out, and I must share my story--the story of Jesus with those who are hurting. Aren't we all hurting in one-way or another?...

The bottom line is this: I can't make it one day without the Lord. I ask Him to fill me with His spirit day-by-day and moment-by-moment and to lead me. You see, we are all helpless and in need of a Father to care for us. And He is the Father Who will never leave us or forsake us. He is the Father Who enjoys our presence more than we could ever enjoy His! I am no longer afraid of what others think of me (at least I'm asking the Lord to help me in that area!). Please pray for me and my family as we seek God's direction for our lives.