Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Same Sex Marriage - Part Two

   We continue here with some further thoughts and truths concerning what is called same sex marriage.  Homosexuals and those who are sympathetic to their position see the homosexual lifestyle as an acceptable way of life.  They are militant in their efforts to force everyone else to see it in the same way or at a minimum to have to acknowledge legally that it is an appropriate lifestyle.  However, there is a fundamental flaw in the homosexual relationship and it is called sin.  God did not create men to be with men or women to be with women.  Anatomically, emotionally, and relationally, men and women were created to complement one another in a life-long marriage relationship.  It is a perversion of God’s created and ordered design to engage in same sex unions.  Homosexuality is not an issue of equal rights, it is an issue of sin.  A man or women who chooses to sin by way of homosexuality certainly has the freedom in this country to do so, but they do not have the right to force the rest of society to acknowledge their sinful lifestyle as equal with God’s ordained way of life.  A homosexual relationship between two men or two women is most certainly not the same as the relationship I have with my wife of over thirty years.
 
   Let’s consider for a moment God’s opinion concerning homosexuality.  After all, it is God’s opinion that will count most when life is over.  God said in Leviticus 18.22, “Thou shall not lie with mankind, as with womenkind: it is abomination.”  This is an explicit command against homosexuality.  The word “abomination” comes from a Hebrew word that means wickedness in an ethical sense.  A couple of chapters over from this verse God said, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”  Under the Mosaic law, homosexuality was punishable by death.  Today we are under grace and God gives space for a person to repent of their sin and be saved by faith in Jesus Christ.  However, God’s condemnation of the sin of homosexuality has never changed.
   God demonstrated His displeasure with the sin of homosexuality when He judged a couple of cities that were completely given over to the sin.  We are told in Genesis 13.13, “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.”  If you read Genesis 19 you will discover that their wickedness was homosexuality.  We are told in Genesis 19.24, “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.”  The men of Sodom and Gomorrah knew better, yet chose to rebel against God and eventually suffered God’s just judgment for their sin. 
   Two thoughts for us today would be appropriate here.  First, God loves every human being on the planet, including those who commit the sin of homosexuality.  Jesus came to this earth, took on human flesh, and died on the cross of Calvary to pay the penalty for our sin.  The Bible says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10.13).  No matter what we have done in this life, no matter what sin we have committed (and all have sinned), God will forgive and pardon us if we repent of our sin and ask Him to forgive us by faith in Jesus Christ.  God told the prophet Ezekiel, “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD, wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye” (Ezekiel 18.32).  God takes no pleasure in judging the wicked.  He hates our sin, but He loves the sinner.
   Secondly, make no mistake about it, there is a judgment day coming when every human being who has ever lived will stand before God.  The writer to the Hebrews said, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9.27).  Homosexuality is a sin and falls into the same category as any other form of rebellion against God.  Our society is moving in a dangerous direction.  We are becoming more and more desensitized to the seriousness of sin.  God’s moral law is as applicable today as it was when He gave it.  Same sex marriage is a sin and our nation invites God’s judgment when we condone what He has condemned.  Next time we will discuss the rebellion aspect of homosexuality.

3 comments:

  1. This is a very curious issue for me Pastor. I have a cousin in Orlando and some people I know in New York who are homosexual yet talk about Jesus and quote scriptures as though they are representing Christians today. It is very dishearting to me and I am nto so as confused as angry that they claim Jesus. My sister even got married by a gay person(which I didn't know until I actual got to the ceremony). She (this minister lady)married my sister and her husband in Jesus name!!! I was mortified, especially because my children were present. I do realize that a sin is a sin, but when a homosexual is representing the Christian community to the world it is alarming to me. How do people cut out what they want from the Bible when it comes to homosexuality specifically when Romand 1 plainly states what it does? It liek homosexuality is not clearly in the bible. SOmetimes I have questions in dail ylife , like should I pay less on a bill becasue I can only afford to pay so much, or if I should let authorities know of a crime like if someone I know is driving without a license. Soemthings I really am in deliemma with. Homosexuality as a sin is something I can see in black and white in the instructions for life-the Bible.

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  2. Jeannette,
    Just because a person claims to have a saving relationship with Jesus does not mean they do. We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ which includes confession of sin and repentance from that sin. As you know, to repent means to turn from one direction and travel in another. To be truly saved a person must realize they are sinners, confess known sin to God, and ask Him for power to turn from sin. In Mark’s Gospel we find the message of Jesus as He began to preach in Galilee saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent ye, and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1.15). Jesus clearly connected believing on Him by faith with a desire to turn from sin.
    Those who claim to be saved and continue in open sin are in essence revealing an internal problem. The Bible tells us that all who are truly saved are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul said to the church at Corinth, “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6.19)? When a truly born again child of God sins, and we do sin even after we are saved, we have the Holy Spirit who convicts us of that sin so we can confess and repent. One who claims to be saved and yet continues in sin as a constant lifestyle with no conviction only reveals the truth that they are not saved at all. Homosexuality is clearly identified in the Bible as sin and forbidden by God. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14.15). To love Jesus is to have a desire to obey Him which means turning away from the sin of homosexuality.

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  3. Thanks for your response Pastor. It boggles my mind when I see posts of "Christian" things on peoples' pages that I know are completely practicing a sin. I do, however, have to keep reminding myself that the Lord hates our sin itself. And that I sin daily and must keep moving forward to Christ always.

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