“Homosexuality Part 3”
Gladstone Baptist Church – 17/9/06 pm
Well tonight I want to wrap up our short series on homosexuality. If you were with us 2 weeks ago, you’d remember that we talked about the fact that the Bible does condemn homosexuality as sin. But it is not any worse or better than any other sin you would care to or not care to name. The fact is that in God’s eyes, sin is sin and we are all sinners and therefore we are all condemned. It is rather stupid, really, of us to try to justify our sins as being better than anyone else’s when God says that he will condemn us for even just one sin. I mean, what are we going to gain by trying to gain – a lesser condemnation? God says that committing just one sin is all the reason he needs to lock us up in hell forever. We need therefore, to take up God’s cause and condemn all sin as wrong and damaging.
But while we condemn all sin as wrong, we need to put away our judge’s wigs and gavels when we come to people. We have no right to judge people. Only God can judge people for their sin. What are we to do then? We need to accept others in grace and with compassion – knowing that we are sinful just like them and destined to the judgment of God unless we receive the forgiveness that is available in Jesus.
Last week we began to look at some of the myths surrounding homosexuality.
We looked firstly at the myth that homosexuality is common and therefore normal. In fact, only 1.2% of Australians are homosexual according to a 2003 study. This means that although they are entitled to have a voice in society, they can not be allowed to dictate what is normal or acceptable or right.
The second myth we looked at was that homosexuality is genetic. We looked at a couple of famous scientific studies and saw that while there was some interesting data there, it was far from conclusive and even indicated that homosexuality was clearly not genetic. The best understanding seems to be that some people can have a genetic pre-disposition to homosexuality which makes them more prone to choosing that lifestyle, but there are always other factors which will cause to them adopting this lifestyle – these will including environmental factors and also their own responses. We looked at some of the environmental factors which commonly were found to have contributed to the development of a homosexual and one of the important ones identified is a damaged relationship with either the same-sex parent of same-sex peer group. What this indicates to us is that ministry to children and youth is incredibly vital in the development of their sexuality. By providing good same-sex role models to our children and youth, we minimize the likelihood of them falling prey to a damaged sexuality.
Tonight I want to consider 3 more myths
S1 - Myth 3: It is unreasonable to expect Homosexuals to remain sexually pure, so it is okay to engage in homosexual sex.
Before I begin, I want to define what I mean by sexually pure. Actually, it is not my definition but God’s. God says that any sex outside of the heterosexual marriage relationship is wrong. So staying sexually pure is not engaging in sexual intercourse outside of marriage. The Bible actually talks about 4 kinds of sex outside of a sexual relationship between a husband and a wife and God in each instance condemns it …
1) Sex with an UNMARRIED person of the opposite sex – FORNICATION, PROSTITUTION, INCEST. We don’t like using these words now do we. In most of your bibles this will be translated as the sexually immoral. We prefer the terms playing around or having a one night stand. But what ever we call it – God says that it is wrong.
Lev 18:6; 1 Cor. 5:9-11; 6:9; Eph. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:10; Heb. 12:16; 13:4; Rev. 21:8 and 22:15,
Heb 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
2) Sex with a MARRIED person who is not your spouse – ADULTERY.
Ex 20:14; Lev 20:12; Deut 5:18; Luke 18:11; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; 6:9; Heb. 13:4. As to Jas. 4:4
3) Sex with the SAME SEX – HOMOSEXUALITY.
Lev. 18:22; 20:13 ; 1 Kin. 14:24; Rom. 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9
1 Cor 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
4) Sex with ANIMALS – BESTIALITY.
Lev 18:23; 20:15-16; Deut 27:21;
You see, God invented sex. He created a male’s penis to fit perfectly inside a female’s vagina and that is how He planned it. Because he designed it, he had the right to lay down the ground rules for its use. And the rules he laid down were that it was only to be practiced within the confines of a heterosexual marriage relationship.
God doesn’t have 2 sets of rules – one for homosexuals and one for heterosexuals. He has one set of rules which says outside of the perfect divine plan I’ve given you – 1 man & 1 women who are married – don’t play around with sex. God isn’t asking the unmarried gay man or the lesbian to do anything that he isn’t asking the unmarried straight guy or girl to do. If they aren’t in a heterosexual marriage relationship, they are called to stay sexually pure.
1 Thess 4:3-8 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
“But that is not reasonable”, say many homosexuals – “we were born this way – it is natural for us. [We’ve already debunked that myth last week – it isn’t genetic – but let’s humour their argument a bit longer. They say … ] It is natural for us, so isn’t it okay for us to do it.”
What are they saying? That it is not natural for a heterosexual male to want sex with a girl? You have to be joking. There is no more natural urge than for a red-blooded male to have sex with a beautiful girl and visa versa. Our hormones drive us to that end continually. But God doesn’t make an exception for these hormone ravaged single straight men and women. He says “Sexual desire is natural for all people, but I expect you to remain sexually pure regardless of your sexual orientation. Sex outside of marriage is wrong, so don’t do it – fullstop.” God’s law has got nothing to do with what seems natural or reasonable – it has everything to do with being obedient to God. And unfortunately many of us don’t like to do this.
So Yes – I think it does seem unreasonable to expect homosexuals to remain pure, but that is what God calls them to do, so no it is not okay to engage in homosexual sex. And similarly, it does seem unreasonable for straight guys and girls to remain sexually pure, but that is what God expects. As Christians we don’t have different standards depending on your sexual orientation – we call all unmarried people to remain pure.
And quickly, on the subject of gay marriages … Marriage was again invented by God and clearly defined by him to be 1 man and 1 woman. Marriage isn’t defined by how much two people love each other or how much they are committed to each other or that they want to have a family together. God defines it as 1 man & 1 woman leaving their parents and joining together as one forever. We have no right at all to think we can change God’s definition of marriage and include gay marriage into the equation. To say we know better is arrogant and rebelling against God – and that is what sin is.
S2 - Myth 4: Homosexuals can’t change
The second myth I want to talk about tonight is that homosexuals can’t change. This belief is linked to the fact that many in the homosexual lobby believe homosexuality is genetic. It isn’t as we spoke at length about last week.
There are actually 2 questions we need to answer when we talk about this myth.
1) can a person stop being a homosexual. The simple answer is yes – of course they can.
Let me ask you a question … If you are tempted to go out and murder someone, but don’t – are you are murderer? No – you can’t be branded a murderer until you commit the act of murder. Let me ask another question … if you had never ever told a lie and one day you were tempted to lie, but you didn’t. Could you be called a liar. No – because you didn’t commit the act of lying. Being tempted is not the same as committing the act.
Similarly - a homosexual must be defined as someone who engages in homosexual acts. You are not a homosexual if you simply have urges or thoughts and are tempted to engage in homosexual activities. The gay and lesbian lobby would argue that just having a same-sex orientation makes you a homosexual, but it doesn’t. It makes you vulnerable to becoming a homosexual, but it doesn’t define you at all. We all have thoughts about doing wrong things – that is what is called temptations. Being Tempted is not sinning. Satan uses temptation to lure us into sinning.
So if you want to stop being a homosexual, you choose to stop engaging in homosexual acts with members of the same-sex. It becomes basically a matter of will power. I have to want to change. I choose not to engage in homosexual acts. Any homosexual can do that, if they really want to. Don’t for a minute let them tell you that their hormones or desires make them act the way they do. They choose to act that way, just as you would if you went to bed with someone of the opposite sex tonight. Yes your hormones are driving you, but you choose to sleep with that person.
If you have your bible there … Please turn to 1 Cor 6:9-10. Paul is talking here to the Corinthian church. Corinth was a place that was full of immoral activity. And Paul warns them about getting involved with such activity … He writes 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Some of the Corinthians used to be involved in immoral activity. Some were homosexuals, some were prostitutes, some were thieves, drunkards, con-artists. But they had changed. They got themselves washed – God washed their sin away. They got themselves made holy – that is what sanctified means. God made them holy and set them apart to live for him. And there was a time in the past when they repented, that they could look back to and see that they were acquitted of all their crimes. They were made righteous – that is what justification means.
So people can stop being a homosexual – it is a matter of choosing what to do and what not to do. The harder question though is this …
2) can the predisposition to homosexuality be changed?
Remember that last week we said that homosexuality wasn’t genetic, but some people will have a predisposition to a homosexual life. That doesn’t make them homosexuals, but it will make them more likely to embrace this lifestyle. Can this predisposition be changed from a same sex to a opposite sex attraction.
The answer is in some cases yes, and in some cases no. Again the gay and lesbian lobby would argue that because this is genetic, you can’t change it. But there are plenty of ex-gays out there who testify that their predisposition has changed – either disappeared over night or gradually diminished such that it is no longer influential in their lives. And if only one of these cases is true, then the fact is that your predisposition to homosexuality can change.
Flip over in your bibles to 2 Cor 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! When we become Christians, we become new people. For some people, some of their predispositions change immediately. Here is one person’s experience
“When Communion started, there was a “knowledge” in my heart that Christ had died for me, for those very scenes that I had just seen. And as I received the body and blood of Christ, an electrifying warmth covered me, and swept through my body from my head to toes. It was an awesome feeling! I had NEVER felt so loved as I did that moment. And when I returned to my seat, I realised that for the first time in my whole life I was feeling TOTALLY accepted and clean! Everything was behind me, and I was now being given a new life in Christ!
That day, during Communion, God did much more in me. He didn’t stop at washing my sins away and making me clean. He gave me much more. He totally took away the urges and attractions toward other women, and He started me off on a process of inner healing. Not only did God reconcile me to Himself through the blood of Christ, He has also brought reconciliation between my father and me. Today, God continues to reveal the scars and reasons that I chose the life that I did, and He continues the work and healing process within me. Today, I know I am not a “mistake”, and I am happily married to a wonderfully loving man. Wonderful are the works of the Lord! Dawn McDonald”
The healing process is ongoing for this woman, but her disposition changed immediately – that is a fantastic miracle, but unfortunately, it is not the normal way God works. If he did, no Christian would have sinful predispositions any longer. For most, their predisposition to sin is still there, but it does not control them to the extent it once did - Paul says in Rom 8:9 that the sin nature is still there, but it doesn’t control you … 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. … 12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
So we are new creations, who are led by God’s spirit and as a consequence are called to obey God, not our sinful desires. And this is often a daily struggle ... like the struggle Michel Schnob has with his homosexuality ...
Like Paul, I always will need to rely on the sufficiency of God’s grace. Like Paul, day in and day out, I find myself crying out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord!” I also know that the Word of God is truth and must be upheld, because “The Spirit of God testifies to my spirit.” I have seen the promises of God gradually being fulfilled in my life. That is the strongest evidence of the truth of Scripture and of the reality of the living Christ in me. I am also aware that a work is being done in me about which I have no control, in fact, even despite me at times.
While I still occasionally struggle with lust, I also trust that “He who has started a work in me will perfect it unto the day of Jesus Christ.” Praise God! Michel Schnob’s
Michel is seeing changes, but they were slow and gradual and he still has the predisposition to lust after other guys.
You know, this is a area many Christians struggle with. Giving your life to Jesus is not an instant panacea for all of our problems. It doesn’t just instantly get rid of all of our evil desires and predispositions to sin. But that is what we expect it to do. We expect to be perfect from then on, and we are disappointed when we aren’t.
Jesus promises that although we still are tempted and we live with our predispositions we are no longer under their control. Over time, some people lose their attraction to those of the same-sex. For others, they continue to struggle with it for their entire lives like Paul’s thorn in the flesh. That is the story of so many of us as Christians – having a thorn in the flesh. We continue daily to need to be delivered from our tempting thoughts. Leaving the homosexual lifestyle is an easy thing to do. It is extremely difficult, just like leaving any sinful lifestyle behind. It is only when we totally give up and say, "Lord, I can’t do it on my own", that we allow God the opportunity to come in and begin to remake our lives. The process is slow and the gay person encounters much in the way of spiritual warfare. The enemy does not allow anyone to easily slip out of his control. But we know that Jesus will deliver us from these things, because He has already begun the change process in our lives.
A Homosexual can change and often over time God is gracious and brings healing to their broken sexuality and sexual desires.
S3 - Myth 5: Homosexuals can’t be Christians.
This argument rests on the interpretation of 1 Cor 6: 9. Let me read from 1 Cor again, starting at vs 7…
7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. [Paul is blasting the Corinthian church. They were Christians, but they were fighting, involved in lawsuits, they were cheating and doing wrong. Elsewhere in 1 Corinthians we find they were practicing sexual immorality. Paul is writing to condemn this sinful behaviour and to command them to stop doing it. He continues … ] 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Paul writes and tells the Corinthian church, what they already know … That wicked people won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Why? Because they are sinful and that sin needs to be judged. They already know that these things are wrong and that they should not be doing them. The problem was that they were doing them – possibly all of these things. Paul confronts them and says … “you know these things are wicked, but hang on a minute once upon a time, you were classed among the wicked, but not any longer, you are part of the saved community. You were washed clean of your sins. You were set apart and made holy again by God. And you were acquitted of all charges brought against you. The logical question then is, why do you keep sinning. Paul continues straight on in vs 12 to address some of their sin – sexual immorality.
12 “Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything. [These Christians were living under grace and Jesus had forgiven their sins – past sins and future sins. Some of them were arguing that because they were already saved, it was alright to keep sinning. But Paul says – no – you do have permission to do these things, but that doesn’t mean it is beneficial for you. And then he goes on and urges them to flee from sexual immorality and their other wicked acts. Paul has to confront the same attitude in Romans 6:1 where some people believed they could go on sinning because Jesus’ forgiveness covers a multitude of sins. Paul writes there … ]
Rom 6 1-4: What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? … 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
See Paul is not using 1 Cor 6:9-10 as an argument for why homosexuals can’t be Christians. This is a wrong interpretation of this verse. Paul is arguing that homosexuality, is contrary to a Christian life and should not be part of a Christian’s life. Go back to 1 Cor 5 9-11 – just a few verses before the passage we read before. Remember, Paul is condemning sin in the church … He writes
9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother [i.e. a Christian] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
A Christian should not be practicing homosexuality, adultery, idolatry, backstabbing, alcoholism or deception. Why? Because when we become a Christian, we become a new creature with God’s spirit living in us and this is not how God would act.
So the answer to the question, “Can a person who is practicing homosexuality be a Christian?” is yes - if they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and have sought his forgiveness. But once they become a follower of Christ, they must endeavour with God’s help to stop sinning and live a life of purity and that includes in the area of your sexuality. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery in John 8:11 to go and sin no more.
The fact that a person is a saved does not legitimise their sin. A Christian may be openly homosexual, but that is no proof that homosexuality and Christianity are compatible. Ananias and Sapphira, in Acts 5, were believers and their lies cost them their lives. Their lies did not mean they were not Christian and their Christianity did not make their lies okay.
Homosexuals can become Christians, but that doesn’t give them a right to continue to embrace the homosexual lifestyle. That is not to say that a Christian coming out of homosexuality won’t stumble from time to time – we all stumble and fall into sin from time to time. For those who stumble, they must be gently and compassionately helped back to their feet and pointed in the right direction again.
Help for those unsure
So tonight we’ve added 3 things to what we’ve already said in previous weeks
- while it may seem unreasonable to expect unmarried Homosexuals and Heterosexual to remain sexually pure, that is what God requires.
- Homosexuals can change by choosing to stop sinning and then trusting in God to heal them fully.
- Homosexuals can be Christians, but as Christians, they need to give up their sinful life.
I know that I have not had time tonight to really address how a person can escape from the clutches of homosexuality. That is in part because it is not a quick or easy process. But I do encourage any of you who are struggling in this area, to seek help. On the back of your sermon handouts tonight, I’ve included a list of organisations who are set up to help people struggling with homosexuality. They have tons of great resources and courses which you can get involved in. There is also some proactive steps people can take if they are struggling with same-sex attraction.
Some helpful Websites on homosexuality…
Organisations who can help …
Exodus - exodus.ministryone.org/
- www.exodusasiapacific.faithweb.com/
- www.exodusglobalalliance.org/
Liberty - www.libertychristianministries.org.au/
NARTH - www.narth.com/
Stonewall Revisited - www.stonewallrevisited.com/
PATH - www.pathinfo.org/
Setting Captives Free - www.settingcaptivesfree.com
Summary of research showing people can change
www.newdirection.ca/research/index.html
pathinfo.ihostsites.net/Change_Is_Real.htm
Testimonies of people who have changed
www.newdirection.ca/stories.htm
www.exodusglobalalliance.org/testimoniess17.php
www.stonewallrevisited.com/menus/pages.html
Collection of Helpful Articles
www.newdirection.ca/articles.htm
www.ministryone.org - Go to articles & Exodus
www.libertychristianministries.org.au/articles.html
www.exodusglobalalliance.org/articless1.php
www.saltshakers.org.au/html/P/9/
www.narth.com/menus/cstudies.html
www.stonewallrevisited.com/menus/issues.html
www.mygenes.co.nz/
Some proactive steps for those struggling with Same Sex Attraction
Adapted from Liberty Christian Ministries - http://www.libertychristianministries.org.au/docs/SSAppt.ppt
• Pray, pray, pray! Trust God and rely only on His strength, because only He can ultimately heal you.
• Read the Scriptures, our only offensive weapon against Satan (Ephesians 6:17).
• Stay in fellowship in church so that you continue to stay alive in Christ. A coal will only stay hot if it remains in the fire, therefore get all the encouragement you can!
• Seek counselling and get involved in a men’s support group, if available- Liberty Christian Ministries may be able to help with this.
• Get educated on homosexuality and the healing process.
• Be prepared to make hard sacrifices and ‘carry your cross’ (Mark 8:34-35). Giving up sex, sexual desires, and surrendering your life to Jesus is costly, so keep in mind that it will be hard and the road could be long.
• Develop healthy friendships with Christian of the same sex – particularly older Christian role models.
• Work on your relationship with your same sex parent and try to improve it and deal with conflicts.
• Be accountable to other Christians such as your pastor, Bible study leader, friends, or other leaders, about your struggles. You don’t need to tell everyone about it but, rather, a small handful of people you can trust. Not everyone has the ability to handle the issue so be careful who you trust!
• Pray for discernment, that you be able to know who to trust and turn to;
• Discuss also with a counsellor and Christian leaders.
• Don’t define yourself by your struggle - as a Christian, you are a complete person who has his/her identity grounded in Jesus Christ. Yes, you struggle with same-sex attraction but that’s not all you are.
• As a child of God, you should live no longer for sin. You’ve been bought at a price so you need to live according to the salvation to which you were called.
• Pray, pray, pray! Give 100% of your life to God: your anxieties, your fears, your relationships, identity, temptations, etc.
• Flee sexual immorality and all circumstances where you will stumble into sin, including:
• Work at avoiding body language that encourages temptation and unwanted attention (e.g staring at guys, the clothes you wear, mannerisms, etc).
• Avoid the indulgence of sexual thoughts during the day.
• Don’t think that having a boy/girl relationship is going to heal your sexual brokenness the only way you will conquer same sex attraction will be by the power of God:
• Don’t be fooled into thinking that you are ever above temptation! (1 Corinthians 10:12) Remember though that God can help you when you are tempted (1 Corinthians 10:13).
