June 24, 2012
“The Rainbow Elephant”
Session IV
Rom 1:21-27
This morning I want to continue preaching on the ”The Elephants in the Church”. We know the terminology that there “Is an Elephant in the Room”, meaning that there is something we all know exists, something that is an obvious truth that everyone ignores, or it is something that everyone is thinking about but no one is willing to talk about. I think everyone has experienced some sort of this phenomenon whether it is something that has occurred in our families, circle of friends, and even in the workplace, but does it occur in the body of Christ as well? Yes. What are the elephants in the church?
The title of my sermon this morning is “The Rainbow Elephant”.
This morning I want to share a brief story that recently happened in Creekside Community Church…. see Illustration
I want to deal with a subject that EVERYONE in the church is going to have to face sooner or later. There is a deep seeded desire that the community of believer in the Church desire to be socially inclusive in everything they do, in order for their church to grow. But there is one culture in our community whose identity is normally symbolized with a “Rainbow” that the Church must face head on with how they are going to interact with and engage them.
The subject of Homosexuality isn’t something that we aren’t eager to discuss, primarily because we don’t want to be offensive or come off as being intrusive towards another person who inclines to identify themselves as being gay or lesbian. In the past we have seen how the modern day church has dealt with homosexuality, some of those in very cruel and antagonistic ways. But in all honesty, in this new generation of Christ followers there is a systemic problem in knowing how to deal with the Homosexual community. So to be the church that God has called us to be, we need to get a grasp on how to deal with this issue in the Church both humanly and biblically.
But if we consider and agree with that the Bible is “our rule of faith”, and that it is “God’s Infallible Word” then whatever God’s Word says stands@? But I think that we really need to get to the root of the problem in order to remedy the issue! Paul was teaching the Church of Rome of how to deal with sin in their church, especially those who had an unrepentant heart.
Let’s look at scripture in
Romans 1: 21-27
because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 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.
Church, I want to preface this sermon by saying this as openly and honestly as I can. We need to be very careful with how we relate and engage those involved with the homosexual lifestyle. The Homosexual community not only affects those who are actively participating in it, but more importantly it affects those families from which these individuals come from.
There are Christian mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers whose lives have been turned upside down and broken due to their children or siblings who have come out of the closet. In the past there have been dogmatic preachers and sermons that have been preached against homosexuality that lay blame upon how they were raised. Folks have been critical that the source of gay men is a direct result of single moms raising kids in a broken home, without a fathers influence. Churches have excommunicated people for having ties with the Gay community. The church has cut and sliced people lives up in a way that has wounded everyone touched by homosexuality. But Church we have got to be very sensitive to this situation to see the truth behind the false doctrine of ignorance.
But it isn’t just the Church that has brought propaganda and prejudice to the situation, the Gay and Lesbian Community has its own agenda as well! The Gay Lesbian Activists Alliance just updated their 2010 agenda. Here is a summary of their goals for 2010 in the United States:
** Legalization of prostitution
** Permitting "adult" entertainment
** Requiring libraries to carry "gay friendly" books
** Elimination of educational vouchers (which enable many minority families to send their children to decent schools)
** An official police policy toward "transgendered" individuals
** Making same sex marriages legal in all states, including the adoption of children.
Let me tell you something, the Church had better be ready to make Christ life decisions when these proposals come forth@! The Bible says “that we must have the mind of Christ”, what that means is if we says we are Christians, we ought to be thinking like we are saved! What are you saying preacher?
Romans 1: 21
because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened
The word futile is an adjective that means it is something that serves no useful purpose and is completely ineffective
Church, I’m saying you cannot get caught up in the futile things, and ignore the issue at hand. You cannot be make petty things, major issues because it renders you completely ineffective. God hasn’t called us to be passive! That isn’t the Church that God has called us to be. He demands that we live a life that is worthy of Christ sacrifice@!
Romans 1: 22-23
Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things
What Paul does is remind his hearers of an ancient story in that of Adam and Eve. You know the story/don’t eat fruit/serpent said” you will become wise/willful transgression against God=sin, naked, foolishness to clothe themselves before God.
There are many people that come to church, that believe that we as a people of God; need to be more accepting and loving of others in order to portray the gospel of Christ to them. There are those that believe that we as the body of Christ be more open minded and more passionate towards people in the gay community.
They are right! We as the Church of God need to be more transparent with the gay community. We need to open up the lines of communication with the Rainbow Elephant. You and I need to open our hearts and uncloud our minds from being dogmatic and prejudicial when it comes to relating to the Homosexual Movement. We need to be more accepting. We need to be more loving and compassionate to them. We need to stop the hate against those who choose to live that lifestyle. These that are in this lifestyle still have souls and still have the right to be saved, just as much as you and I have the same right.
I can be more loving, I can be more compassionate, I can be more accepting. Even the Lord Himself exemplifies these attributes. But the ONE thing God doesn’t and will not accept is SIN@!
Romans 1:24
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
That is a startling pronouncement that Paul makes here that God doesn’t alter. “God also gave them up”. Now this is what the Bible says not what I am saying. This blows Eternal Security out of the water. Listen, God allows people to end in their sin. God allows people to exchange their souls for sin. Habitual sin is what creates a reprobate mind. When a person saturates themselves in the sickness of sin, they become ensnared in it that they become that sin.
Romans 1:26-27
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 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.
Church what we have to realize is that the root of homosexuality isn’t the person that is in it. It isn’t the mother or the father or siblings of the child that is in it. The root of Homosexuality is that it is SIN!
How does the Church respond to the Rainbow Elephant?
1.) Be Tolerant with the Person, but Intolerant of the Sin!
Romans 1:24
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves
Paul just isn’t talking about homosexuality, he is leading up to I, but he directs his intent on the issue of sin. That is the problem. Sin is all compassing, it overwhelms a person life.
Church, you cannot hold out one type of sin over the another type of sin as being more severe than another. The GL community scoff at Christians who direct their attention away from their own habitual sins but make being gay the worst of them all.
Listen, any way you slice it, sin is still sin.
There are not levels to sin,
There are not stages of sin,
There are not steps of sin either.
It is all the same.
The Creekside Community Church’s Visitation team was hit with that very same task. How would we respond? Some of us wouldn’t know what to say, others might speak first without thinking, but regardless of the fact, you and I need to be prepared to encounter situations like these.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Regardless of how you look at it, homosexuality is sin. But so is adultery, lying, stealing, heating, and covetedness. But we as the body of Christ need to be open minded enough to be tolerant to gay people. Because being hateful or dogmatic towards the GL community simply solidifies how they view the Evangelical Christian Community.
Being tolerant doesn’t mean you embrace the lifestyle, rather you embrace the person. Just as much as you would love the alcoholic or drug addict and be able to see past their addiction so to we must be able to do the same with the GL Community.
How does the Church respond to the Rainbow Elephant?
2.) Demonstrate His Love, but Stand Against Perversion
There is a statement that I have heard my whole life which is “Love the sinner and hate the sin.” Did you know that isn’t scripture? In fact it wasn’t quoted by a Christian, but a Hindu…Gandhi said it. But there is a lot of truth to it.
John 15:12
this is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
We as a Church have to be consistent. We have to on task, on point, and be capable of preserving our faith at any cost. But even though our faith in Jesus Christ teaches us to love one another, it doesn’t mean that we condone sinful lifestyles.
I want to be effective in the Kingdom of God, how about you? I want to be about the Fathers business. Now I don’t plan on getting into your business, but if your life isn’t consistent with the Word of God, then you should expect God to get in your business@!
But Church, when you are living a Christian life there are things in your life that need to be absolute. There are things that need to be black and white, plain and simple, and gray areas should be non existent. Your standard of faith that you live shouldn’t be compromised. You have been called to live a Holy Life, separate from the world in which you live@!
Listen, you shouldn’t be forced to accept a sinful life as normal when it isn’t. It is about time that……
Christians need to take a stand with the identity of a family.
Christians need to take a stand that marriage is b/t a woman an a man
Christians need to take a stand against pornographic images online
The Church needs to be open and clear that we stand against ALL ungodliness and perverted against that go against nature………….
Not because we are backwards,
Not because we are prejudice,
Not because we are un accepting
BUT BECAUSE IT IS SIN, and SIN ISN”T ABNORMAL for our LIFE@!
When God created a partner for Adam He created Eve - not Steve. This means that perfect partnership requires some level of difference as well as a level of similarity so great that Adam could cry out loudly, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh". Sexual intimacy between a man and a woman is the normal method of male/female bonding (emotionally and physically) because it corresponds to the design of our bodies and because it is the normal means by which offspring are created.
If God had intended the human race to be fulfilled through both heterosexual and homosexual marriage, He would have designed our bodies to allow reproduction through both means and made both means of sexual intercourse healthy and natural
Sin is normal for folks that are in sin, we have a sinful nature, but Paul teaches us to “put to death its ways”, therefore we need to stop the sinning business once we get saved and strive to live a life that is holy and acceptable to Him@!
Church, we need to love the GL community. We need to embrace them and encourage them to come to church. We need to find ways to interact with them, not to damn them, not to belittle them, but to love their souls into the Kingdom of GOD@!
But the love of Christ that is demonstrated through our life doesn’t mean that we condone homosexuality and its practices. Just as much as we can love the addict, or the thief the same way, but we don’t support their activities in sin! It is the same way across the board!
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
"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 extortionist will inherit the kingdom of God."
When we ordain ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ who are gay or lesbian we pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ. But when laws come up for a vote to institute and legalize gay marriages in our state and country, we better vote Biblically and not sit back and be passive@!
How does the Church respond to the Rainbow Elephant?
3.) Give Hope to those Families who are Affected
Romans 5:5
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Addictive sin doesn’t just pervert or defeat the person trapped in that sin. It doesn’t just disassociate or outcast the one that is caught up in a specified sin either. The most forgotten people that the Church fails to embrace are the people that are affected by it.
To often the church will lay blame on the parents of a person who is caught up in sin. The most neglected and often rejected families are those from which a gay or lesbian child has come from. The church doesn’t know who to treat them. They think they don’t know what to say, or how to act around them. So instead of reaching out to them, they get ignored, swept under the rug, all the while fathers are broken, and mothers are hurting, and siblings are questioning…why!
Let me tell you something, my momma always said “If you ain’t got something good to say, don’t say nothing at all!” Some people haven’t learned that yet. Keep your words of condemnation off of those moms and dads that have gay children. It isn’t their fault. These families didn’t choose to be broken by homosexuality, they are hurting in ways that you and I cannot imagine.
But you know what? They are no different than families that are dealing with an alcoholic or drug addicted person. I’ve heard people say “ Well you just need to let them go, turn your back on them because they are addicts”. That sure sounds like a great concept, but that’s not your child, that’s not your brother, or grand daughter is it?
If you’ve never had an alcoholic/drug addict child you don’t know how to relate, so don’t try to empathize because you can’t. But you can be someone’s hope that is affected by it.
Church, the “love of God has been poured out into our hearts” and we have an opportunity to unleash that love and hope into the lives of those that are affected by the results of sin@!
We need to be an encouragement to families that are broken because of homosexuality. Men we need to stand beside fathers whose son’s are ensnared in the gay lifestyle. Ladies we need to wrap our arms around mothers whose hearts are breaking because their daughters have slipped away into lesbianism.
It is the mission of the church to bring men and women to the Lord who need Him to…
Psalm 34:18
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
We have got to be people of hope, and be willing to loves all of those that are affected by sin. INV
This sermon is in addition to Pastor Mark Batterson's series on Elephants in the Church, that recommend highly,
