Why transgender and homosexuality are against God
Doing this sermon on transgender and homosexuality from a theological perspective requires careful consideration and a delicate approach. Different faith traditions and denominations hold a variety of views on these issues, and a single sermon cannot encompass all of them. However, I want to explore a common Christian perspective on this topic, drawing from the word of God to support this view. This is one perspective among many, and it's important to acknowledge the diversity of thought within Christianity and other religions.
God's Design: A Reflection on Gender and Sexuality ,Grace and peace to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I want to talk about a subject that is on the hearts and minds of many of us: the topic of gender and sexuality, specifically as it relates to the experiences of those who identify as transgender and gay. This is a complex and sensitive topic, and I want to approach it with the love and truth of God's Word. My prayer is that we would not be quick to judge, but instead, be quick to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us through Scripture.
The Foundation of God's Creation
When we seek to understand any aspect of humanity, we must begin at the beginning, with the creation story in Genesis. Genesis 1:27 it tells us, "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
This verse lays the foundation for our understanding of the human race. God, in His infinite wisdom, created humanity in two distinct and complementary forms: male and female. This is not an arbitrary distinction; it is a fundamental part of God's design for humanity. The union of a man and a woman in marriage is presented as the foundational unit of society and the means by which God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" is fulfilled.
Jesus himself affirms this in Matthew 19:4-5, when He says, "Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?" Jesus takes us back to Genesis, affirming the biblical role model of marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
We have to Understand Sin and the Brokenness of the World
Now, the Bible is also clear that since the fall of Adam and Eve, The human race has been in a state of brokenness. The Bible calls this brokenness "sin." Sin is anything that falls short of God's perfect standard. It's important to understand that sin is not just what we do; it is also a condition of our hearts. We all, in our fallen state, experience desires and inclinations that are not aligned with God's perfect will.
Romans 1:18-30 speaks directly to the brokenness of human sexuality. It says,
Rom 1:18 God shows his anger from heaven against all the evil and wrong things that people do. Their evil lives hide the truth they have.
This makes God angry because they have been shown what he is like. Yes, God has made it clear to them.
There are things about God that people cannot see—his eternal power and all that makes him God. But since the beginning of the world, those things have been easy for people to understand. They are made clear in what God has made. So people have no excuse for the evil they do.
People knew God, but they did not honor him as God, and they did not thank him. Their ideas were all useless. There was not one good thought left in their foolish minds.
They said they were wise, but they became fools.
Instead of honoring the divine greatness of God, who lives forever, they traded it for the worship of idols—things made to look like humans, who get sick and die, or like birds, animals, and snakes.
People wanted only to do evil. So God left them and let them go their sinful way. And so they became completely immoral and used their bodies in shameful ways with each other.
They traded the truth of God for a lie. They bowed down and worshiped the things God made instead of worshiping the God who made those things. He is the one who should be praised forever. Amen.
Because people did those things, God left them and let them do the shameful things they wanted to do. Women stopped having natural sex with men and started having sex with other women.
In the same way, men stopped having natural sex with women and began wanting each other all the time. Men did shameful things with other men, and in their bodies they received the punishment for those wrongs.
People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so they do what they should not do.
They are filled with every kind of sin, evil, greed, and hatred. They are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, lying, and thinking the worst things about each other. They gossip
and say evil things about each other. They hate God. They are rude, proud, and brag about themselves. They invent ways of doing evil.
" Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error."
This passage, along with others like 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and Leviticus 18:22, presents homosexual acts as contrary to God's created order. The Bible consistently speaks of sexual relations as being reserved for the context of a marriage between a man and a woman. Any sexual activity outside of this is considered sin.
The Distinction Between Orientation and Action
Some may argue that these verses are not about a person's identity, but about their actions. This is a deciding distinction. The word of God teaches ,that while we may have desires that go against God's will—whether it be a desire for anger, greed, or sexual sin—we are called to live in obedience to God's Word, and we are not to act on those desires.
The word of God does not condemn a person for having a certain inclination or temptation. Rather, it calls all of us to a life of holiness, which means a life set Living For God. For a person who experiences same-sex attraction, it is no different than a person who struggles with lust, or anger, or any other sin: we have to surrender those desires to the Lord and to seek to live a life that honors Him.
The topic of transgender identity also invites us to look at God's design for creation. As we saw in Genesis, God created humanity as "male and female." The Bible teaches that our physical bodies are a gift from God. Psalm 139:14 says, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Our biological sex is not a mistake; it is part of God's purposeful and his wonderful creation.
The idea of a person changing their gender identity to be something other than their biological sex is, from a biblical perspective, is a rejection of God's design. It suggests that our identity is found in our feelings and wants rather than in the reality of how God created us. This, too, is a sign of a broken world of sin, where our desires and feelings are at war with God's truth. Saying God makes mistakes, which we know is not true.
The Gospel and how we respond.
So, where does this leave us? Let me tell you ,The good news of the Gospel is not that we are perfect, but that Jesus came to save sinners. The call of the Gospel is not to condemn, but to love. The word of God tells us that "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
For the person who identifies as gay or transgender, the message of the Gospel is the same as it is for everyone else. It is a message of repentance and faith. Repentance means To have a change of mind that leads us to a change of direction—turning away from our sinful ways. and turning toward God. Faith means trusting in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation.
As a church, we are called to be a place of love and truth. We must love people where they are, without condoning sin. We are called to have compassion, to walk alongside those who are struggling, and to point them to the One who can heal and transform them.. We must also speak the truth in love, holding fast to the teachings of God on gender and sexuality, because we know that God's way is the way of life and Leads us to eternal life.
Let us remember that every person, regardless of their struggles or identity, is created in the image of God and is worthy of dignity and respect. But let us also remember that true love speaks the truth. The truth is that God, in His infinite wisdom, created us as male and female. The truth is that His design for sexuality is for a man and a woman in the covenant of marriage. And the greatest truth of all is that no matter how far we have strayed, there is forgiveness and new life available to all who turn to Jesus Christ.
May we be a people who are not only quick to speak the truth, but who also live it out in love and grace in our lives, Amen.
