Homosexuality: Man’s Rejection of God

Transcript

GRM 525
4/13/1997
Homosexuality: Man's Rejection of God
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh


A few years ago there was an article that appeared in Christianity Today and I mentioned it to you and I received a very strong letter from someone who was offended by the tapes in another state because I mentioned one of the colleges. But all I did was read from the article that was in Christianity Today, I wasn’t selecting out any college on my own. I don’t want to imply that any of the schools that are mentioned here as schools condone this behavior. But the very fact that there is a three-page article that appears in Christianity Today on “Homosexuality Debates Strain Campus Harmony,” dealing with the fact that this is even an issue and a cause of conflict on the campuses of Christian schools indicates how the thinking of the world begins to permeate among believers. Again, I’m not saying the Christian schools necessarily condone it, but it is an issue for them and for the Christian young people there. The schools they mentioned here that have had battles of one kind or another or are in experiencing conflict were Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eastern College in St. David’s, Pennsylvania, Gordon College in Winton, Massachusetts, Wheaton College in Wheaton Illinois, and the Christian Missionary Alliances Nyack College in New York. So, you see a rather broad scope here of schools that have issue in conflict over the matter of homosexuality.

Is it acceptable, is it not, is it sinful behavior, is it not? I think the schools would generally hold that it is sinful behavior, although I was surprised at some of the positions taken by people who are identified with the school although it may not represent the schools’ position. I mentioned Wheaton College here. I even received a letter from the administration at Wheaton College assuring me that it was not their position, and they were not in favor of it. But the fact that there is this kind of issue show something of the state of things. Let me just read a couple of comments before we move over to the Word, to show you again that it is something that we have to be alert and aware of as believers. “The coming out of homosexuals who say that they remain true to their Evangelical heritage is galvanizing the schools theological debate.” You see what these students are claiming. “We are openly declaring our homosexuality,” at the same time they are saying, “We remain true to our Evangelical heritage.” I would say that is not possible. But they are making such a claim. “These students often are respected by their peers and teachers and their faith language is familiar.” One man involved in this argues that if homosexual students on Christian campuses do not find support they will go outside the school to find it. “If gay students can’t date on campus, where are they going to find someone to share their life with,” he asked. I mean, does that even sound like a remotely Christian argument? That if we don’t allow the homosexual students to date on campus they’ll go off campus and then they’ll find someone of terrible character. I don’t know, it makes sense to him I guess. His name is given here, I didn’t use it because I don’t want to go back in the article and find out just what his position is. Tony Campolo, is a Sociologist from Eastern College, he would be sympathetic. That may be a mild way to say it. Campolo says, “We get in the awkward position of saying it is okay for one group of women to put arms around each other, but not okay for another.” I mean there is a major difference, is there not? There is a major difference in the heterosexual area. I mean we have to be honest. If you give someone a hug, well that is one thing, a general hug and another thing if there is sexual intention in the hug. To say well, homosexual students can’t hug each other, but non-homosexual students can, well I think we are stretching the boundaries here. “Because they are often respected, likable, and spiritually committed students the issues move from being solely a political and moral debate to being an agonizing personal one.” I mentioned that this morning, when you get to know people and you like them and they are likable I would say the issue shouldn’t even seem a moral and political debate. They are a theological debate. The moral issue is resolved by the theology of the issue.

Go to the book of Judges. Those of you who were in my first hour class I have to pick up in a passage that we dealt with, but I did not get with in the second hour. We saw beginning in Genesis, Genesis chapters 1 and 2 establish God’s plan for male and female. God created mankind as male and female, he brought them together in a relationship of oneness in marriage. Jesus uses that as an argument in a context of marriage in Matthew 19. That establishes God’s intention, He made a male and a female, he brought them together and said, “A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, the two become one flesh.” That is God’s intention. We saw that that is supported in other passages, homosexual relationships, homosexuality is condemned. Sodom and Gomorrah are an ongoing testimony of God’s wrath and judgment towards sinful behavior. Homosexuality being the focal sin of the city of Sodom. It was condemned under the law in the book of Leviticus.

Then as you come to the conclusion of the book of Judges in Judges chapter 19 you have an incident that sounds very much like what took place in Sodom with Lot, only here it happens in an Israelite town. And I’ll just give you the broad overview of the story. There was a Levite who took a concubine for himself, she proved unfaithful, became a harlot and then returned to her father’s home in Bethlehem. The Levite journeyed from the hill country of Ephraim to Bethlehem, talked to his concubine’s father, made arrangements for his concubine to return home with him. As they are returning home they needed a place to stay for the night. The Jebusites still controlled Jerusalem when this man’s servant said, let’s stop at Jebus, which is a reference to Jerusalem still under the control of the Jebusites. He said no, we’ll go on to an Israelite city, so they go on to Gibeah. They wait in the town square. An elderly man comes and invites them to stay in his home for the night. Again, mid-eastern hospitality, and Judges chapter 19 verse 22. “While they were celebrating behold the men of the city, certain worthless fellows,” and well see again the character of these individuals as God evaluates it. “They surrounded the house, pounded on the door, spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have relations with him.”” Note they are not looking for the women. Bring out the man to have relations with him. This sounds like what went on in Sodom doesn’t it. Is it not appalling to find that these are Jews of the tribe of Benjamin in an Israelite city? And you see how the world of the Canaanite’s has corrupted the Jews and now they are practicing this abominable behavior. The old man goes out and tries to intercede; he offers his daughter. Similar to what we saw happen with Lot. The man gives him his concubine. We get great admiration for male actions here. They take his concubine and abuse her for the night, he finds her dead in the morning. He takes her home, cuts her body into 12 pieces and sends a piece to every tribe. Well, this causes a great stir. The armies of Israel are assembled at Mizpah and their message is over in chapter 20 verse 12. “Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin saying, “What is this wickedness that has taken place among you? Now then deliver up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel.””

Do you see what has happened here? The sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. Not just the practice of these worthless, vile men, began with a desire for homosexual activity and ended up murdering a woman by their vile conduct. They are supported by the tribe of Benjamin. I tell you, these people were so committed to their sin they are willing to die because the armies of Israel number 400,000. Benjamin is able to muster an army of approximately 26,000 men. You see how people get committed to their sin. There is no discussion here. We don’t have any choice but to give in. We’re willing to battle and die to preserve our right and prerogative for this kind of sinful behavior.

End result is there are three battles and in the third one finally Benjamin is all but annihilated. Six hundred men are all that is left of the entire tribe. It is wiped out, but for six-hundred men. Again, you see the judgement of God. And then their is a plan made to provide wives for these surviving 600 men so that the tribe of Benjamin does not go extinct. Now this shows you something of the ugliness and awfulness of sin and how the sin of Sodom has infected even Israel, one of the tribes here, and the end result of God’s judgment on them they are all but annihilated. But for His grace they would have been. Similar to judgement that overtook Sodom and Gomorrah.

Come over to the New Testament, and we come to the book of Romans chapter 1, Romans chapter one is the fullest explanation of homosexuality and its cause in the Bible. We have all kinds of genetic explanations these days, family explanations of the father not being what he should be or this kind of mother, and this is all the cause. Interestingly in Romans chapter 1 that is not even brought up. Because that is a confusion that is not really the explanation.

This is in the context of the wrath of God, in verse 18 of Romans 1. A very familiar section to us that begins a section that will run over into chapter 3, talking about the sinful, depraved condition of humanity. Verse 18 says, “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” Then you see down in verse 20, “Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Important statement there. I’d underline, “they are without excuse.” All are sinners, all are under condemnation, and everyone is without excuse. Everyone is without excuse. Because the glory of God is revealed in creation, and man always rebels against that revelation. Always, so he is shown to be a rebellious sinner. That is why we say there is not enough revelation in creation to save a person, but there is enough revelation to condemn a person. Because the gospel is not reveled in creation. Saving faith comes through the Word preached. A response to that Word. But revelation comes through creation, but fallen sinful humanity always, no exception, rejects that revelation and refuses it. Verse 21 says, “Even though they knew God,” that includes humanity, “they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man, birds, four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” So here you see the sinfulness of man as he has rejected God, rebelled against God, refuses to acknowledge God. They become, verse 21, “futile in their thinking.” They are darkened in their inner person, in their heart. That is the spiritual darkness, their depravity, their inability to think and comprehend reality as it truly is and the working of Almighty God. So they exchange His glory, verse 23, for the creation. They worship and serve the creature rather than the creator. Verse 25, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” You see in the verse what man does is worship the creation. That takes various forms and in some societies we would see they literally worship the moon, the stars, all of that. We have our astrologers, and you can watch in the daily newspaper horoscopes and that. Naturally their god is the heavens. Man worships himself, exalts his thinking, he sets himself above God. The result of that is the judgement of God. And so you have repeated in verse 24 and in verse 26 and in verse 28 a phrase, “Therefore God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity,” verse 26, “for this reason God gave them over to degrading passions,” and verse 28, “just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind.” In this passage what we really want to see is the cause of sexual impurity, as well as all the other sins that will be listed at the end of this chapter. It is the rejection of God by the human heart. Everything else becomes a smoke screen, how did your parents treat you, how were you raised, what was your mother like, what was your father like? On and on we go, all become smoke being blown around. I am not saying these things don’t contribute to depravity and problems of depravity, but what I am saying is that is not the real issue. The real issue is our rejection of God. So our exaltation of something in the place of God, that has to be a form of the creation if everything but God is created, so we worship and serve the creature not the creator.

So sexual depravity is a result of man’s rejection of God. That is the simple and Biblical answer, Romans chapter 1. God is turning them over to sin. This does not mean God caused their sin. We have studied this before together before, but for review it means that part of the wrath of God and the judgement of God on sinful human beings is to allow them to continue to pursue their sin. And that is a severe judgement. God allows them to go down the road they are determined to pursue. That is a form of judgement. He is not causing them to sin, He is not motivating them to sin, He is not moving them to sin, He is simply allowing them to follow through on their rejection of Him. He turns them over, as we noted when we studied this in detail. That is obvious around us, why is our country becoming so obviously and openly depraved? That is an evidence of the judgement of God upon it. It happens invariably. That is the pattern that God has established. “They dishonor their bodies among them,” verse 24. So sinful behavior. Now he explains again the reason that we have looked at then he picks up in verse 26, “God gave them over to degrading passions.” This flows out of, you know, “they worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” in verse 25. Those two words go together, “worshiped and served.” What you worship you serve.

They have excluded God. They won’t take Him into consideration. Verse 28 says, “They did not see fit to acknowledge God.” Is that not a fit description of our society? You know we have taken separation of church and state and so on and so far you’re not allowed to acknowledge God. I mean that is what it has come to mean in our day. Well, “God gave them over to degrading passions,” and note the degrading passions that he focuses on here and those that he elaborates. There is a long list, but the ones that are elaborated are the homosexual sins.

Verse 26, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” “For this reason” connects to verse 25, verse 26, “for this reason” connect to what he said in verse 25. Which connects to what preceded it, it is all connected. Verses 22 and 23, the rejection of God, verse 25, the rejection of God, verse 28, the rejection of God. Mankind’s rejection of God is the clear, foundational reason for his depraved behavior even today. “Degrading passions,” passions which bring dishonor, disrespect. I mean it is amazing the degradation that people will involve themselves in. They degrade themselves and are proud of it. You see people being interviewed and openly boasting of their depravity and you sit and shake your head and say, how revolting, they are degrading themselves. They bring shame on themselves, but they have no sense of it. Degrading passion.

“Women exchange the natural function for what is unnatural.” The words for women and men here are the Greek words for male and female because the emphasis is on the sexual difference that God intends for them. The women, the females, in contrast to the men or the males. “They exchanged,” now that is the same word, verse 26, “the women exchanged,” as it was used in verse 25, “they exchanged the truth of God for a lie.” You see what happens in the spiritual realm? They reject God, they exchange His truth for a lie, that has impact. We refuse to worship God, so we serve a different master. They exchange, they made a change, not only in the spiritual realm, but now in the physical realm of their service and functioning. “The women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.”

The word natural here, that which is in accordance with the intention of the Creator, the Creator’s purpose. They exchanged what the Creator’s purpose was for something that was contrary to the Creator’s purpose. What is natural? We go back to Genesis chapters 1 and 2 again. And we saw there what was natural; God made a male and a female. He joined them as male and female in a marriage relationship of oneness. Within that there is the sexual expression, that is natural. That is the intention of the Creator. “These have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, they worship and serve the creature,” verse 25, “so they exchanged the natural for the unnatural.” Now in this it shows within the created realm, even as we saw with the revelation of God in verses 18 and following, so here in the natural order there is no excuse for humanity to fail to perceive and understand what is the natural order. And we see that in our society 50 years ago this was not a debate, for example. Even unbelievers acknowledged that which was natural, verses that which was unnatural in this particular realm that we are talking about. So, this is a matter which God holds the creation accountable for, it is something that ought to be recognized. This is something that is natural. The contrary behavior is unnatural, it is contrary to nature, such expressions have been used even in the secular realm to describe it.

Homosexuality is a deterioration, now any sexual sin is a violation of God’s plan. For sex within marriage, a relationship between a husband and a wife. Homosexuality is a further step in that rebellion and rejection of God’s plan for it crosses the natural lines. Adultery is a sin that will be punished by God. Homosexuality not only is a sexual sin, but it is a sexual takes you beyond the bounds of what is natural. Beastiality, as we saw in Leviticus, put in that same context. It crosses the lines of what is natural. It is sin carried even to a further degree. It is not only a rejection of God’s standard, but it is a rejection of what God has established in nature as His plan, sex between male and a female. They exchanged this and indulged in sinful behavior. Verse 27, the men are no better.

Why are the women mentioned first? Perhaps it is a sign of the degradation, some feel. But the point is both do it. The men abandoned the natural function of the woman; the natural function of the woman God intended that that sexual desire be expressed within the marriage relationship between a man and a woman. They abandoned, the men abandoned the natural function of the woman, “and burned in their desire toward one another.” That word “burned” is a very strong word, it denotes an intense burning, inflamed lust. It is consuming these people. One thing about sin, it can take a terrible hold on us. We see what is being manifest in this whole realm, I see people dying of AIDS and what? They have just been consumed by their passion and couldn’t stop even when they saw what would be so terrible. An article, I forget where I was reading, maybe in the book I am reading or in one of the articles, I can’t remember, but noting what? They project 800,000 cases of AIDS in Russia in the coming years. They interview a prostitute there and they say, “look, we are finally free, we got a chance to indulge in these things. You have got to enjoy your life regardless of the consequences.” I mean there is just a total loss of what we would think “clear thinking,” but remember “they have become futile in their speculations. Their foolish heart has become darkened,” they are self-destructing in their sin. Men are consumed with a burning passion for other men.” Committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” That “desire,” that word for desire, there are strong words here, I mentioned the word “burning.” Their “desire” that they had, “burned in their desire,” that is another strong word that denotes an intense longing. So you have here intense burning, intense longing. These are passions that are on fire and are intensely controlling the person. “They receive in their own persons the due penalty.” I take it here that the reference is to their sexual perversion because what is does is it tightens the grip, you know it is like the constriction snake. It just further tightens its hold and so it is with these perverse sexual sins, they just tighten their hold. “They receive in their persons the due penalty,” but their passions are inflamed, they get stronger and the intensity of their pursuit grows stronger.

You know Paul could write about this, and he is writing in the Romans context. We think things are bad today? I pulled out a statistic that said 14 of the first 15 Roman Emperors were homosexuals. We have got a lot of complaints about our political leaders. We have some devout homosexuals, I don’t know what the count is now, serving in our Congress. But can you imagine 14 out of the first 15 Roman Emperors being homosexuals? Paul writes about this, he wrote about it in a society where it was acceptable from top down. But God’s evaluation of it is what? These are wicked, sinful practices, things which are not proper. They are degrading passions. You go on to talk about other sins on the list here, but he has set forth something of the issue of the sexual sins.

So on this kind of area there is hope in this, we’ll come back around to this. But keep in mind what he is doing here is beginning by unfolding why we need the power of the gospel in verses 16 and 17 of Romans chapter 1. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation.” Salvation for the sinners that are described in chapter 1 verse 18 over through chapter 3 verse 20 includes all of us. You know we are focusing in on this one particular sin but the encouragement of recognizing it as a vile, deplorable sin is the gospel is God’s solution to sin. If this is your genes there is no solution. If this is the way your mom and dad treated you there’s no solution. But it is sin, and they have a solution for sin. A powerful one, it is the gospel. So keep in mind what Paul is doing here as he unfolds the context is to show that we need the gospel. We need God’s power, it is all there is to set us free.


Turn over to 1Timothy chapter 1, 1 Timothy chapter 1. We looked at some of what the law said in Leviticus and there were those in Paul’s day that wanted to teach the law, but they didn’t understand the law nor its purpose. Verse 8 of I Timothy one says, “We know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully. Realizing the fact that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious. For the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane.” Some examples, “for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murders and immoral men, and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which I have been entrusted.” Now again we just want to note here that there ought to be no question that homosexuality can be acceptable. That this claim that I read to you, “The Coming Out of Homosexuals who Remain True to their Evangelical Heritage.” I mean they may be believer, if they are believers they are terribly confused. They cannot be claiming to be homosexual and that is their coming out and be true to an evangelical heritage. You see where it is classified here. It is classified with immoral men and other kinds of sexual sins. “Kidnappers, liars, perjurers, murderers, those who kill father and mothers.” I mean there ought to be no question in a professing believer’s mind that we are dealing with sin should there? Now again I have mentioned the way that they get around the issue is to say, well this is talking about an unloving relationship. The issue here is not a true loving relationship between a male and a male or a female and a female, but an unloving relationship or an immoral relationship because it is not a commitment of one to another. I mean all these things become a twisting of the scripture. So that makes clear that it is a sin like many other sins, but it is a sin and it will take the power of the gospel to provide cleansing and forgiveness.


Go to I Corinthians chapter 6, I Corinthians chapter 6. I mentioned this morning that there is forgiveness for these people just like there is forgiveness for any of us as sinners. Praise the Lord for that! That is set forth clearly, look at I Corinthians chapter 6 verse 9. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived,” you ought to underline that first part of that, “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Don’t be deceived about this. We get the idea, well I am unrighteous but I will still inherit the kingdom of God. Wrong. Don’t be deceived about that. “Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, or effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” There is some debate and I’ve been in some of these discussions that well, you know there is a difference. You know I may not be a practicing homosexual, but I am a homosexual because that is what I am. Wrong. That is not biblical. What does Paul go on to say? Verse 11, “Such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” It is one thing if I stand up and say I am an adulterer. You say, well you better repent. Now if I committed adultery sometime in the past, maybe I committed multiple adultery in the past, but I have come to trust Christ. I have been washed, I have been cleaned, am I an adulterer? This idea that homosexuality is something that I am, well that is a sin that I am guilty of. But when I come into a saving relationship with Christ I am washed, I am sanctified, I am justified. That is not what I am, that is promoted by some within the Evangelical camp. You say well, that is what you are. I am a non-practicing homosexual. No, I would say you are a washed, sanctified, justified, former homosexual. Just like all these other sins. Do I say that I am an idolater? Well, I am not an idolater. I worship the true and living God. At one time I was an idolater, but by God’s grace He cleansed me, He washed me and He forgave me and made me new, and on we go. This makes clear number one, those who worship God serve God. You note how we go here. Inheriting the kingdom of God does involve your practice. You are not saved by your works, but your works reveal your hearts condition. “Do not be deceived; fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, (and so on), will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Now does that say that a true Christian could never commit a sexual sin, or one of these other sins? No it doesn’t. It does happen. David committed sexual sin, David committed murder, but it is not the character Adenauer of David’s life. It is a blot on David’s life. Those who indulge in these things and it is the characteristic of their life, but they are sure they were saved some time back when, don’t be deceived. What you do reveals what you are. We play childish games pretending that it was different, but the glorious truth in this verse 11 is you are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified. That includes all the sins here. Now the fact that a person was an adulterer before they were saved, well, I was going to say fine, it is not fine, but I mean, it is reality. They were a homosexual. Well, that is what you were. Idolaters, well, thief, covetous, a drunkard. That is another one we pick up on, I am an alcoholic. I am a Christian, but I am an alcoholic. What do you mean by that? Well you know you never change, you will always be an alcoholic. You know it is true of sin, sin hasn’t been annihilated for the believer. And things that were attractive to me before my salvation may still be attractive to the old fallen, part of me after my salvation. Now that is not what I am, I have been made new in Christ. I don’t have to pursue that, and by God’s grace I do not. What I wanted you to pick up here was particularly verse 11. But pick up in the context of verse 9. Those who are saying, I am coming out as a homosexual, and I am still consistent with my Evangelical heritage. Well I understand a true Evangelical heritage means you are in line of those that are committed to the Evangelical message of the gospel. It means you are a believer in Jesus Christ on your way to glory and the kingdom He’ll establish, but don’t be deceived. These kind of people aren’t going. Now the unfolding of this as it goes on is Romans 6, 7 and 8. Where we go from here, how we were set free and the bondage that was broken is we died to sin, Romans chapter 6. We were buried with Him, were raised to newness of life, and turn over to Romans chapter 6. I hear some of the pages going. So we “consider ourselves to be dead to sin” [verse 11] “but alive to God in Christ.” “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you may obey its lust.” “Do not go on” [verse 13 of Romans 6] “presenting the members of your body as instruments of unrighteousness. Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead. For sin shall not be master over you for you are not under law but under grace.” In other words the Law provided no power, no enablement but grace does in the person of the Holy Spirit. So now I take this body and I use it for Him. And Romans chapter 6 emphasizes that. Romans chapter 7 particularly beginning in verses 14 and following emphasize the fact that there can still be battles going on with the flesh. The power and authority of the flesh over me has been broken. I have died. I have been raised a new person. But the old one hasn’t left yet just like the devil. His power and authority has been broken over me but he hasn’t left yet or the world but it hasn’t left yet. And sometimes its allurements are rather attractive, desirous. There is pleasure in sin for a season. No one would say that sin doesn’t have a certain enjoyment. If it didn’t, no one would do it. But we as believers have been set free. So, there is a battle and a conflict that may still go on and does still go on.


We flow out of chapter 6 into chapter 7. But in chapter 8 we find the presence of the Spirit and his enabling power through the finished work of Christ that enables us to live lives that honor him. Verse 12, “So then brethren we are under obligation not to the flesh to live according the flesh” [chapter 8 verse 12] “for if you are living according to the flesh you must die.” I mean don’t be deceived. But “if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” See, I died with Christ. Now I put to death the deeds of the body. I refuse to indulge this body in the sinful behavior that it once did. You do that by the power of the Spirit, not that it is easy but it means the power is available. “For all who are being led by the Spirit, these are the Sons of God.” So there is the evidence. They say well because it is a battle, a struggle, does that mean I am not saved? Not necessarily no. But you draw upon the power of the Spirit for the victory each day. That is the evidence you are being led by the Spirit of God. “For you have not received Spirit of slavery but of adoption” where we call God Abba, Father and His Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God and through this all we are on our way to glory and nothing can frustrate or hinder God’s plan for me to glory.

That is God’s perspective on sin. “I am not ashamed of the gospel” [Romans 1:16] “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the power of God is revealed.” And it comes through faith in Christ. See that, it is sinful behavior. Well people reject sin, reject God’s statement of their sinfulness, they reject God’s salvation because they have rejected God period. Oh, I am not saying they do not have a god but the God of scripture has been rejected. Everything else is confused. It is twisted. It is distorted. Our message is not just one of condemnation. Our message is one of salvation. But you have to understand you need salvation. You are under condemnation because you are a sinner as all of us are. All have sinned. The wages of sin is death. But praise God the free gift of God is eternal life. That is why we are proclaiming the gospel. Our role as a church is to proclaim the gospel which means we must proclaim sin as sin. There can be no backing down. There can be no hemming and hawing. Sin is sin, is sin. It has no other color, no other character. It is sin. As a sinner you are under condemnation and under the wrath of God. You are on your way to an eternal hell. Don’t be deceived. That is the way it is.


Those in the Metropolitan Church, a homosexual denomination established for homosexuals . . . I have listened to some of their programs. The open the scripture. They teach it. In light of I Corinthians 6, don’t be deceived. These kind of people are not going to the kingdom. But they can. If all we do is show oh, it is revolting to me. Oh, that just, oh, I just can’t stomach it. I have to work with some of these people. Oh, yuck. Well, la de da. We found a perfect human being. No, you are a sinner just like they are. You need the same grace that you have experienced in Christ. And praise God He has put you in the context of some of these people. Because if in His grace he didn’t put a believer in the context of vile you, how would you have heard the gospel. How would I have heard the gospel. You know I forget how vile and depraved I was until the word of God intervened in my life and made me new. You say, oh, I just can’t stand it in this world. I just can’t stand working with these unbelievers. Well, wait a minute. Do I see them as God sees them? They need what I have. But they don’t want it. Well, I realize that. But God has placed you there for a purpose. Our responsibility is to present this glorious truth which is the light of the gospel. Only God can change a heart. I can’t do God’s work. I can’t change a person’s heart. But by the grace of God I better do the work that God has called me to do. That is what? Be a mouthpiece of his truth because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Am I going to give an account to God and say, God I worked with all these people but they didn’t want to hear the gospel. How would you know? You only tried once. I mean I quit doing my work because I don’t think God is doing His? So, I have to be careful in my attitude and particularly in a behavior like this where it is easy for us to express our rejection of it that implies that we are somewhat better. It is vile behavior. It is sinful. It is repulsive as sin is in all of its manifestations, not just this particular one. What we have to offer is not only the statement of God’s declaration of sin but God’s declaration of salvation if you will turn from that sin and believe in His as the Savior.

We need to remember all of us are but sinners redeemed by grace. We are privileged to tell others that they can find that same redemption, that same deliverance, that same freedom in the same person, Jesus Christ,, the Savior who loved them, died for them and was raised from the dead again. May God give us the grace as a church to stand in these days clearly for truth as truth and thus be able to proclaim in that context a message of life to a world that is lost depraved and hell bound. Let’s pray together.

Thank You Lord for Your ongoing grace in our lives as Your people. Lord in one sense the work of our salvation is complete. In another sense the work of our salvation continues. Thank You Lord for deliverance. Lord in Your salvation some in this body have been delivered from the very sin that we have been talking about. Lord all of us have been delivered from sins that are ugly and vile and detestable in Your sight. Lord even as we speak of this, we don’t speak of it from a position of higher moral character and authority because of who we are. Lord it is by Your grace that we are what we are. Our desire is that for fallen sinners, they too might experience the wonder of your grace in salvation even as we have. Lord guard us from that attitudes that cause us to find sinners repulsive, cause us to have a lack on interest and concern and love for them and their salvation. Lord may we see them as they are presented in Your truth vile, repulsive sinners but those for whom Christ died. May we count it a privilege to be put in the most difficult of circumstances with the most difficult of people so that we might demonstrate your love in offering to them the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ which is Your power for salvation to everyone who believes. Again, Lord we thank You for Your grace and continued work in our lives, the privilege we have to present Jesus Christ to our world today. We pray in his name, amen.


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