Homosexuality and Fornication
There are those who like to say that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality. Various verses are cited (out of context) and the verses that people use to show that homosexuality is wrong are explained away. The world wants to change God's words and meanings into something more suitable to its sinful desires. Nevertheless, the truth stands: The Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin. Let's look at what it says.
Lev. 18:22, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination."1
Lev. 20:13, "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltness is upon them"
1 Cor. 6:9-10, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
Rom. 1:26-28, "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27and 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. 28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."
Homosexuality is clearly condemned by the Bible. It goes against the created order of God. He created Adam and then made a woman. This is what God has ordained and it is what is right. Unlike other sins, homosexuality has a severe judgment administered by God Himself. This judgment is simple: They are given over to their passions. That means that their hearts are allowed to be hardened by their sins (Romans 1:18ff). As a result, they can no longer see the error of what they are doing. Without an awareness of their sinfulness, there will be no repentance and trusting in Jesus. Without Jesus, they will have no forgiveness. Without forgiveness, there is no salvation.
What should be the Christian's Response to the Homosexual?
Just because someone is a homosexual does not mean that we cannot love him (or her) or pray for him (her). Homosexuality is a sin and like any other sin, it needs to be dealt with in the only way possible. It needs to be laid at the cross, repented of, and never done again.
As a Christian, you should pray for the salvation of the homosexual the same you would any other person in sin. The homosexual is still made in the image of God -- even though he is in grave sin. Therefore, you should show him the same dignity as anyone else with whom you come in contact. However, this does not mean that you are to approve of their sin. Don't compromise your witness for a socially-acceptable opinion that is void of godliness.
The Biblical Purpose of Sex
The biblical purpose of sex is multifaceted. God has given sex to us as a means of glorifying Him as we fulfill its design for procreation, intimacy, comfort, and physical pleasure. It is a fulfillment of God's created order in marriage between a husband and wife.
• Procreation
• Gen. 1:28, "And God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"
• Intimacy
• Song 1:13, "My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh which lies all night between my breasts."
• Song 2:3, "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."
• Song 2:6, "Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand embrace me."
• Song 4:5, "Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, which feed among the lilies."
• Companionship
• Song 3:1, "On my bed night after night I sought him whom my soul loves..."
• Physical Pleasure
• Song 1:2, "May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine."
The sexual relation is only properly expressed in marriage between a husband and wife (1 Cor. 7:2-3). Any sexual contact between unmarried people is sinful since it violates God's design.
Sex is a wonderful blessing given to us by the Lord that serves to express intimacy to another. Some theologians believe that the sexual union is representative of the intimacy found in the Trinity. This is not to say that the members of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, have sexual relations. That is absurd. But there is an incredible intimacy and communion between them. The three persons in the Godhead are, after all, one God. This is why Jesus said that He and the Father were one (John 10:30). Remember, God says when a man and woman get married, they become one flesh (Gen. 2:24). This expression of physical union which has a spiritual aspect to it ("the two become one flesh") and is why some theologians see the sexual relation as a sacred experience.
We don't know if such speculations are accurate, but sexuality is to remain pure nonetheless. This means that the marriage bed must not violate the commandments of God in deed or thought -- no adultery, no pornography, no voyeurism, no bestiality, incest, etc. The sexual union is God ordained and God given and must be experienced in a godly way within marriage. In this, the sexual union can bring glory to God as it is experienced in fulfillment of God's design and purpose to provide pleasure, companionship, intimacy, and a means of fulfilling the command of God to fill the earth.
So the purpose of sex is to glorify God, bring forth children, express intimacy, provide comfort, and bless the spouse.
PORNOGRAPHY
Even though the Bible does not say anything about pornography, specifically, pornography is still wrong. Pornography deals with photography and/or illicit paintings and/or cartoons that are designed to arouse sexual passions in the viewer. It is certainly possible that at the time when the Bible was written that there were various art forms that depicted sexually explicit things. But apparently this phenomenon was not sufficiently prevalent enough for the subject to be addressed in the Bible. Nevertheless, we can derive an accurate conclusion from scriptures that deal with other issues and apply them to the issue of pornography.
• Matt. 5:27, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; 28 but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart."
• 1 Cor. 6:18, "Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body."
• Col. 3:5, "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."
As you can see the Bible tells us to be sexually pure. This is why Jesus even tells us to guard our minds. Note that He said in Matt. 5:27 that to even look on a woman lustfully is to commit adultery with her. In viewing pornography, nakedness, and explicit sexual displays lust is not only given the opportunity to rise (thereby enticing since) but most often lustful passions and thoughts are triggered in the heart and mind. This is obviously sinful and clearly demonstrates that pornography is sinful. Add to this that oftentimes pornography involves viewing sexual intercourse between unmarried people, and or homosexual and lesbian activities, and we have a very clear case of it being sinful. Even if the pornography does not involve viewing sexual intercourse between two people, it involves the viewing of naked individuals which is properly reserved for a husband and a wife.
Now someone may ask "What about art? It often portrays the nakedness of men and women? Why isn't that pornographic?" The difference between art and pornography is the difference between beauty and lust. In art the nakedness is intended to be a display of beauty and wonder. Pornography does no such thing. It's intent is to entice a person by arousing the person's lust. But then, someone may say that they view pornography as an art form and that it is beautiful. But this is nothing more than an attempt to justify sin.
Lev. 18:22, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination."1
Lev. 20:13, "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltness is upon them"
1 Cor. 6:9-10, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
Rom. 1:26-28, "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27and 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. 28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."
Homosexuality is clearly condemned by the Bible. It goes against the created order of God. He created Adam and then made a woman. This is what God has ordained and it is what is right. Unlike other sins, homosexuality has a severe judgment administered by God Himself. This judgment is simple: They are given over to their passions. That means that their hearts are allowed to be hardened by their sins (Romans 1:18ff). As a result, they can no longer see the error of what they are doing. Without an awareness of their sinfulness, there will be no repentance and trusting in Jesus. Without Jesus, they will have no forgiveness. Without forgiveness, there is no salvation.
What should be the Christian's Response to the Homosexual?
Just because someone is a homosexual does not mean that we cannot love him (or her) or pray for him (her). Homosexuality is a sin and like any other sin, it needs to be dealt with in the only way possible. It needs to be laid at the cross, repented of, and never done again.
As a Christian, you should pray for the salvation of the homosexual the same you would any other person in sin. The homosexual is still made in the image of God -- even though he is in grave sin. Therefore, you should show him the same dignity as anyone else with whom you come in contact. However, this does not mean that you are to approve of their sin. Don't compromise your witness for a socially-acceptable opinion that is void of godliness.
The Biblical Purpose of Sex
The biblical purpose of sex is multifaceted. God has given sex to us as a means of glorifying Him as we fulfill its design for procreation, intimacy, comfort, and physical pleasure. It is a fulfillment of God's created order in marriage between a husband and wife.
• Procreation
• Gen. 1:28, "And God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"
• Intimacy
• Song 1:13, "My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh which lies all night between my breasts."
• Song 2:3, "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."
• Song 2:6, "Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand embrace me."
• Song 4:5, "Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, which feed among the lilies."
• Companionship
• Song 3:1, "On my bed night after night I sought him whom my soul loves..."
• Physical Pleasure
• Song 1:2, "May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine."
The sexual relation is only properly expressed in marriage between a husband and wife (1 Cor. 7:2-3). Any sexual contact between unmarried people is sinful since it violates God's design.
Sex is a wonderful blessing given to us by the Lord that serves to express intimacy to another. Some theologians believe that the sexual union is representative of the intimacy found in the Trinity. This is not to say that the members of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, have sexual relations. That is absurd. But there is an incredible intimacy and communion between them. The three persons in the Godhead are, after all, one God. This is why Jesus said that He and the Father were one (John 10:30). Remember, God says when a man and woman get married, they become one flesh (Gen. 2:24). This expression of physical union which has a spiritual aspect to it ("the two become one flesh") and is why some theologians see the sexual relation as a sacred experience.
We don't know if such speculations are accurate, but sexuality is to remain pure nonetheless. This means that the marriage bed must not violate the commandments of God in deed or thought -- no adultery, no pornography, no voyeurism, no bestiality, incest, etc. The sexual union is God ordained and God given and must be experienced in a godly way within marriage. In this, the sexual union can bring glory to God as it is experienced in fulfillment of God's design and purpose to provide pleasure, companionship, intimacy, and a means of fulfilling the command of God to fill the earth.
So the purpose of sex is to glorify God, bring forth children, express intimacy, provide comfort, and bless the spouse.
PORNOGRAPHY
Even though the Bible does not say anything about pornography, specifically, pornography is still wrong. Pornography deals with photography and/or illicit paintings and/or cartoons that are designed to arouse sexual passions in the viewer. It is certainly possible that at the time when the Bible was written that there were various art forms that depicted sexually explicit things. But apparently this phenomenon was not sufficiently prevalent enough for the subject to be addressed in the Bible. Nevertheless, we can derive an accurate conclusion from scriptures that deal with other issues and apply them to the issue of pornography.
• Matt. 5:27, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; 28 but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart."
• 1 Cor. 6:18, "Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body."
• Col. 3:5, "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."
As you can see the Bible tells us to be sexually pure. This is why Jesus even tells us to guard our minds. Note that He said in Matt. 5:27 that to even look on a woman lustfully is to commit adultery with her. In viewing pornography, nakedness, and explicit sexual displays lust is not only given the opportunity to rise (thereby enticing since) but most often lustful passions and thoughts are triggered in the heart and mind. This is obviously sinful and clearly demonstrates that pornography is sinful. Add to this that oftentimes pornography involves viewing sexual intercourse between unmarried people, and or homosexual and lesbian activities, and we have a very clear case of it being sinful. Even if the pornography does not involve viewing sexual intercourse between two people, it involves the viewing of naked individuals which is properly reserved for a husband and a wife.
Now someone may ask "What about art? It often portrays the nakedness of men and women? Why isn't that pornographic?" The difference between art and pornography is the difference between beauty and lust. In art the nakedness is intended to be a display of beauty and wonder. Pornography does no such thing. It's intent is to entice a person by arousing the person's lust. But then, someone may say that they view pornography as an art form and that it is beautiful. But this is nothing more than an attempt to justify sin.
Comment
© 2024 Created by Raliegh Jones Jr..
Powered by
You need to be a member of Black Preaching Network to add comments!
Join Black Preaching Network