The Gospel and Gay "Marriage"
I’m sure many of you have seen the story about “gay wedding” ceremonies being performed by a group in Baguio (a city here in the Philippines).
My regular readers know where I stand on this, but I want to reiterate the biblical position for those who may be searching for the truth. What I’m about to say may not be popular, but that doesn’t really concern me.
What does the Bible really say about homosexuality? Let’s first consider three points:
The Biblical Foundation:
We need look no further than the second chapter of Genesis to see God’s original plan for love, sex and marriage:
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. –Genesis 2:24
There you have it: God’s design for sex is one man and one woman in a covenant of marriage. He did not make a mistake when He set this standard. Jesus used this same passage when asked about marriage (Matthew 19:4-6), and Paul used it to address issues of sexual immorality in the early church (1st Corinthians 6:16).
The Biblical Condemnation:
The Old Testament law lists homosexual behavior among practices unacceptable to God:
Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.
–Leviticus 18:22
The Book of Romans (New Testament) describes homosexual behavior as “unnatural”:
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.
–Romans 1:26-27
There are other Scriptures, but I’ll get to that later.
The Lack of Biblical Celebration:
The Bible repeatedly celebrates the relationship between husband and wife. Proverbs puts it this way:
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.
–Proverbs 18:22
The Song of Solomon (also called Song of Songs) celebrates the sexual love and desire between a young bride and her husband:
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
for your love is more delightful than wine.
Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the young women love you!
Take me away with you—let us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.
-Song of Solomon 1:2-4
But you won’t find a single verse in the Bible celebrating homosexual acts/relationships—not one! No gay “weddings,” no “Born this Way” lyrics, no indication that God blesses or condones any kind of same-sex union.
You can try to twist the Scriptures any way you like, but the Biblical message is clear: God’s plan for love and sex has not changed.
I’ve explained the biblical foundation, the biblical condemnation, and the lack of biblical celebration in regards to homosexuality. Now let me share one more thing:
The Biblical Solution—The Gospel:
Is there any hope for those who struggle with same-sex attraction? Yes! It’s the same hope that is available to murderers, adulterers, drug addicts, alcoholics, liars, churchgoers, preachers, campus ministers, and bloggers. We all desperately need the Gospel—the good news of a Savior who offers forgiveness to those who repent and believe.
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord
-Acts 3:19
This gospel has been changing lives since the ancient church. We see it in Paul’s admonitions to the believers in Corinth:
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 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.
-1st Corinthians 6:9-11
Pay careful attention to the last two sentences (vs. 11). Those trapped in all kinds of sins (including homosexual sins) where changed by the power of the gospel!
Here’s what grieves me about churches that condone gay “weddings”: they have ignored the biblical definition of sin. This kind if teaching leaves us with people professing to be Christian, yet rejecting the clear teachings of Scripture.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
–Isaiah 5:20
Earlier I mentioned the word “repent.” This word indicates a change of mind and a change of direction in one’s life. Repentance is agreement with God on the nature of sin and my need for the life-changing gospel. I don’t need salvation if I can conveniently ignore or redefine sin. I don’t need to repent from sexual immorality if there is no such thing!
Let me summarize the Gospel and how it relates to sexual purity:
1. All of us have sinned and fallen short. God’s holy nature required payment (sacrifice) to atone for our sins. God does not ignore sin or change his mind about it. Instead, He has dealt with it in a way that his consistent with His holy nature. Salvation is offered freely to those who repent and believe in the gospel:
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood
–Romans 3:23-25
2. Followers of Jesus Christ are called to be holy. This means avoiding all forms of sexual immorality:
God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. Never harm or cheat a Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
-1st Thessalonians 4:3-8
Final Thoughts:
I’m sure some of you reading this post are still convinced I’m wrong. I would encourage you to keep studying and reading the Scriptures. I pray your eyes will be opened to the true power of the gospel.
But I’m mainly writing this for those who are genuinely searching for answers. Sometimes the truth hurts, but it’s still the truth. Don’t accept a counterfeit gospel.
Note:
I would highly recommend the Bagong Pag-asa Ministry to those (here in the Philippines) struggling with same-sex attraction. International readers should visit Exodus International Ministries.
I'm glad you've posted on this subject, with all the media hype on the recent "gay mass wedding", we definitely need an eye-opener article.
I respect your right to speak your mind, but it is quite disheartening to know that there are so many rigidly conservative Christians in the Philippines. I too am a Christian, but the lashing out against LGBTs and same-sex marriage in the wake of the Baguio event is quite disturbing. Being a Christian doesn't mean one has to be absolutely close-minded, intolerant, and unwilling to listen. I hope that in time there will be more Filipino churches that are able to not focus solely on genitalia, but rather look upon the heart.
Amen Kuya Kevin!
Erik,
Being a Christian does mean you have to take the Scriptures seriously.
I find it ironic that you seem to label me as "rigid, close-minded," and "intolerant." Seems you are just as "rigid/intolerant/closed-minded" about YOUR belief.
God is not a respecter of person whether he/she has a good heart or not. People with good hearts and good deeds are not exempted from His laws, and the Bible is very clear on this subject.
i strongly agree to this post. God loves everyone but he doesn't tolerate sins.
1 Timothy 1:9-11 say:
9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
From the beginning God made a man and a woman and there was no 'she-man' nor 'he-woman'. It breaks my heart to hear that even some Pastors marry a gay to another gay and lesbian to another woman. I believe those kinds of Pastors are one of the people whom God includes in this passage if they wont repent:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
a resounding amen to this post kuya! praise God for you!
just wanna share, last week i shared the Gospel to a lesbian and she asked God for forgiveness and accepted Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior... one of the many things that she told me that struck me most, after she committed her life the Lord was this: "baka isang araw magulat ang mga tao hindi na tomboy si Gie" (not here real name. she was referring to herself). what am i saying here? she knew all along that homosexuality is SIN...that she had been living a lie all these yrs... but she found the truth and responded to it (repentance) and liberation from that sinful life through Christ Jesus. indeed He (Jesus) is the hope, the ONLY hope...
just thought i'd share. :)
God bless u kuya, thanks again for sharing this!
I do take the Scriptures seriously, Kevin, but I do not surrender my God-given brain in order to do so. It is vitally important that we truly study the Word of God, taking into account the historical, cultural, and linguistic context in which it was written.
"My" belief, as you called it, is simply that same-sex couples deserve to be treated with dignity and equality under the law. It's not so very radical actually.
Erik,
I have taken the grammatical, historical and linguistic context into account when writing this article (I do so with anything I write or preach). This is one reason I took care to include several Scriptural references and give a complete "picture" of the Bible's message.
It just so happens that the Bible's timeless message about sexual morality isn't what some people want to hear.
I know I haven't convinced you and I probably won't. But please have something substantive to say if you want to make future comments here.
I'm sorry you feel that the only substantive comments are those that agree with your perspective. I happen to think that standing up for the rights of a discriminated minority group is substantive.
But you are correct in that you likely will not convince me to change my mind, and I likely will not convince you to change yours, so we'll have to agree to disagree as they say. I did read your post, by the way, but I must say that you did not, in fact, take context into account. You quoted Bible verses. That is not a study of the historical setting, of the culture in which the verses were written, or of the precise meanings of the words in their original language, let alone taking modern scientific findings into account.
I know that you represent the majority view in the Philippines (and Alabama too, or so I have heard), but there are many, many Christians such as myself who do not feel that the Bible supports the view that one's inborn sexual orientation determines one's destination in the hereafter. One's acceptance (or refusal) of Jesus does.
I am from Norway where we have gender-neutral marriage (and the sky has yet to fall), and your viewpoint would be in the minority, including among Christians. But that's fine, we can still respect each other as fellow Christians.
I'll be praying for you to be enlightened, as I'm sure you'll be praying for me to be enlightened. Well, c'est la vie, at least we'll both be praying for each other. :) A belated happy 4th of July to you, by the way. God bless.
I have studied Greek, Hebrew, Christian History, etc. I don't talk much about my theological training on this blog, but suggesting that I'm ignorant of the context is simply a reflection of your own one-track mind in regards to this issue.
I've studied the "exegesis" of those claiming the Bible is neutral about homosexuality. It's shoddy scholarship by those who wish to twist the Scriptures.
Corinth, for example, was a city filled with sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual). The Christians were called not to live as they had in the past. They didn't attempt to redefine God's standards based on their unholy culture.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. 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.
1st Corinthians 6:9-11