Post by JEM on Sept 23, 2012 7:48:00 GMT
Some Christians remind us to look more closely at the texts which are used to condemn Gay practices
and to remember that most Gay humans are as much against rape, abusing children, grooming, exploitation, hurting people as heterosexual people are.
There is a website worth considering alongside this article that gives the Gay Christian side of the case.
On Google type in
www.psa91.com/pdf/whatthebiblesays.pdf
What the Bible Says and Doesn't Say about Homosexuality is A 24-page booklet written by the Rev. Dr. Mel White that offers a biblical response to the question people often ask: “How can you consider yourself a Christian when you are also gay?
You should be able to download it.
Rev. Dr. Mel White contends that
The Biblical authors are silent about homosexual orientation as we know it today.
They neither approve it nor condemn it.Looking more closely at those Biblical texts used by
some people to condemn homosexuality, we are reminded that Jesus, the Jewish prophets and even Paul never even comment on the responsible love a gay man or lesbian feels for another.
The Bible is completely silent on the issue of homosexual orientation.
And no wonder. Homosexual orientation wasn’t even known until the 19th century.
We put this article on originally to emphasize that Gay people are as equally sinners as non-Gay people, and that all can be saved and reconciled with God, by and through Jesus Christ if they repent their sin and believe the Gospel.
Nor is it our job to judge and condemn people. Jesus came not to condemn humans, for we had already done that ourselves, but to save and liberate humans and reconcile us with our Creator God.
We too have to judge not lest we be judged, and remember that on the final Day of Judgement, the Just Judge who will judge us all, will be the Lamb of God, slain for the salvation of humans, Jesus Christ.
He has already told us how the nations, the peoples, will be judged. They will be divided into 2 groups which in his story were defined as the sheep and the goats.
The sheep saw people in need and helped them but the goats did not and Jesus commended the sheep for what they did for the poor and needy, and regarded as self condemned the goats for what they had not done. Nothing about sexuality in that, but points we all need to ponder on.
THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR THE HOMOSEXUAL. ROMANS 1 18 - 32
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I want to begin this article by saying that God indeed loves everyone!
He loves every sinner with His unconditional love and He does not show partiality or impartiality in any way whatsoever. He is truly a loving God Who wants everyone to be saved and come to experience His mercy and grace.
Yet, He is also a righteous and holy God who requires and demands that anyone who carries His name must have a personal experience of salvation through grace which results in a dramatic transformation of life and character.
This means that whether a person is a homosexual, lesbian, adulterer, fornicator, thief, murderer, or any other kind of sinner, that person must repent of his or her sins, and have a dramatic change of his or her lifestyle.
You may remember that in John, Chapter eight, verses 1-11,
the Jewish Pharisees brought a woman taken in the very act of adultery and brought her and threw her at the feet of Jesus! They came with the intent of tricking Jesus into doing something contrary to the law as He would deal with this sinful woman. Yet, we discover that Jesus with the wisdom of God the Father, handled this situation in a marvellous way. He told the Pharisees that those that were without sin of their own to cast the first stone at this woman. Of course, because all of these accusers were sinners, they dared not throw the first stone. When no one would stand to accuse the woman, Jesus told the woman in verse 11, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
Therefore, Jesus set the great example for us to follow. Because of God’s unconditional love for sinners, we too are to love all people, but we are also to charge those who are living in sin to go and not continue a lifestyle of sin.
Thus, as we come to talk in this article about homosexuality, we must come with unconditional love for the homosexual and lesbian, but we are also to tell them that true repentance demands that they change their minds about the way they have been living and go and live a different lifestyle with the help of Jesus!
There is no such thing as repentance if the lifestyle is not changed, and if the lifestyle is not changed, there is no forgiveness because true forgiveness from God only comes in response to true repentance
Over the past several years, we have all been bombarded with the concept that homosexuality is correctly referred to as “being gay”. Yet, truthfully, the word gay dates all the way back to the fourteenth century when the word was given the definition of, “being merry”, “being happy”, “being lively”, and even “being bright”.
In other words the word had a very good meaning and I am certain that the word was never intended to characterize a perverted lifestyle that brings reproach on God our Creator, on the written Word of God, the sacredness of marriage and the family, and upon the dignity of human sexuality.
We must remember that God gave the gift of sex to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and it was primarily given for the procreation of the human race and the ultimate mysterious satisfaction between a man and his wife. And, this gift of sex was given within the environment where Adam and Eve had a personal relationship with God Himself.
Therefore, to twist and pervert this God given gift for a husband and wife by any means of sexual perversion is to demonstrate irreverent defiance for God as our Creator, and for His Divine and special plan for a husband and wife. And, as we are going to discuss in this article, homosexuality leads to a catastrophic judgement by God upon those who completely disregard His plan and Word about sexuality. And, it is very sad that most people who disregard God’s Divine plan in any area of life, usually ultimately bring about self-destruction in one form or another.
Now, I want us to take a serious look at what Paul the Apostle wrote to the Church at Rome and discover that although abusing oneself in sexual misbehaviour may provide a certain amount of satisfaction for a short period of time, we must remember that ultimately there will be nothing “gay” or happy about homosexuality.
It will ultimately only produce despair and devastation. It is my prayer that this article may be used by God to open the hearts and minds of those engaged in homosexuality, and also, those who may be presently being influenced by so called friends to go in that direction. And, the most tragic thing is that if a person doesn’t get saved and forgiven of a lifestyle of twisted perversion, that person will ultimately die without Jesus and spend eternity in hell separated from God and His love for ever.
I have often been asked the question, “Can a homosexual ever be saved?” The answer is yes, if that person who is engaged in homosexual behaviour will recognize that what he or she is doing is sin, and then repent of this behaviour as sin and by faith trust Christ himself or herself. But, if the person engaged in homosexuality continues in this lifestyle until he or she no longer believes that their behaviour is sin, then there will never be repentance, and without repentance, all shall perish.
Now, let’s try our best to take an objective look at the truth God has given us through the great Paul the Apostle and see what God is trying to show us about homosexuality
NOTICE FIRST THAT HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT GAY BECAUSE IT ORIGI- NATES WITH A REJECTED INTELLIGENCE. vs. 18-20
In the first part of Romans, Chapter One, Paul the apostle greets the Christians in Rome and he shares with them the importance of all men receiving the Gospel message of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then, from verse 18-32, in this chapter, Paul goes on to describe the ultimate results for those individuals who reject the Gospel message. The end results are not very pretty, but yet because of the hardness of some men’s hearts, they still insist on paying no attention to God or the truth from His Word, and they end up with destroyed lives and ultimately destroyed souls
In verses 18-20, I want us to take a look at why homosexuality does not produce a gay lifestyle and bring happiness to individuals who insist on this kind of perverted behaviour. Homosexuality originated with a rejected intelligence which in reality is complete foolishness. Let’s look at these three verses
A. This rejected intelligence includes the punishment of God. v. 18
In verse 18, Paul tell us that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against those
who choose to live in ungodliness and reject the truth that God demands righteousness. In other words, God is speaking to us through Paul and saying that if one insists on rejecting the truth of God about living a righteous life, that person is truthfully rejecting and trying to deny the fact that God will ultimately punish those who live in rebellion against Him. Of course, this is why so many people easily believe in the far fetched idea and theory of evolution. If people don’t want to answer to a righteous and holy God, then they must make themselves believe that there is no God, and that they don’t have to ultimately stand before Him to give an account. So, the primary reason that those who twist and pervert the plan of God for righteous behavior is that they won’t allow themselves to believe that God will one day punish them. But, let me say that just because someone doesn’t believe in God, or even in God one day holding them accountable for their behavior, doesn’t change the fact that a day of reckoning will come and every person will give an account unto God. So today, if you are trying to rationalize away your ultimate day of judgement, I plead with you to not make this foolish mistake because of your desire to live in ungodliness. God is truly the final judge, and you will one day believe tha
B. This rejected intelligence includes the provision of God. v. 19
If any person decides the he or she wants to live a life of debauchery and perversion, he or she will never be able to accurately say that they never knew better. Why? Because in this verse nineteen, the scripture says that God manifests His truth to every person and that person then must choose what to do with the truth. If that person rejects the truth because he or she wants to live an ungodly lifestyle, he or she has simply rejected the truth and light which God has provided.
Therefore, no one will ever be able to say that they didn’t know better because God will do everything necessary to reveal the truth of His Word to them. So, people who continue in the homosexual lifestyle have said no to the revealed truth of God.
And, because they have known the truth and yet, rejected it, their judgement will be greater. It is well for us to remember that we are not going to be judged for the amount of sin we commit, but we are going to be judged by the amount of light or truth we reject.
C. This rejected intelligence includes the power of God. v. 20
Have you ever heard a homosexual say, “Well, this is the way God made me, and therefore, I can’t help myself”? Thus, the homosexual rationalizes that since God made him or her this way, they should not even attempt to change. Beloved friend, this rationale is completely erroneous because in this verse, we are told that the God of all creation has revealed Himself in mighty power to every human being, and thus, every person is provided the power of a righteous God to overcome evil in his or her life. In fact, this verse tells us that God has provided Himself as the Father, also as the Son, and also the Holy Spirit of God to help every person overcome evil in his or her life. Therefore, there are no people that are excused or exempted from being guilty when they engage in a lifestyle that is blatantly contrary to the plan and desire of a righteous God.
I would like to stop here and say that God never has created or made a homosexual any more than He has made or created an adulterer or adulteress. God has made man to live righteously, but when a person chooses to disregard this plan of righteous living, then the ultimate result is a debauched life and eventually the judgement of God.
I would like, however to say, that some people are possibly born with a predisposition to becoming homosexuals, but they must make the choice to go in that direction. The same is true for one born with a predisposition to becoming a drunkard, but that person must choose to drink or he or she will never become an alcoholic. I wish that I had the time in this article to share many other things about the contributing factors to a predisposition to homosexuality, but space and time will not permit me to deal with this matter completely at this point.
However, I want to recommend a book written by Tim Lahaye, entitled, “What Everyone Should Know About Homosexuality.” I would strongly recommend that if you can’t read the entire book, that you read chapter four, entitled, “What Causes Homosexuality?” This chapter which includes pages 61-94, deals explicitly with what causes and contributes to a person choosing to become a homosexual. Every person that is struggling with the propensity to choose homosexuality should read this entire book and especially, this chapter four. And, I might say to all of the parents who have teenagers that are battling the choice toward a perverted lifestyle to also read this book carefully. If you can’t find this book in your book store, contact our Gateway International Office, and we will do our best to try to find a copy for you at a reasonable cost. This is one of the greatest books that has ever been written on homosexuality and is a must read in this generation of perversion and immorality.
So, we conclude this point by saying that if one gives in to the desire toward a homosexual lifestyle, it is only his or her fault and not God’s. Why? Because God has promised to give His power, His grace, and His mercy to overcome these evil propensities.
II. HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT GAY BECAUSE IT OPERATES WITH REBELLIOUS INSOLENCE. verses. 21-23
In the Book of First Samuel, Chapter 15, verse 23, the Bible says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” This verse tells us that God hates rebellion, and He categorizes rebellion as being an equivalent to witchcraft and idolatry. Therefore, when one rejects the truth and knowledge of God in his or her life, they are guilty of outright diabolical defiance of a righteous and Holy God. Therefore, they must be treated as one who is guilty of witchcraft and idolatry.
Thus, if a person insists on rebellion against God in the area of perverting God’s plan for human sexuality, that person will suffer the judgement of God like one who worships an idol. Of course the truth is, that one who rebels against God’s plan for sacred behaviour in the body has turned the body into an idol and instead of worshipping the Creator of the body, he or she now worships the creation instead of the Creator. This is a very serious matter before God!
I would like to add something right here that I have noticed and experienced in my many years of ministry trying to help homosexuals and lesbians. Not all, but almost all of these who are participating in a perverted lifestyle have a rebellious and non-teachable spirit. It is my fear that once a person reaches this point in his or her life, they have committed the unpardonable sin and God has turned them over to a reprobate mind. Thus, there is no hope for them once they have sinned away their day of grace because of their obstinate rebellion.
Now, let’s take a little more in-depth look at this rebellion and discover that rebellious people are never gay or happy. As a matter of fact, they are quite the opposite. They are usually on edge and they spend most of their lives on the defensive or even trying to cram their perverted lifestyle down the throats of heterosexual people. Thus, we see all over the world today, bitter and harsh people who are waiting for someone to offend them simply because of their gay lifestyle of rebellion.
A. This rebellious insolence includes living a life of praiselessness. vs. 21a
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In the first part of verse 21, we discover that when people reject the truth of the Gospel message, they end up living a life that never glorifies God in any capacity. And, if a person lives a life of thanklessness and praiselessness, that person will never be happy or gay. And truthfully, there can never be praise from a heart that is filled with wickedness and out right rebellion. Therefore, a praiseless heart will not be a happy heart! How can a person praise God when they are rejected and defying the God they say they want to praise?
I think this would be a good time for me to say that in this sick age in which we live, we are now seeing homosexual churches all over America and in many other parts of the world. But friend, I can assure you that although God loves these unlovely people, they will never experience His presence in their lives or in their churches until they repent and turn from their sins.
Therefore, a homosexual church is an evil church and should be considered as such, but not to be hated by others any more than we would hate a group of adulterers or adulteresses who got together and started their own church without stopping their evil lifestyles. Yes, we should feel sorry for these corrupt people, but we should not hate them. But, we should pray for them just in case some of them have not gone too far and sinned away their day of grace.
B. This rebellious insolence includes an attitude of pride. vs. 21b-22
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We now come to the major issue in this matter of homosexuality. When a person rebels against a righteous and Holy God and has no room for praise in his or her heart or life, then his or her human pride begins to swell and he or she becomes his or her own god in their own eyes.
Thus, we discover the root of the entire matter. When a person rejects the Divine plan of God for his or her life, then he or she becomes a god unto themselves and they no longer want anyone telling them what is right and wrong.
So, the proud bitterness grows and grows until they make absolute fools out of themselves. This is truly what we are seeing all across America and Britain today. Scores and scores of TV personalities, politicians, Hollywood actors and actresses, and many others are making absolute fools out of themselves by flaunting their homosexual lifestyles. But friends, they will ultimately pay a terrible price for their sins, either in this present world with AIDS or some other related disease, or in eternity when they stand before Jesus.
Please don’t be duped into believing that you will be the exception and miss the judgement of God. I assure you that no one has ever missed being held accountable by God, and no one ever will. If your pride is causing you to arrogantly flaunt your perverted lifestyle, why don’t you humble yourself and repent while there is still time. To fail to do so is to seal your doom forever!
Proverbs 16:18, says, “Pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
C. This rebellious insolence includes an addiction to paganism. v. 23
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Verse 23 is a profound verse in this chapter. What Paul is saying is that if a person rejects the truth of God which has been given to him, and he persists because of his pride of defiantly and blatantly rebelling against God, that he will continue down a pathway of sure paganism which results in living like animals. Therefore, a person who insists on living a lifestyle of obstinate rebellion against God will ultimately end up doing the most horrible and d**nable actions just like animals because when one rejects the truth of God Who will hold him accountable, then he does that which he rationalizes is right in his own eyes.
And, he capitulates to a lifestyle that is as immoral as the animals in the fields.
I would like to stop here and say that I have studied homosexual lifestyles for many years as I have tried to preach the truth about this subject, and I can tell you that some of the things I have read about that occur between lesbians and homosexuals are not worthy of repeating in this booklet.
Therefore, I refuse to give any publicity to the debauched behaviour of those who call themselves humans, but live and act worse than animals. The sad thing is that once a person starts down the road of rejecting God’s Divine plan for sexuality, there is no stopping him or her until they hit rock bottom. And then, it is usually too late for redeeming them because they no longer see their actions as sin, or their bodies are so riddled with disease that they can’t recover.
Let me stop right here and plead with those of you who still know that what you are doing is a sin against God, to stop the direction you are going, repent of your sins and turn to Jesus Who will lovingly forgive you and give you a new life before it is too late. Jesus is the only hope that you have! If you reject Him and his help, there will be no hope and no help!
III. HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT GAY BECAUSE IT DEGENERATES INTO RIOTOUS INDULGENCE. vs. 24-27 (Riotous means unrestrained)
I have been studying the Bible for over 50 years. And during my years of intense study of God’s Word, I have never seen anywhere in this blessed book where people who start on a downward path away from God ever change on their own or by their own power.
As a matter of fact, the longer a person progresses down the pathway running from God in rebellion, the more corrupt and debauched that person becomes. As we are told in Ephesians 2:1, the person who is unsaved is “dead in trespasses and sins:” In other words, the person who is unsaved is spiritually dead. And, we all know that there are no degrees of death, but there are degrees of decay the longer a person is dead. This is very true in the physical sense, and it is also true in the spiritual sense.
This is why it is so important for people to get saved and put their faith in Jesus while they are young before they live so long while being spiritually dead. The longer they are alive, but yet are spiritually dead, the more debauched and corrupt they become. This is what we find in verses 24-27. There is a process of degeneration the longer one is away from God.
And, in this process of degeneration, the individual becomes more and more indulgent in sin, and the sin this person commits become more and more gross the longer the person lives, unless this person repents and turns back to God. Let’s take a look at this degenerating lifestyle and see what God is trying to show us today. Please, please, pay attention because the truth found in these four verses could indeed save your life and eternal destiny.
Contact www.odb.org
Contact www.dunmowbaptist.org
and to remember that most Gay humans are as much against rape, abusing children, grooming, exploitation, hurting people as heterosexual people are.
There is a website worth considering alongside this article that gives the Gay Christian side of the case.
On Google type in
www.psa91.com/pdf/whatthebiblesays.pdf
What the Bible Says and Doesn't Say about Homosexuality is A 24-page booklet written by the Rev. Dr. Mel White that offers a biblical response to the question people often ask: “How can you consider yourself a Christian when you are also gay?
You should be able to download it.
Rev. Dr. Mel White contends that
The Biblical authors are silent about homosexual orientation as we know it today.
They neither approve it nor condemn it.Looking more closely at those Biblical texts used by
some people to condemn homosexuality, we are reminded that Jesus, the Jewish prophets and even Paul never even comment on the responsible love a gay man or lesbian feels for another.
The Bible is completely silent on the issue of homosexual orientation.
And no wonder. Homosexual orientation wasn’t even known until the 19th century.
We put this article on originally to emphasize that Gay people are as equally sinners as non-Gay people, and that all can be saved and reconciled with God, by and through Jesus Christ if they repent their sin and believe the Gospel.
Nor is it our job to judge and condemn people. Jesus came not to condemn humans, for we had already done that ourselves, but to save and liberate humans and reconcile us with our Creator God.
We too have to judge not lest we be judged, and remember that on the final Day of Judgement, the Just Judge who will judge us all, will be the Lamb of God, slain for the salvation of humans, Jesus Christ.
He has already told us how the nations, the peoples, will be judged. They will be divided into 2 groups which in his story were defined as the sheep and the goats.
The sheep saw people in need and helped them but the goats did not and Jesus commended the sheep for what they did for the poor and needy, and regarded as self condemned the goats for what they had not done. Nothing about sexuality in that, but points we all need to ponder on.
THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR THE HOMOSEXUAL. ROMANS 1 18 - 32
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I want to begin this article by saying that God indeed loves everyone!
He loves every sinner with His unconditional love and He does not show partiality or impartiality in any way whatsoever. He is truly a loving God Who wants everyone to be saved and come to experience His mercy and grace.
Yet, He is also a righteous and holy God who requires and demands that anyone who carries His name must have a personal experience of salvation through grace which results in a dramatic transformation of life and character.
This means that whether a person is a homosexual, lesbian, adulterer, fornicator, thief, murderer, or any other kind of sinner, that person must repent of his or her sins, and have a dramatic change of his or her lifestyle.
You may remember that in John, Chapter eight, verses 1-11,
the Jewish Pharisees brought a woman taken in the very act of adultery and brought her and threw her at the feet of Jesus! They came with the intent of tricking Jesus into doing something contrary to the law as He would deal with this sinful woman. Yet, we discover that Jesus with the wisdom of God the Father, handled this situation in a marvellous way. He told the Pharisees that those that were without sin of their own to cast the first stone at this woman. Of course, because all of these accusers were sinners, they dared not throw the first stone. When no one would stand to accuse the woman, Jesus told the woman in verse 11, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
Therefore, Jesus set the great example for us to follow. Because of God’s unconditional love for sinners, we too are to love all people, but we are also to charge those who are living in sin to go and not continue a lifestyle of sin.
Thus, as we come to talk in this article about homosexuality, we must come with unconditional love for the homosexual and lesbian, but we are also to tell them that true repentance demands that they change their minds about the way they have been living and go and live a different lifestyle with the help of Jesus!
There is no such thing as repentance if the lifestyle is not changed, and if the lifestyle is not changed, there is no forgiveness because true forgiveness from God only comes in response to true repentance
Over the past several years, we have all been bombarded with the concept that homosexuality is correctly referred to as “being gay”. Yet, truthfully, the word gay dates all the way back to the fourteenth century when the word was given the definition of, “being merry”, “being happy”, “being lively”, and even “being bright”.
In other words the word had a very good meaning and I am certain that the word was never intended to characterize a perverted lifestyle that brings reproach on God our Creator, on the written Word of God, the sacredness of marriage and the family, and upon the dignity of human sexuality.
We must remember that God gave the gift of sex to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and it was primarily given for the procreation of the human race and the ultimate mysterious satisfaction between a man and his wife. And, this gift of sex was given within the environment where Adam and Eve had a personal relationship with God Himself.
Therefore, to twist and pervert this God given gift for a husband and wife by any means of sexual perversion is to demonstrate irreverent defiance for God as our Creator, and for His Divine and special plan for a husband and wife. And, as we are going to discuss in this article, homosexuality leads to a catastrophic judgement by God upon those who completely disregard His plan and Word about sexuality. And, it is very sad that most people who disregard God’s Divine plan in any area of life, usually ultimately bring about self-destruction in one form or another.
Now, I want us to take a serious look at what Paul the Apostle wrote to the Church at Rome and discover that although abusing oneself in sexual misbehaviour may provide a certain amount of satisfaction for a short period of time, we must remember that ultimately there will be nothing “gay” or happy about homosexuality.
It will ultimately only produce despair and devastation. It is my prayer that this article may be used by God to open the hearts and minds of those engaged in homosexuality, and also, those who may be presently being influenced by so called friends to go in that direction. And, the most tragic thing is that if a person doesn’t get saved and forgiven of a lifestyle of twisted perversion, that person will ultimately die without Jesus and spend eternity in hell separated from God and His love for ever.
I have often been asked the question, “Can a homosexual ever be saved?” The answer is yes, if that person who is engaged in homosexual behaviour will recognize that what he or she is doing is sin, and then repent of this behaviour as sin and by faith trust Christ himself or herself. But, if the person engaged in homosexuality continues in this lifestyle until he or she no longer believes that their behaviour is sin, then there will never be repentance, and without repentance, all shall perish.
Now, let’s try our best to take an objective look at the truth God has given us through the great Paul the Apostle and see what God is trying to show us about homosexuality
NOTICE FIRST THAT HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT GAY BECAUSE IT ORIGI- NATES WITH A REJECTED INTELLIGENCE. vs. 18-20
In the first part of Romans, Chapter One, Paul the apostle greets the Christians in Rome and he shares with them the importance of all men receiving the Gospel message of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then, from verse 18-32, in this chapter, Paul goes on to describe the ultimate results for those individuals who reject the Gospel message. The end results are not very pretty, but yet because of the hardness of some men’s hearts, they still insist on paying no attention to God or the truth from His Word, and they end up with destroyed lives and ultimately destroyed souls
In verses 18-20, I want us to take a look at why homosexuality does not produce a gay lifestyle and bring happiness to individuals who insist on this kind of perverted behaviour. Homosexuality originated with a rejected intelligence which in reality is complete foolishness. Let’s look at these three verses
A. This rejected intelligence includes the punishment of God. v. 18
In verse 18, Paul tell us that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against those
who choose to live in ungodliness and reject the truth that God demands righteousness. In other words, God is speaking to us through Paul and saying that if one insists on rejecting the truth of God about living a righteous life, that person is truthfully rejecting and trying to deny the fact that God will ultimately punish those who live in rebellion against Him. Of course, this is why so many people easily believe in the far fetched idea and theory of evolution. If people don’t want to answer to a righteous and holy God, then they must make themselves believe that there is no God, and that they don’t have to ultimately stand before Him to give an account. So, the primary reason that those who twist and pervert the plan of God for righteous behavior is that they won’t allow themselves to believe that God will one day punish them. But, let me say that just because someone doesn’t believe in God, or even in God one day holding them accountable for their behavior, doesn’t change the fact that a day of reckoning will come and every person will give an account unto God. So today, if you are trying to rationalize away your ultimate day of judgement, I plead with you to not make this foolish mistake because of your desire to live in ungodliness. God is truly the final judge, and you will one day believe tha
B. This rejected intelligence includes the provision of God. v. 19
If any person decides the he or she wants to live a life of debauchery and perversion, he or she will never be able to accurately say that they never knew better. Why? Because in this verse nineteen, the scripture says that God manifests His truth to every person and that person then must choose what to do with the truth. If that person rejects the truth because he or she wants to live an ungodly lifestyle, he or she has simply rejected the truth and light which God has provided.
Therefore, no one will ever be able to say that they didn’t know better because God will do everything necessary to reveal the truth of His Word to them. So, people who continue in the homosexual lifestyle have said no to the revealed truth of God.
And, because they have known the truth and yet, rejected it, their judgement will be greater. It is well for us to remember that we are not going to be judged for the amount of sin we commit, but we are going to be judged by the amount of light or truth we reject.
C. This rejected intelligence includes the power of God. v. 20
Have you ever heard a homosexual say, “Well, this is the way God made me, and therefore, I can’t help myself”? Thus, the homosexual rationalizes that since God made him or her this way, they should not even attempt to change. Beloved friend, this rationale is completely erroneous because in this verse, we are told that the God of all creation has revealed Himself in mighty power to every human being, and thus, every person is provided the power of a righteous God to overcome evil in his or her life. In fact, this verse tells us that God has provided Himself as the Father, also as the Son, and also the Holy Spirit of God to help every person overcome evil in his or her life. Therefore, there are no people that are excused or exempted from being guilty when they engage in a lifestyle that is blatantly contrary to the plan and desire of a righteous God.
I would like to stop here and say that God never has created or made a homosexual any more than He has made or created an adulterer or adulteress. God has made man to live righteously, but when a person chooses to disregard this plan of righteous living, then the ultimate result is a debauched life and eventually the judgement of God.
I would like, however to say, that some people are possibly born with a predisposition to becoming homosexuals, but they must make the choice to go in that direction. The same is true for one born with a predisposition to becoming a drunkard, but that person must choose to drink or he or she will never become an alcoholic. I wish that I had the time in this article to share many other things about the contributing factors to a predisposition to homosexuality, but space and time will not permit me to deal with this matter completely at this point.
However, I want to recommend a book written by Tim Lahaye, entitled, “What Everyone Should Know About Homosexuality.” I would strongly recommend that if you can’t read the entire book, that you read chapter four, entitled, “What Causes Homosexuality?” This chapter which includes pages 61-94, deals explicitly with what causes and contributes to a person choosing to become a homosexual. Every person that is struggling with the propensity to choose homosexuality should read this entire book and especially, this chapter four. And, I might say to all of the parents who have teenagers that are battling the choice toward a perverted lifestyle to also read this book carefully. If you can’t find this book in your book store, contact our Gateway International Office, and we will do our best to try to find a copy for you at a reasonable cost. This is one of the greatest books that has ever been written on homosexuality and is a must read in this generation of perversion and immorality.
So, we conclude this point by saying that if one gives in to the desire toward a homosexual lifestyle, it is only his or her fault and not God’s. Why? Because God has promised to give His power, His grace, and His mercy to overcome these evil propensities.
II. HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT GAY BECAUSE IT OPERATES WITH REBELLIOUS INSOLENCE. verses. 21-23
In the Book of First Samuel, Chapter 15, verse 23, the Bible says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” This verse tells us that God hates rebellion, and He categorizes rebellion as being an equivalent to witchcraft and idolatry. Therefore, when one rejects the truth and knowledge of God in his or her life, they are guilty of outright diabolical defiance of a righteous and Holy God. Therefore, they must be treated as one who is guilty of witchcraft and idolatry.
Thus, if a person insists on rebellion against God in the area of perverting God’s plan for human sexuality, that person will suffer the judgement of God like one who worships an idol. Of course the truth is, that one who rebels against God’s plan for sacred behaviour in the body has turned the body into an idol and instead of worshipping the Creator of the body, he or she now worships the creation instead of the Creator. This is a very serious matter before God!
I would like to add something right here that I have noticed and experienced in my many years of ministry trying to help homosexuals and lesbians. Not all, but almost all of these who are participating in a perverted lifestyle have a rebellious and non-teachable spirit. It is my fear that once a person reaches this point in his or her life, they have committed the unpardonable sin and God has turned them over to a reprobate mind. Thus, there is no hope for them once they have sinned away their day of grace because of their obstinate rebellion.
Now, let’s take a little more in-depth look at this rebellion and discover that rebellious people are never gay or happy. As a matter of fact, they are quite the opposite. They are usually on edge and they spend most of their lives on the defensive or even trying to cram their perverted lifestyle down the throats of heterosexual people. Thus, we see all over the world today, bitter and harsh people who are waiting for someone to offend them simply because of their gay lifestyle of rebellion.
A. This rebellious insolence includes living a life of praiselessness. vs. 21a
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In the first part of verse 21, we discover that when people reject the truth of the Gospel message, they end up living a life that never glorifies God in any capacity. And, if a person lives a life of thanklessness and praiselessness, that person will never be happy or gay. And truthfully, there can never be praise from a heart that is filled with wickedness and out right rebellion. Therefore, a praiseless heart will not be a happy heart! How can a person praise God when they are rejected and defying the God they say they want to praise?
I think this would be a good time for me to say that in this sick age in which we live, we are now seeing homosexual churches all over America and in many other parts of the world. But friend, I can assure you that although God loves these unlovely people, they will never experience His presence in their lives or in their churches until they repent and turn from their sins.
Therefore, a homosexual church is an evil church and should be considered as such, but not to be hated by others any more than we would hate a group of adulterers or adulteresses who got together and started their own church without stopping their evil lifestyles. Yes, we should feel sorry for these corrupt people, but we should not hate them. But, we should pray for them just in case some of them have not gone too far and sinned away their day of grace.
B. This rebellious insolence includes an attitude of pride. vs. 21b-22
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We now come to the major issue in this matter of homosexuality. When a person rebels against a righteous and Holy God and has no room for praise in his or her heart or life, then his or her human pride begins to swell and he or she becomes his or her own god in their own eyes.
Thus, we discover the root of the entire matter. When a person rejects the Divine plan of God for his or her life, then he or she becomes a god unto themselves and they no longer want anyone telling them what is right and wrong.
So, the proud bitterness grows and grows until they make absolute fools out of themselves. This is truly what we are seeing all across America and Britain today. Scores and scores of TV personalities, politicians, Hollywood actors and actresses, and many others are making absolute fools out of themselves by flaunting their homosexual lifestyles. But friends, they will ultimately pay a terrible price for their sins, either in this present world with AIDS or some other related disease, or in eternity when they stand before Jesus.
Please don’t be duped into believing that you will be the exception and miss the judgement of God. I assure you that no one has ever missed being held accountable by God, and no one ever will. If your pride is causing you to arrogantly flaunt your perverted lifestyle, why don’t you humble yourself and repent while there is still time. To fail to do so is to seal your doom forever!
Proverbs 16:18, says, “Pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
C. This rebellious insolence includes an addiction to paganism. v. 23
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Verse 23 is a profound verse in this chapter. What Paul is saying is that if a person rejects the truth of God which has been given to him, and he persists because of his pride of defiantly and blatantly rebelling against God, that he will continue down a pathway of sure paganism which results in living like animals. Therefore, a person who insists on living a lifestyle of obstinate rebellion against God will ultimately end up doing the most horrible and d**nable actions just like animals because when one rejects the truth of God Who will hold him accountable, then he does that which he rationalizes is right in his own eyes.
And, he capitulates to a lifestyle that is as immoral as the animals in the fields.
I would like to stop here and say that I have studied homosexual lifestyles for many years as I have tried to preach the truth about this subject, and I can tell you that some of the things I have read about that occur between lesbians and homosexuals are not worthy of repeating in this booklet.
Therefore, I refuse to give any publicity to the debauched behaviour of those who call themselves humans, but live and act worse than animals. The sad thing is that once a person starts down the road of rejecting God’s Divine plan for sexuality, there is no stopping him or her until they hit rock bottom. And then, it is usually too late for redeeming them because they no longer see their actions as sin, or their bodies are so riddled with disease that they can’t recover.
Let me stop right here and plead with those of you who still know that what you are doing is a sin against God, to stop the direction you are going, repent of your sins and turn to Jesus Who will lovingly forgive you and give you a new life before it is too late. Jesus is the only hope that you have! If you reject Him and his help, there will be no hope and no help!
III. HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT GAY BECAUSE IT DEGENERATES INTO RIOTOUS INDULGENCE. vs. 24-27 (Riotous means unrestrained)
I have been studying the Bible for over 50 years. And during my years of intense study of God’s Word, I have never seen anywhere in this blessed book where people who start on a downward path away from God ever change on their own or by their own power.
As a matter of fact, the longer a person progresses down the pathway running from God in rebellion, the more corrupt and debauched that person becomes. As we are told in Ephesians 2:1, the person who is unsaved is “dead in trespasses and sins:” In other words, the person who is unsaved is spiritually dead. And, we all know that there are no degrees of death, but there are degrees of decay the longer a person is dead. This is very true in the physical sense, and it is also true in the spiritual sense.
This is why it is so important for people to get saved and put their faith in Jesus while they are young before they live so long while being spiritually dead. The longer they are alive, but yet are spiritually dead, the more debauched and corrupt they become. This is what we find in verses 24-27. There is a process of degeneration the longer one is away from God.
And, in this process of degeneration, the individual becomes more and more indulgent in sin, and the sin this person commits become more and more gross the longer the person lives, unless this person repents and turns back to God. Let’s take a look at this degenerating lifestyle and see what God is trying to show us today. Please, please, pay attention because the truth found in these four verses could indeed save your life and eternal destiny.
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