Homosexuality and the Bible

Matthew Vines wrote an article to reconcile the two. Let's see if it holds up to scrutiny. Check out the original article here:

Matthew Vines article

So, Matthew Vines comes out as a homosexual and then sets out on a quest to justify his sin rather than repent of it. Nothing new there. But he claims some success in convincing family and church members that are close to him.

I guess the time is ripe for that, as the Gay Agenda marches on, intent on cramming this down our throat until it is considered normal, mocking and bullying anyone who would disagree and hold to the biblical worldview.

He claims there are six relevant passages, and then attempts to twist the meaning of each one so that he can make the claim that homosexuality is not condemned as sin in the Bible.

Here's a better article on the subject: CARM Bible and Homosexuality

But let's deal with Matthew Vines' article.
For the first one he cites the story of Sodom (where we get the word sodomy from today) and Gomorrah. He doesn't reference the actual passage, however. He simply tells it in his own words and then goes to Ezekiel 16:49 for a summary that he likes better.

Let's look at that one first.

Ezekiel 16:49-50
"Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.
50 "They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it."

I notice that Mr Vines left out verse 50, the very next verse. I wonder why. I wonder what abomination it is speaking of, and haughtiness...like a Pride Parade perhaps?

Let's go all the way back to Genesis to get the full story in context. I suspect there is a clear reason that Matthew Vines chose to take another passage completely, instead of the original detailed account.

Genesis 19 isn't just about a "threatened gang rape". All of the men of the city came, young and old, ALL of them. And when they were struck blind by the angels, they still did not give up, groping around, trying to find the door in order to get to those men!

I would like to think that if I were struck blind, my priorities might change at that point and I would go home. Not so with these men who were so intent upon raping these strangers.

Anyway, read Genesis 19 for yourself, in context, and determine what is being taught. I don't think it's difficult to discern.

Next up, he goes to Leviticus 18:22, which seems quite clear. I guess that's why he just glosses over it, dismissing it by claiming that other OT laws given to the Israelites are now obsolete because Jesus fulfilled this law.

What? Is he saying that Jesus died so I could continue in my sin? I don't think so. You'll be hard pressed to find a verse that says that.

Then he briefly mentions Hebrews 8:13 and Romans 10:4 in an attempt to disregard the verses he doesn't like, claiming the Old Testament law is invalid today.

Maybe this is a good place to look at the OT law, the division of the law and how it pertains today. John MacArthur explains it nicely in the notes of his study Bible:

The Law can be divided into three categories: Moral, Civil, and Ceremonial.

The Ceremonial Laws (animal sacrifices, the Sabbath, etc) were pointing us to a coming Messiah, and so this aspect of the Mosaic Law has been set aside, fulfilled in Christ.

Colossians 2:14-17 l
"having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."

The Civil Laws were written to a specific people at a specific time and specific place. The basic responsibility for the civil aspect, showing the application of the moral Law in a community, has been transferred to human government.

Romans 13:1
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."

The Moral Law finds its basis in the character of God and is presented in outline form in the Ten Commandments. It still stands and applies to our lives now, having never been revoked or abolished, but finds its authority in the New Covenant.

Every unbeliever is still under its requirement of perfection and its condemnation, until he comes to Christ, and every believer still finds in it the standard for behavior.

Romans 8:3-4
"For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

Normally, unbelievers like to quote the most obscure Ceremonial or old Civil Laws, but the real problem they have concerns the Moral Law and submission to the Lord.

Matthew Vines would do well to dig a bit deeper, with a good study Bible like MacArthur's.

However, Mr Vines instead mentions Romans 1:26-27, attempting to minimize the issue by making the claim that Paul was really talking about lust, not homosexuality in itself. Nice try.

Next, he again goes into a completely different subject in an attempt to discredit the topic of homosexuality by using a verse about the length of men's hair (1 Corinthians 11:14). Mr Vines seems to think that if we don't hold to this one, then we can ignore other parts of the Bible, as if it were the same thing.

In answer to this, simply read through the MacArthur quote again in order to discern how the Law is divided into three sections.

Finally, Vines makes the assertion of the "last two likely references" regarding homosexuality from the New Testament. However, he doesn't quote them or even give the references.

Rather, he gives a broad, sweeping assessment that these verses were never talking about homosexuality as "committed, monogamous relationships." He claims "the Bible never addresses the issues of sexual orientation or same-sex marriage"

Well, this is because "sexual orientation" isn't something real. It's simply a preference, a choice, and the Bible clearly condemns it as sinful without the need of each individual instance of it.

Homosexuality is called an abomination, period. It doesn't matter if it's prostitution, rape, or a "committed relationship", the act itself is sin, regardless of any attempts to justify it.

I wonder if Matthew Vines meant to reference 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 in his general summary. It's worth looking at.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV
"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."

Do you see how this one breaks out the "sexually immoral" as well as "homosexuality"? This pretty much kills his idea that Paul was only talking about lust and excess in Romans 1:26-27.

Sexually immoral covers lust and excess, and yet, homosexuality is listed as it's own separate subject here. No wonder he didn't quote this one or even reference it.

This one verse in the New Testament completely destroys his entire argument. Case closed.

Soli Deo Gloria

Hope Through Tragedy

When I first heard that one of the 19 firefighters killed in the Yarnell tragedy was originally from MT (my home state), I found it interesting. Not a lot of people come from MT to live in AZ. But then a prayer request came through my church’s prayer chain that mentioned this guy, too. His family doesn’t live in Phoenix, or go to church at Shiloh, but somehow, there was a connection through another person, and through another and it ended up in our daily prayer request. I asked if I could share it, and was given the ok, so here it is:

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This note is from Steve DeFord. Read how the Lord works in all ways in all times. "Many of you may already be aware that the entire Granite Hotshot crew perished in the fire near Prescott. Our son Dustin was a member of that crew. Our hearts are filled with sorrow, but not without hope. About a week ago Dustin had a rather unusual opportunity to share the gospel with most of the crew for about two hours during some down time. We believe that Dustin was there for this time. In Eternity we will get to meet any who may have called on the name of the Lord in those last moments. "
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This intrigued me, so I looked up more information on Dustin DeFord, and found that his father, Steve, is the missionary pastor of the First Baptist Church of Ekalaka in MT and a long time member of IFCA International (Independent Fundamental Churches of America), which I hadn’t heard of before.

The Billings Gazette wrote about his family and mentioned a Facebook post that he had made, regarding how he found himself in AZ, when he would rather to have worked in Western MT: “My life is proof that God wants to use me — starting now.”

Despite enjoying his work as a firefighter (with his father and four of his brothers also being firefighters), his sister Becky said that he was interested in going into full time Christian service. He had studied at Cornerstone Bible Institute in SD and had worked as a missionary, and frequently talked about his religious beliefs.

Regardless of what those 18 other firefighters may have thought, or what worldview they may have held to, they had time to contemplate the words that Dustin had given them a week earlier, prior to their tragic deaths.

In church this morning, one of the application questions was, “What legacy will you leave? What do you want on your epitaph?” (in reference to the differences in King Ahaz [2 Kings 16:2-4], and his son Hezekiah in their leadership and the legacy each left behind). I had already begun writing this blog article, and that question fell right in with it. This is how I want to be remembered - doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

I feel that our country is under God’s judgment right now, as it draws closer to legalizing same sex marriage in all the states, calling it “equality and tolerance”, as our nation continues to kill unborn children, attempting to rationalize it as a “choice”, while our president says, “God bless Planned Parenthood” – the leading abortion provider in America (Isaiah 5:20). This is where we are as a country that has continued to reject God, His Laws, and even any mention of Him in public. We are under judgment and drawing ever closer to the time we will suffer the wrath of God.

Amidst all of this, Dustin DeFord was faithful, having witnessed to the people on his team just a week prior to this tragedy.

This is more difficult than it sounds. Only 2% of professed Christians in America share their faith. Too many professed Christians today don’t know how to share their faith, they are too afraid, or simply don’t think it’s their responsibility, or maybe they are too worried about what others might think. Still others may not be true believers at all, but false converts, with fear or the worries of this world taking precedence over the Gospel (see the Parable of the Sower, Mark 4:1-19).

Also in our outline from church this morning:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” - James 1:22-25

Many in this country hear the Word, but few actually act on it, very few are doers of the Word that they hear. This reminds me of another verse, about a wide and narrow path (Matt 7:13-14).

We have a small team that goes out to Mill Ave every Saturday night to witness to the lost, per the Great Commission (Acts 10:42, Matt 28:19-20, Mark 16:15). We also host free training courses in evangelism (the next one will be the last Saturday in August), for those who want to become equipped to be able to share their faith with others.

Be an obedient doer of the Word, not a hearer only. Don’t be like a man who looks in the mirror, turns around and forgets what he looks like.
How will you be remembered? How does God see you? Men like Dustin DeFord inspire me to continue doing what is right in the eyes of God, for every one of us will face Him one day and be held accountable for the thoughts, words and deeds that we have done on this earth. Be ready.

Soli Deo Gloria

Leopard's Spots

I am neither afraid of homosexuals, nor do I hate them. What I am sick of is this whole homosexual agenda being constantly crammed down my throat. I am considered a narrow minded, judgmental bigot because I believe what the Bible says on the subject, and no one seems to notice the narrow minded, judgmental bigotry against Christian beliefs these days. Can you say hypocrites?

The comparison of homosexuality and racism is really annoying. Does this not offend anyone who has personally dealt with racism before? It's nowhere near the same thing. A person's sexual preference does not necessarily have to be shoved in everyone's face publically, while a race or skin color is a physical difference that is readily apparent. The Bible tells us this - "can a leopard change it's spots, or an Ethiopian change his skin color?" Of course not. But can a man turn from an abominable sin and stop committing it? Sure, when that person is saved by Jesus Christ.

The homosexual agenda is not about "rights" so much as it is about special benefits and attempting to make everyone else accept this deviant behavior as normal. But it is not, and as a Christian who holds to a Biblical worldview, I will not change my mind on that. This doesn't mean that I hate gays or lesbians, and it certainly doesn't mean that I condone them being beaten or mistreated. Nor does it mean that they deserve special rights for their particular sin, either. We don't have "adultery pride" parades, and although society as a whole tends to overlook the sin of fornication, it is not crammed down everyone's throat.

The reason the homosexual agenda is gaining momentum with the general heterosexual population is simply sin. No one wants to point out the sins of homosexuality, lest their own sexual sins of fornication and adultery be brought up. Or their lust for power and greed of money or overindulgence in pleasures and food. America's population as a whole is obese both physically and spiritually, due to lack of exercise and spiritual discernment. Gluttony prevails and laziness wins out in the American heart, we wouldn't want to jeopardize our comfortable lifestyles by bringing up the nasty little three letter word of sin, would we?

Our churches promise our hearts desire, and we greedily flock to hear the prosperity gospel, overlooking how blessed we already are. Our insatiable appetite for the finer things is never quenched, as we trample others to get more than we can ever need or use in our lifetime. We can hardly judge anyone else's sins when our own lives are chock full of it. And anyone who would dare realize this and bring it up in public must immediately be shut down, ridiculed and silenced. If they won't be silenced, they must at least be mocked to the point that no one will listen to them.

So here we are today in America, Christians are now called hateful, dangerous bigots, while we accept the murderous ideals of Islam. Atheism provides the new religion of Darwinian Evolution masquerading as "science" and anyone who is brave enough to point out the inconsistencies and lack of proof is quickly shot down as some uneducated, myth believing, flat earth fool with no sense whatsoever.

With abortion killing our unborn children for convenience and profit, God being mocked and any mention of Him no longer allowed in class rooms, and erasing and re-writing any history of God in the foundation of our country, how could we not be under His judgment at this very time? And then people have the audacity to ask why God would allow bad things to happen in our country. Look around, figure it out. Read your Bible and see history repeat itself as we learn nothing from the Israelites past in rejecting God and facing judgment time and time again. The only real surprise is, why are we so blind?

Couple Banned from Foster Care due to Christian Beliefs

LINK
This couple has been barred from foster care due to their refusal to compromise their Christian beliefs regarding homosexuality in Britain.  Seriously?  Now Christian values are making people unfit to raise children?

Wow, this stuff is getting out of hand.  How long before we have a similar situation here in the States? 

Making Sense of Christianity

Many have a mistaken idea of what Christianity is. From televangelists with rolexes begging for money on TV every week, to the "prosperity gospel" messages, to Benny Hinn's crazy antics, to cults claiming the name of Christ, to hypocrites, false teachers and deceivers, to the power hungry Catholic church, it's no wonder people are confused. It's a mess out there, but our God is not a God of confusion, so let's sort through it all and see if we can figure out what a true Christian belief is.

In my experience, I've found that a lot of people have a warped sense of who God is, due to incorrect preaching that they've heard and/or creating a god in their own mind from their own thoughts, which is called idolatry. I am guilty of that one myself before I understood Christianity.

Here are some thoughts:

"We're all God's children"
"He created us this way"
"You can believe in evolution and the Bible"
"All religions lead to the same place"
"God is so loving that He'll eventually let everyone into heaven"
"God would just be evil and mean to send anyone to hell"
"We all have freewill"

These are all false, idolatrous ideas of what God like. The one true God has revealed Himself to us through His Word, the 66 books of the Bible, anything else is guesswork at best, and most likely, our own attempt to justify our selfishness by creating a god for ourselves - whether we accept or reject that made-up god.
So, let jump into the objections.

"We're all God's children"

This is a common belief because God is the Creator of all, but these words are not found in the Bible. Actually, quite the opposite. Some are children of the devil (John 8:44).

It is only through Jesus Christ that we can be made adopted children of God, prior to that we are children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3).

"He created us this way"

While it is true that God created the first people the way that they were, and it was good, we have become corrupted and now live in a fallen world under the curse of sin. Being created the way that we are does not give us the right to do anything we want to. The Bible calls us to endure, persevere and overcome, not embrace our flaws. Anyone who has children can understand this, can't they? Do you allow your children to eat whatever they want or do you prepare meals that are good for them, even though they might not understand why? Do you let them do whatever they want to, or do you lead and teach them to make disciplined decisions later in life? In the same way (but on a much greater scale), we need guidance for our own good.

"You can believe in evolution and the Bible"

The two are simply incompatible. The Bible clearly states that all animals reproduce after their own kind. This means that giraffes give birth to giraffes and monkeys to monkeys and nothing turns into anything else, no matter how much time has elapsed.
Darwinian evolution seems to teach that large amounts of time are the magic ingredient to life and changing life forms, but it makes no sense. Many believe it and point to their evidence to support their beliefs, but I am not here to get into all of that. I am simply stating that you cannot believe in both, they are contradictory.

"All religions lead to the same place"

In a sense this is true, all paths lead to the same place - the judgment seat of Christ. It's where you go from there that's going to make all the difference in eternity. Religions are all alike, every one of them is works-based. That means that you've got to do something to reach toward God, something you have to do in order to appease Him for your salvation.
But Christianity is not a religion. It's a relationship with Jesus Christ, following Him and His teachings. Christianity teaches that you cannot earn your way, there are no works you could do to get you there. In His great love for us, He provided a way, and there is no other. If you believe you can do something to earn your way into heaven, you will never see it, because it is impossible to get there by your own merit.
Now, Christians do good works, but not as a means of salvation. They do them out of gratitude for the undeserved grace and love that has been given them, in a desire to be like Him, even though we will always fall short this side of heaven.

One last thought to consider: If there was any other way that you or I could get into heaven through our own works in some sort of religious ritual, then Jesus Christ died in vain. There would have been absolutely no reason for Him to die for our sins.

"God is so loving that He'll eventually let everyone into heaven"

Here's another common one, but actually the opposite is true. God is just and cannot allow wickedness in His presence. Every time God's love is mentioned in Scripture, it is mentioned in conjunction with the sacrifice on the cross. That is the expression of His great love, that He actually took the punishment for us. Reject that, and you face His righteous judgment.

Let's put it another way. Let's say you go home today to find your entire family slaughtered. You see the murderer wringing the life out of the last victim as you arrive, the police show up, apprehend the killer and take him into custody.
When the trial day comes, the man says to the judge, "Judge, I know I raped and killed that family and that it was wrong to do so. I'm truly sorry and will never do anything like that again if you'll just let me go free."
How would you feel, if the judge said, "Well, I am a loving judge, you can go home to your family."

Would justice be done by letting him go? Of course not. If he were a just judge, he might say, "Of course it was wrong and you should be sorry, but the fine must be paid in order for justice to be served."

You see, God is not ONLY loving to the exclusion of all His other attributes. He is holy, righteous and just. His love is shown to us in the cross of Jesus Christ.

"God would just be evil and mean to send anyone to hell"

This kind of goes with the previous one, doesn't it? We normally attempt to trivialize our own sins and claim that an eternal punishment for such a small infraction would be unjust. That's what makes men such hypocrites.

Let's try this analogy:
If I were to tell a lie to my dog, there wouldn't really be any consequences. If I tell a lie to my children, I might feel guilty for a while. If I tell a lie to my wife, I may end up sleeping on the couch. If I tell a lie to the police, I could be arrested. If I tell a lie to a judge, I could be jailed.
Do you see? The same infraction, yet escalating consequences as the level of authority goes up. And there is no higher authority than the eternal God.

If you see a news story that a man broke the law and got a small fine, you know that it must not have been too great of a crime. But if the news says that a man received 3 consecutive life sentences, you know it was a far greater crime.
We may think that our little sins are no big deal, but God sees them as a huge deal, as can be seen from the punishment. The punishment is eternal because we've sinned against an eternal God, and you can see how seriously He takes that transgression against Him by the punishment given for it.

Once you can understand that every one of us deserves hell for our law breaking and rebellion against our Creator, only then can we begin to comprehend the great love He has for us in providing salvation through the sacrifice given at the cross. Then you can begin to grasp the true meaning and it can make sense, whether you agree or still reject it.

"We all have freewill"

This is a tough one and many great theologians are divided on their understanding of this issue. But I've recently heard something that helped it make sense for me.
If you take a lion and offer him a slab of raw meat and a nice salad, which one would he choose? You can predict this pretty easily, he will take the raw meat every time. Why? Because that's his nature. We don't have to be psychic to figure that out!

In the same way, we humans have a fallen, sinful nature. Left to ourselves, we will choose sin every time because that is our nature. Only when God reaches out to us, changes our heart and nature can we even begin to choose anything different. It is solely through Him that we can have salvation, so that none can boast.

We can make choices, and we have a will, but it is not a free will. We are all enslaved either to our sinful nature or we submit to the Lord, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We give our lives to Him for freedom from the bondage of sin.