Expositional preaching is empowered preaching that rightfully submits the shape and emphasis of the sermon to the shape and emphasis of a biblical text. In that way it brings out of the text what the Holy Spirit put there…and does not put into the text what the preacher thinks might be there.
David Helm

Why God Says No To Homosexualit

Why God Says No To Homosexualit

Why God Says “No” To Homosexuality

When I was involved in homosexual activity in the military, I saw and experienced a lot of the misery and emptiness, as well as the emotional and sensual pleasures that go with the gay life. Eventually, my guilt became too great and, seeing my need for a Saviour, I gave my life to Jesus. I obeyed God in submitting my gay thoughts and activities to Him because He said, “No!”. But I could not understand why this form of love was wrong. Why did He punish those who expressed homosexual love?

It was out of blind obedience that I followed God’s Word. At that point, I would have gladly returned to the homosexual life if He would allow it. Obedience has brought wisdom and in the passing of time in my walk with the Lord, He has taught me many things about His character. He has opened my eyes to the natural consequences of sin — consequences that we bring on ourselves when we fail to trust in Him. He knows and wants what is best for us. He also knows what will bring us destruction.

God’s View Of Homosexuality.

God does not look at homosexuality as the worst sin. But at the same time, it is a very serious sin, because of its widespread consequences of destruction in an individual’s life. Homosexuality is not just a surface behaviour; it involves the entire person. God wants us to understand our sins. He wants His light to shine through Satan’s smoke-screen. “Only know, understand and acknowledge your inequity and guilt…” (Jeremiah 3:13).

God’s Three-Fold Release.

God has given each of us a free will. He allows us to choose our actions, and will not force us against our will. The first chapter of Romans tells of those who chose homosexual activities. We are told that God “gave them up” or “let them go” in three areas because they were in rebellion:

  1. He gave them up to the lusts (desires) of their own hearts (verse 24).
  2. He gave them up to vile affections and degrading passions (verse 26).
  3. He gave them over to a base and condemned (reprobate) mind (verse 28).

The Three-Fold Result.

As men and women rebelled and left God’s divine plan for their sexuality, destruction came upon these people in three areas. These self-inflicted wounds involved three exchanges:

% “they exchanged (deliberately chose) the truth of God for a lie” (Romans 1:25). Discovering truth and error is a process of the mind. Destruction came about in the mental or intellectual part of them. There came about a distortion in their thinking processes.

% they “exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural”, Romans 1:26. Their bodies were used for sexual activities which God never intended them to partake of. This resulted in physical destruction.

% they also “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man…” (Romans 1:23). The worship of God was replaced by a worship of man. Worship is a function of the inner man, and so spiritual destruction began to occur, the worst devastation of all.

So participation in homosexual activities has spiritual, mental and physical consequences. I would like to examine more closely each of these different affects of homosexuality, in order to deepen our understanding of why God has wisely said “no” to this distorted expression of “love”.

The Intellectual Consequences

“They exchanged (deliberately chose) the truth for a lie… Therefore, He gave them over to a base and condemned (reprobate) mind.” Romans 1:25,28.

As we were growing up, we learned deceptions of God’s truth. We were fed wrong messages and distorted images. Some of us were victims of physical or mental abuse. So we chose a way of thinking and acting which seemed secure, that would offer us protection from our fears and vulnerabilities. Others of us knew what was right, but chose instead to meet our basic and God-given needs of love, acceptance, and self-worth in our own ungodly ways. At some point, each of us comes to the knowledge that our actions are against God’s ways. But having already accepted the deceptions and feeling security from them, we usually have difficulty being honest with ourselves in acknowledging the truth. Instead, we hold onto our old secure way of thinking, continuing to accept the lies of Satan.

Spiritual Blindness.

Once the deceptions are accepted, an individual becomes more and more blinded to the truth. He or she starts questioning authority, including God’s authority. As this person accepts less and less of the truth, be begins to write his own “Bible” and so becomes his own authority.

Because a person seeks to justify his own ways, he becomes rebellious towards God and His plan. The rebellion and increased pride cause him to become foolish and futile in his thinking. “…when they knew and recognized Him as the God, they did not honour and glorify Him as God, or give Him thanks. But, instead they became futile and godless in their thinking — with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations — and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools — professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves.” (Romans 1:21,22).

As a person sells out to the lies of Satan, the mind comes into a state of confusion as to what is really right or wrong. Many people who contact us are in this mass web of confusion. A few are even on the brink of insanity, and all are desperately seeking to understand their situation. The confusion, rebellion, pride, and foolish thinking cause the individual to protect and justify his thoughts and actions. In doing this, he becomes bitter towards the truth and hateful towards God.

“They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent haughty, boastful inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them.” (Romans 1:29-30).

Accepting Satan’s deceptions makes us slaves in bondage to our sins. When we mentally accept the enemy’s lies, we are his slave in that area of our life. “Whoever commits and practices sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34b).

In Summary.

God tells us not to become involved in homosexuality because of the consequences of mental destruction in our lives. This distortion makes people become slaves in bondage to their sin, leads to mental and emotional confusion, a questioning of authority, hatred towards God, rebellion, pride, becoming one’s own god and thinking in futile and godless ways.

Jesus is Truth. It is impossible for Him to lie. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Sometimes, we cannot see the truth or the wisdom in the things God tells us to do. But we need to trust Him, to believe that He wants the very best for us. As we renounce the deceptions that we have accepted (the ways of thinking that do not reflect God’s truth), and as we stand firmly on His Word, God has promised to give us freedom and the abundant, victorious life that He desires for each one of us.

The Physical Consequences

“…they exchanged the natural (God’s original intention) for the unnatural.” Romans 1:26.

There are physical consequences when a person engages in sexual immorality. The Bible reminds us that we, as Christians, are the dwelling place of God’s Spirit. He no longer dwells in buildings, as in the Old Testament days. “Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.” (I Corinthians. 6:18). Our body is no longer our own. It is His sanctuary, and it is not to be polluted with unnatural sexual activities.

God’s view

In the Mosaic law, God tells how He sees the homosexual act. He calls it “an abomination” (Leviticus 18;22), which means perverse, unnatural, abhorrent, and detestable. God hates this sin because He knows the results it brings into the life of the person who indulges in it. He loves each of us too much to remain silent in warning us against homosexuality’s destruction.

Diseases.

The gay subculture has long been a breeding-ground for venereal infections, particularly among males. Nearly 50 percent of men with active syphilis are gay. Some forms of herpes (which is incurable) are almost universally present in the promiscuous gay communities of larger cities. In the past two years, there has been a dramatic increase in the physical havoc wrought by homosexual activities. Cases of acquired immunodeficiency (labeled “AIDS” for short) are rising rapidly. Virus infections occur which severely damage the white blood cells, the primary defense system of the body. Once this disease-fighting protection is gone. the body is open to attack by bacteria, fungi, and deadly viruses. Pneumonia, cancer and other fatal consequences often follow. One example is Kaposi’s sarcoma, a previously rare form of cancer which turned up in 1979 among gays. Today, new cases are appearing weekly. It is often fatal. Yes, there are serious physical results which can occur from engaging in sexual activities which God has forbidden.

Enslavement.

“God gave them up to the lusts of their own heart.” (Romans 1:24). When we give in to lust (even one time), we begin to increase our sensuous desires. It is like a small flame that has been lit. As this fire is fed, it grows larger and larger. It demands more of our time and energy to be satisfied. Eventually, these physical appetites can become like a fire out of control — they become unquenchable. When we are submitted to God, He controls these sexual desires. When we turn from God, these passions control us. Because these desires cannot be filled in a godly way, they become a source of frustration and nonfulfillment in our lives. This affects every aspect of our life, including all our relationships. The unhappiness and tension within can produce such symptoms as headaches, ulcers and chronic insomnia. God intended for our sexual desires to serve us, not for us to become enslaved to them.

Other Results.

Paul summarizes the results of homosexual involvement: “…suffering in their bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty for their wrongdoing and going astray, which was their fitting retribution.” (Romans 1:27). For so many, participating in the gay subculture leads to other physical destruction, because of involvement with drugs and alcohol.

Provision.

God provides for us. He understands our physical needs and desires — He created them. He said, “It is not good that the man should live alone” (Genesis. 2:18) and so He formed a woman from the rib of Adam. Marriage is God’s design for the perfect fulfilment of our sexual needs. For those of us who are single, Jesus understands. He spent many years on this earth as a young single adult man. All of God’s resources that were available to Him are also ours. It’s not easy — we all know that. But we can be overcomers, just as He was.

A Summary

The destruction of homosexual activities on the physical level results in defilement of God’s holy temple, including the ever-increasing epidemic of AIDS and various forms of venereal disease. The stimulated physical appetites lead to sexual frustration and emptiness. When it is realized that these drives cannot be rightly satisfied, despair and even suicide can result. In God’s eyes, all same-sex acts are detestable. They do not uphold His natural design for our lives.

The Spiritual Consequences

“… (they) exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man …” Romans 1:23

The spiritual devastation that occurs as a result of homosexuality is even worse than the destructive consequences on the physical and intellectual levels. In Romans 1, we learn that man exchanges the worship of God for the worship of man (or woman).

Spiritual Idolatry.

“We open ourselves up to a chain of deception leading to IDOLATRY when we try to do the impossible: fill our inner need for love with something (or someone) God has made, rather than with God Himself. As we look to another weak and fallible human being to fulfil us, we become worshipers of the creature rather than the Creator.”* We have all experienced the pain and destruction in our lives when we lean on other humans to fulfil all our deep needs for love, security, acceptance, identity, and purpose.

Guilt.

Guilt results in our inner consciousness when we have transgressed God’s will. Guilt is a built-in device God has given us to let us know when we are off His path. Suppressed guilt brings with it a whole array of spiritual consequences, as David shares with us in Psalm 38:3-11.

“There is no soundness in my flesh because of thy indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; they weight like a burden too heavy for me. My wounds foul and fester because of my foolishness, I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my loins are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am utterly spent and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. Lord, all my longing is known to thee, my sighing is not hidden from thee. My heart throbs, my strength fails me; and the light of my eyes – it also has gone from me. My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my kinsmen stand afar off.”

Separation

If God’s built-in warning device is not taken heed to and an individual persists in his or her sin of homosexual involvement, then a wall will be built up in that person’s life that will separate him from God. This wall brings with it spiritual death. Isaiah 59:2 reads, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear dull with deafness that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, so that He will not hear.” Having lived with Christ and also without Him in the past, to me this is the most terrible result of homosexuality — or any other sin!

The Results.

Spiritual destruction opens us up to idolatry, which is dethroning God from our heart, His holy temple. Guilt brings corruption and corrosion to our spirits, as well as our emotions, mind and body. Finally, a wall is formed which separates us from our Lord.

A Final Word.

Jeremiah warns us in 4:18, “Your ways and your doings have brought these things upon you; this is your calamity and doom: surely it is biter, for surely it reaches your very heart.” Why does God say “No” to homosexuality? Because of its effects on our relationship to Him and others. In His love, He wants to spare us of all the destructive consequences that we have touched upon in this series. Our God is not a kill-joy! He understands us and our needs. Our God is jealous for our love and knows that no one is capable of fulfilling these needs but Him. Satan comes as an angel of light to offer us a way in which we can fill our needs, instead of trusting in God. Satan’s offering is not the pure, holy way that God would have us walk. In the end, it leads to death. God wants to spare us the agony of our sins. Let’s allow Him to fill each of our needs abundantly!

  • Tina Pope
    • Quoted from the handout, “Idolatry: An Aspect of Gay Relationships” by Ladonna Green.

Tina Pope, our accountant and women’s counsellor, has been with Love In Action, San Rafael full-time since early 1981. In this series, Tina shares some Scriptural insights on homosexuality she has learned since coming to Love In Action, San Rafael.

For further information about homosexuality or about other areas of sexual brokenness, please contact:

LOVE IN ACTION
G.P.O. Box 1115
ADELAIDE SA 5001
Phone (08) 371-0446

This article is reprinted by permission from:

Love In Action
P.O. Box 2655
San Rafael California 94912
U.S.A.