This blog is a part of a series of blog posts that are based on the sermons in this sermon series at MissionWay Church.. If you missed the first post in this blog, be sure to check it out here as it lays much of the groundwork for this series of blogs.

I debated doing this series for a long time. Not because I was afraid to speak the truth in love or because I was afraid our church would shrink (we actually grew in number during this sermon series), but because I really wanted to make sure that there was room for people to ask questions as we moved through this series. Sunday morning sermons are a time for the bold and faithful proclamation of the Word of God and therefore don’t necessarily lend themselves to a Q&A time very easily. So, one thing I did during this series was take questions after the sermon and deal with them weekly on my podcast. You can check out this sermon’s Q&A podcast here.

The issue of homosexuality has been a heated debate in our culture for quite some time. However, the truth is that this issue has begun to sort of fade into the background just a bit as other issues have taken the forefront (such as Transgenderism which we will deal with next). My fear is that Christians have become so accustomed to hearing about this topic that they have simply accepted it as a reality and therefore are not actively equipping themselves to speak the truth in love on this issue as much as we used to.

Please understand that I am not in any way advocating that we stir up riots and arguments, but that we are able to faithfully and skillfully proclaim the Gospel with kindness in the face of this issue. I hope this blog post will be a very brief primer to help you do that.

“The reason they [Christians] speak out on moral issues should not be because their beliefs are being threatened or because they feel ‘offended.’ They should erase the word offended from their vocabulary. After all, Christians are called to share in the offense of the cross. This is not about us.”
- Nancy Pearcy

There is a house near where I live that was recently torn down. I was a little bit surprised at how fast it happened. I thought it would at least take a few days, but I drove to work that morning with it still standing and returned that afternoon with it completely gone - without a trace. What took months to build was torn down in a matter of hours. Many Christians have allowed their theology - especially on issues like homosexuality - to be “torn down” by one or two statements when it takes time, study, prayer, and work to build a truly robust and biblical theology on this issue. Don’t let a 30-second Tik-Tok video tear down the foundations of marriage that have been carefully built and established by the Lord for thousands of years - ever since the book of Genesis.

Let’s read the God-breathed text that was given through Moses all the way back then.

Genesis 2:18-21 (ESV) - “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.”

I know what some of you are thinking: that said NOTHING about homosexuality. But I’m going to contend that it says almost everything we need to know about this issue because this is where God lays his foundation for marriage and how we ought to think about it.

Here’s what we know from this Genesis passage…

1. God said man shouldn’t be alone.

If you’re a husband, you should be muttering “AMEN!” to yourself right now. Consider something with me: Adam walked in the Garden with God Himself. He had perfect communion with the LORD in the garden. He had dominion over the animals, naming them, tending Eden without the effects of sin on the earth. He didn’t really need anything. And yet, the Lord says “it is not good” that Adam was alone. Why?

Because men and women are made in the image of the Triune God who exists as one being in three persons. The eternal, divine relations of the Father, Son, and Spirit show us that being made in the image of God, in part, means that we have been created for relationship as well. God created Adam, and therefore, every human in such a way that it’s not good for us to be alone. Therefore, the desire of every human to be joined to another human in marriage is a God-given desire.

To find a wife is, throughout Scripture, considered a great blessing from God. Proverbs 18:22 - “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.” God has wired us to desire to be joined to another person in marriage. The important point here is that God is the one who has given us this desire, and God is the one who dictates how this desire should be fulfilled.

2. God said marriage is a beautiful thing.

My grandparents had a little sign in their kitchen that read: “Marriage has three rings: the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and suffering.” I never understood the joke as a kid. Not saying that has been my experience at all, but marriage is certainly not for the weak - it takes real work day in and day out. Also, while we joke about it, there’s this natural suspicion of and disdain for marriage in our culture. It’s viewed as something you do for a season and if it works out, great, but if not, just move on. However, biblically speaking, marriage is not a legal contract, it’s a covenant between one man and one woman before God.

God met Adam in his loneliness by bringing him a woman he could join himself to. And she was made “from” man in order to perfectly compliment him. Contrary to what our world believes and teaches, to say that Eve was created to be Adam’s helper (literally help-meet), does not automatically mean she was created inferior. As a matter of fact, the Lord is often called the “helper” of His people because to be a helper is to fill up what that person is lacking.

Adam’s poetic expression upon seeing Eve really tells us a lot: Genesis 2:23 – “Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Adam is here not describing an inferior, subservient being, but one who is perfectly equal with himself, yet distinct. One of the greatest moments of my life was watching Jenna walk down the aisle. Not just because she is so beautiful (because she certainly is) but because I had found the one my soul loved. We were about to take our two lives and join them as one and I knew that by grace I had found favor with the Lord in Him bringing her to me. That’s what Adam is saying here.

Scripture is clear from this text and Ephesians 5:25-33 that marriage is a “one-flesh” union between one man and one woman that points us to Christ and the Church. Christ is the Great Bride-groom and the Church is His bride, this is all throughout the NT. Homosexuality then, is not only a twisting of God’s original design for marriage (one man and one woman), but is a twisting of the picture of Christ the Bride-groom and His Bride, the Church.

We understand in everyday life that the person who designs and invents something gets to define its use. How much more God, who not only created all things, but has all authority in Heaven and on Earth? So while you won’t necessarily answer to the creator of the hammer if you use it to tenderize meat instead of hammering nails, you will give an account before the Almighty God one day for how you treated the things He created and instituted - including marriage.

Maybe you’re still not convinced at this point. And you’re like: I need something more concrete from Jesus or the Bible about homosexuality. So let’s end with a point that gives some straight-up answers built on that foundation.

3. God did say homosexuality is a sin.

First, let’s look at the categories He defined in Genesis 2:24 – “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” These words were written by Moses, yes, but were “breathed-out” by God Himself. Some people want us to find the literal words of Jesus from while He was on earth addressing this issue because according to many, He didn’t. I would say that He clearly did so in Matthew 19 when He quoted Genesis 2:24 and He added something: Matthew 19:6 – “…What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Jesus is saying that God Himself has instituted marriage and man does not get to separate or redefine that union according to their liking.

Secondly, Jesus is God. So Whenever God has spoken throughout history, Jesus was speaking. On that note, here’s what God has said about homosexuality specifically in Leviticus 18:22 – “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” and in Romans 1:26-27 – “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” In 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1:9-10, Paul includes it among the sins for which men and women will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Based on these passages and others, you can certainly deny that you believe homosexuality is a sin, but you cannot deny that God in His Word and through the words of Jesus Himself calls it sin.

CONCLUSION

So, what do we do with all of this as Christians? After all, my primary audience in this blog is believers. But if you happen to be an unbeliever reading this far, I’m glad you’re here. Here is the goal we should have as believers in this and every conversation: We speak the truth in love. A Christian does not walk away from someone stuck in sin, rather we run to them with the compassion of Christ.

Matthew 9:36-38 – “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”

Our goal is not ultimately to make gay people straight but to see lost people found. We have a mission to love people enough with the love of Christ to point them to the truth of Christ. This is not about changing anyone’s behavior, but about transforming their lives and seeing them get a new heart with new desires. It’s about not just their temporal decision on who they want to marry, but about their eternal decision to accept or reject Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – “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.”

There’s no room for pointing fingers at anyone in Paul’s words (we’re all sinners), but rather for all of us to rejoice in grace through Christ and to tell others how they too can receive that grace and forgiveness of sin. Why would we withhold grace from anyone because we don’t want them to be offended? We know that many will disagree with us and call us bigoted or out of touch with the times - or worse. but let me close with a powerful and thought-provoking statement from Nancy Pearcy from her powerful book: “Love Thy Body.”

“The early church may have been ‘on the wrong side of history.’ But that’s why it changed history.”

Nancy Pearcey