In Matthew 19, when Jesus was asked about marriage and divorce, He quoted from God’s law in the book of Genesis and Jesus defines for us what God has always intended relative to marriage (19:4-6).
Now, some people say, “Well, Jesus did not speak against homosexuality Himself.” That is true; yet Jesus also commanded us to obey His apostles and His apostles spoke against homosexuality on several occasions: Romans 1:25-28; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
Since we are here in 1 Corinthians 6, I want you to notice the further context. Apparently some of the Corinthian Christians were under the assumption that because their spirits had been saved by the blood of Christ, then they could do what they wanted to do with their bodies – even engaging in sexual behaviors that God would otherwise forbid (6:13-20).
Our bodies are not our masters. We are not to identify ourselves primarily in terms of our sexuality. We are spirit beings but our bodies belong to Jesus Christ and we are to glorify God in our bodies, which means, among other things, we cannot use our bodies to do sinful things because that affects our spirits as well, which is most important.
Our society wants to say that “self-actualization” – being true to yourself, especially in sexual terms – is the highest good we can attain. But that’s not what Jesus teaches. Our highest good is serving God and that can only be done in the way that God has commanded. And keeping our sexual aspect under control and submissive to the teachings of Christ is a part of that.
Observe 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.
Jesus tells us that truth makes us free (John 8:32) – His truth, His spiritual realities. When we deny God’s reality in this world, we become slaves to the fake. We confuse our brains and our spirits.
When we become Christians, we become new creatures, the old things have passed away, all things become new – 2 Corinthians 5:17. We recognize a truth that has been truth even before we became Christians, we just didn’t recognize it: The spirit is what is most important and the spirit must be subservient to God and His word.
We simply cannot love ourselves and our sexual identity above what God has told us in His word. Always remember and never forget that “self love” is sinful: 2 Timothy 3:2.
HOW TO RESPOND TO SOMEONE WHO IS CONFUSED ABOUT GOD:
Basically, you respond to someone who is confused about God’s work in the sexual area in the same way you respond to someone engaged in any other sin:
1) Be humble and recognize that you also have some type of sin that you struggle with: Galatians 6:1-2.
2) Be patient as the individual works through their confusion: 2 Timothy 2:24-26.
3) Review with them what God’s word has to say.
4) Don’t over-react to children who might not have the typical interests that a little boy or a little girl might have.
5) Understand and also explain that a boy / girl can have a close relationship with a boy / girl and not be gay / lesbian – just like David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1; 19:1; 20:17; 2 Samuel 1:26).
6) It’s also okay for an individual not to have an interest in the other gender to the extent that he or she does not want to get married.
7) While we know for sure that homosexuality is not caused by some kind of “gay gene” – there is no proof at all – it is also true that we do not know how much our genes influence our choices versus the environment influencing our choices.
8) Nothing causes a man to murder or a man to engage in homosexual behavior. Those are still choices and we are accountable to God for the choices we make.
Our society is confused. The Christian can and should be a voice of reason, love, and patience as he or she shares the truth from God’s word.
Paul Holland
