All Saints', Preston on Tees 7/6/09: Homosexuality
A talk that I gave covering Biblical teaching on homosexuality, how to support friends who struggle and thoughts on reaching the gay community with the Gospel.
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AllSaintsHomosexuality.mp3 Size : 5975 Kb Type : mp3 |
Pray to start
Introduction
Explain about TfT.
My testimony
What the Bible says
How to help Christians
Evangelism
Questions and resources
My testimony
What the Bible says
Context!! To take something out of its context is to distort its meaning.
Although there are relatively few passages dealing explicitly with homosexuality, every time it is mentioned it is listed as a sin.
There are a number of OT references, but these require quite a bit of time to deal with properly, so I will concentrate a couple of passages in the NT.
Jesus
Jesus
– argument from silence. He didn't explicitly condemn
homosexuality, but he didn't condemn racial genocide either.
In Matt 19 when Jesus is teaching about divorce, he quotes Genesis 2: 24 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”. Jesus regards heterosexual marriage as God's plan for humanity.
Later he says, “… some are eunuchs because they were born so, or made so by men, there are others who have themselves renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven.”
2 godly alternatives – marriage or celibacy
(Liberating as at the time single people were discriminated against)
Romans 1:26-27.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
Can argue - specific Romans had abandoned natural heterosexual desires and practised 'unnatural' homosexual acts, rather than people for whom homosexual feelings come naturally.
But – wider scope – mankind in general.
Fall = people have rejected natural pattern of sexual relationships.
Homosexuality may feel natural to some but, as Stafford points out, "People born in sin will not necessarily feel its unnaturalness" . (ie. People born blind)
Just because a desire comes to us naturally does not make it right. (ie. Stealing)
We're not good barometers of moral right and wrong.
Important to differentiate between gay feelings and actions. Most gay people haven't chosen to feel that way, but they can choose how to act.
To determine what is the natural pattern for sexual relationships we must look at how they were before sin came into the world and tainted them, namely in the Genesis account.
Context of Biblical sexuality as a whole (brief as don't want to repeat other talks):
God designed sex to be good.
The only Biblical setting for a sexual relationship is within a loving marriage between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24)
Potential for procreation.
Marriage echoes Christ's relationship with his church.
Sex outside marriage is wrong for spiritual reasons not social ones.
1 Cor 6: 9 – 11.
9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. 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.
Homosexuality just one in a list of sins that all of us are guilty of. No 'degrees' of sin.
All sex outside of heterosexual marriage is wrong and homosexual sex is just one example.
Shows the hopeless situation of all without Christ.
Only diff between 'us' and 'them' is the saving power of Christ.
This is an affirming passage about redemption.
Shows that we can be free of those things that we were slaves to.
Conclusion - Possible to 'explain away' the (few) mentions of homosexuality in the Bible, but this involves taking the teaching out of context and rejecting the pattern for sexual relationships that underpins the whole of scripture. There is hope and freedom for gay people in Christ.
Not easy teaching – very personally aware of that.
How to help Christians who want to live Biblically
Origins of homosexuality
Helpful to understand what makes people gay.
Nature / nurture? Complicated question and no definite answer.
Media reports, but no 'gay gene' has been found.
Poss genetic pre-disposition.
More evidence to suggest that nurture plays a big part in determining sexuality. (No blame though). Some experienced abuse and neglect but not always.
Relationship with the same-sex parent.
My own story – Ruth's premature birth.
Legitimate needs (Physical affection, love, affirmation etc.)
Supporting gay friends
Used avoid close friendships with women in case they 'went wrong'.
But = lonely and isolated and temptations in my head.
Homosexuality is seeking to get legitimate needs met in the wrong way. (eg. You can be hungry and have a need for food, but it's not healthy to eat McDonald's all the time. However, it's not helpful to eat nothing either. The McDonald's needs to be replaced with nourishing food.)
So a gay person needs to receive love, physical touch and affirmation in a Godly way.
Healing? Not simply 'becoming straight' or getting married. Not helpful for Christians to think that one prayer can 'fix it' either.
Causes of homosexuality – complicated
Healing = transformation over time – finding identity in Christ, developing healthy same-sex friendships, forgiving parents, persevering in spite of temptation.
That said, believe God can change someone's orientation and bring poss of marriage. But not 'goal' of healing.
Practical tips
Speak the truth in love and have compassion and grace for your friends. Learning to relate healthily is a bit like learning the piano – mistakes along the way. Messy process – people will need you to stand with them when they are doing well, but also when they have messed up. I have been in a couple of gay relationships since I became a Christian and my true friends were those that still loved me, whilst also being able to challenge what I was doing and help me to turn back to God.
If someone has 'come out' to you, ask them how you can help. Bring the subject up again.
Value singleness – not just a marriage waiting room! Have events for older single people.
Involve people in family life. (CCH – I really appreciate being able to teach the kids to play drums and being on the creche rota. Parents value my contribution).
Make sure that family services at church don't exclude or isolate single people.
Read books to help you understand their struggles (recommend later)
Helpful if the fact that people struggle with homosexuality is mentioned from time to time in church.
Recognise that gay people might struggle with church culture.
"Are you willing to pray with, eat with, hug and comfort, share life with a woman or man who has homosexual feelings?"
Evangelism
Secular attitudes to homosexuality changed enormously in last 50 years.
Homosexuality decriminalised in the UK in 1967.
Tide of sexual liberation and we now have Gay Pride marches, Gay TV, Gay magazines etc.
As Stafford notes, "Sexual pleasure is treated almost as a god in our time, and certainly as a nonnegotiable right.". It is hardly surprising, then, that many reject the Biblical notion of sexuality.
So how does the church hold on to Biblical teaching while reaching out to the gay community with God's love?
I don’t have all the answers – just some thoughts.
Difficult - Historic homophobia in the church. Sadly, many gay people have had bad experiences.
Churches that have attempted to be loving have often rejected Biblical teaching.
Unhelpful – churches waving placards (don’t do that in red light districts or outside AA meetings.)
There
is a place for speaking the Biblical truth about homosexuality to our
culture, but in context of positive sexuality as a whole – value
singleness / friendship / marriage / community etc.
The message of the gospel is for everyone and it's the same for everyone. We are all sinful, but Jesus offers us forgiveness through his sacrifice on the cross.
We shouldn't preach at gay people to change before they have had a chance to meet the Saviour who is the only one who can change us. Best thing to do is to introduce gay friends to Jesus.
Pray or the gay community and for gay friends.
Reading from earlier:
2 Cor 5: 14 – 27
7Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!... 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
That's what our gay friends – and indeed all our friends – need to hear.
Questions?
Suggestions for reading / resources
Walking with Gay Friends: Alex Tylee (IVP, 2007)
What Some of You Were: Christoper Keane (Matthias Media, 2001)
Homosexuality: A New Christian Ethic: Elizabeth Moberly (James Clarke & Co, 1983)
I am Learning to Love: Martin Hallett (1990)
Out of the Blue: Martin Hallett (Hodder and Stoughton, 1996)
Out of Egypt: Jeanette Howard (Monarch, 1991)
Into the Promised Land: Jeanette Howard (Monarch, 2005)
Craving for Love: Briar Whitehead (Monarch, 1993)
A Question of Love: Angelo Grazioli (CWR, 1998)
Sexual Chaos: Tim Stafford (IVP, 1993)
The Power of a New Identity: Dan Sneed (Sovereign World, 2000)
