Maybe you've been told by someone attempting to excuse the sin of sodomy (aka: homosexuality) that “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality.” The motive for attempting to excuse sin that God Himself calls "abomination," has been one of a corrupted heart ever since Adam and Eve covered themselves, tried to hide, and then when confronted by God, made excuses while blaming the serpent (Satan), eachother, and even God. Men, women, and children, when it comes to this grave sin in our generation, continue to repeat the same sin, but I tell you, the Lord Jesus severely reprimanded those who gave approval to homosexuality.
Homosexuality is prohibited throughout both the Old and New Testaments because it is sin against God, against nature, against one's own body and soul, and sin that mocks both creation and Christ Himself. (Lev. 18:22, 20:13, Rom. 1:26–27, 1 Cor. 6:9, 1 Tim. 1:10, etc.). The attempt to excuse the sin of homosexuality is to attempt to excuse the entire bible, which is God's Holy-Spirit inspired revelation and authority. That means that all of Scripture is divine, holy, and to be believed and obeyed. On the issue of homosexuality, the Lord Jesus asks the simple question: "why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things which I command?" (Luke 6:46). And yet, poor lost souls in the darkness of the sin of homosexuality, in their depravity, respond "yeah, but you never commanded anything about homosexuality!"
Such people are not only wrong, but they are, in their fallen nature, in league with the question of the serpent who subtly asked, "hath God said ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Genesis 3:1). In following the pernicious ways of Satan, depraved and rebellious hearts ask, not out of sincere curiousity or fear of offending God, but in unbelief and contempt for God's Word - in the hope of continuing the cycle of calling, not their own sins into question, but God Himself. For many, they have simply passed the point of no return, but for this ministry, unless/until God makes it clear to knock the dust off, I will continue to press on with warning homsexuals, and those who excuse their sin, with the warning of God's wrath to come against them, if they fail to repent, undergirded by the Good News of the Gospel while asking the Lord to save them. When the Lord Jesus addressed the Jews, they knew the prohibitions from the Old Testament law, and they knew of God's creation account. They understood that God created Adam and Eve and commanded them as one flesh while following His commands to be fruitful and replenish the earth, as only possible in/through one man (husband) with one wife (woman) - the only human "marriage" that exists (Gen. 1:27–28, 2:24). Anything other than God's design is a perversion, a distortion, and a lie contrived first by Satan himself, but acted upon in words and deeds by a segment of humanity that agree, not with God, but with the "father of lies," Satan, that old serpent. Rather than repent and obey, as commanded by the law, that all sexual activity is sin if it's outside of a man-woman marriage, they continue further in sin and depravity, heaping upon themselves the just judgment of God. And so, our Lord Jesus’ audience knew well that homosexual sex was sin so, there was no need for Jesus to even address it to appease their own insincere questions about it, again, just like the insincere question of Satan when he asked "has God said that Eve? Has He really? I mean really, come on, really said you cannot, you must not, you dare not take of the tree?" And so, for all who would look into God's Holy Word, you'll find the unadulterated truth that the Lord Jesus Himself condemns homosexuality as it is - sin that defiles the soul. Listen to what He says defiles (Mark 7:18–23):
“Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man”
Here in the passage for us, the English word translated “fornications” comes from the Greek word porneia. It's also where we get the word pornography. The original meaning of the word was “prostitution.” By the first century, however, porneia held a broader meaning and referred to any illicit sexual intercourse. According to the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, the word describes “various extra-marital sexual modes of behaviour insofar as they deviate from accepted social and religious norms (e.g. homosexuality, promiscuity, paedophilia, and prostitution).” Likewise, the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels says porneia “refers to any and all unlawful sexual activity…and included not only adultery, incest, premarital infidelity, but also homosexuality (Lev. 18:22), bestiality (Lev. 18:23) and any other sexual conduct condemned in the OT.” Now Brethren, if you exhaust the definition of porneia, you'll find yourself confronted with Leviticus 18 for context so, when the Lord Jesus condemns this category of sin, as in Mark 7:21, all would have understood Him to be condemning the sexually perverted behaviors of Leviticus 18, of where homosexual sin is exposed/condemned. What's more, in the Revelation of Jesus Chrsit, while admonishing the church at Pergamum, He warns again (Revelation 2:14):
"But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality"
It's unavoidable truth that the “acts of immorality” is porneia - referring to the illicit sexual acts of Leviticus 18, including homosexuality. In Revelation 2:20, Jesus doesn’t reserve His judgment for only those who engage in homosexual sex. He also condemns false teachers who mislead people into practicing homosexuality. He warns even further, addressing the church in Thyatira (Revelation 2:20):
"But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols"
The “acts of immorality” is, again, the word porneia, the word referencing the sexual sins of Leviticus 18. And so, the Lord Jesus reprimands both Jezebel (the false teacher/lying spirit) and all who tolerate her, especially those who propagate lies, like those false teachers of our day who "call evil good" by condoning homosexual sin, practicing it, and failing to warn others of its damnable effects upon the soul. All who fail to acknowledge what God Himself has called "abomination," are guilty of the abomination themselves and have no covering for the sin. As Christians, when we are confronted with the question of whether or not homosexual sin is condemned in God's Word, there's no debate - it is condemened. What's more, this is not an "agree to disagree" issue, but a priority issue that hinges on the edge of eternal life or damnation. Eternal life for those who repent of homosexuality and eternal death for those who practice it or condone it while refusing to repent for doing so.(1 Corinthians 6:9-11). We’re not permitted to practice homosexual sex, promote the behavior, or support those who do. If the Lord Jesus Christ calls for repentance of this sin, for exposing it, for warning others to flee from it, and refuses to give it a voice of excuse in the church, then so must we. Amen.
Comments