Homosexuality and the Power of the Gospel Part II

Homosexuality and the Power of the Gospel Part II Introduction This morning, we re going to finish up a three part series on what the Scriptures say about homosexuality, and on how we as Christians should respond to the world in which we are living. In a very real way, this last sermon is the climax and the goal to which the first two have been pointing. So this morning, we come to that famous passage in Romans chapter 1. Now Romans 1 is famous in discussions on homosexuality because it s become a sort of trump card (cf. Mohler) it s the ultimate proof text on the evil and wickedness of homosexuality. Romans 1 does show us very clearly the evil and the wickedness of homosexuality; but when we use it as our ultimate proof text, what many Christians don t understand is that it proves much, much more than what they were bargaining for. So what, exactly, does Romans 1 prove? And how does the message of Romans 1 bring us back to the true hope, and freedom, and joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? I. Romans 1:18 20 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. We notice first of all that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, why by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For Paul, the whole point of this passage is to prove the universal sinfulness of all mankind. In chapter two, Paul will zero in more specifically on the moral and religious Jew to show that he makes no exception to this universal sinfulness of all mankind. Why is it so important for us to understand this? Well, Paul wants to prove the universal sinfulness of all mankind so that he can show us the universal need of all for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So we exclude ourselves from the accusation and indictment of these verses only if we would also exclude ourselves from the hope that they offer in the Gospel. Look at what Paul says in the two verses that come just before verse 18: Romans 1:16 17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith. So the message of these verses is the universal sinfulness of all mankind, and therefore the universal need of all mankind for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, however we understand what Paul is about to say about homosexuality, we have to understand it as an indictment and an accusation against us all. Paul s indictment of homosexuality is intended as an indictment of every single one of us here in this room whether homosexuals or not. But how can this be? How does this work? 1

The second thing we notice is that even without having the Bible, or any other kind of special revelation from God, everyone in the world still knows enough of the truth about God to condemn them on the day of judgment. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. The attributes, and power, and nature of God are clearly revealed to all mankind in the order and structure of creation in the work of God s hands. This general revelation of God that we all see all around us is not enough to save us, because it doesn t tell us of Jesus and His work on the cross. It s only enough to leave us all without excuse. But without excuse for what? What have we all done? Paul says that we have all without exception actively, willfully, suppressed, and held down, and tried to obscure the truth that we know the truth about the one true God, about His attributes, and power, and divine nature. You see, it s not like we saw the truth, and then had a longing in our hearts to know and worship the one true God. No, Paul says that we saw the truth in creation (in the things that have been made), and then actively worked in our hearts to suppress it thus, we are all without excuse. And how did we do this? How do we still continue to do this? Paul continues: II. Romans 1:21 23 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Now this is very, very important. What Paul is showing us here is the very essence of all our sin. Yes, sin is the breaking of God s law. Yes, sin is a failure to measure up to God s standard of holiness and perfection. But at the root of all this Paul sees something else. At the root of all our sin is a refusal to honor God and give thanks to Him a refusal to love, and serve, and worship Him with all of our heart, and soul, and strength, and mind a refusal to love seeing Him glorified and exalted in our lives and in all the world a refusal to be most happy when He is most exalted. Instead, I accuse God in my heart (even if it s not consciously) of robbing me of some good, or keeping me from some happiness, just like Adam and Eve did in the garden when they doubted the goodness of God. And so what do I do? Since my happiness is the most important thing in the world, instead of living my life all for the glory of the one true God who formed me and made me, I imagine to myself a god who looks different. A god more to my liking, a god who works more on my terms, who can be more easily manipulated and controlled, who will recognize my merits, and who in general will think more like I think. We all do this in all sorts of ways. But as soon as we ve revised the true God in any way, as soon as we ve made even the slightest change, then what we have is a false god. And this false god that we ve imagined, far from being our best approach to the true God, is instead our willful attempt to suppress the truth that we all know deep down inside. So now can you see what we ve done? At the root of all our sin is this terrible exchange that we ve made. Paul says: Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the 2

immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. If we re not worshiping the immortal God (the Creator), then the only possible substitute is the creature the creation. It s this terrible exchange that s at the heart of atheism, deism, humanism, secularism, materialism, and every other philosophy and ism known to mankind. This terrible exchange is what s at the heart of Buddhism, Hinduism, Animism, Pantheism, Islam, and every other religion and spirituality known to mankind. This terrible exchange is what s at the heart of Mormonism and the Jehovah s Witnesses, and every other kind of cult known to mankind. And this terrible exchange is what s at the heart and the root of all our own sin. Not trusting the Word of God and so doubting His goodness, and seeking our own pleasure and happiness as the supreme goal of life, we turn in the true God for a counterfeit. Instead of living for the glory of the God who created me, and being satisfied, and fulfilled, and happy in Him, and in His good and wise gifts, I bow down to an idol, craving my own happiness and fulfillment as the ultimate goal of life. It s this terrible exchange of the true God for a counterfeit idol that lies at the very root and heart of all our sin. And so Paul goes on to say in verse 24: III. Romans 1:24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves See how Paul is connecting this universal root problem of idolatry with the outward manifestation of sexual immorality? This makes sense because idolatry disregards the boundaries and limitations that God has set and says, I must have what God has forbidden, or I cannot be happy. I must have the fruit of that tree which is good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, or I cannot be happy. I must have sexual gratification even if God has not given me a wife or a husband, or I cannot be happy. I must have because my happiness and fulfillment is the ultimate and final good. And if God will not give me what I want, and what I believe will make me happy, and what I have concluded is reasonable, then He must not be good. We re never quite so blatant as all this; but if we have ever sinned at all then these are the very lies that we have believed. For Paul, sexual immorality and impurity is just one of the most natural and obvious outward signs of our idolatry of our failure to honor God as God and give thanks to Him. So why, again, does God give people up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves? Paul repeats himself in verses 25-26: IV. Romans 1:25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. There s that word again: they exchanged. Once again, we see that at the heart of all our sin is this terrible exchange. Instead of the truth about God, a more literal translation would be, they exchanged the truth of God. In other words, they exchanged the true God, the God who is true, the God who is, the only true and living God. (cf. 1 Thess. 1:9) They exchanged this God who is true, this living and true God for what? For a lie! For that which promises happiness and fulfillment, but can never ultimately give it for an empty, worthless fraud that only brings death and destruction in the end. Eve saw that the fruit was good for food, and a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, and so she chose to disbelieve the word of God that if she ate from the fruit of that tree, she would surely die. She chose to disbelieve the heart of God 3

that He was good and desired her to be happy in Him and in all of His good and wise gifts. And so Eve exchanged the true God for a lie a mere idol. She worshiped and served something in the creation rather than the Creator. So did Adam. So have we. We read in Isaiah: Isaiah 44:20 [The one who makes an idol] feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Jeremiah 2:11 13 (cf. Psalm 106:19 21) My people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Why do we do this? It s not rational! But that s the very essence of all our sin the irrationality of idolatry, of exchanging the truth of God for a lie, of worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator. Paul was so affected by how perverse, and unnatural, and unreasonable, and hopelessly futile this exchange is, and what an affront it is to the glory of the immortal God, that he cries out: They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Can we identify with Paul s passion? Are we seeing and feeling what Paul is seeing and feeling? But then Paul goes on once again to connect this universal root problem of idolatry with the outward manifestation of sexual immorality. V. Romans 1:26a For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. In at least four other places in four other letters, Paul connects the sin of idolatry with the sin of sexual immorality. (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Col. 3:5-6; Eph. 5:3-7) You see, according to Paul, all mankind knows the truth about sex, because it s evident in the very fabric and structure of creation (cf. 1:18-20, 32). The sexual relationship cements and bonds two people together in a mysterious and powerful way, such that it can only be a reflection of the one flesh, unbreakable, covenant union of marriage. So clearly, sex and marriage go together. Not only this, but the sexual relationship is that which brings forth children, and children are a living testimony to God s wisdom in providing through the permanency of marriage for all that children need in a father and a mother. This is why it s obvious and clear to all people everywhere in the world that the only legitimate way to speak of anything sexual should be to speak of the marriage bed. (Heb. 13:4) The very fabric and structure of creation tells us that sex is only for marriage, and that sex is a wonderful and a beautiful gift within marriage. So if idolatry is the exchange of the true and living God for a lie, then all sexual immorality is also a very blatant exchange an exchange of the natural, God given desire that one has for a husband or a wife for the unnatural, sinful, and perverse desire that one has for another man s wife, or for anyone to whom he is not married. Sexual immorality is the exchange of the wisdom and glory of the true God revealed in the marriage relationship for the wisdom and glory of man revealed in the pursuit of his own pleasure and fulfillment as the ultimate good. Sexual immorality is just one of the most obvious and blatant expressions of our idolatrous exchange of the true and living God for a lie. And if that s true of all sexual immorality in general, then it s 4

even more obviously and blatantly true of the specific sin of homosexuality. So Paul goes on to say this: VI. Romans 1:26b 27 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. There s that word again exchanged. In verse 23 we saw that men and women exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. In verse 25 we saw that men and women exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. And now in verses 26-27, we see how homosexuality is the ultimate illustration of this idolatrous exchange of the true and living God for a lie. The point is not just the evil of homosexuality, but rather how homosexuality illustrates powerfully the true evil of all sin. If the very fabric and structure of creation tells us that sex is only for marriage, and that sex is a wonderful and a beautiful gift in marriage, then even more deeply rooted in the fabric and structure of God s creation is the truth that God has displayed His wisdom, and His goodness, and His glory in the creation of the male for the female, and the female for the male within the covenant relationship of marriage. In homosexuality, however, we exchange the wisdom and glory of the true God revealed in the creation of male and female for the wisdom and glory of man revealed in the pursuit of his own pleasure and fulfillment as the ultimate good. Homosexuality is the ultimate illustration of the true evil of all our sin. Your sin and my sin all of it is rooted in our exchange of the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. So Paul goes on to write: VII. Romans 1:28 32 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God [since they exchanged the true God for a lie], God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. 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 righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Notice that there aren t any sexual sins mentioned in this list not even adultery or fornication. That s because all sexual immorality has already been exhibited as an illustration of the essence of all sin an idolatrous exchange of the true and living God for a lie. And out of the list of sexual sins, homosexuality illustrates the most clearly this true evil of all our own sin. Therefore, it s this sin of homosexuality that also prepares us all to see our true need for the Gospel, and even helps us to understand what the Gospel message really is. In another place Paul rejoices with the Thessalonians because they had turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. (1 Thess. 1:9) The message we proclaim to the world is not the message of heterosexuality, but the glory of the immortal God, who has made a way for us sinners to come back to Him and find our true happiness in living for His glory. 5

Conclusion We know that if the very fabric and structure of creation tells us that sex is only for marriage, and that sex is a wonderful and a beautiful gift in marriage, then even more deeply rooted in the fabric and structure of God s creation is the truth that God has displayed His wisdom, and His goodness, and His glory in the creation of the male for the female, and the female for the male within the covenant relationship of marriage. So if I am one who is attracted to the same sex, then the first thing I need to confess is that this attraction must be ultimately a result of sin and the fall no less than the attraction of any man for a woman who is not his wife. I should pray and long for the day when same sex attraction is replaced not just with heterosexual attraction, but with the freedom to be attracted only by pure and holy desires, only to one who is my wife (or, if I m a woman, only to one who is my husband). Anything less is to exchange the wisdom and goodness and glory of God for a lie. Al Mohler writes: The homosexual movement tells homosexuals that their arousal is their destiny. This is a slander against God. We must learn not to trust our sinful affections and erotic interests, but to submit all of this to the objective authority of God s Word. By God s grace, we must all come before the throne of Christ and pray that God will order our affections, our passions, and our erotic interests to his glory. We must say [this] to ourselves, even as we say it to the homosexual. Having said these things, we also know that it s not the one who struggles all of his or her life with same-sex attraction who will not enter the kingdom of heaven. It s the one who gives himself (or herself) over to this attraction (there s a huge difference here!) so that he lusts (cf. Mat. 5:27-28) or commits impure deeds without confession, without repentance, without regard for the wisdom, and goodness, and glory of the Creator. What is the message that the homosexual needs to hear? It s the same message that all sinners need to hear including all of us here today: the wisdom, and goodness, and glory of the true and living God revealed in the very order of creation; whose wrath is real and terrible, but who has made a way for us sinners to come back to Him from idols, and find our true happiness in living for His glory. Paul writes: 1 Corinthians 6:9 10 [NASB; cf. ESV] Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, 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. Romans 1:16 17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith. 6