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Please turn in your Bibles to 
Genesis chapter 18. Genesis chapter 18. We're taking a few week excursus 
from our study in Colossians. Last week we looked at what God 
says concerning the sin of abortion. The week prior we looked at some 
lawful uses of God's law. In continuing that theme, I thought 
it would be good to consider some other issues relevant to 
biblical ethics. and to see what the Scripture 
says concerning the various things that are going on all around 
us. As Christians, we owe it first and foremost to God to 
think His thoughts after Him. to love Him with our mind, truly 
to follow the Lord Jesus as He leads us. And He has led us to 
consider these ethical matters. We also need to understand the 
Bible and what it says concerning these issues so that we'll be 
able to confront our age and the various departures from biblical 
ethics that are going on both in the world and unfortunately, 
in the church. So, this morning we're going 
to look at a biblical view of homosexuality. And I just want 
to pick up reading at chapter 18 and verse 16 and read through 
chapter 19 and verse 11. A familiar portion of Scripture 
dealing with Sodom and Gomorrah. Hear now the word of the living 
and true God. Then the men rose from there 
and looked toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to 
send them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide 
from Abraham what I am doing? Since Abraham shall surely become 
a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth 
shall be blessed in him. For I have known him, in order 
that he may command his children and his household after him, 
that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and 
justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken 
to him. And the Lord said, Because the 
outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin 
is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have 
done altogether according to the outcry against it that has 
come to me. And if not, I will know. Then 
the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom. But Abraham 
still stood before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, 
Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there 
were fifty righteous within the city, would you also destroy 
the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were 
in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to slay 
the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should 
be as the wicked. Far be it from you, shall not 
the judge of all the earth do right? So the Lord said, If I 
find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will 
spare all the place for their sakes. Then Abraham answered 
and said, Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken 
it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose there were five 
less than the fifty righteous. Would you destroy all of the 
city for lack of five? So he said, If I find there forty-five, 
I will not destroy it. And he spoke to him yet again 
and said, Suppose there should be forty found there. So he said, 
I will not do it for the sake of 40. Then he said, let not 
the Lord be angry and I will speak. Suppose 30 should be found 
there. So he said, I will not do it 
if I find 30 there. And he said, indeed now I have 
taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose 20 should 
be found there. So he said, I will not destroy 
it for the sake of 20. Then he said, let not the Lord 
be angry. And I will speak but once more. 
Suppose ten should be found there. And he said, I will not destroy 
it for the sake of ten. So the Lord went his way as soon 
as he had finished speaking with Abraham. And Abraham returned 
to his place. Now the two angels came to Sodom 
in the evening. And Lot was sitting in the gate 
of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them. And he 
bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, here 
now, my lords, please turn in to your servants' house and spend 
the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise early and go 
on your way. And they said, no, but we will 
spend the night in the open square. But he insisted strongly. So 
they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them 
a feast and baked unleavened bread and they ate. Now before 
they lay down, the men of Sodom, both old and young, All the people 
from every quarter surrounded the house. They called to Lot 
and said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? 
Bring them out to us, that we may know them carnally. So Lot 
went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind 
him and said, Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly. See now, 
I have two daughters who have not known a man. Please, let 
me bring them out to you and you may do to them as you wish. 
Only do nothing to these men since this is the reason they 
have come under the shadow of my roof." And they said, stand 
back. Then they said, this one came 
in to stay here and he keeps acting as a judge. Now we will 
deal worse with you than with them. So they pressed hard against 
the man lot and came near to break down the door. But the 
men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with 
them and shut the door. And they struck the men who were 
at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, 
so that they became weary trying to find the door." Of course, 
the remainder of the chapter is very instructive as well. 
God willing, we'll take up an exposition of the remaining portion 
of this chapter this evening. But this portion in chapter 19 
specifically, verses 1 to 11, will help us as we study a biblical 
view of homosexuality. Let us first seek God's help. 
Our Lord in heaven, we come to you now and we confess a very 
serious and a sober subject that's before us now. We pray that you'd 
help us to think biblically. Help us, Lord God, to conduct 
ourselves in a manner that is consistent with Your Word. Help 
us to see our Lord Jesus Christ as a real Savior for real sinners, 
as one who has washed us and cleansed us, and who has justified 
and sanctified us, and who has called us to follow Him in this 
lower world. God, we see this sin rampant 
in our own day and age, and we do want to think with clarity 
concerning it. We do want to be able to offer 
the hope of the gospel to those who are in bondage to this particular 
sin. We just pray now that Your Spirit 
would be upon each one of us, guiding and directing us into 
a knowledge of Your truth. We ask through Christ our Lord. 
Amen. Of course, biblical ethics are 
very, very important because the Bible speaks to ethical issues 
from the beginning to the end. It is very relevant in light 
of our own situation here in the 21st century. Since last 
week in our study of abortion, President Obama struck down a 
rule Friday that prohibits U.S. money from funding international 
family planning clinics that promote abortion or provide counseling 
or referrals about abortion services. So in the space of one week, 
has already authorized federal tax monies to be spent for funding 
abortions in other countries. The outrage about the economic 
crisis cannot stop men from even spending money to murder the 
unborn. But as well, at the very inauguration 
on Tuesday, there was communicated a moral schizophrenia with reference 
to this issue of abortion. President Obama selected Rick 
Warren to pray and to invoke God at that inauguration ceremony. Well, Pastor Rick Warren is avowedly 
anti-homosexual. Well, at the beginning of the 
inauguration, there was a prayer offered up by Bishop Gene Robinson, 
who is an open homosexual Episcopal leader. So, you have communicated 
in one session A prayer offered up by a pro-homosexual and a 
prayer offered up by an anti-homosexual. Not anti in terms that wants 
to go out and shoot them, but he is anti in terms of their 
position, in terms of what they stand for and what they believe. 
And I submit there is a lot of schizophrenia in the church today. And I personally want you to 
think biblically concerning this issue. I don't want it to be 
that you get out in the world and say, well, I know homosexuality 
is wrong, but I don't know why. And brethren, we owe it. Listen 
to my words. Paul himself used this type of 
language. He was a debtor to both Jews 
and Greeks, to barbarians and all men everywhere. We owe it 
to the homosexual to know what the Bible says because Christianity 
alone provides hope. Christianity alone provides remedy. 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9 to 
11, Paul says, And such were some of you. If we reduce it 
to a clinical disorder or to a medical condition, we are stripping 
away any sense of hope from a homosexual. But in identifying it as a breaking 
of God's moral law, there is a Savior who came to redeem sinners 
from the curse of God's moral law. We owe it to them, as the 
church, to think biblically concerning this matter. I want to look at 
four things today. We have a lot of material. Again, 
the notes will be available if you want to study it further 
on your own, as I suggest that you do, so that you know what 
the Scripture says, not that this is exhaustive. by any stretch, 
but there are four observations that we want to make this morning. 
The first is the intention by God in creation. Secondly, the 
destruction by God of Sodom and Gomorrah. Thirdly, the legislation 
by God in the Old Covenant. And fourthly, the confirmation 
by God in the New Covenant. And we'll see the consistent 
refrain concerning this sin or concerning this act of homosexuality 
is that it is a sin against our triune God and that it is a crime 
conducted in the civil realm as well. But first of all, the 
intention by God in creation. Go back a few chapters to Genesis 
1. We see in the original creation 
account God's order, God's mind, God's intention. In fact, when 
Jesus is questioned concerning the matter of divorce, Jesus 
goes back to Genesis chapters 1 to 3. Now, I realize He's dealing 
there with divorce, but I think it is illustrative of the fact 
that when pressed, Christ acknowledges the ethical norms of Genesis 
1-3. Genesis 1-26, then, God said, 
Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Let 
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of 
the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over 
every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created 
man in His own image. In the image of God, He created 
him. male and female, He created them. Then God blessed them and God 
said to them, Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and 
subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of 
the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing 
that moves on the earth. And over in Genesis chapter 2 
at verse 20, God has brought all of the animals unto Adam 
so that He can name them. And Adam recognizes that there 
is not one like himself. There is not one answering to 
Adam. Not one comparable to him. We read in Genesis 2.20, So Adam 
gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to 
every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found 
a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep 
sleep to fall on Adam. And he slept. And he took one 
of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. than the 
rib which the Lord God had taken from the man He made into a woman. And He brought her to the man, 
and Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because 
she was taken out of man. Therefore, a man shall leave 
his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they 
shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the 
man and his wife, and were not ashamed." Greg Bonson says, homosexuals 
are made, not born. Their disorder is developed contrary 
to their God-given identity, learned in opposition to the 
created order, and pursued in defiance of the marriage ordinance. There are several ordinances 
laid out in the creation account And one of them is that of marriage. We see it as to be between one 
man and one woman. This excludes a homosexual marriage. It excludes bestiality. There 
would be other legislation following that would develop this particular 
theme. But the ethic of creation is normative. In fact, Paul in 
Romans 1 in verses 26 and 27, which we'll get to in a bit more 
detail a little later, Paul speaks of something which is against 
nature. He says homosexuality is to abandon 
the natural use. Well, what's in the mind of the 
Apostle Paul? It is the creation order of our 
God. Douglas Moo says sexual sins 
that against nature are also then against God. And it is this 
close association that makes it probable that Paul's appeal 
to nature in this verse includes appeal to God's created order. Paul speaks of homosexuality 
as being against nature and as being a forfeiture of the natural 
use, which harkens back to God's natural order set in place in 
the original creation account. If you get rid of Genesis 1-3, 
you are getting rid of the very foundation of Christian ethics. It is no small thing to argue 
it away as a story or a literary device or a fable or a myth. The apostles of our Lord Jesus, 
and Jesus himself, took those chapters as historic narrative 
and used them as normative for Christian ethics in the New Covenant 
era. Brethren, God intended at creation 
for one man to marry one woman. Secondly, let's move on to the 
account that we read, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Unfortunately, we live in a day 
when there are those who call themselves pro-homosexual Christians. They object to this interpretation 
of Genesis 18 and 19, stating that what was in view was a sin 
not of homosexuality but of lack of hospitality in the cities 
of Sodom and Gomorrah. We'll notice the investigation 
of Sodom's wickedness in verses 20 to 33 of chapter 18. It's very interesting. Salvation 
would come to the world through the promise made to Abraham. 
Genesis 18, 17 and 19. Sinful depravity is ever present 
and God will deal with it. according to chapter 18, verses 
20 and 21. Abraham intercedes for the righteous 
among the city and concludes with the absolute declaration, 
Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? And then we come 
to investigate Sodom specifically. Notice the extent. God had said 
He would spare the city if there were righteous in it. The narrative 
is very conspicuous, there were no righteous in it. Notice in 
verse 4. Now before they lay down, the 
men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people 
from every corner, surrounded the house. The extent of the 
problem in Sodom was universal. God is the judge that always 
does right. There were no righteous in this 
particular city. We notice the specific wickedness 
that is in view. Verse 5, They called to Lot and 
said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring 
them out to us, that we may know them carnally. Now, carnally 
is supplied. It's a good supply. It's a good 
interpretation. That's what's in view here. Again, 
some would say, no, it's just hospitality. They wanted to get 
to know them a bit better. The word know in all of its manifold 
uses in the Old Testament doesn't always mean to know in a sexual 
manner. Yes, but contextually it certainly 
does. We've seen it used that way in 
Genesis 4 three times. Adam knew his wife. She conceived 
and bore him a son. In this very passage, Lot offers 
up his daughters so that the men of Sodom may know them. Not 
just to be cognitively aware that they exist, but to know 
them carnally. The view here, or the idea here, 
is that there was widespread, wide-scale wickedness. This is what Lot calls it in 
verse 7. He said, Please, my brethren, 
do not do so wickedly. Again, we will deal, God willing, 
in a bit more detail with some of Lot's actions and some of 
Lot's ideas and thoughts in this particular account. But what 
is important for us to see is that the men of Sodom wanted 
to engage in homosexuality. They wanted to engage in what 
the Bible calls wickedness, in what the Scripture calls abomination. Lot recognized this. Lot identified 
this. Lot wanted to make sure that 
his guests were not harmed in this particular manner. And the 
New Testament confirms this. In 2 Peter 2, verses 6 to 8, 
it says, In turning Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemn 
them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward 
would live ungodly. And delivered righteous Lot, 
who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked. For that 
righteous man dwelling among them tormented his righteous 
soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. And Jude 7, as Sodom and Gomorrah 
and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having 
given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange 
flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal 
fire." It is impossible to arrive at a conclusion other than the 
sin of Sodom was homosexuality and God visited it with the greatest 
destruction. He essentially rained hell out 
of heaven onto earth on a day that looked like any other day. And then we move on thirdly to 
consider the legislation by God in the Old Covenant. Legislation 
means specific law making by the Lord. The general consideration, 
of course, is the seventh commandment. Exodus 20 and verse 14. You shall 
not commit adultery. Sexual purity is necessitated 
by this commandment. I love the way the Westminster 
Catechism develops the commandments. It not only states what is forbidden 
or prohibited, but it also tells us what we are to do in order 
to promote the thrust of that commandment. But with reference 
to what is forbidden, the Westminster Larger Catechism, number 139, 
the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment, besides the neglect 
of the duties required, are adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, 
and all unnatural lusts. That's a general statement, the 
seventh commandment. But we have specific application 
in the book of Leviticus. Leviticus chapter 18. Now, I 
realize some will say Leviticus doesn't apply to us today. It was the holiness code for 
Israel among the heathen, among the pagan, among the Canaanite. Well, unfortunately, if that 
is the interpretation we take, we have a Bible that does not 
prohibit bestiality. Because the only place in the 
Bible that prohibits that sin, that crime, that wickedness is 
the book of Leviticus. And I submit that when the New 
Testament authors used the word pornea, which is sexual immorality, 
it was defined and informed for them by their understanding of 
the Old Testament Scriptures. In fact, when Paul comes to deal 
with the saints in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 5, he says, there 
is pornea existent among you. There is sexual immorality among 
you. Such is not even named among 
the heathen that a man has his father's wife. Well, where does 
Jesus ever prohibit that? He prohibits it in the book of 
Leviticus. Leviticus chapter 18, verse 22. Very clear passage of Scripture. 
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. Notice dropping down in verse 
29, for whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons 
who commit them shall be cut off from among their people. 
Notice sandwiched in between this, there is a prohibition 
against adultery, against child sacrifice, and as I mentioned, 
against bestiality. It was because of these practices 
that the Canaanites were dispossessed from the land. You know, some 
people are tempted, you know, well that wasn't fair that these 
Israelites went into Canaan and just started throwing people 
out and killing them. Notice in verse 24 of Leviticus 
18, Do not defile yourselves with any of these things. For 
by all these things, or by all these, the nations are defiled 
which I am casting out before you. For the land is defiled, 
therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and 
the land vomits out its inhabitants. I love Ralph Davis' comment. 
He says, The conquest is not a bunch of land-hungry marauders 
wiping out, at the behest of their vicious God, hundreds of 
innocent, God-fearing folks. In the biblical view, the God 
of the Bible uses none too righteous Israel as the instrument of His 
just judgment on a people who had persistently rebelled in 
their iniquity. God tells them that if they engage 
in like practices, the land would vomit them out. And ultimately 
we know, of course, that this happened. It happened in the 
Assyrian captivity in 722, it happened in the Babylonian in 
586, and it happened via God or by God through the 
Romans in A.D. 70. And then the penal sanction 
or the penalty attached to this sin, to this crime, is in Leviticus 
20 and verse 13. It says, if a man lies with a 
male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an 
abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. As Greg Bonson says, from the 
perspective of Old Testament revelation, the conclusion is 
clear. Homosexuality is perverted, contrary 
to God's created order. Immoral, contrary to God's commandments. and worthy of death, temporal, 
societal, and eternal. And that brings us forthly to 
consider the confirmation by God in the New Covenant. I realize 
this could sound pretty harsh. It's not something you typically 
hear on a Sunday morning. In fact, as I was sitting there 
thinking about this subject as we were singing our hymns, I 
thought about the older people among us. Probably when you were 
young, you didn't hear a lot of sermons on this particular 
subject. Then again, when you were young, they didn't have 
gay pride parades in downtown Vancouver. They didn't revel 
in their licentiousness. They didn't revel in their ungodliness. This is something uniquely facing 
us as a generation that we need to think biblically about. And 
again, we need to have answers. We need to be able to pray in 
an informed manner. We need to be able to write our 
members of parliament. We need to be able to offer hope 
to the homosexual. We need to be able to think and 
put thoughts together in a biblical manner and see what God's original 
intention and creation was. To see the story of Sodom and 
Gomorrah as instructive for our own generation, in some manner, 
in some ways, making Sodom and Gomorrah blush in terms of the 
profligate wickedness that goes on today. We need to understand 
the legislation by God in the Old Covenant. Again, not a very 
happy theme. People don't like that. People 
don't generally enjoy the book of Leviticus. Well, that's to 
our shame that we don't want to know the mind of God when 
it comes to these matters. And then we need to see the confirmation 
in the New Testament that this isn't just some antiquated thing 
that is reduced to the barbarism of an earlier age. This reflects 
the mind of God. He never intended for male to 
lie with male or woman to lie with woman. That is not the scope 
of His intention. The general statement of Matthew 
5, upholding the validity of old covenant laws, Jesus' statement 
in Matthew 5, 17-20. Matthew 5, 17-22. Do not think 
that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come 
to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, till 
heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no 
means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore 
breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men 
so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever 
does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom 
of heaven." The general statement of Paul in 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 
17, when he says all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. 
Just some of it. Not just the parts that we like. 
Not just the happy and upbeat portions. But all Scripture is 
given by inspiration of God. And it's profitable. For what? 
For doctrine. For reproof. For correction. 
For instruction in righteousness. So that we as men and women of 
God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And then, 
of course, there are the specific pronouncements in the New Testament 
Scriptures. We've already alluded to Romans 
1, 26 and 27. You may turn there. Romans chapter 
1, verses 26 and 27. Very instructive for our study 
this morning. I will not get into all of the 
pro-homosexual evangelical or Christian responses. They said, 
well, what's condemned here is not homosexuality, it's the attendant 
circumstances. Some have said that if it's a 
natural thing for a homosexual to be that way, it would be against 
nature for him to try and conduct himself as a heterosexual. Okay, 
is that really what Paul's saying here? that loving, monogamous 
homosexuality is not frowned upon by the apostle. What's love? Have we forgotten 
that? Love isn't about me gratifying 
myself. Love is about giving to someone 
else. Read the literature on the amount 
of partners homosexuals have. Because they're bent on giving 
so much pleasure to others, or on taking it for themselves. 
The language used by Paul in describing homosexuality, he 
describes it as vile passions. He says it is to exchange the 
natural use for what is against nature. It is described as leaving 
the natural use of the woman, and it is called committing what 
is shameful. Note that this particular sin 
is an evidence of God's having given men over because they have 
already given God over. This is something that ought 
to concern us as a church. We live in a day and age that 
has systematically sought to desensitize us to this. For all we'll say about Lot, 
his righteous soul was vexed day by day. We actually succumb, perhaps 
not outspokenly, but we actually succumb to thinking, well, it 
is an alternate lifestyle. Those old covenant sanctions 
do seem a bit strict and a bit severe. It really is a victimless 
crime. According to Paul in Romans 1, 
God is the victim of this crime. In Romans 1.21, we see the root, 
or the essence, or the very spring from which all wickedness flows. Men do not honor God as God, 
nor are they thankful to Him. You see, homosexuality, along 
with all of our sins as well, which we'll visit in just a moment. 
It's not like, oh, those abominable wretches. No, we're all abominable 
wretches. And it all began with our failure, 
our chosen failure to not glorify God as God or be thankful to 
Him. These men, professing themselves 
to be wise, became fools. They exchanged the glory of the 
incorruptible God to worship and serve the creature rather 
than the Creator who is God over all, blessed forever. As a result 
of that prior commitment theologically, God gave them over. And that's 
what Paul says in verse 26, for this reason God gave them up 
to vile passions. For even their women exchanged 
the natural use for what is against nature. Commentators wonder, 
why does Paul start with women? I have my hunches. One of them, 
I believe, is right on. I got from one of the commentators 
to just show how bad it really is. Even the women, the fairer, 
the more delicate, the more noble of the sexes, if you will, given 
themselves to that which is against nature. Paul says, likewise, 
also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their 
lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful 
and receiving in themselves, the penalty of their error which 
was due." I think John Jefferson Davis is right on. He says in 
Romans 1, homosexuality is seen not merely as a violation of 
some Jewish or Christian sectarian code, but as a transgression 
of the basic moral law of God known in all cultures. That's 
the thrust of the argument. In 1, 19 and 20, the whole idea 
is that God, through the created order, has manifest Himself to 
all men everywhere. Romans 2, 14 and 15, Paul says 
that the man who doesn't have the law is accused within himself 
of being a lawbreaker. And not only is it condemned 
here as sin, but in verse 32 of chapter 1, notice what the 
apostle says. Who, knowing the righteous judgment 
of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of 
death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who 
practice that. Methinks this is the reason why 
there's gay pride. They know better in their heart 
of hearts, man. Take whatever sin is your favorite. Have you ever thought to march 
in a parade celebrating that? Of course you haven't. Because 
you know what's wrong. You submit to the law of God, 
you confess it, you forsake it, and you ask the Lord to be merciful. 
Sinners are in a unique position. They're suppressing the truth 
in unrighteousness. These thoughts creep up that 
they know it's wrong. How do we silence the conscience? 
We have to fight for our rights. We have to promote this view. It is a transgression of the 
basic moral law of God in all cultures. And I love it when 
people say, oh, do you think God is judging us? You know, 
with this economic crisis that's here and coming even more, do 
you think the judgment of God is coming? Oh no, I don't think 
so. It's been on us. In a day and age where sexual 
immorality is openly flaunted, Oh yes, we know all too well 
the judgment of God. Again, Dr. Bonson, therefore 
homosexuality that is publicly accepted is symptomatic of a 
society under judgment, inwardly corrupted to the point of impending 
collapse. Paul the Apostle regarded it 
as the most overt evidence of that degeneracy to which God 
in His wrath gave over the nation. Oh, yes, the judgment of God 
is here. I'm not a prophet. I'm not the 
son of a prophet. But in Romans 1, 24, when we 
read, therefore, God gave them up. When you see sin openly pursued, 
you see sin openly subsidized, you see sin threatening to sanction 
anybody who speaks against it. Oh, we've been given over. 1 
Timothy 1, verse 10. 1 Timothy 1, verse 10, where 
we saw two weeks ago a lawful use of God's law. Remember from 
that message, I mentioned that Paul is using the Ten Commandments 
to illustrate his understanding of the law. Verse 8, we know 
that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this, that 
the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and 
insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy 
and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, 
for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, 
for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that 
is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel 
of the blessed God which was committed to my trust." These 
sins are contrary to sound doctrine. These sins are not consistent 
with the glorious gospel of the blessed God. And in some of these 
descriptions, it's almost as if Paul is using a word to highlight 
the extensive character of the infraction. When he speaks of 
kidnapping, do any of the Ten Commandments mention, thou shalt 
not kidnap? No. Remember when we talked about 
the case laws of Exodus 21 and following? Those are applications 
of the general principle. The general principle in the 
Decalogue is, you shall not steal. A severe application of that 
is kidnapping. What about honoring your father 
and your mother? Paul describes it here as murderers of your 
father and your mother. Almost the extensive character 
of the abuse of that command. He does that with the seventh 
as well, fornication and sodomy. Fornication and sodomy. Well, 
the church can scream and cry and preach against homosexuality. 
Well, some do. We forget about heterosexual 
sin. We are sick. The same God who says, you shall 
not lie, a man shall not lie with a man, and a woman shall 
not lie with a woman, says a man shall not lie with a woman outside 
of marriage. That doesn't seem to offend us 
as much. And then, of course, the classic passage of 1 Corinthians 
6, verses 9 and 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 
9 and 10. Paul uses two words. And some 
have said, why does he do this? It's almost like he's saying 
homosexuals are homosexuals. Without getting too graphic or 
too detailed, Paul is using the language available to him to 
describe both parties in a homosexual relationship. The words used 
are technical terms. One is used for the passive partner, 
one is used for the active partner. He's using the language available 
in his day to say both the one who plays the woman and the one 
who plays the man in this relationship. Notice that Paul does not say 
this is a disorder, this is genetic. Which, by the way, you'll hear 
several pronouncements from the pro-homosexual lobby that it's 
genetic. And I was searching online for 
that definitive piece of research. It ain't there. It ain't there. The argument 
is, if God hardwired us that way, how can he hold us responsible? 
How can he keep me or make me culpable if I'm made that way? He doesn't make us that way. 
Now, to be sure, nature and nurture do affect sinners. The Bible 
isn't some document that doesn't recognize the depravity of man, 
and that man's innate depravity is often worked upon by surrounding 
influences. The Scripture says, Behold, I 
have found only this. God made man upright, but they've 
sought out many devices. 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9 and 10. 
Notice that Paul does not separate homosexuality as a disease or 
a genetic disorder, but rather he categorizes it as a sin on 
par with fornication, idolatry, adultery, thievery, covetousness, 
drunkenness, reviling, and extortion. Notice that Paul says an unrepentant 
practice of this will bar a man or a woman from entrance into 
the kingdom of God. It's a very serious offense. But notice that Paul says there 
is hope for the homosexual. So I think it's a great tragedy 
for Christians to waffle on this. I don't know. No, it's a sin. But like other sins, there's 
a Savior. Right? And that's the beauty 
of what Paul says. 1 Corinthians 6, 9. 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 homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor 
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will 
inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. You 
know what? It's not a genetic predisposition. 
You are not hardwired that way. Back in the 70s and 80s, Masters 
and Johnson worked with a whole bunch of homosexuals and saw 
a 66% cure rate. Imagine the church armed with 
the Spirit and the Word of the living God. We have hope in the 
Scriptures. We're not homophobes. We want 
them saved. We are fearing God, not homosexuality. Paul says it right here. Such 
were some of you. Hopefully you read that. You 
find yourself in that category and say, praise be to Jesus. Maybe I wasn't a homosexual or 
a sodomite, but I was an idolater, a drunkard, a reviler. I find 
myself in that category as I'm sure you do too. What do you 
know? You know the power of the blood. You know the glorious redemption 
that Jesus has secured for sinners. I love this passage of Scripture 
because it highlights a real Savior for real sinners. Jesus wasn't kidding. I didn't 
come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He came 
to call those who were engaged in wickedness and He cleanses 
them. That's what Paul says. But, he 
says, you were washed. But, you were sanctified. But, 
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the 
Spirit of our God. See, a proper understanding of 
homosexuality is the only thing to provide hope for the homosexual. Why? Do we want to butcher men's 
souls and try to dance around simple exegesis and say, well, 
it is an alternate lifestyle? No. It's a sin. There's good 
news. Jesus came for sinners. Right 
here, 1 Corinthians 6. Corinth was a debauched city, 
brethren. When Paul says, in such were 
some of you, he's not just speaking hypothetically. He's not just 
going for a bit of literary power there. He knows several within 
the congregation that at one time were in bondage to that 
sin, but are now fearing God, who have been cleansed in precious 
blood, who are living according to God's intention and not suppressing 
truth and unrighteousness each and every day. Brethren, there 
is hope in Jesus Christ. And if the church does not take 
seriously these four simple categories, and there's much more to be developed 
on this, but this is a basic biblical theology of what the 
Bible says concerning homosexuality. If we take that and we preach 
it and we preach the gospel, who knows, maybe God will actually 
send revival. Instead of trying to soft paddle 
it and say, well, it maybe is genetic. Maybe it is. It isn't 
genetic. If it was hardwired, it couldn't 
be said. Such were some of you. Well, I want to be free, but 
it's just the way I am. No. Like the adulterer saying, 
I want to be free, but it's just the way I am. What do we tell 
the adulterer? Self-control. In those two words, 
I said logic and common sense died, self-control is in a grave 
right next to them. It's almost like we've accepted 
this evolutionary model that the animal is going to act like 
the animal has to. No. You keep yourself busy with doing 
God's work, you think God's thought, you pray to God, and you do what 
you need to do to refrain from these sins. Oh, that's harsh. No. Harsh is going to hell because 
you wanted to be governed by your genitals. That's harsh. It ain't worth it. Moses said 
he would rather endure suffering with the people of God than to 
enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. He had everything available 
to him in Egypt. Every single thing there was. 
He said, I don't want that. I want Jesus. And it wasn't like, 
I want Jesus because I'm a monk, and I'm just going to put ashes 
in my soup and be an ascetic. No. He esteemed the riches of 
Christ to be better. Moses was simply future-oriented. Do I want the passing pleasures 
of sin now, or do I want joy in the presence of Jesus? Well, 
come on. What do you think? I'll take 
joy in the presence of Jesus. Thank you very much. Well, by 
way of conclusion, first of all, the individual Christian's response 
to this sin. First off, chastity and sexual 
purity. Chastity and sexual purity. It's 
absolutely crucial. We can't pray against the sin 
of homosexuality if we're indulging it ourselves. We can't be good 
models as to living the life of Christ if we're looking at 
pornography on the Internet. chastity and purity. Abstain, 
Peter says, from fleshly lusts which do what? They war against 
the soul. That's what a fleshly lust does. 
It doesn't come to make you happy. A fleshly lust doesn't come to 
prosper you. A fleshly lust comes to do one 
thing. It comes to wage war against 
your soul. Secondly, we need to have grief 
and concern which lead to prayer. grief and concern which lead 
to prayer." Again, Lot does some interesting and questionable 
things in that account. Very much so. But Peter does 
tell us, "...and delivered righteous Lot who was oppressed by the 
filthy conduct of the wicked." For that righteous man dwelling 
among them tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing 
and hearing their lawless deeds." The oppression of verse 7 is 
to wear down through exhausting work to trouble greatly. We cannot act like this does 
not exist. MacArthur says, tragically, it 
is ordinary for believers today to no longer be shocked by the 
rampant sin in their society. I remember reading a good little 
book on revival based on Isaiah, Isaiah 53, not 53, 54, 5, 6. The passage where it says, run 
the heavens and come down. Later on, chapter 62 and 63, 
that's it. But the man in there says, what 
more has to happen before Christians will actually start praying for 
revival? What more? Homosexuality is rampant. Abortion 
is rampant. There's all kinds of wickedness 
in the church. We hear all this stuff. What's 
it going to take for the Christians to actually pray, God, be merciful 
and revive us? And then we need to have a concentrated 
effort to guard against hypocrisy. It is easy, easy to denounce 
spectacular sins, isn't it? It's interesting in Proverbs 
6 when it indicates six things which the Lord hates, yea, seven 
are an abomination to him. Sodomites don't make it in that 
list. It is an abomination according to Leviticus, but you know who 
makes that list? Well, six and seven to be sure. 
The last one's interesting, one who sows discord among the brethren. Speak out against all those wicked 
sodomites out there, but carry on in an unguarded ungodly manner 
about the people of God? You guard against hypocrisy. 
The best way to pursue holiness is to pursue universal holiness, 
to pursue righteousness in all of its aspects, not just some 
of it. Oh, I'm going to be sexually pure, but I'm going to be a gossip. 
No, that's not legitimate. Second thing, what should the 
civil magistrate do? Well, the civil magistrates should 
enact legislation that criminalizes homosexuality. This is why they 
lifted the legislation originally, because it's something that's 
done in private between two consenting adults. When they lifted that 
legislation, they put it in the public arena. The only way to 
put it back into private is through legislation. Hear me, when I 
speak of legislation in this or in abortion, not to be ex 
post facto. Ex post facto means that if we 
enact a law today, we can't go gather up everybody who's guilty 
in the past and let them have it. But it doesn't prohibit a 
magistrate from putting down a law saying from henceforth, 
you do this, this will be your penalty. The magistrate should 
not allow homosexuality to fall under the category of a civil 
right. What are they trying to do? Civil right. I'm homosexual 
like a black man's a black man. No. You can never make a civil 
right out of a moral wrong. It's impossible. The civil magistrate should refrain 
from targeting those who oppose homosexuality as violators of 
discrimination laws. In other words, They shouldn't 
penalize me if I refuse to marry two homosexuals. They shouldn't 
penalize you if you don't want to rent your house to two homosexuals. That is discrimination. Leave us alone. Homosexuals are entitled to due 
process. They should not be set up for 
deliberate entrapment. They shouldn't be needlessly 
harassed or persecuted. But neither should those who 
oppose homosexuality be made to conduct their wedding services, 
be made to hire them in their Christian schools. It's ungodly. It's unholy. It's unrighteous. 
And the civil magistrate, brethren, ought to repent before Christ 
the Lord. What biblical warrant do you 
have for saying that? Psalm 2. King David surveys the nations 
around him. He issues this challenge. O kings, be instructed, judges. Kiss the son, lest he be angry 
and you perish in his way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. 
God requires it from the magistrate to oppose those things he opposes. Thirdly, the church's response. 
You see, we're not to take the sword and go out and kill homosexuals. The church is to preach the law 
of God. The church is to preach what the Bible says. And the 
church is to preach the gospel of saving grace. We should want homosexuals to 
come in here to hear the gospel. Just like we want adulterers 
to come in here and hear the gospel. just like we want thieves 
to come in here and hear the gospel, or embezzlers, or revilers, 
or gossips. We want them to come and hear 
the gospel. That's our job, to preach the gospel. That's what 
we're supposed to do to proclaim Jesus. We're to condemn the sin 
and point their way to the Savior, and trust in the Lord God to 
save those whom He'll call unto himself. And finally, I just 
want to remind any of us here that may be thinking, those dirty 
rotten homosexuals, how bad they are and how they are ruining 
my life and our society. Jesus actually said there's a 
sin worse than sodomy.