City On A Hill

Good News for Gays

Recorded on: August 24, 2008 | Speaker: Dave Bruskas



What does the bible have to say to people who experience same-gender attraction? What does it say to those who are actively living a homosexual lifestyle?

The bible has both bad news and good news for gays, lesbians and bisexuals. The good news is that the good news is more powerful than the bad news.

The Bad News
Everywhere the subject is addressed in the bible, homosexuality is condemned as inconsistent with the holiness of God. I Corinthians 6:9-10 warns Christians that people who live in sexual immorality (all sexual expression outside of marriage between and man and a woman) will not participate in the coming Kingdom of God. This text goes to lengths to warn Christians not to be “deceived” about the incompatibility of ongoing sin with one who is living as a citizen in the Kingdom of God under the reign of Jesus.

What seems to be the problem here?
So what is wrong with homosexuality? How can it be wrong for two people of the same gender who love each other to express their feelings physically so long as it doesn’t hurt others? Romans 1:18-27 reveals that homosexuality is the hard consequence of humanity’s rejection of God. This text also makes it plain that homosexual passions are the rational outcome of idolatry. God created humanity, male and female, to worship Him, live as one flesh (heterosexual intimacy emotionally, spiritually and physically) and exercise His just dominion over creation. Humans, in rebellion, worshipped the creation rather than God and have attempted to exercise dominion over God rather than creation. God then, as a punitive measure, continued this suicidal human inversion of His design to the logical conclusion in male/female relationships. The result is that individuals experienced unnatural (against God’s created order) “relations” and committed “shameless acts” together (Romans 1:27).

The Good News
So what hope do homosexuals have for the forgiveness of sin? They have the very same hope that all people have in Jesus. I Corinthians 6:12 begins with words of transformation, “And such were some of you.” This means that people who were previously living lifestyles that revealed estrangement from God are no longer living as such. What made the difference? According I Corinthians 6:12, the work of Jesus applied by the Holy Spirit.

God takes us in our rebellious and idolatrous state, draws us to Jesus, forgives our sin and frees us to live in obedience to Him.

Application Questions
1) Where have you experienced the transformation that Jesus alone can bring?

2) Whom are you encouraging in the process of transformation? Are you both confronting sin and carrying the burdens of sinners?

3) Are you communicating the whole message of repentance? Are you encouraging people to turn from sin and turn to Jesus? How can you be a better communicator of the gospel?

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