Rev. David Holwick ZI Modern Controversies #1
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 14, 2012
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
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I. Sex is dangerous.
A. Especially for Christians.
A year-and-a-half ago, a street preacher in England got into
hot water.
Street preaching has a long history in England and is part of
their tradition of free speech, exemplified in the "Speakers'
Corner" in London's famed Hyde Park.
Dale McAlpine, a 42-year-old Baptist, has been preaching on the
streets for years.
But in 2010, something new happened.
According to THE TELEGRAPH newspaper, McAlpine was preaching
while standing on a stepladder.
He also passed out tracts explaining the Ten Commandments.
A woman came up to him and started debating him about his faith.
According to the newspaper, McAlpine calmly explained today's
passage to the woman, and listed the sins that God opposes.
He listed blasphemy, fornication, adultery and drunkenness.
And, of course, homosexuality.
After the woman walked away, she was approached by a policeman.
The cop then went over to Mr. McAlpine and told him a complaint
had been made, and that he could be arrested for using
racist or homophobic language.
The street preacher said he told the officer: "I am not
homophobic but sometimes I do say that the Bible says
homosexuality is a crime against the Creator".
The police officer was a homosexual and told McAlpine he was
the "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender liaison officer"
for the department.
The preacher responded, "It's still a sin."
He then preached a sermon on a range of issues that did not
include homosexuality.
The paper reports, "Three regular uniformed police officers
arrived during the address, arrested Mr. McAlpine and put
him in the back of a police van."
The simple act of stating in public that homosexuality is a sin
was enough to get this preacher arrested.
He is not the first, and he probably won't be the last.
#32014
Soon, it will probably happen in America.
It has already happened in Canada, which legalized same-sex
marriage in 2005.
Rev. Fred Henry, the Roman Catholic bishop of Calgary, Alberta,
sent a letter to his churches explaining traditional Catholic
teaching on marriage.
He was "charged with a human-rights violation" and "threatened
with litigation."
#63730
B. Churches themselves have been torn up over the issue.
1) The Christian organization that runs Ocean Grove was sued
for not allowing a lesbian couple to marry on their
property.
2) Episcopalians go the other way.
a) They perform homosexual marriages and teach the
acceptance of active homosexuality.
b) At one of their recent General Conventions, they
discussed a resolution to add the English Standard
Version of the Bible to the list of officially
approved versions for the denomination.
Then someone discovered that the ESV translation of
1 Corinthians 6:9 clearly includes those who
unrepentantly practice homosexuality as among
those who will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Immediately a new vote was called, and the resolution
on the ESV was, in essence, tabled.
But then someone got around to reading the other
translations that are approved for use in the
Episcopal Church.
They were shocked to discover that essentially the same
wording is found in the RSV, the NIV, the CEV, and
several other versions!
#63675
II. A lot is at stake in this debate.
A. The homosexual debate goes to the core of Christian belief.
1) It is not just a sex thing, but an undermining of the
Christian view of the world.
a) Their preferred designation is "LGBT": lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender.
b) Some add a "Q" for Queer, signifying everything
outside the norms of Biblical morality.
c) Want an extreme example of where this can take us?
Earlier this year Babylonia Aivaz got married
to a building.
Not in it, but to it.
She was part of an Occupy Seattle protest and she
was opposing the gentrification of the area.
She said it was a gay marriage because the building
was a woman.
#63551
2) It a direct attack on the authority of the Bible, and
what it teaches about God's purpose and plan for us.
B. It will affect how churches relate to society.
1) Already we see a growing threat to freedom of speech
and freedom of religion.
2) In California, if you try to help someone who wants to
change from homosexuality, you can be arrested.
a) The New Jersey legislature is discussing the same law.
C. You should have a clear idea of what you think about it.
1) Polls keep changing and they indicate a dramatic shift.
2) Do you know WHY you believe what you believe?
III. What the Bible teaches about homosexuality.
A. There are clear statements prohibiting it.
1) The Old Testament.
Leviticus 18:22
"Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is
detestable."
Leviticus 20:13
"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both
of them have done what is detestable.
They must be put to death; their blood will be on their
own heads."
a) Note the severe penalty.
b) Also note that it is the practice of homosexuality,
not the orientation that is condemned.
1> What about the other things that the O.T. condemns?
A> Think lobster, cutting your sideburns...
2> Here is an important rule - if a rule in the O.T.
is repeated in the N.T., we are dealing with
something timeless.
2) The New Testament.
Romans 1:25-27
"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped
and served created things rather than the Creator--who
is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.
Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural
ones.
In 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."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
"Do 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 nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will
inherit the kingdom of God."
a) Critics have tried to minimize these passages by
quibbling about specific words.
1> In Romans 1:26-27, they suggest "unnatural" means
sexuality you were not born with.
A> So Paul is referring to straight people acting
homosexual, or homosexuals acting straight.
B> This is a pretty desperate interpretation.
2> In 1 Corinthians 6, the two words for homosexuality
are very rare.
A> Some scholars suggest we cannot know what they
really mean.
B> However rare, their meaning is not unclear and
the context here is certainly focusing on
sexual sins.
b) Romans 1 is especially powerful because it refers back
to Creation.
1> Paul is not treating it as a limited, local issue.
2> Homosexuality goes against God's intentions for us.
B. There are examples of its practice that are condemned.
1) Genesis 19 and Sodom and Gomorrah.
a) This may not be typical homosexuality (more the Rikers
Island version) but it is part of it.
b) It is often said that the euphemism "know" doesn't have
to mean sex.
1> The argument is made that inhospitality is the real
sin.
2> But "know" is often used of sex and it makes the
most sense here.
2) Jude 1:7
"In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding
towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and
perversion.
They serve as an example of those who suffer the
punishment of eternal fire."
a) Supports the above interpretation of Genesis 19.
1> It is claimed that no other passages in the Old
Testament give a sexual angle on the Sodom story,
which is true.
2> But this passage clearly does.
b) Some claim it is not about homosexuality, but about sex
with angels.
1> The word translated "perversion" is literally
"strange flesh."
A> It is true that the intended victims in Sodom
were not really men, but angels.
B> Yet the Sodomites did not realize this.
2> Jude's point is that the false teachers in his own
day, just like the Sodomites, were violating
God's intentions by turning to sexual sin.
3> The "self-pollution" of verse 8 reinforces this.
C. There are overall Biblical principles that oppose it.
1) Jesus upholds marriage as between a man and a woman. #63682
a) This counters the argument that Jesus never speaks on
the issue of homosexual marriage.
2) He did not deal specifically with homosexuality, but in
the Jewish environment this was taken for granted.
a) He also did not condemn prostitution or molesting
children.
b) An "argument from silence" only works if someone is
expected to speak to an issue.
IV. What does it matter?
A. Does a neighbor's homosexuality or marriage affect us?
1) Congressman Barney Frank likes to ask this question.
2) My answer would be that many small incidents have large
impact.
a) The proliferation of divorce has changed our culture.
b) Sexuality ends up affecting all of us, directly or
indirectly.
B. Secularists want to push the Bible aside.
1) Sometimes quite literally.
Ian McKellen, an actor who played Gandolf in the Lord of the
Rings movies, rips Leviticus 18:22 out of Gideon Bibles
in every hotel he visits. #34788
2) Biological determinism is all that matters to them.
a) I am made this way, I cannot change.
b) Bible says anyone can change, and all of us must change.
c) Note what 1 Cor. 6:11 says - this is what some of you
WERE. But they had changed.
1> To say that we cannot control our sexuality is to
say Christianity cannot change people.
2> Millions would testify this isn't true.
V. What Christians must do.
A. We must stand for biblical morality and traditional marriage.
1) Small compromises don't bring peace, they just lead to the
next step.
2) And don't just give verbal support - practice biblical
morality in your own life.
a) Be humble and consider our own failures.
1> There is plenty of sin within the Christian church.
2> We are all deviant to some extent. Rom 3:23
b) One pastor made this comment:
"The way I feel about homosexuality is the same way God
feels about sin in general." #36319
B. We must have compassion for those who struggle with sexuality.
1) Not every homosexual is out to destroy the church.
2) Many see themselves as Christian, and there is no reason
they shouldn't.
a) Their sin is just like adultery.
b) Perhaps a better analogy would be alcoholism, something
that grabs you deep in your soul.
c) It is difficult to gain control over it, but with God's
help you can.
C. Offer hope and love.
1) We can love even those who reject us and our gospel.
2) God offers salvation to everyone, no matter what you are
doing or what you have done.
3) He demands a change - repentance - but he gives us the
power to do what he commands.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#32014 “A Preacher Is Arrested In Britain,” Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.,
President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
<http://www.albertmohler.com>, May 4, 2010.
#34788 “Ripping Out Leviticus,” derived from various internet sources
including <http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1889540/posts>
and <http://www.popeater.com/2009/11/02/ian-mckellen-bible-leviticus-1822/>,
August 28, 2007.
#36319 “Four Instances Not To Mention Hell In Your Preaching,” Larry Moyer,
Preaching Now, www.preaching.com, October 25, 2010.
#63551 “What Marriage Is Coming To,” Randy Cassingham, This Is True
internet newsletter, February 18, 2012. Original source is the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper.
#63675 “What, That's In There?” John Stonestreet, BreakPoint Commentary,
August 8, 2012. (Adapted from the original commentary, “Bible
Trivia: We Got Some Learnin’ to Do")
#63682 “Is It True Jesus Never Addressed Same-Sex Marriage?” Daniel Akin,
Baptist Press, http://www.baptistpress.org, August 9, 2012.
#63730 “How Gay Marriage Harms Religious Liberty,” Eric Metaxas,
BreakPoint Commentary, September 18, 2012.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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