Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
January 26, 1986
Homosexuality
Genesis 19:1-13
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Homosexuality - it's a hot topic right now. Thirty years ago it was invisible in the United States. It still is in Coshocton County. You may know a few people you suspect are homosexual, you may be sure they are, but they hide it.
Things are different in other parts of the country. Every week there is something in a newspaper or magazine or on television. Periodically laws are proposed that would prohibit discriminating against homosexuals. One such law was voted down recently in Providence, Rhode Island. It's not that people want to discriminate against homosexuals, it's just that they don't want people to think they are in favor of it.
Every year there is a Gay Pride parade in Columbus, Ohio, with up to two thousand marchers. Columbus also has a homosexual church called the Columbus Metropolitan Community Church, and if any homosexual issue has received attention it has been the death of everyone's favorite leading man, Rock Hudson.
No one can deny that attitudes are changing. Homosexuality has gone from being unmentionable in polite company to being an alternative lifestyle. A lifestyle that is different from yours or mine but not one that is sinful. It has become unfashionable to be opposed to homosexuality which is why I'm presenting this message.
I realize that most of you are not gay and never will be. You figure nothing in the sermon will apply directly to you. One person who previewed the sermon told me, "Don't expect too many to come forward." I don't expect every sermon to get "results" like that, but I aim every one of them at a need of the church. One pressing need of the church today is to understand the forces that are shaping our society.
Most Americans will never be homosexual, but those who are have a lot of political muscle and they are already challenging the Christian principles that under-gird our laws and society.
How do you view this topic? You can be influenced by current trends and philosophies or you can turn to the Bible. For those who seek direction from the Scripture, today's passage is one of the primary ones on homosexuality. The story is well known. Before Lot ever moved there Sodom had a wicked reputation. When the angels came to rescue him Lot thought they were average people passing through and he knew enough about his city to insist they stay in his house and not outside. That night the Sodomites surround the house and ask Lot to turn over the visitors so they can molest them. The angels blinded them, then dragged Lot out of the city which was completely destroyed. "Fire and Brimstone" originates here. Ever since, Sodom has been synonymous with homosexuality.
This interpretation has been accepted for most of the church age, until now. Because in 1955 Dr. Sherwin Bailey wrote a book called "Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition." In his book Bailey argues that homosexuality is not present in Genesis 19. All the Sodomites wanted to do was to "know" the angels. He says that the word "know" almost always means to get acquainted with someone. Out of over nine hundred occurrences of the word "know" in the Old Testament only a handful refer to a sexual situation.
In addition, many other Old Testament passages refer to the sin of Sodom, but they never mention any kind of sex. Ezekiel 16:49-50 says:
"'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen."
Dr. Bailey says the real sin of Sodom is not sex but their lack of hospitality. The Sodomites resented the way Lot, a newcomer himself, brought two guests in without clearing it with them first. When they say they want to know the angels they are demanding to become acquainted with them. Therefore, what people perceive to be the Bible's sharpest condemnation of homosexuality is really story teaching something completely different.
You may not be convinced by Bailey's theory but many influential people have been. We can no longer assume people look at the passage like we do, but that doesn't mean we are wrong. As a matter of fact, the vast majority of scholars, including liberals, think the theory is a bunch of bologna. Here's why...the word "know" usually means to become acquainted with someone; but like many words, it also has other, less common, meanings. A secondary meaning for "know" is sexual relations, as Bailey himself admits. And in Genesis 19 the demand to "know" the angels is countered with Lot's offer of his two daughters, who have not "known" men. This is clearly sexual.
Other Old Testament passages do not mention sex as Sodom's sin but Sodom was full of sin: you could take your pick. The seventh verse in Jude in the New Testament definitely mentions sexual sin and depravity in Sodom which should settle it:
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.
Lack of hospitality just does not do justice to this passage.
One objection many people make is that Sodom does not describe the average homosexual. The Sodomites were out to rape but most gays are not monsters like this. As a matter of fact they tend to be law-abiding, talented and compassionate people. Most of them are not limp-wristed with flaming pink outfits. The average homosexual would fit right in here.
Many people estimate that ten percent of the men in this country are homosexual at some point in their lives. At any given time three percent are practicing it. To put it in perspective, two or three people here today may be gay. We are not aware of them because most homosexuals try to hide it. Their biggest fear is being discovered because of the rejection they will face.
A few years back there was a fire in a private movie theater in Washington, D.C. Only members could enter the theater because it showed homosexual films. When the fire struck about seven men were killed. Most of them had wives and children. One of them was even a Mennonite teacher of history at a Christian college. His friends lamely tried to cover for him by saying he was probably there to witness to the other men.
For a homosexual who is in hiding it must be a very lonely existence and Christians should be sensitive to this. The reason many people come to accept homosexuality is because they feel compassion for what gays go through. Christians should love homosexuals but they should hate homosexuality. The Bible clearly condemns all homosexuality, not just when it is rape.
Two passages are the most straightforward. Leviticus 18:22 says,
"'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable."
Romans 1:26-27 says,
"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."
Homosexuality is a serious matter. In Leviticus 18 the previous law dealt with sacrificing your children in fire. The new law deals with having sex with animals. The penalty for all of them is death. Romans do not list a specific punishment. Paul only says that homosexuals will receive their punishment "in themselves." Many Christians have wondered if this punishment would be AIDS. Non-believers are aghast at the thought that God would hurt anyone so they react violently to this idea.
I think Christians should remember two things:
1. Not everyone who has AIDS is homosexual.
2. And not all homosexuals have AIDS.
If AIDS is a judgment from God it is not a universal one, but I believe it fits in with what the Bible says. God has put together our bodies a certain way and when we use them differently, trouble sets in. AIDS is intimately associated with the act of homosexuality and once it takes hold there does not seem to be a cure.
Christians should not be happy about AIDS. The Bible says God is not willing that any should perish but that everyone should have the opportunity to be saved. Our primary concern about gays should be to love them and point them to Jesus.
I see a tendency among Christians to do the opposite. We tell cruel jokes about them and we condemn them. At a recent gay parade in Columbus a group of Christians yelled out insults to the marchers. It's a poor way to witness. When Christians take this approach we are siding with those who say homosexuals cannot change. This is a lie. The passage we read this morning from 1 Corinthians 6 shows that some early Christians had been homosexual but they were washed, sanctified, and justified. God can transform anyone. He can transform a homosexual, and he can transform YOU.
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Typed on April 25, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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