Jesus Did Say Something About It

There is a certain deception floating around, which I have heard and read numerous times. The deception is that Jesus Christ never said anything to controvert homosexuality or gay marriage. But when Jesus discussed the sanctity of marriage, He clearly defined it as intended to be a union between a man and a woman. He said, "But from the beginning of creation, God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife'" (Mark 10:6-7). 

I've also heard numerous people defend the "alternative lifestyle" by saying that when the Bible was written, the word "homosexual" did not exist. True as that may be, the concept to which the word refers did exists. People have been having same-sex relations at least since the period when Sodom and Gomorrah were in existence, approximately four thousand years ago. Just because a particular word was not in existence at a particular time does not mean that the concept or practice did not exist under a different name or terminology.

And Christ's apostle, Paul, was clearly describing same-sex relations in his letter to the Roman church, where he identified that behavior as one of many crimes against Divinity; for which the judgement of God is going to be poured out upon the world. He wrote, "For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 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" (Romans 1:26-27).

I've also heard of the claim that Adam and Eve were not the only humans that God created in the beginning; and that He may have created other couples that were not heterosexual. However this deception is exposed by the statement that I have already quoted from Jesus Christ, that "from the beginning of creation, God 'made them male and female', 'for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife'" (Mark 10:6-7). Here, Jesus acknowledges no other arrangement. 

There is no indication anywhere in the Scriptures that God created others than just Adam, Eve, and their posterity. "And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). All human beings are descended from Adam and Eve. "Where" one may ask "did the sons of Adam find wives then?" The answer is that they married the daughters of Adam. 

That may seem shocking, since, over two thousand years later, the Law of Moses banned incest. But in the pre-Flood era, the human genome would have had much fewer defects that could potentially become dominant in human offspring. In the pre-Fallen world, before sin, disease, and death entered the world, (Romans 5:12) there were no defects at all in the human genome. It is because of the increase of defects, caused by the brokenness of nature due to sin, (Romans 8:21-22) that anyone seeking a spouse must look beyond their close relatives. 

Now I think most if not all of us have heard the claim that homosexuals are born that way and can't help it. But whether or not that is true makes no difference. God's word lets us know that we are all born with a fallen, sinful nature which we have inherited from our first ancestors, Adam and Eve. Different people may have different weaknesses, but all moral/spiritual weaknesses stem from the same fallen, sinful nature. There is nothing whatsoever unique about homosexuality. It is a sin, and it is no better, and no worse, than idolatry, adultery, fornication, lying, or any other sin. 

All of us are fallen, our nature is broken. And it is true that we can't  help it. That is why we need to receive salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ who gave Himself on the cross for our sin; and who has risen from the dead to provide everlasting life to all who trust in Him. By His death and resurrection, Christ has made it possible for us to receive redemption, forgiveness of sin (Colossians 1:13-14). By faith in Him, we receive the Holy Spirit who then lives in us, and is helping us, making us become perfect in His righteousness. We can not be saved from our sin unless we trust in Him.

Nimrod

In Genesis 10:8-12, we read about a man named Nimrod who was "a mighty one", and "a mighty hunter before (i.e. in the presence of) the LORD". We learn that "the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calnah, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth, Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city)". 

In Genesis 11:1-9, we read about how the people of the earth, under Nimrod, endeavored to build "a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens" in order to "make a name" for themselves as a people. The implication is that they wanted to build something that would stand as a testament to their own greatness, and the greatness of their ruler, Nimrod. 

But God took away their ability to communicate with each other.  Up until that time there was only one language. But at the Tower of Babel, the people of the earth became divided by language barriers for the first time. And they were scattered abroad; the Tower of Babel left unfinished. The ability to communicate is a blessing from God, which He has every right to confiscate. When the LORD takes away, He takes what rightfully belongs to Him from start to finish. He is the Creator, and Owner of everything that exists. It is a graciousness on His part that He allows anyone to live and move and be (Acts 17:28). And those who use His gifts for evil will be judged.

The construction of the Tower of Babel was a sort of  humanist endeavor, before the term "humanist" existed. In other words, Nimrod and the people of the earth had forgotten that it was in God's presence that they were mighty. It is God who created humanity and sustains us. God gave Nimrod life and strength to be a "mighty one". But Nimrod took it for granted, as though he had accomplish it all by himself.

Since then, the name of Nimrod has become a term of derision. To call someone a nimrod is an insult. The name of Nimrod has become a synonym for "stupid person". We as humans do behave stupidly when we forget our Creator, when we fail to acknowledge His blessings and His sovereignty over our lives. We act like a bunch of nimrods when we think that we live by our own strength or intelligence. As the O.C. Supertones put it, 

"Lord, I just don't understand

This strange creature You call 'man'

Who thinks he lives by his own hand

But I know - there's no life away from You"

Only fools deny God (Psalm 14:1). And it is also nimrod-like to think that we, by our own efforts, can say or do anything to achieve or earn good standing with God. We are fallen creatures because of sin. Our nature is fallen. All of us fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The prophet of God said, 

"But we are all like an unclean thing,

And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

We all fade as a leaf,

And our iniquities, like the wind,

Have taken us away"

(Isaiah 64:6).

There is nothing we can do to change the fact that we have sinned. It is only by the grace that comes through Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sin, and has risen from the dead to provide eternal life to all who trust in Him, that we can receive redemption - forgiveness of sin, and reconciliation with the heavenly Father (Acts 4:10-12, Romans 6:23, Colossians 1:12-14, 1 Timothy 2:5).

Let's not be like Nimrod. Let us remember that we are created by, and in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) who is love (1 John 4:8), for the purpose of love (Matthew 22:37-40); and that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17). Then we will be mindful of our dependence on our heavenly Father, submissive to His sovereignty over our lives, and grateful to Him for His mercy, and His blessings, and His love toward us.

Sin and the Remedy

Biblically, the word sin refers to a couple of things that are related to each other. For one thing, it refers to any specific act or attitude of disobedience against God. His commands are revealed to us in the Scriptures. Therefore, any specific act of disobedience against His revelation, in Scripture, is a sin. This includes idolatry, irreverence, theft, murder, adultery, lying, and envy (Exodus 20:1-17). And it also includes homosexuality, because contrary to what some falsely claim; the truth is that both the Old and New Testament, and Jesus Christ Himself, address the issue (Leviticus 18:22, Mark 10:6-8, Romans 1:24-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). 

So, all specific acts/attitudes of disobedience against God are sins. The Greek word that is translated "sin" in the New Testament literally means "to miss the mark". In other words, it is a failure to meet God's standard of what is good. As the Scripture says; "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). No one can be good without God, because God Himself is the Absolute Decider of what is good. He sets and upholds the absolute standard. We can either obey, or disobey. It is evil to reject God's standard and substitute one's own. The problem is, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". None of us meets God's standard of goodness. 

And so this is another thing to which the word "sin" refers. It refers to the human condition. It refers to the fallen nature of the human race. When sin entered the world through one man, and death came by sin, (Romans 5:12) it affected the whole nature of the human being. As a result, we are all born with a sinful nature, inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve. Since that day in the Garden of Eden, humanity has been in a spiritual state of rebellion against God. Thus, every specific act of disobedience against God is symptomatic of the spiritual condition of the inward soul. This condition, this fallen nature, is referred to in Scripture as sin. Sin runs deeper than actions. Sin is a spiritual disease.

So all such things as faithlessness, kleptomania, malice, lust, gender confusion, every kind of sexual deviance, greed, inordinate anger, the state of being a sociopath or a compulsive liar; all tendencies and inclinations to disobey God, are sin (Matthew 5:21-30). The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Jesus Christ came into the world and died in our place, for our sin. He didn't just die for specific acts of disobedience which we have committed. He died for our sinful condition.

Those who place their trust in Him are saved by His grace. And having been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we receive His Holy Spirit who works in us to reform our inward nature. This is a life long process. An individual may have a particular type of sin that is a point of weakness for them. The individual may struggle with that point of weakness throughout their life in this world. But each believer, when he or she stands before God at the end of his or her life in this physical world, will be perfected in accordance with His holiness through Christ (see Romans 5:1-2, Philippians 1:6, and 1 John 3:2). So, as we think of sin as a spiritual sickness, Jesus came with the remedy; the cure. This is why Christians like myself sometimes refer to Him as the Great Physician.

Public and Private Prayer

The assertion has been made by some atheists that Jesus commanded His followers to keep our faith to ourselves. They wrongly claim that Jesus taught His followers to keep all of our religious observances private, and out of public view. But this is a distortion of what Jesus actually taught about public and private prayer in His Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus was speaking out against the religious leaders who made long, loud, pompous prayers in public just to impress other people. Their hearts were not humbled to be in the presence of the Almighty God. Instead, these religious leaders were puffed up with self-pride, self-righteousness, and self-satisfaction. They were drunk on the applause of other people. And they did not think to look for the approval of God alone. That is what Jesus condemned when He said:

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:5-6).

He also preceded this teaching on prayer with a similar teaching on doing good deeds (Matthew 6:1-4). But Jesus also said, in the very same sermon:

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can not be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16).

The difference between the public religious observances that Jesus condemned, and the public observances that He approved, is the inward intentions of the heart. Our motives are just as important to God as our actions are. To do the right thing for the wrong reason is an abomination in the sight of God. But to do the wrong thing for any reason is also an abomination in the sight of God. We are commanded by God, not only to do what is right and good in His sight, but also to do it for the right reason.

Jesus condemned the religious leaders of those days because their piety was all just a show to impress others with their own, pretensions. They were not trying to draw people to the heavenly Father. They were seeking applause and glory for themselves. Such outwardly religious persons probably would not practice private prayer much at all, since they are not really interested in communing with the heavenly Father. The people Jesus was speaking against were only interested in impressing each other and exalting themselves above others. But Jesus wants us to be unashamed to honor Him publicly. It's just that it is God that we are to glorify; not ourselves.

The right thing to do is to obey the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the right and proper motive is to give the glory and honor and praise to God. We are not to be the focal point. God is. We are to honor God with our words and actions; not so that others will praise us, or give us the recognition, but that they will give the praise and recognition to the only One who deserves it. And that is God. And God's approval is the only approval that we should be concerned with seeking.

Insensitive?

I have heard of the accusation; that devote and faithful Christians are mean and insensitive. And maybe some of us are. Maybe I am. However, that accusation is one that cuts both ways. 

Take for example, Simon Peter. Jesus said to his disciple, who argued with Him about His impending crucifixion, that he was not being mindful of the things of God, but the things of men (Matthew 16:23).

Peter was oh so very sensitive about the well-being of the Messiah. How cruelly did the idea stab his heart; that his Lord should have to "go tho Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be killed..." (Matthew 16:21). "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" he cried (Matthew 16:22). 

He was sensitive to the wrong things. He was sensitive to his own notion of what should happen to Jesus. But he was not sensitive to the will of God; the need for the Messiah to suffer and die before entering His glory (Isaiah 53, Daniel 9:26, Luke 24:25-27). He was not sensitive to the need for Jesus to give His life as a ransom to save sinners from eternal ruin (Matthew 20:28).

And now what about those who mock and ridicule Jesus and His followers. What about those who reject Christ. Do they call us insensitive because we tell the truth: that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus? (Romans 3:23-24). Are we insensitive be cause we tell the truth: that God now commands all people everywhere to repent (turn away from sin) and be saved, by Jesus, from the judgement to come? (Acts 17:30-31).

Do the unrepentant not know that they are the ones who are insensitive to God who is love, and who made humanity in His own image before the Fall? It is irrational for them to think that the universe, operating according to orderly laws, its behavior guided by intelligible information on a cellular and atomic level, came not from an intelligent Creator and sovereign Lawgiver; but from random, mindless, unguided processes. 

And if the physical universe did not operate according to orderly laws, science would be impossible. Our own brains would not operate according to orderly laws, enabling us to think and to make valid observations. Yet, one must also be blind not to see that this is a fallen, corrupted, sinful, broken world we inhabit; in need of a Savior. And it requires a hard, insensitive heart to reject the truth that Jesus is that Savior. 

The unrepentant, because of their depraved spirits, are irrational, and spiritually blind; having hard, insensitive hearts. They are the ones who are insensitive to the things that matter to the Maker/Owner of the universe. They are the ones who are insensitive to the love of Jesus, who died for their sins. He offers eternal life; restoration taking away the brokenness of sin's curse, eternal peace, joy and love. And they reject it all. 

The unrepentant do not want to be reconciled with their Maker, whose Son died on the cross to save sinners. They want to remain fallen creatures. They think it is enough for them to manage their fallen nature as they see fit. But they are fallen creatures with a corrupted view of what is good. They say that they are "good without a god", but they are not good. They only think that they are good because they are too corrupt to even know what is good. To be without God is, by definition, not good. 

When humanity turns his back on God, and sets up his own fallen, corrupted standard of "right" and "wrong"; it inevitably leads to every kind of evil. It led humanity to crucify the perfect Son of God who is love, and who made humanity in His image before the Fall. And it continues to lead humans to mock and despise Him and His followers to this day. It even has lead to the widespread acceptance of infanticide in the name of "women's rights"; disregard toward human life in the name of "human rights". They think they are good, but they are not good. They are evil. They are the insensitive ones. They are mean. 

They are insensitive to the filthiness of their own rebellion against God who is love. They are insensitive to the stench of their own depravity. They are the insensitive ones who refuse to be reconciled with God through His Son Jesus Christ.

As for me, I too have been insensitive to the heart of God. I have, at times, chosen to be sensitive, instead, to the thoughts and feelings of fallen humanity. And as a result, I have thought and said and done things that are wicked and insensitive to God who is love. For, as Jesus Himself said, "what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). 

I am sorry for the ways in which I have dishonored God. I repent. And I ask Him to forgive me. And I thank Him for His mercy, as He helps me to practice the righteousness of the new nature which is in Christ.

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14). 

You Can't Be Good Without God. And Here's Why.

The rally cry of the American Humanist Association is "Good Without a God". A big problem with the "Good Without God" mantra is that a person's definition of what is "good" is determined by what that person believes. A person who believes in the God of the Bible will have a different definition of "good" than a person who believes in a different god, or no god.

And if God is real, as I affirm that He is, than His definition of what is good is the only correct definition. And so if our definition of "good" is different from His; we may think that we're good, but we're not. And the heart of what God calls good is to be in a good relationship with Him - personally. He is concerned not only with our outward behavior, but our inward spiritual condition; which correlates directly with our relationship with Him. So being good requires that we obey God because we recognize Him as our Father. And that requires faith. As the Scriptures say:

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" Hebrews 11:6.

Some other specific passages that tell us what God considers to be good include:

• The Ten Commandments; Exodus 20:1-17

• The Sermon on the Mount; Matthew chapters 5-7, also see Luke 6:20-49

• The Last Supper Discourse; John chapters 13-17

• The Fruits of the Spirit; Galatians 5:22-23

Some specific passages describing what is not good in the eyes of God include:

• Galatians 5:19-21

• Romans 1:18-32

Now here is another big problem with the "Good Without God" mantra. According to God's definition, no one is good! This is a repeated statement in the Bible. 

• Ecclesiastes 7:20 says "For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin."

• Romans 3: 10-12 says "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

• Psalm 14:1-3 says "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."

• Psalm 53:1-3 repeats this verbatim.

• In Matthew 7:11 and Luke 11:13, Jesus calls all the people listening to Him "evil"! He says "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

• In John 7:7, Jesus makes a similar remark when talking to His half-brothers. He told them "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil."

• And in Mark 10:18, Jesus gives a personal challenge to one man to admit that Jesus is God. When the man called Him "good teacher" Jesus answered "Why do you call me good? No one is good-except God alone."

• The same conversation is also recorded in Luke 18:19

• And finally, Romans 3:23-26 reads "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." 

Human Free-Will

Whether or not one believes in God, the question of human free-will is difficult. 

Christians struggle to understand the relationship between human free-will and the sovereignty of God. Some theologians reject belief in one or the other. Some atheists believe that behavior is predetermined by a person's DNA and environment. 

The view can then be taken that the sovereignty of God is the very thing that makes human free-will possible. Without God we would be slaves to our genetic makeup and the events and experiences that happen to (influence) us. By the sovereign grace of God we are able to make a choice between good and evil; between Christ and Baal. In Christ is  spiritual life. In Baal is death (John 10:10). 

And God in His sovereignty and infinite wisdom, has arranged our times and places in life so as to create the circumstances under which each individual is most likely to seek and find Him (Acts 17:26-31). 

But those who do not consider it worth while to keep God in there thoughts, He lets them go as they wish - into the bondage of sin (Romans 1:28). 

Romans 1:28 brings to my mind the story of Moses and Pharaoh. In Exodus we read that God "hardened Pharaoh's heart". This seems to make the question of human free-will very difficult. 

I have found that certain algebraic concepts are helpful to my understanding of philosophical/theological questions like this one. In algebra we often add negatives and subtract positives, or add by subtracting a negative and so forth. 

It can be understood from the verse that God takes positive action against the one who does not remember Him, shackling them in bondage to sin; or it can be understood that He, as I word it above, lets them go as they wish.

So when the text says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, I see it not as an aggressive (positive) action on the part of God, but rather as a passive (negative) action whereby God does not forcibly soften Pharaoh's heart because Pharaoh does not love God or His people.