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.

Love, God, Hate, Sin

There are some people in the Church who think that personal holiness and social justice are some how independent from each other. They think that the practice of personal holiness in accordance with sound, biblical teaching has nothing to do with loving God and each other. But if we, the Church, have sin and falsehood within ourselves, and we encourage it in others, then all the worldly aid that we offer to those in need is 100% worthless! Because while feeding hungry stomachs, we leave souls to die in the gutter that is sin.

There are some who actually think it is wrong to even speak against sin. They get upset if you so much as recognize sin as sin. But the truth is that one must hate sin in order to love God. Don't hate the sinner; all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But definitely do hate the sin. Christ's purpose in coming was to take away our sin; to lead us to repentance - reconciliation with God. If you love God and people, then you will long for yourself and others to be freed, by Jesus Christ, from sin. 

It is an inescapable reality: everyone must love, and hate. If one loves God, the same will hate sin. If one loves sin, the same will hate God. Whoever loves God, hates sin. And whoever loves sin, hates God. God and sin are diametrically opposed to each other so that no one can simultaneously embrace both. To love the one is to hate the other.

As Jesus taught, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other" (Matthew 6:24). No one can love God and sin, both at the same time. "For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness" (Psalm 11:7). "You who love the LORD, hate evil!" (Psalm 97:10). And what does the Holy Spirit say about the man named Job? That he revered God and shunned evil (Job 1:1). He despised sin. He hated it; because he was loyal to God who "is righteous, and loves righteousness". To love sin is vile, wicked, shameful, and disgusting. To love God is to love what is good and right and pure and holy. And that necessarily amounts to hating sin. 

Through Christ, the universe was made (John 1:1-3, Hebrews 1:1-2). Everything, life and all blessings and strength and beauty and love come from God (John 1:4-5, James 1:17). He is the eternal First Cause and Owner of the universe. And He is the Absolute Decider (Standard) of what is good. On the cross, He made the highest sacrifice to free us from our sin. 

Jesus did what He did at the cross because He loves people. He hates sin because it separates people from Him, the Originator of life, light, love, and everything that is good. He is very patient with humanity, allowing us to live when He would have been justified in pouring out His final judgement on the world centuries ago. Jesus said that our heavenly Father made and allows His sun to shine "on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust" because He is love, and He is patient. But eventually He must judge sin because He is righteous, and He loves righteousness. Sin has to be judged.

So Jesus gave His life on the cross to pay for your sin, and mine. None of us is without sin. But we can not be saved unless we confess - admit that we are sinners; that our sin is sin. We must do this in order to rightly trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sin. No one will enter the kingdom of God until they have their sin taken away from them. And no one will have their sin taken away from them until they admit that they have sinned against God, and are alienated from Him by their sin; and are willing to be reconciled to God by His Son Jesus Christ. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the Lamb of God who takes away our sin (John 1:29).

So yes, Jesus is about love, forgiveness, and compassion. But He is equally about repentance on our part and reconciling us to our immaculately holy, righteous God (Matthew 4:17, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). And that means identifying - recognizing the sin that is in ourselves; and putting that sin to death (Romans 6:1-14, Colossians 3:1-10). Jesus had compassion on the adulteress. But He told her to leave her life of sin behind. She would have to in order to follow Him. In order to turn to God, one has to turn away from sin (John 8:1-12, James 4:7-8). 

I admit I am not perfect. But I love Jesus Christ enough to want to love Him more. And in order for me to love God more, I necessarily must learn to hate the sin within myself more. In order to love God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind; I must hate sin with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind. And I must strive, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to rid myself of sin, and urge others, for the love of Christ, to do the same. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). And if anyone has Christian love for me, they will not encourage me to harm my own soul with any kind of sin.