YEAR IN REVIEW: What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality

YEAR IN REVIEW: What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality

One
night I was reading the stories of people who had left the church because they
thought God hated them simply because they were attracted to the same sex. I
was so overcome with emotion that I put the book down, got alone in another
room, fell to my knees and wept. The pain of these men and women for whom Jesus
died was palpable and heartbreaking.

Could
it be that we have been misinterpreting Scripture when it comes to their
salvation? Could it be that there is some new understanding of the Bible that
would allow us to affirm committed, same-sex relationships?

If
not, does that mean that we tell a 15 year-old girl who identifies as lesbian,
"If you want to follow Jesus, you'll have to be celibate for the rest of
your life, never enjoying the companionship of a spouse and abstaining from sex
for life"? Do we tell her, "If you do want to be married, you'll have
to find a way to be attracted to men"? Is that the good news of the
gospel?

A
spate of books, videos, articles and blogs would tell us that, indeed, that is
not the gospel and that the good news of Jesus is that you can follow Him and
enjoy a committed, homosexual relationship too. And some of the authors of
these books, videos, articles and blogs claim to be committed Christians
themselves.

How
do we sort this out?

It's
really not that difficult. God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our
path (Ps. 119:105). It is "living and active, sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12-13).

If
we will humble ourselves before the Lord, keeping our focus on Jesus and asking
the Father to give us His heart for those who identify as LGBT, letting the
unequivocal testimony of Scripture guide us, we will find clarity.

So
what does the Word of God say about homosexual practice?

Here
are five simple truths that will help separate truth from error and biblical
revelation from emotion. (For those wanting a more in-depth treatment, please
see my newest book, Can You Be Gay and Christian?)

1)
The testimony of Scripture remains unchanged: The Bible forbids homosexual
practice.

It's
clear that the vast majority of those who have changed their views on what the
Bible says about homosexuality and now believe in "gay Christianity"
have done so based on either their own same-sex desires and attractions or
their interaction with "gay Christians" (or with any gay or lesbian
person who challenges their assumptions).

In
other words, they have not changed their thinking based on study of the
Scriptures alone, since no new textual, archeological, sociological,
anthropological or philological discoveries have been made in the last 50 years
that would cause us to read any of these biblical texts differently.

Church Planting - Surf Church - Forgotten Shores

Words for the Wise, Ephesians 3, God can do more than we expect

Ephesians 3 The Voice (VOICE)

For Paul there are two kinds of people: Jews and Gentiles, or to put it another way, insiders and outsiders. The Prince of Peace is establishing peace where division and hostility once ruled unchallenged. In the Jerusalem temple, a stone wall separated Jewish from non-Jewish worshipers. According to Paul, the cross is God’s instrument to dismantle the wall, end the segregation, and make the two into one. God wants one people of God. That has been His plan all along.

Today walls continue to exist, erected strategically to separate people by race, religion, class, culture, and sex. Those who erect these walls, protect them, and maintain them will find that they are enemies of the gospel that brings all together into one worshiping family.

3 All this is exactly why I, Paul, am a prisoner of Jesus the Anointed, His representative to the outsider nations. ² You have heard, haven’t you, how God appointed me to bring you His message of grace? ³ And how the mystery was made known to me in a revelation? I briefly wrote about it earlier. ⁴ When you read what I have written, you will be better able to understand the depth of my insight into the mystery of the Anointed One, ⁵ a mystery that has never before been shown to past generations. Only now are these secrets being revealed to God’s chosen emissaries^[a] and prophets through the Holy Spirit. ⁶ Specifically, the mystery is this: by trusting in the good news, the Gentile outsiders are becoming fully enfranchised members of the same body, heirs alongside Israel, and beneficiaries of the promise that has been fulfilled through Jesus the Anointed.

⁷ I became a servant and preacher of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace as He exercised His amazing power over me. ⁸ I cannot think of anyone more unworthy to this cause than I, the least of the least of the saints. But here I am, a grace-made man, privileged to be an echo of His voice and a preacher to all the nations of the riches of the Anointed One, riches that no one ever imagined. ⁹ I am privileged to enlighten all of Adam’s descendants to the mystery concealed from previous ages by God, the Creator of all, through Jesus the Anointed. ¹⁰ Here’s His objective: through the church, He intends now to make known His infinite and boundless wisdom to all rulers and authorities in heavenly realms.¹¹ This has been His plan from the beginning, one that He has now accomplished through the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord. ¹² His faithfulness^[b] to God has made it possible for us to have the courage we need and the ability to approach the Father confidently. ¹³ So I ask you not to become discouraged because I am jailed for speaking out on your behalf. In fact, my suffering is something that brings you glory.

¹⁴ It is for this reason that I bow my knees before the Father,¹⁵ after whom all families in heaven above and on earth below receive their names, and pray:

¹⁶ Father, out of Your honourable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit ¹⁷ so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together ^18-19 with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings.

This is a doxology of praise to the One with power that is beyond understanding.

²⁰ Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us, ²¹ to Him be all glory in the church and in Jesus the Anointed from this generation to the next, forever and ever. Amen.

NIV Application Commentary

The Doxology (3:20–21)

The doxology brings the first half of Ephesians to a close at the place it began in 1:3, in giving praise to God. Doxologies in the form “glory to God” are frequent in the New Testament, though most are much briefer. The use of “glory” in Ephesians and throughout the New Testament is fascinating. God is a God of glory (1:17; Acts 7:2), and his glory reveals who he is (John 1:14; Rom. 6:4; Heb. 1:3). God gives glory to Christ (John 17:22; Acts 3:13; 1 Cor. 2:8; 1 Peter 1:21) and people (Rom. 2:10; 8:30; 1 Cor. 2:7). Christians are transformed from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18). People are to do everything for God’s glory (1 Cor. 10:31) and are to give glory back to God (Eph. 1:6; Phil. 1:11). In the eschaton further glory will be revealed (Rom. 8:18). “Glory” is a word that virtually encompasses the whole of Christianity. Here the focus is on the praise and honor that should be given God for his saving work.

This doxology is striking in its assertion that glory is given to God “in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever.” No other passage mentions the church explicitly in a doxology, although other doxologies imply it because Christians are the ones giving the praise. To suggest that the church and Christ are accorded equal status is presumptuous. The passage only assumes an unending relation between God, his people, and Christ. The presence of the people with God, made possible by Christ, will be a cause for eternal praise. This is what Paul had in mind in 1:18 with the expression “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (see also 2:7).

In verse 19 the love of Christ is beyond understanding, and in verse 20 the activity of God is beyond expectation or thought. The heightened language throughout the prayer shows the depth of Paul’s emotion. A wordplay occurs in the Greek text of verse 20 between “to him who is able” (to dynameno) and “power” (dynamis). Note the preponderance of words for God’s activity, a theme that has marked the letter from 1:1.

This doxology sums up the intent of the first half of the letter. We should praise God for his astounding work in Christ Jesus. Paul’s point is not merely that God is able to do beyond what we expect. Rather, this power is already at work in us (cf. the similar language in Col. 1:29, which describes God’s work in Paul’s ministry). God does not fit the limitations of our expectations. The language is reminiscent of Isaiah 55:8–9: God’s ways and thoughts are exceedingly beyond our ways and thoughts. God is at work and eager to work in us to achieve his purposes for salvation.

The Bible Panorama

Ephesians 3

V 1–7: REVELATION The fact of the oneness of all believers in Christ leads Paul to pray the prayer that comes later in verse 14. But first, writing from prison, he digresses to disclose his apostolic authority which enables him to deal with some important things. God revealed to Paul individually what, through the Spirit, He revealed to His prophets and apostles collectively, that believing Gentiles would be part of the same body as believing Jews. Thus his message is not a subjective ‘bright idea’ of Paul’s own making, but one that can be seen objectively as having come from the Holy Spirit.

 V 8–13: RICHES His task is to make the ‘unsearchable riches of Christ’ known to the Gentiles and to make all see the wonderful things that God has done in Christ. He expects to suffer tribulation in doing this and tells them so. His tribulation will lead to their glory.

 V 14–19: REQUEST He prays, in submission to the Lord Jesus Christ, that these Gentile believers will be strengthened by the Spirit inwardly, and know Christ’s indwelling in their hearts. He asks for stability in their Christian life and an understanding, with all of the Christians, of the immensity of the love, fullness and will of God.

V 20–21: REMINDER Paul reminds them that God is able to answer their prayers ‘exceedingly abundantly’ above their expectations. God acts with the power of the resurrection and of the Holy Spirit, which power is also experienced within each Christian and is limitless. Paul wants God to be glorified for ever in the church.

Middle of the Road - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep 1972

Words for the Wise, Cast all your Anxiety upon Him. Matthew 6

Matthew 6:25-34 Nasb

25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 

27 And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

1 Peter 5:7 Nasb

 ⁷ casting all your anxiety on Him,  because He cares for you.

Matthew 7:7-11 Nasb

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?

¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him

1 Timothy 6:6 Nasb

 ⁶ But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

Words for The Wise, A Renewed Mind, Romans 12, New American Standard Bible

Romans 12 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Dedicated Service

12 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, [a]acceptable to God, which is your [b]spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this [c]world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may [d]prove what the will of God is, that which is good and [e]acceptable and perfect.

3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, [f]according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if [g]service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with [h]liberality; he who [i]leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; [j]give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the [k]saints, [l]practicing hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute [m]you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but [n]associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. [o]Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but [p]leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

5904 maturity, spiritual

The development of Christlike character and behaviour in the Christian through a renewed mind and tested faith.

Christlikeness as the goal and model for spiritual maturity

Eph 4:13-15 See also Col 2:6-7; Heb 12:2

Marks of spiritual maturity

Spiritual understanding Col 2:2 See also Ro 15:14; 1Co 2:6; 1Co 14:20; Eph 1:17-18; Heb 5:12-6:1

Discernment of God’s will and changed behaviour Col 1:9-10 See also Ro 12:2; 1Co 3:1-3; Gal 5:22-23; Eph 4:22-23; Php 1:9-11; 2Th 1:3

Stability Col 4:12 See also Eph 4:14; 2Pe 3:17-18

Care for the weaker brother Ro 15:1 See also Gal 6:1-2

Maturity is to be the aim of the Christian

Php 3:13-15 See also Lk 8:14 a reason for spiritual immaturity; 2Co 7:1; 2Co 13:11; 1Ti 6:11

The process of maturity

God causes spiritual growth Php 1:6 See also Gal 3:3; Heb 10:14

Possessing gifts of ministry Eph 4:11-13 See also Ro 1:11

Being equipped by the word of God 2Ti 3:16-17 See also Ro 15:4; 1Pe 2:2; 1Jn 2:5

Persevering through trials Ro 5:3-5 See also Heb 2:10; Jas 1:3-4; 1Pe 5:10

The concern of the pastor is to help others to maturity

Col 1:28-29 See also 2Co 13:9-10; Gal 4:19

8348 spiritual growth, nature of

8348 spiritual growth, nature of

Having given spiritual life to his people, God expects them to grow to maturity.

God desires the spiritual growth of his people

Mt 5:48; Heb 6:1 See also 2Co 13:9-11; Eph 1:4; Eph 2:10; Eph 3:17-19; Php 3:12; 1Th 4:1,7; 2Ti 1:9

Christlikeness is the goal of spiritual growth

Ro 8:29 See also Eph 4:13-15; Php 2:5; 1Jn 3:2-3

Aspects of spiritual growth

Growth in grace 2Pe 3:18 See also Pr 4:18; 1Pe 2:1-3

Growth in faith 2Th 1:3 See also 2Co 10:15

Growth in love 1Th 3:12 See also Ro 5:5; 1Co 14:1; Php 1:9; 1Th 4:9-10; Heb 10:24; 1Jn 4:7-21; 1Jn 5:1-3

Growth in understanding Ps 119:27; 1Co 14:20 See also Ps 119:97-99; Ro 12:2; Ro 16:19; 1Co 13:11; Eph 1:17-19; Php 1:9-10; Col 1:9; Heb 5:14

Growth in holiness 2Co 7:1 See also Eph 5:25-26; Heb 2:11; Heb 10:10-14; Heb 12:14; Heb 13:12; 1Pe 1:15-16

Growth in fruitfulness Jn 15:16 See also Mt 13:23 pp Mk 4:20 pp Lk 8:15; Jn 15:2,8; Php 1:11; Col 1:10

Growth in contentment Php 4:11-12 See also 1Ti 6:6; Heb 13:5

Examples of spiritual growth

In individuals 1Sa 2:26 Samuel; Lk 1:80 John the Baptist Jesus Christ: Lk 2:40,52 Paul: Ac 9:22; 1Co 9:26-27; Php 3:12-14

Ac 18:26 Apollos; Phm 11 Onesimus; 3Jn 2-3 Gaius

In the church Ac 9:31; Ac 11:26; Ac 16:5; 2Co 10:15; Col 1:6; 1Th 2:13; 2Th 1:3

Words for the Wise, Spiritual Growth and Maturity. Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4

English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

Unity in the Body of Christ

4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

    and he gave gifts to men.”

9 (In saying, “He ascended”, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?[a] 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[b] and teachers,[c] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[d] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The New Life

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practise every kind of impurity.

 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!—21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self,[e] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labour, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

The Bible Panorama

Ephesians 4

V 1–6: UNITY Paul urges the Ephesians to a worthy walk which reflects the oneness of the body of Christ in spiritual unity. In so doing, he clearly emphasises that there is only ‘one Lord, and one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all’. Unity for him does not mean sacrificing truth. It is because of his stand for God’s truth that he writes as ‘the prisoner of the Lord’.

V 7–10: INDIVIDUALITY This unity does not detract from the fact that grace is individually given to each person who trusts Christ, and that God gives enabling gifts to individual believers. He is the universe’s highly ascended Lord, and can do that easily!

 V 11–16: COMMUNITY God has given certain gifted people to His church. They are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. His aim, through them, is to equip and edify His people so, together, they know Christ, stand firm on biblical doctrine against those who would deceive, and recognise how they all together fit into the body of Christ of which He is head.

 V 17–19: FUTILITY The Christian Gentile is to be contrasted with the other Gentiles who, as unbelievers, walk ignorantly, blindly, and in sin and greediness.

 V 20–24: IDENTITY In coming to know Christ, their old ways are dispensed with and the ‘new man’ is put on, in righteousness and holiness. There is a spiritual renewal of the mind and a radical change of identity for the born-again Christian.

 V 25–32: QUALITY There is a new quality of life of the Christian which reflects the fact that he does not ‘grieve the Holy Spirit of God’. He rejects former sinful ways, words and works, and applies himself to replacing them with positive good. He gives the devil no place in his life and rejects his former negative behaviour and sin. His new quality of life is shown by tender-heartedness, showing forgiveness to others, and avoiding grieving the Spirit. The springboard for this is that ‘God in Christ forgave you’.

The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.

Dictionary of Bible Themes

5904 maturity, spiritual

The development of Christlike character and behaviour in the Christian through a renewed mind and tested faith.

Christlikeness as the goal and model for spiritual maturity

Eph 4:13-15 See also Col 2:6-7; Heb 12:2

Marks of spiritual maturity

Spiritual understanding Col 2:2 See also Ro 15:14; 1Co 2:6; 1Co 14:20; Eph 1:17-18; Heb 5:12-6:1

Discernment of God’s will and changed behaviour Col 1:9-10 See also Ro 12:2; 1Co 3:1-3; Gal 5:22-23; Eph 4:22-23; Php 1:9-11; 2Th 1:3

Stability Col 4:12 See also Eph 4:14; 2Pe 3:17-18

Care for the weaker brother Ro 15:1 See also Gal 6:1-2

Maturity is to be the aim of the Christian

Php 3:13-15 See also Lk 8:14 a reason for spiritual immaturity; 2Co 7:1; 2Co 13:11; 1Ti 6:11

The process of maturity

God causes spiritual growth Php 1:6 See also Gal 3:3; Heb 10:14

Possessing gifts of ministry Eph 4:11-13 See also Ro 1:11

Being equipped by the word of God 2Ti 3:16-17 See also Ro 15:4; 1Pe 2:2; 1Jn 2:5

Persevering through trials Ro 5:3-5 See also Heb 2:10; Jas 1:3-4; 1Pe 5:10

The concern of the pastor is to help others to maturity

Col 1:28-29 See also 2Co 13:9-10; Gal 4:19