INITIATION:

Our culture looks to a number of resources to distinguish right from wrong. Science and medicine are often the ultimate authority. The news media, entertainment industry, and educational system also weigh in, sometimes insisting we revise our understanding of moral issues to comply with theirs. But for Christians, the Bible has the final say. As Paul wrote, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true...It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right" (2 Timothy 3:16, NLT). This lesson explores what the Bible says, or says not on the issues of homosexuality.

BIBLE TEXT:

Lev. 18:22-30; 1 Corinth. 6:9-10; Gen. 19:1-24; Rom. 1:18-32; Rom. 6:1-14, 18-23

SUBJECT:

THE BIBLE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

DEFINITION:
Homosexuality means "Sexual desires or sexual arousal within the same sex".
Lesbianism: "Female homo".
Gay-man: "Men homo".
What does the Bible say about it?

MEMORY VERSE

But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female (MARK 10:6 KJV).

CONTROLLING THOUGHT

Your identity and God-given gender come from your Creator.

FOCUS:

At the end of the lesson, participants are expected to do the followings:

Recognize the danger of embracing homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle.
Be prepared to share the truth of the Scriptures in a loving way with those they know or meet who are engaged in a homosexual lifestyle.
Pray effectively for those caught up in the sin of homosexuality.
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MAIN DISCOURSE:

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1. HOMOSEXUAL PRACTICES ARE FORBIDDEN:

A. They Were Never Intended (Leviticus 18:22-30):

Faithfulness to God and His Word is more important than the desire to appear relevant. Serious Woes are pronounced on those who twist the truth to better fit the times (Isaiah 5:20), leaving us with a mandate to consider when facing a controversial issue: We cannot condone what God condemns, and we cannot condemn what God condones.

A foundational part of our faith is our belief that God purposefully created us. From the creation account in Genesis, God established and blessed the partnership between one male and one female. The fruit of that union was "for the multiplication of humans". God declared that what He established was
good (Genesis 1:31). Genesis 1:31 to chapter two set a powerful precedent for God's purpose regarding the marital relationship. His intention for the human sexual and marital relationship is clarified in Genesis, then Jesus Christ re-emphasized it:

Haven't you read the Bible? "They were made them male and female" - Jesus said, "This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one splits them apart because God has joined them together" (Matthew 19:4-6).

We must also follow God's leading by condemning what condemned. Having given His intention for the human sexual union in Genesis, He clarified behaviours He did not like.

Adultery, fornication, incest, prostitution, and homosexuality are specifically condemned in both Testaments.

This is not because God is "anti-gay," but because they fall short of God's best purpose for the best interest of human beings.

Since homosexual practices violate God's purpose it is considered as sin. Infact, it is an "an abomination (Lev. 18:22 KJV). God purposefully created male/female union, and marriage is often referred to in the Bible as a representation for His relationship with His people (Isa. 54:5; Eph. 5:25-33). It stands to reason that He would abhor any perversion of the heterosexual marriage union.
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Questions For Application
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Do you think it is too harsh to refer to homosexual behaviour as "abominable "? Why or why not?
Do you think the Church
condemns other sins as vehemently as we condemn this sin? If not, why do you think that is?
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B. They Were Never Condoned (1 Corinthians 6:9-10):

The two Greek words behind the King James Version text of 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (translated as "effeminate" and "abusers of themselves with mankind") are referring to homosexual activity. This is why the majority of Bible translations simply translate the Words as "homosexuals" or something similar. The presence of the two words is likely clarifying that both active and willing passive participants in homosexual activity are among the unrighteous who will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Even a casual reading of the original language cannot yield anything other than clear prohibitions against any form of homosexual behaviour. In fact, the very words making up the term arsenokoites (arsen and koite) are taken directly from the verses in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) that condemn homosexuality: (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13).

While homosexuality is condemned throughout the Scripture, it can also be argued that it is never condoned. That's significant, because while the Bible contains guidance for "heterosexual couples", none can be found for same-sex couples. Not one positive example of a homosexual person can be found in the Bible. If God condoned this behaviour, surely He would have provided positive examples of it and marital guidance for those practising it as He did for heterosexual marriages.
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Questions For Application
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Have you ever known someone who claimed to be both gay and Christian? If so, how did they interpret or deal with the Scriptures we've studied so far?

Many people are revising their view of homosexuality, adopting a "gay friendly" approach to the Bible. Why do you think this is happening?
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2. HOMOSEXUAL PRACTICES ARE CONDEMNED:

A. The Penalty for Sin (Genesis 19:1-24):

In fairness, we should note that homosexuality wasn't the only sin Sodom was condemned for.
According to Ezekiel, "Sodom's sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered a outside her door (Ezekiel 16:49, NLT). The vehemence shown by the men surrounding Lot's home indicates cruelty and utter disregard for others, so these charges make sense. But Sodom also committed "detestable sins" (Ezekiel 16:50, NLT). Jude elaborates on those "detestable sins" by indicting Sodom for "every kind of sexual perversion" (Jude 1:7, NLT).

Thomas Schmidt notes that second-century literature refers to "Sodom, which departed from the order of nature" and that both Philo and Josephus view same-sex relations as characteristic of the Sodomites. Clearly, then, homosexual acts are forbidden and, when broadly celebrated, they have carried a severe penalty and capital punishment.
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Questions For Application
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Why do some Christians consider homosexuality as more deserving of God's judgement than other sexual sins, such as adultery or fornication?

How might 1 Corinth. 6:9-11 offer hope to those who see their sins as unforgivable in God's sight?
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B. The Origin of Sin (Romans 1:18-32):

Homosexuality is a problem, the broader point Paul made in Romans 1 is that homosexual relations between men/men or between Women/Women are indicative of something even more wrong. Creation has determined to have its own way. This Is the same rebellion that manifests itself today through transgenderism. Though God created them as male or female, their rebellion is so deep that they reject even their own nature. And whether one is rejecting gender or heterosexual marriage, it's all sinful denial of God's created order. Renouncing knowledge of the true God, fallen humanity chooses other gods and is given up to a multitude of ungodly and unnatural passions, by the Maker who "abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done" (Romans 1:28, NLT).

Homosexuality, like the other sins in Paul's long list in Romans 1, is a result of fallen nature and the depth of depravity it yields. The fact it appears as a prime symptom is no surprise, as Paul was hearkening back to the Genesis account of creation in which the Creator fashions humanity as male and female, bringing the first man and woman together in a remarkable union of contrast.

Paul then seems to say, "Look how far we've fallen! The creation rejects the Creator, and things have become so topsy-turvy that even the most basic relationship has been turned on its head from a heterosexual union to a homosexual one."

Theories on the origins of homosexuality abound. For decades it was assumed to be an emotional or mental illness, springing from faulty parenting, early abuse, or stunted psychosexual development. Then as society became more open to homosexuality, the notion of it being an inborn condition began to take root. Many experts concluded that something so deeply ingrained must be present at birth.

But these theories miss the point. Homosexuality, like any deviation from what God intended, is a result of that human tragedy we call the Fall. When God lamented the consequences of Adam and Eve's sin, including the sin nature their descendants would inherit, He explained the human experience would now contain painful and tragic elements He had never intended (Genesis 3:16 19).

And so it has been ever since. Humans are born into sin, beset with tendencies God never intended us to have. Some tendencies
----like greed, selfshness, and dishonesty
----are universal, meaning we all share them and can relate to them. But other tendencies ----like the sexual acts condemned in Leviticus and Deuteronomy are experienced by only some people. Homosexuality is a tendency many people do not relate to, but it is one of many consequences of the Fall.

This is why arguments about what causes homosexual behaviour are secondary to the larger question of whether the behaviour is something our Maker intended. According to His own Word, it clearly is not.

Many will argue that God loves all people and He made no mistakes when He created us. It is true we are all loved by God and created by God, but the fact remains that we have each chosen to sin by rebelling against how God created us.
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Questions For Application
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What theories have you heard about the cause of homosexuality?

What theories have you heard about the ca us e of homosexuality?
Read Romans 1:32 through 2:1. How can believers maintain humility and avoid judgemental attitudes regarding sins they do not personally struggle with?
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3. FREEDOM FROM HOMOSEXUALITY IS FOUND IN CHRIST:

A. The Freedom to Die - Romans 6:1-14:

Homosexuality is not just a sexual act or feeling. It's an identity declared proudly in parades and "coming out" announcements and clung to as an inborn trait which many claim they were born with by God's design. While that is untrue, we remember that the average person involved in homosexuality has felt "different" from early in life and has struggled, perhaps for decades, to find peace with his or her sexual orientation and identity. When confronted with God's plan for human sexuality, such a person will often say, "How can I say no to what I feel? How can I be free of it? It's always been there!"

Paul's words in Romans 6 about our identification with Christ introduce an exhilarating hope to anyone who repents, including homosexuals. We are not required to free ourselves from the power of sin. Instead, we are invited to consider our sin nature to be dead, identifying it with Christ's own death. Thereby, we claim a release from the power of our old nature, just as we would declare freedom from a once ---powerful enemy who has died. Sin holds no dominion over anyone who takes Jesus at His word when He says, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36 KJV).
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Questions For Application
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What does it mean to "consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin" (Romans 6:11, NLT)?
Do you think a homosexual person can truly change? Why or why not?
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B. The Freedom to Live (Romans 6:18-23):

In Paul's time, many people found freedom from homosexuality. Many still do. Like all of us, they are free to die to their sinful tendencies and walk in new life, no longer servants of sin but of God.

The modern church is in grave twofold danger regarding this issue. On one hand, too many Christians are compromising truth, fearful of offending gay friends and loved ones by holding to the biblical view. This constitútes doctrinal compromise on an essential issue that no serious steward of truth can make peace with.

Yet holding the right position in the wrong way is just as dangerous. When our culture embraces an error, it's easy to condemn blatant sins without considering the wounded souls in the grip of those sins. God loves these people, and our commission is not only to speak the truth about sexual morality but also to speak the truth about God's desire to bring all lost people to himself. As ambassadors for Christ, we share the whole message of the gospel, yearning for people to be "reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20, KJV).
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