HOMOSEXUALITY MAN'S RIGHT OR MAN'S SIN?

I CAN DO WHAT I WANT TO DO AND YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL ME THAT I AM WRONG!

Does that sound familiar? Brethren and friends, something very sinister has been, and is, taking place in our society. Very subtly the standard of authority is being changed. In steps so small that many did not notice until they had completely brought into the mindset, the God of the bible has been replace with the god of "rights" or "choice". Don't tell me what I can or cannot do, I have the "right" to choose.

Long ago, Abraham Lincoln spoke these words at the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg. He said, "Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war."

We now face a war of much greater significance and importance than the Civil War fought on the bloody battlefields of the mid 1800's. Its Atlantes, Bull Runs, Gettysburg's and Fort Sumter's are issues such as abortion, adultery, homosexuality, and all other moral issues. Those are the battlegrounds, but the real war is all about "rights", my right to choose. All choices now are thought to possess equal value, or at least to merit equal recognition. The scriptural injunction of the Lord in Matthew 7: 1, "Do not judge test you be judged", has been wrenched out of context, brutally twisted and perverted to become, I Can Do What I Want To Do. One current battlefield of this war is homosexuality. Is it man's right, or is it man's sin?

Several years ago I moved to the city of Louisville, Kentucky. I grew to love the city and its citizens, but one thing amazed me. I was shocked at the size, the voice, and the power of its homosexual community. In the business community, and most assuredly in the political arena, the homosexuals of the city were a very vocal force to be dealt with. There was a tremendous push to have them recognized as a legally protected minority. Business could be damaged if they were targeted by the homosexual community. I personally knew one man who lost his business because his politically active wife was very public in her opposition to the practice of homosexuality.

In the minds of so many today, homosexuality doesn't even deserve discussion. If a person chooses to express his or her sexuality in that fashion it is entirely their right to do so. Any laws against the practice of sodomy that are still on the books are virtually ignored. To enforce them would be "politically incorrect'. If you question the practice of homosexuality, you are "homophobic", suffering from "homophobia, unreasoning fear of or antipathy toward homosexuals and homosexuality." (Webster's New Universal Unabridged)

Churches have not been exempt from this onslaught. The question of accepting homosexuality as a "legitimate" way of life has for years been causing trouble in the denominational world, many of whom now advocate "tolerance" of homosexual practices. If history proves anything, it is that it won't be long before such is knocking on the door of the Lord's church. The question of ordaining homosexual "clergy", to use a purely denominational term, is being debated and accepted by some. Among those who have accepted the practice are Reform Judaism with 1.3 million adherents; the United Church of Christ with 1.6 million members; the Unitarian-Universalist Association with 178,623 members, and of course the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (which was founded by a former Pentecostal minister who began to practice homosexuality) with 34,000 members.

What is true and correct? Does a person have the "right" to be a practicing homosexual? In the sense of "will God stop me from such activity", the answer is YES and NO. A person can be a practicing homosexual and God will not stop him. God will allow him to do that. But, does a person have a just and lawful claim to such activity as a privilege? NO, A PERSON DOES NOT! The real question is, "Does a person have the right to be a practicing homosexual and still go to heaven when they die?" We will let the bible, which I believe to be the revelation of the will of God to man, answer that question.

Homosexuality entered into the world very early in man's history. As early as Gen. 19, we find it in the infamous account of Sodom. Verses 1-11 gives us the story.

"Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. And he said, Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way. " They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square. " yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them. " But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. "Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof But they said, "Stand aside. " Furthermore, they said, "This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them. " So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway. "

The question revolves around the demand made by these men of Sodom in verse 5, They wanted the two men brought out to them that they might "have relations with them". What did that mean? In response to their request Lot said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly". Would it have been wicked for the men of Sodom to have relations with the two men in the sense of getting acquainted with them? For that matter, would it have been wicked if the men of Sodom had just rather rudely wanted to know who these strangers were in their city that night?

Lot continued on and said, "Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof. It is obvious to any honest reader that the men of Sodom wanted to "do" something "to" the visitors. They did not simply desire to get acquainted with them.

Any reasonable person can see that this was a case of men seeking sexual gratification with other men- homosexuality--even to the point of turning down the two virgin daughters of Lot. I am well aware that in a report prepared for the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is said, "what is condemned is violent gang rape. The text does not address a loving homosexual relationship." We will deal with that idea shortly. However, it should be clear to anyone that homosexuality was certainly involved in Sodom. It was not the only sin of Sodom, but it was certainly a prevalent one and it was the one that brought down the wrath of God against the city.

Consider Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13. The two verses say, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination" and, "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them."

Since most modem theologians do not deny that homosexuality was condemned under the Law of Moses, we find them utilizing extremely faulty logic in an attempt to justify its practice now. Many will say that it is inappropriate to apply the verses from Leviticus to modem times. They claim that those verses are "part of a larger Old Testament holiness code which forbids actions such as wearing clothing of mixed fibers and eating shellfish." In other words, since modem man is permitted to wear garments of mixed fibers and to eat clams, he may also engage in homosexual alliances!

The extent to which people will go in an attempt to justify a choice that they want to make never ceases to amaze. Bestiality is found in the same "holiness code". In fact, it is found in the next verse of Leviticus 18, verse 23. By such convoluted logic a person is now free to eat clams, so that means he is now free to engage in sexual activity with an animal.

What is even more amazing is that regular people, like you and me, are being led, little by little, bit by bit, to accept such faulty reasoning concerning homosexuality. The media, certain political leaders, even influential religious figures have been advocating the acceptance of this deviant, sinful behavior for so long that it is now not the least bit unusual to hear someone say, "I am not homosexual, but I would never condemn the practice in anyone else." My friends, whether we condemn it or not, God does!

Earlier we mentioned the position that is taken by some that the account found in Genesis 19 deals with "violent gang rape" and that it does not address a loving homosexual relationship." The passages we considered from Leviticus condemn homosexual activity of any kind. They simply say that if a man lies with another man as he would lie with a woman, it is an abomination. Certainly a man can lie with a woman out of love and if they are married according to God's law, there is no sin. If a man lies with another man as he would with a woman, there is an abomination-love or no love! Can a person do these things? Yes. Does a person have a just and lawful claim to such activity in God's eyes? No!

The New Testament is equally clear. In Roman 1:20-32, we see the downward spiral that man so often enters into. It begins with losing respect for God. Paul wrote, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened, Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four- footed animals and crawling creatures."

Once respect for God is lost, the next step is lost of respect for self. As we continue on in Rom, 1, we see Paul's sad description of such moral deterioration. He wrote, "Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." That, my friends, is homosexuality.

From there Paul continues to describe the next step in the downward spiral. Lose respect for God, and you lose respect for yourself. Lose respect for yourself, and you lose respect for everybody else.

Another point needs to be made. In spite of such clear language in both testaments condemning homosexuality, there are still those who vehemently deny that it is sin. Many believe it to be something that a person is "born" with. Many believe it is an irreversible thing, something that the individuals involved truly cannot help, and they could not be heterosexual if they wanted to. That sort of approach sounds good, especially in this day of "rights" and "choices". It even appeals to our sense of "fairness", and effectively places the discussion on an emotional level. The only problem with that line of reasoning is that it is just not so.

In I Cor. 6:9-1 1, Paul wrote, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God".

The point is clear. Just as all "righteous" people; be they drunkards, idolaters, effeminate, thieves, revilers, or whatever, can give up their unrighteous practices and change, so too can the homosexual. If any deny it, Paul said that some of the Corinthians had been homosexual, "and such were some of you", but they had changed.

One more thing needs to be said. God loves the homosexual. He hates the, sin of homosexuality. Such things as "gay bashing" and verbal or physical abuse of any kind directed toward homosexuals, is as much a sin as homosexuality itself. The true child of God recognizes that he or she was once lost in sin. While it may not have been the sin of homosexuality, sin is sin. What any sinner needs is someone to love them enough to tell them that they are in sin and how to make it right through the blood of the Lord Jesus. Any sinner needs to know that through belief in the gospel, repentance of one sins, confession of Jesus as the Christ, and immersion in water for the remission of sins, they will have their sins washed away by the blood of Jesus and start their journey to heaven!