January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Homosexuality does not please God
The books of 2 Peter, 2 Timothy and Titus warn us about erroneous teaching, giving examples of how it happened in their day and how it will be repeated in the future. Today this danger seems to be summed up in two words - dilution and pollution. Dilution of God's Word is when we exercise an unauthorized liberty of watering down or "softening" of God's teaching in an attempt to make His principles more palatable to worldly views. On the other hand, pollution of God's Word occurs when the same liberty is used to add to the Bible, thus proving or "hardening" a current view or a philosophy. Whether it is dilution or pollution, the result is the same: both practices amend God's Word and lead us to reinterpret His teaching in a manner contrary to what was originally written, often causing it to mean what was never intended. We see the original pattern in Genesis chapter 3 when the serpent encouraged Eve to doubt what God had said, which led to her being deceived. We must always remember that to doubt what God has said will lead you to doubt who God is, and what His Word actually means.
Over the next four weeks I will address the topic, "What Does the Bible Teach About Homosexuality?"
I feel that it is imperative to deal with this controversial subject, especially in light of Pastor Hayward-Harris's pioneering move to open Bermuda's first "gay friendly" church.
The pastor states, "To be fully Christian, we must fully welcome all of God's children to the table of the Lord: women, children, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender, those with special needs, those of every race... all have full acceptance into the complete life of our fellowship."
Before we explore what the Bible says about this subject we need to realize that as believers, we are to lovingly declare that the Bible is the true, authoritative Spirit-breathed Word of God.
Biblical teaching is not based on a Christian's experience, preference, or viewpoint; rather, a Christian's experience, preference and viewpoint should be based on Biblical teaching.
As a society we must understand that if we come to the church to define a view, that view must be interpreted with the Bible as its sole authority.
One of my greatest challenges as a teacher of the Bible is reminding my listeners that we have to forget what we learned growing up or what we learned by our experiences, especially if they are contrary to God's Word.
We need to come to God's Word asking, 'What is God's mind on this subject?' Period. What we, as individuals, may conclude as "right" or "wrong" does not have greater weight than what the Word of God says.
Can't manipulate the Bible
The church - and we as believers - cannot manipulate the Bible to support our preferences; we simply have to state what the Bible teaches.
When people do not see the Bible as their final authority, they generally are not certain about anything the Bible teaches. Instead, they treat God's Word like a smorgasbord or buffet, taking the tidbits and parts they like and refusing those items they find distasteful or difficult to accept. To properly conclude what the Bible teaches we must come to the Bible with some very basic tools of interpretation just as we would do with any literary source - and we must put our preconceived notions aside. One cannot understand what the Bible teaches without going to the Bible.
As a matter of introduction this week I would like to share with you what the Bible teaches, and as a result ask everyone to hear what God is saying on the subject. I am aware that some Christians do not relay truth with love and as a result some people "switch-off" at the mention of the subject, therefore, I trust that the view that the Bible teaches will not be seen as "gay-bashing", legalistic, barbaric, intolerant or homophobic.
I simply want to state clearly God's view on the subject.
Understand, that we will answer the question, "What does the Bible teach about homosexuality?"
First of all, God is a God of love. In fact the Bible says that "...God is love." (1 John 4:8).
However, we sometimes fail to accept that God can love a person, but does not always love what a person does.
Without any doubt, the Old and New Testament both make it very clear that homosexuality is a sin (some clear examples of this can be seen in Leviticus, 1 Corinthians, Romans, and Revelation which will start to discuss in greater detail next week).
Having said that, sin comes in many forms and although we, as human beings, do our best to rationalize and categorize them into "big" and "small" ones, the undeniable truth is that all sin ultimately leads to the wrath of God.
Because all of us have sinned and we all come short of God's high standard (Romans 3:23), God mercifully sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (Romans 6:23; 10:9-13).
For those who know Christ as personal Saviour, any type of sin causes the indwelling Holy Spirit to grieve.
Therefore, I will be the first to say that the church has to take all sin seriously, whether its adultery, greed, gossip or homosexual activity.
I totally understand that one of the greatest turn-offs to Christianity is the hypocrisy that is seen in the church, yet we must grasp the fact that God hates hypocrisy as well. He wants us to be genuine and walk what we talk!
With the topic at hand, it is one thing for society to support a view based on what's popular, but to state "conclusively" that this view is what the Bible teaches and supports is quite another matter.
Pastors and Bible teachers have to clearly teach and live what the Word of God teaches.
As a theologian and a pastor, I cannot violate God's Word in order to please society or be seen as "modern".
Let me be clear: God's Word unmistakably teaches that homosexuality does not please God - it never has and never will; to say that the Bible supports the homosexual lifestyle is absolutely not true and terribly misleading.
As we look at God's Word next week, we will discover that we do not need to be a Bible scholar or a language major to interpret God's view on the subject.
It is my desire that over the next three weeks you will continue to read God's thoughts and gain a more accurate view of God's Word on this subject.
As you study the Word, you will also understand that the Bible does not support the vision statement/conclusion that the Vision Church of Atlanta has developed through the years. We need to allow God's Word to stand without taking away from it or adding to it. Join me as we explore God's Word together regarding this topic and gain the proper - and God-given - perspective.
Pastor Gary C. Simons serves as the senior pastor of Cornerstone Bible Fellowship where Sunday services are held at Ruth Seaton James Auditorium, CedarBridge Academy, Bermuda
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