A Good Word on Homosexuality / LGBTQ

A Good Word on Homosexuality / LGBTQ

I was recently challenged (by a Middle schooler, no less!) to bring a clear teaching on this topic. Several sermons on sexuality have been preached here and they can be found by going to our website (smc585.org) and look under media for sermons then go to playlists and you’ll see Sermons on Sex. These will give you a more holistic view of Biblical sexuality.

Still, I was impressed that it’s time to bring a word in print again. (This was addressed first in our newsletter June 2014). My goal is to give you as clear and concise of a teaching as I can, because there is so much noise and misinformation on this subject. Hopefully, this will let you know exactly where I’m at and how I got here. I have found three foundations to my beliefs, and they are all based on the goodness of God.

First, I believe in a good creator. I see God creating people in His image with a clear purpose and design. In regards to sexuality, he made us male and female and told Adam and Eve to multiply. The primary reason for sex is to MAKE BABIES. (Note: I didn’t say the only reason, but the primary reason.) Our good creator DESIGNED us for male-female sexual intimacy. Not to be too raw, but face the facts: our parts fit together and we can see that our creator made us with a clear purpose and design for sexuality. Attractions are unavoidable, but actions are not...

 Second, I believe in the good news. The good creator’s creation rebelled! Sin came in and twisted our purpose and design. The old testament is full of perversions, incest, polygamy, and yes, homosexuality among others, but Jesus came to set things back in order—to give us forgiveness from sin. For 2000 years the church has carried that good news. Never in 2000 years of church life has there ever been a question of homosexuality as a sinful practice. In fact, only in the last 50 years in the globally north western church has this come into debate. (A church that in numeric decline and moral decay.) The Good News is the call to transformation, conversion, and then battling the sinful urges and attractions that are contrary to God’s will and His word.

This leads to my third belief, that we have a Good Book that is truthful and authoritative. The Bible points exclusively to heterosexual marriage as the only model of marriage God blesses. Even though homosexuality was well known to God’s people throughout the old and new testaments, there isn’t a single verse that affirms this practice. Rather (I’ve heard it said, though I haven’t checked), every book of the Bible points to man and women as husband and wife and celebrates the beautiful union that can be.

I will mention a few specific texts that frame my view of homosexuality. For lack of space I’ll list only the references, so get your Bible! Lev. 20:13— “Sex with the same sex is detestable”, not the people, but the act, which is contrary to God’s design, as with a host of other sexual perversions. Attractions are unavoidable, but actions are not, so God says, DON’T DO IT!

In Romans 1:18-32 the Bible speaks of our rebellion and arrogance against God and uses homosexuality as a clear example. Verses 26 & 27 really leave no room for guessing on this, do they? But then I turn to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and get all the hope and help I need. There’s quite a list of sins there, and I can tell you that I can identify with some of them. Maybe you can too. And that’s fine because as the text says, “that’s how some of you were.”

Again, the Good Creator give us Good News in the Good Book! We can change, live lives dedicated to Jesus and find freedom from our sin, whether it’s homosexuality or greed. We ALL need to be washed, sanctified and justified by Jesus. You can just keep reading all the way to verse 20 if you want to get an even better view of sexuality, but I’ll just stop with verse 11.

For some of you this only confirmed what you believed, and you are glad to agree. For others, this is exactly the opposite of what your friends, children and teachers are saying. Yes, even brothers and sisters in the church don’t agree with me. However, this is where I am. This is where our Confession of Faith as the Mennonite Church is, and this is where it will stay, because this is ultimately where God’s Word indicates God’s will is, and that is exactly where SMC needs to be.

Update: this topic is complicated by the transgender movement-if you want more info on that please read this article: Transgender Truths