Tag Archives: homosexuality

Such Were Some of You

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Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11

This was the scripture I read this morning for my devotions.

Who needs a cup of coffee after reading something this jolting.

Paul wrote this to a Church that was dysfunctional. There was fighting among Christians about which gift of the Holy Spirit was more important than the others; about which preacher was better than the others, all the while, turning a blind eye – even encouraging – sinful behavior to continue in the lives of members of the Church. Moreover, Christians were taking each other to civil court over their disputes, putting themselves under the authority of the unrighteous worldly judges. When Christians wrong and defraud each other, they are behaving like the ungodly, unrighteous world around them, and this is not who you are.

Paul makes his point abundantly clear, and we should not deceive ourselves:

  • Sexual immorality is a sin
  • Idolatry is a sin
  • Adultery is a sin
  • Homosexuality is a sin
  • Stealing is a sin
  • Greed is a sin
  • Drunkenness is a sin
  • Reviling (abusive, angry, critical language) is a sin
  • Swindling others is a sin

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. Paul has other such lists in Galatians 5:19-21 and Romans 1:18-32, but the point is clear: these are all sinful behaviors, and those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. I may lose my audience, get removed from the blogosphere and social media for saying this, but it must be said, these things are sinful, and those who make a practice of unrighteousness will never enter in the kingdom of the righteous God.

But here’s the point of Paul’s message: “such were some of you.” Paul is writing to the redeemed, to those who have been called out of sinful living and into the righteousness secured for us in the righteousness of Christ. Those who are in Christ have been washed of the sin, cleansed from the filthiness of it. Those who are in Christ have been sanctified, set apart as holy for God. Those who are in Christ have been justified, declared righteous because of the righteousness of our mediator, Jesus Christ.

You were once defined by your unrighteousness, but now you are defined by your new life in Christ. Once you were marked by the division and animosity between God and man, and man and man, that comes about because of sin. Now you are marked by the peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness of our gracious God, and that grace permeates all our relationships.

I think the reason this passage reaches out and grabs us by the collar is because it does the two things that any presentation of the gospel ought to do: 1) It hits us with the condemnation of sin, of which we are all guilty and liable to judgment, and 2) It declares the salvation and redemption that is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit.

There is great hope in this passage, for while it does not excuse any sin, it does offer forgiveness in Jesus Christ for every sin. As the Spirit leads you to see the sinfulness of your sins and your desperate need for a savior, may you turn from your life of sin and come to rest in this assurance, that by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, you have been washed, sanctified, and justified in Jesus.

SDG

Warning to Save Lives

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“…just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 7, ESV)

A few years back there was an advertising campaign to help prevent texting and driving.  Below is one of the videos. Watch with care, the images are terrifying: 

Commercials like these come as a dire warning.  The dangers of distracted driving are real and deadly; the NTHSA reports that in 2018, distracted driving was the cause of 2,841 deaths. Still, I am tempted to pull out my phone while driving and check my texts, and I am appalled at how many times I see others driving while staring at their phone.

This is the kind of message that Jude is giving here in Jude 7. In verses 5-7, Jude gives a series of 3 warnings to those who would “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (Jude 4).” In the first warning, we read of the Israelites, who though they had been delivered from Egypt persisted in unbelief and were destroyed in the wilderness. Next we read of the angelic beings who left their positions of authority and are now being kept in chains awaiting the judgment of the great day. Finally, today we are reminded of the awesome judgment brought down upon Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of what awaits those who persist in sin and ungodliness.

Let us be clear: the Bible explicitly condemns the practice of homosexuality (Lev 18:22, 20:13; Rom 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Ti 1:9-11), and this is seen most vividly in the wrath of God poured out on Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities in Genesis 19. In that story, we read that while Lot brought the angels into his home, the men of the city surrounded Lot’s house demanding he send out the two men so that they may “know” them. In Hebrew, “to know” someone suggested sexual intimacy (Gen 4:1, “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain…”). While sexual sin was not the only sin for which these cities were punished (Ezekiel 16:19 tells us they were also punished for their pride, gluttony, and disregard for the poor), we can be certain that sexual immorality is what Sodom and Gomorrah would be remembered for through the ages. The message of God’s Word is consistent: God has created us male and female, and our lives are to bring him glory, even in our relationships with one another.  The practice of homosexuality is a sin in that it does not conform to God’s law for our lives.

And let us remember, Christ Jesus came to save sinners.  All who come to him in faith, trusting in His righteousness, resting in His completed work of redemption in His death and resurrection, will know forgiveness and peace with God. Jesus is able to save from every sin, and to break the power of sin in our lives.

But if we only focus on the sexual immorality associated with Sodom and Gomorrah when hearing Jude’s warning, we’ve missed the picture entirely. It would be like watching the video and saying to yourself “Well, they didn’t say anything about drinking and driving, so that must be okay now.” 

Certainly Jude is warning the church against the ongoing practice of sexual immorality, this is the sensuality at mind in verse 4. It is likely that the false teachers who were twisting the grace of God were saying that because you have grace, you can sin all the more because it’s all been forgiven.  But the purpose of Jude’s warning is to remind us that those who persist in sin will come under judgement. You cannot play with fire and not expect to be burned, you cannot abide in sin and claim to have seen and known the Lord (1 John 3:5).

I read recently that warnings are one of the means by which God helps to preserve His people. He tells us of the dangers of sins, and gives us examples (the unbelieving Israelites, the fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah) to keep us from falling into sin. Let us not be like those who would persist in ungodliness, or like those who would encourage others in their sin (Rom 1:32), nor like those who sit in self-righteous condemnation of others (Rom 2:1). But let us heed the warnings and trust in the grace of God in Jesus Christ for our salvation, listening to and obeying the voice of our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ as he leads us in the way of righteousness.

SDG