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Voddie Baucham - God Gave Them Up · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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Speaker 1: Well, we're in Romans chapter 1, and we have come to, again,
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Speaker 1: we're in that second segment in Romans chapter 1 that
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Speaker 1: goes from Romans chapter 1 and verse 18 all the
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Speaker 1: way through chapter 8.
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Speaker 2: But even in the.
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Speaker 1: Midst of this division, there's another subdivision here in Romans
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Speaker 1: 1 and 2. And even in that subdivision, there's another
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Speaker 1: subdivision here. in Romans chapter 1, verses 18 through the
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Speaker 1: end of the chapter, and that's where we're concentrating right now.
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Speaker 1: We're looking at this picture of sin and its origins
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Speaker 1: and its consequences. And as we come to this picture
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Speaker 1: of sin, we look first of all at the fact
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Speaker 1: that man, because of what God has revealed of himself
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Speaker 1: in general revelation, is without excuse, and is accountable for
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Speaker 1: his sin. We then look specifically at man and his
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Speaker 1: sin as it relates to denying God's existence, God's majesty,
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Speaker 1: God's authority. And there's a corner that's turned in that
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Speaker 1: last paragraph. It's almost as though there's a distinction here.
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Speaker 1: As though the first part of This section deals with
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Speaker 1: man and his alienation from God because of his violation
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Speaker 1: of the first four commandments, the vertical commandments that have
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Speaker 1: to do with our duty to God. And we turned
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Speaker 1: the corner there and started at the last part of
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Speaker 1: the last paragraph to look at man's violation of the
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Speaker 1: last six commandments or man's duty toward man. And it's
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Speaker 1: interesting how these two are interconnected. And they are interconnected
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Speaker 1: at the point that we speak about today in our
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Speaker 1: sin as it relates to sexual behaviors. Now that brings
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Speaker 1: me to what we always do at times like these.
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Speaker 1: If you remember in Genesis chapter 19, I gave you
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Speaker 1: a little disclaimer. Here in Romans chapter 1, I'll give
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Speaker 1: you a little disclaimer. This passage deals with sex and homosexuality.
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Speaker 1: And it deals honestly and plainly. Now just like we
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Speaker 1: did in Genesis chapter 1, every effort.
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Speaker 2: Will be made.
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Speaker 1: to speak about these topics in a way that is
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Speaker 1: both truthful and decent.
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Speaker 2: Every effort will be made.
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Speaker 1: But there are some honest things that are said about
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Speaker 1: the behavior of homosexuality here in this passage of Scripture.
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Speaker 2: I will be as careful as I can.
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Speaker 1: However, there are some, and I know that there are
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Speaker 1: folks who just feel like, you know, you don't want
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Speaker 1: your kids to, I probably already upset you because I
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Speaker 1: didn't spell S-E-X and actually said the word. And if
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Speaker 1: that's you, then just know that here in Romans chapter 1,
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Speaker 1: in this particular paragraph, it deals very honestly with S-E-X.
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Speaker 2: And it deals very honestly with.
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Speaker 1: Deviant behaviors connected to that particular issue.
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Speaker 2: My promise to you is that I will be as honest.
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Speaker 1: As I can and as careful as I can in
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Speaker 1: dealing with this particular subject.
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Speaker 2: And if you were here when we.
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Speaker 1: Dealt with Genesis chapter 19, or if you heard that
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Speaker 1: message from Genesis chapter 19, you have a pretty good
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Speaker 1: idea of what I am saying.
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Speaker 2: All right. Having said that, let us begin.
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Speaker 1: Romans chapter 1, beginning at verse 26. This is the
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Speaker 1: second of the three, therefore he gave them over, clauses.
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Speaker 1: The first one was in last week's paragraph. Therefore he
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Speaker 1: gave them up to the lust of their hearts, to impurity.
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Speaker 1: Here's the second, the one in the middle. For this reason,
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Speaker 1: He gave them up to dishonorable passions. And then the third,
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Speaker 1: since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, in
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Speaker 1: verse 28, God gave them up to a debased mind.
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Speaker 1: So we're right in the middle of all of that.
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Speaker 1: And here in the middle of all of that, we read,
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Speaker 1: For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions.
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Speaker 1: For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are
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Speaker 1: contrary to nature. And the men likewise gave up natural
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Speaker 1: relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another.
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Speaker 1: Men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves
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Speaker 1: the due penalty for their error. Now, as we examine this,
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Speaker 1: here's what I want you to recognize. I want you
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Speaker 1: to recognize first, there's an umbrella statement. We've got to
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Speaker 1: recognize this statement. We heard about it last week. You'll
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Speaker 1: hear about it again on next week. But this idea
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Speaker 1: of God giving them up. This idea of God turning
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Speaker 1: them over. Here's not the picture. This is not what
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Speaker 1: the picture is. The picture is not, you know, God
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Speaker 1: sits there and he's kind of got his arms folded
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Speaker 1: and he's going to see what folks are going to do.
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Speaker 1: All of a sudden people make a decision and God says, okay, fine,
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Speaker 1: that's where you're going to go.
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Speaker 2: I'm done with you.
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Speaker 1: That's not the picture. There is a balance here that
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Speaker 1: needs to be struck. We need to understand that The
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Speaker 1: picture is this. These individuals who are without excuse are
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Speaker 1: pursuing what they desire. We talked about that when we
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Speaker 1: laid the foundation. Nobody is acting in any way that
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Speaker 1: they don't desire. Men are not dragged off and forced
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Speaker 1: into sin. They don't have to be. They do not
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Speaker 1: rail against it. It is the natural disposition of man
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Speaker 1: to pursue his own desires and to pursue sin. But
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Speaker 1: as man pursues sin, there are consequences. And one of
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Speaker 1: the consequences as man pursues sin is that it leads
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Speaker 1: him into more and greater sin. So the statement here
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Speaker 1: is not one of God forcing men somewhere that they
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Speaker 1: don't want to go. Nor is the statement here of
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Speaker 1: God just sort of completely and utterly taking his hands
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Speaker 1: off as though this has happened, therefore there's never any
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Speaker 1: hope for you.
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Speaker 2: Neither of those is true.
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Speaker 1: Because the fact of the matter is, God often uses
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Speaker 1: these consequences.
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Speaker 2: To draw people to himself. Amen? Amen?
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Speaker 1: There are those who are saved today whose testimony is,
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Speaker 1: I got what I wanted and it ate me up
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Speaker 1: on the inside. And that's precisely what led me to
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Speaker 1: the cross. So there must be a balance here. But
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Speaker 1: here's what you need to also recognize. There is that
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Speaker 1: sense in which there's the possibility that is held out
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Speaker 1: for these individuals, and we need to know that, and
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Speaker 1: we need to hold on to that. But there is
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Speaker 1: the other sense in which God is actively involved in
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Speaker 1: the process of allowing them to go where they desire
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Speaker 1: to go. And if you want to see that, let's
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Speaker 1: draw a distinction. Go back with me to Genesis chapter 20.
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Speaker 1: Genesis chapter 20. And you'll remember in Genesis chapter 20,
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Speaker 1: we have this instance of Abraham and Abimelech. Abraham goes
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Speaker 1: and basically is afraid of Abimelech. So he says that
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Speaker 1: Sarah is actually his sister. does not claim Sarah as
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Speaker 1: his wife. Abimelech takes Sarah into his own household with
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Speaker 1: the idea of making her his wife. And we look
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Speaker 1: at this situation and think, this is just bad. This
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Speaker 1: is going to be awful. Your mind begins to paint pictures.
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Speaker 1: But in verse 6, we read something. Now look at this.
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Speaker 1: Then God said to him in a dream, to Abimelech
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Speaker 1: in a dream, Yes, I know that you have done
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Speaker 1: this in the integrity of your heart. In other words,
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Speaker 1: Abimelech didn't know. He thought he was right. It was wrong,
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Speaker 1: but he thought it was right. So God says, I
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Speaker 1: know you've done this in the integrity of your heart.
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Speaker 1: And it was I who kept you from sinning against me.
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Speaker 1: Here's what you need to know. You're not as bad
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Speaker 1: as you could be.
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Speaker 2: Amen.
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Speaker 1: You need to know that. We talked about this before.
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Speaker 1: The doctrine of total depravity does not mean that man
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Speaker 1: is as bad as he could be.
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Speaker 2: Because he's not.
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Speaker 1: It means that every aspect of man's character and nature
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Speaker 1: has been touched and affected by the fall.
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Speaker 2: That every part of us is impacted.
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Speaker 1: By the fall does not mean that we are as
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Speaker 1: bad as we could be and it is the grace
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Speaker 1: of God alone that keeps you and keeps me from
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Speaker 1: being as bad as we could be that is true.
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Speaker 2: Even of the non-elect.
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Speaker 1: The man on the street that does not know God,
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Speaker 1: that has not been born again, that does not know
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Speaker 1: Jesus in the pardon of his sins, the most hardened
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Speaker 1: criminal that you've ever heard about in your life, is
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Speaker 1: not as bad as he could be. And it is
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Speaker 1: the providence of God, and the providence of God alone.
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Speaker 2: That makes that so.
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Speaker 1: Now with that in mind, here in our passage, let
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Speaker 1: these words settle in on you the way they ought to.
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Speaker 2: Listen to me again. For this reason. For what reason?
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Speaker 1: First of all, general revelation, the heavens are declaring the
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Speaker 1: glory of God. Man sees this, ought to know this.
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Speaker 1: that there is a God, can know that there is
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Speaker 1: a God, can know the power of God, can know
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Speaker 1: that there is a creator of the universe. However, man
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Speaker 1: exchanges the glory of God for creeping things, for things
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Speaker 1: in nature, and ultimately for himself and for his own desires.
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Speaker 1: As a result of that, We saw the first phase
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Speaker 1: where man is given over to these passions. Now, these
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Speaker 1: passions that he's given over to, he gives into. And
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Speaker 1: there's another phase of this.
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Speaker 2: It gets worse.
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Speaker 1: In verse 26 we see, For this reason God gave
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Speaker 1: them up to dishonorable.
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Speaker 2: Or shameful passions. Earlier, God's giving them over... to these impurities.
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Speaker 1: Now, what happens when he gives them over to these
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Speaker 1: impurities is that they take what God has given and
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Speaker 1: they use it in the wrong context. These dishonorable passions
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Speaker 1: are different. They take what God has not given. The
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Speaker 1: practice in view here in Romans chapter 1 is the
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Speaker 1: practice that God has not given. It's one thing for
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Speaker 1: heterosexual people to engage in promiscuous activity. Taking this beautiful
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Speaker 1: thing that God has made and.
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Speaker 2: Abusing it. in the context that God did not intend,
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Speaker 2: this is different. This is different.
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Speaker 1: And there are three things that we see here about
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Speaker 1: the practice of homosexuality that I want you to grasp.
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Speaker 1: The first is this. I want you to know what's
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Speaker 1: wrong with this sin. What's wrong about this sin. Because
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Speaker 1: only then, I believed, Can we have the proper kind
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Speaker 1: of compassion for those individuals who find themselves caught up
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Speaker 1: in this particular sin? Because here's what's heinous. What's heinous
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Speaker 1: is that in our culture today, we've actually been sold
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Speaker 1: a bill of goods. And that bill of goods that
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Speaker 1: we've been sold communicates this to us. There are people
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Speaker 1: who are engaging in activities... that are completely abominable before God.
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Speaker 1: But the right thing for you to do is learn
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Speaker 1: to accept it. There are people engaging in activities who
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Speaker 1: desperately need to be called to account, who desperately need
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Speaker 1: someone to be merciful enough to speak the truth to
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Speaker 1: them because it is their only hope. And yet the
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Speaker 1: bill of goods that we've been sold is this. Don't
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Speaker 1: tell them the truth. In fact, you need to feel
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Speaker 1: guilty about believing the truth. And so the adversary uses
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Speaker 1: that to continue to hold people captive.
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Speaker 2: I want you to understand these three things.
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Speaker 1: First, For their women exchanged the natural relations for those
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Speaker 1: that are contrary to nature. And the men likewise gave
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Speaker 1: up the natural relations with women and were consumed with
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Speaker 1: passion for one another. The first problem with this is
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Speaker 1: that it is unnatural. Homosexuality is unnatural. Interestingly enough, this
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Speaker 1: correlates to the first paragraph. Remember the first paragraph. The
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Speaker 1: first Paul is not saying here that homosexuality is a
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Speaker 1: problem because there are Bible verses against homosexuality.
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Speaker 2: That's not his argument.
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Speaker 1: Remember, his argument here in this whole section is that
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Speaker 1: general revelation is enough for man to be without excuse.
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Speaker 1: Man is guilty. Man is accountable based on general revelation.
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Speaker 1: So look at the first part of this. And we read,
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Speaker 1: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
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Speaker 1: all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who, in verse 18,
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Speaker 1: by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be
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Speaker 1: known about God is plain to them. Because God has
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Speaker 1: shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely His
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Speaker 1: eternal power, divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since
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Speaker 1: the creation of the world in the things that have
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Speaker 1: been made, so that they are without excuse. In other words,
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Speaker 1: you do not need Genesis 19 in order to understand
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Speaker 1: that homosexuality is wrong. You just need the created order.
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Speaker 1: That's all it takes is the created order. Just common
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Speaker 1: grace gives us that. You do not need special revelation
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Speaker 1: in order to know that that's not the natural way
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Speaker 1: that God designed men and women to function. You do
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Speaker 1: not have to be a rocket scientist or even a biologist.
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Speaker 1: to understand that that is not correct. It is not right.
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Speaker 1: It is not natural. So that's the first problem, that
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Speaker 1: this is not natural. Interestingly enough, what is the argument
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Speaker 1: and the push in our culture? The argument and the
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Speaker 1: push in our culture is to define it as natural.
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Speaker 1: That's where you start. You have to define homosexuality as natural.
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Speaker 1: How do you define homosexuality as natural?
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Speaker 2: I'm glad you asked.
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Speaker 1: One way that we attempt to define it as natural
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Speaker 1: is to raise this argument. People are born that way.
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Speaker 1: And if people are born that way, then it has
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Speaker 1: to be natural. Because no one in the history of
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Speaker 1: the world has ever been born a way that's not natural.
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Speaker 2: Did you catch that? We're born with things that aren't
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Speaker 2: natural all the time. Here's the other problem. The line
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Speaker 2: of argumentation says people are born this way.
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Speaker 1: And in fact, you can't even call it a line
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Speaker 1: of argumentation because people don't even argue this anymore. They
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Speaker 1: just state it as raw fact. As though science has
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Speaker 1: proven that people are born this way. There's a small problem.
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Speaker 1: There is no scientific proof of any kind that people
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Speaker 1: are born homosexual. None.
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Speaker 2: None. There is no genetic proof. None. Studies of identical twins. Nothing.
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Speaker 2: There's no.
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Speaker 1: Evidence that has told us that people are born as homosexuals.
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Speaker 1: The closest thing that we have to evidence is people
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Speaker 1: who are self-professed homosexuals who tell their story and say
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Speaker 1: things like, as early as I can remember. That's the proof,
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Speaker 1: you guys.
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Speaker 2: That's it. That's all we got.
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Speaker 1: Is that there are a number of people who say,
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Speaker 1: as early as I can remember. But here's the question.
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Speaker 1: Here's what I want you to do. Because this is
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Speaker 1: what they want you to do. Pay no attention to
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Speaker 1: the man behind the curtains. Just watch the screen up here.
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Speaker 1: The great and powerful Oz is telling you that this
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Speaker 1: is natural because people say that they can't remember a
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Speaker 1: time when they didn't feel this way.
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Speaker 2: What's the man behind the curtain? The man behind the
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Speaker 2: curtain is this question.
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Speaker 1: Even if you prove that people are born that way,
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Speaker 1: you just proved that that they are born with an
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Speaker 1: unnatural predilection. You haven't proven that it's acceptable. What if
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Speaker 1: a man is born with a natural tendency toward violence?
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Speaker 1: Does that make it okay?
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Speaker 2: It doesn't. So here's the first problem.
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Speaker 1: The first problem is that we go all the way
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Speaker 1: back to the beginning, and this is a denial of
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Speaker 1: the God of the universe who has revealed himself through creation.
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Speaker 1: So Paul is here connecting this practice with the sin
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Speaker 1: that has gone before that lays the foundation for it.
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Speaker 1: The foundation for it is a denial of God as creator.
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Speaker 1: The foundation for it is a denial of what God
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Speaker 1: has created. So the first problem with the practice of
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Speaker 1: homosexuality is that it is unnatural. Here's the second problem.
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Speaker 1: Not only is it unnatural, it's insatiable. Look at the
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Speaker 1: next part of the text. Men likewise gave up the
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Speaker 1: natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for
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Speaker 1: one another. Don't miss that phrase there. They're consumed with it.
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Speaker 1: It is insatiable. It cannot be satisfied.
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Speaker 2: Why? Because it's not natural.
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Speaker 1: You cannot be satisfied.
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Speaker 2: Why?
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Speaker 1: It is a thirst that cannot be quenched. It is
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Speaker 1: like the drug addict. Why do people continue to be
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Speaker 1: addicted to drugs? Because they can never, ever be satisfied.
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Speaker 1: They have to do it again. Because they either can
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Speaker 1: never experience that high that they experienced that first time,
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Speaker 1: or because their mind keeps telling them that there is
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Speaker 1: something out there that they haven't quite tapped into yet,
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Speaker 1: but they cannot be satisfied. They even rewire the workings
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Speaker 1: of their brains so that their cravings are continually turned
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Speaker 1: on for this thing. It's the same with homosexuality.
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Speaker 2: It is insatiable. You cannot be satisfied.
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Speaker 1: I wrestled and wrestled and wrestled. I think I mentioned
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Speaker 1: before the book After the Ball. It was written in
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Speaker 1: 1989 by Kirk and Mattson. How Americans Will Get Over
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Speaker 1: Their Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 1990s. It
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Speaker 1: was written in 1989, and it reads like prophecy. It's
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Speaker 1: amazing how prophetic some of these statements seem to be.
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Speaker 1: And basically they are outlining a campaign of propaganda. To
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Speaker 1: cause people to think differently about homosexuality. Well, in the
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Speaker 1: last chapter of Kirk and Madsen's book, they get real
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Speaker 1: honest with the homosexual community and say, there's some things
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Speaker 1: that we either have to stop doing or stop letting
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Speaker 1: people know we do. If our propaganda campaign is going
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Speaker 1: to be successful. And there's a segment in it that
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Speaker 1: I kept trying to pare it down, and I kept
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Speaker 1: trying to edit it, but there was just no way
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Speaker 1: that I could read that segment for you today.
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Speaker 2: It just couldn't. It could not be done. So I'll
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Speaker 2: try to give you the.
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Speaker 1: Family integrated church, we're all in here together version of
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Speaker 1: what they said. And here was the argument. And again,
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Speaker 1: Kirk and Mattson, they're homosexuals. They're leaders in this movement.
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Speaker 1: whose goal it was to use propaganda to cause people
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Speaker 1: to think differently about this lifestyle so that it would
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Speaker 1: gain acceptance. So that they, first of all, would gain
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Speaker 1: acceptance as a preferred minority group to be protected.
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Speaker 2: And they're very clear.
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Speaker 1: They say, for example, that AIDS was a small window
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Speaker 1: of opportunity for them to gain sympathy and be seen
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Speaker 1: as an oppressed minority group and that they need to
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Speaker 1: strike while the iron was hot and take advantage of
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Speaker 1: sympathy over AIDS in order to propagandize us. Here's their
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Speaker 1: argument about the insatiability of it. You start and the
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Speaker 1: most innocent things satisfy you. After a while, it's not
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Speaker 1: just the most innocent thing, and it's not just this individual.
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Speaker 2: It has to be a variety of individuals.
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Speaker 1: After a variety of individuals comes a variety of experiments.
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Speaker 1: After a variety of experiments come practices that are unspeakable.
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Speaker 1: And they argue that the overwhelming instance of drug and
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Speaker 1: alcohol addiction within this particular segment of society, which is
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Speaker 1: off the charts when compared to Americans as a whole,
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Speaker 1: has a great deal to do with the desire and
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Speaker 1: the belief that somehow, maybe through the aid of some
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Speaker 1: kind of chemical, they can get to the place.
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Speaker 2: that they simply cannot find otherwise. You can't be satisfied. Why?
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Speaker 2: We're not made to be satisfied that way.
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Speaker 1: By the way, heterosexuality outside of the proper confines has
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Speaker 1: the same problem.
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Speaker 2: It's insatiable.
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Speaker 1: You cannot be satisfied because you were not meant to
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Speaker 1: be satisfied that way. Folks, the only place that you
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Speaker 1: and I can find satisfaction is in Christ. And the
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Speaker 1: only reason that the marital union can be satisfying for
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Speaker 1: us is because we are in Christ and in a
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Speaker 1: marriage relationship that has been ordained by God, created by God,
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Speaker 1: not to satisfy us completely in and of itself, but
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Speaker 1: because Christ is our ultimate goal.
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Speaker 2: Being in a relationship.
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Speaker 1: whose purpose is the illustration of the relationship between Christ
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Speaker 1: and His church, brings us the only possibility whatsoever that
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Speaker 1: we can be satisfied with another person. Outside of that,
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Speaker 1: it does not, cannot, and will not exist. And so
27:36
Speaker 1: this sin is unnatural, and this sin is insatiable. I
27:42
Speaker 1: don't know how many of you have personal relationships with homosexuals.
27:47
Speaker 1: But if you have personal relationships with homosexuals, and if
27:50
Speaker 1: you know a number of homosexuals, if you met one
27:54
Speaker 1: or two people in your life who may have been homosexual,
27:56
Speaker 1: that's not what I'm talking about. I mean, if you've
27:57
Speaker 1: got a good sample, if you've met dozens of homosexuals
28:00
Speaker 1: in your life, here's what you know and can say
28:03
Speaker 1: without hesitation. They're the most miserable lot you've ever met
28:06
Speaker 1: in your life. It's insatiable. It cannot and will not
28:19
Speaker 1: be satisfied. That's why this push for marriage is so ironic.
28:30
Speaker 1: The most promiscuous lot on the planet pushing for marriage.
28:36
Speaker 1: Kirk and Madsen, by the way, make it very clear
28:39
Speaker 1: why the push for marriage is important. The push for
28:42
Speaker 1: marriage is important because it's another step in the propaganda war.
28:47
Speaker 1: It's another step towards acceptance. Thirdly, men committing shameless acts
28:57
Speaker 1: with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for
29:01
Speaker 1: their error. It's unnatural, it's insatiable, and it's devastating. Homosexuality
29:14
Speaker 1: is a devastating and destructive lifestyle. Let me read this
29:20
Speaker 1: for you. I can read from this one. I've read
29:27
Speaker 1: through this section enough to where I feel like I
29:31
Speaker 1: can edit it down.
29:33
Speaker 2: But this is.
29:34
Speaker 1: From the book Straight and Narrow, Compassion and Clarity in
29:38
Speaker 1: the Homosexuality Debate. And there does need to be clarity
29:43
Speaker 1: because there can't be compassion without clarity.
29:46
Speaker 2: And see, if you watch television or if you watch movies,
29:49
Speaker 2: here's what you see. You see the.
29:51
Speaker 1: Picture of the homosexual who's the snappy dresser, who understands,
29:56
Speaker 1: you know, how the world works, who's, you know, the
29:59
Speaker 1: most witty person in the room always, the life of
30:02
Speaker 1: the party. That's the way in movies and on television,
30:06
Speaker 1: that's the way homosexuality is portrayed. They even took the
30:10
Speaker 1: word gay, which used to mean happy.
30:14
Speaker 2: Happy.
30:19
Speaker 1: And so there's a picture of this sophisticated lifestyle, this
30:23
Speaker 1: sort of bohemian freedom that homosexuals enjoy, the finest of everything.
30:31
Speaker 1: But here's the reality. The most poignant way to summarize
30:37
Speaker 1: the barrage of statistics that describe this chapter is to
30:43
Speaker 1: translate them into an illustration. Suppose you were to move
30:47
Speaker 1: into a large house in San Francisco with a group
30:49
Speaker 1: of 10 randomly selected homosexual men in their mid-30s. According
30:53
Speaker 1: to the most recent research from scientific sources, whose authors
30:57
Speaker 1: are without exception either neutral or positive in their assessment
31:01
Speaker 1: of homosexual behavior.
31:02
Speaker 2: That's important.
31:04
Speaker 1: The data I'm about to give you, none of this
31:07
Speaker 1: is from people who are anti-homosexual. None of this data.
31:12
Speaker 1: This is from people like Kirk and Mattson, who are
31:14
Speaker 1: homosexuals themselves, who talk about the data. And with the
31:21
Speaker 1: use of lower numbers where statistics differ. So if one
31:23
Speaker 1: person says 25%, another person says 30%, they take the
31:27
Speaker 1: 25% instead of the 30% for this illustration that I'm
31:30
Speaker 1: about to give you. The relational and physical health of
31:35
Speaker 1: the group would look like this. Again, 10 randomly selected
31:40
Speaker 1: gay men in their 30s. Four of the ten are
31:44
Speaker 1: currently in relationships, but only one of those is faithful
31:47
Speaker 1: to his partner. He will not be within a year.
31:52
Speaker 1: Four have never had a relationship that lasted more than
31:55
Speaker 1: a year. And only one has had a relationship that
31:59
Speaker 1: lasted more than three years. Six are having relations regularly
32:04
Speaker 1: with strangers. Again, six in ten. And the group averages
32:10
Speaker 1: almost two partners per person per month. Three of them
32:16
Speaker 1: occasionally take part in group activities.
32:23
Speaker 2: One is a.
32:23
Speaker 1: Sadomasochist and at least one is a pedophile. Three of
32:29
Speaker 1: the men are currently alcoholics. Five have a history of
32:32
Speaker 1: alcohol abuse. Four have a history of drug abuse. Three
32:35
Speaker 1: currently smoke cigarettes. Five regularly use at least one illegal drug.
32:41
Speaker 1: Three are multiple drug users. Four have a history of
32:46
Speaker 1: acute depression. Three have seriously contemplated suicide. Two have attempted suicide.
32:52
Speaker 1: Eight of the ten have a history of STDs. Eight
32:58
Speaker 1: currently carry infectious pathogens and currently suffer from ailments caused
33:03
Speaker 1: by these pathogens. At least three are infected with HIV
33:08
Speaker 1: and one has full-blown AIDS.
33:11
Speaker 2: That is the homosexual lifestyle. It is devastating. It is destructive.
33:21
Speaker 1: And that's precisely what Paul says here. receiving in themselves
33:25
Speaker 1: the due penalty of their error. By the way, usually
33:29
Speaker 1: when we read that, people will hold that up and
33:30
Speaker 1: they'll say, See, age. If you notice, the list that
33:33
Speaker 1: I just read, that was the last thing on the list.
33:42
Speaker 2: This is a devastating lifestyle. So here's my question.
33:50
Speaker 1: Is the proper and most compassionate way to respond to
33:54
Speaker 1: a lifestyle that sounds like what I just read. To
33:59
Speaker 1: say that everybody needs to just close their eyes and
34:04
Speaker 1: accept this, or is the proper response to say, this
34:09
Speaker 1: is unnatural. It's insatiable. And it's devastating and destructive. And
34:20
Speaker 1: Christ is your only hope. Which one's more compassionate? Which
34:28
Speaker 1: one's more honest? Which one offers any hope whatsoever? And
34:37
Speaker 1: anyone under the sound of my voice who knows someone
34:43
Speaker 1: who's wrestling in this lifestyle does not need to be
34:46
Speaker 1: convinced of what I'm saying. But there may be some
34:52
Speaker 1: here who've bought the lie. There are some here who
34:57
Speaker 1: believe what you see in the movies and believe what
34:59
Speaker 1: you see in television and believe what's portrayed in the press.
35:03
Speaker 1: That somehow this is just a lifestyle filled with snappy
35:08
Speaker 1: dressers and quick-witted men and women who are just loving
35:12
Speaker 1: and desperately desire nothing more than to be accepted and
35:16
Speaker 1: to have the same opportunities that.
35:18
Speaker 2: The rest of us have. to settle down with the
35:22
Speaker 2: one they love.
35:25
Speaker 1: Anyone who knows the homosexual lifestyle knows that's a farce.
35:34
Speaker 1: It is deception, pure and simple. Here's the thing you
35:43
Speaker 1: need to see. On this continuum, we start with the
35:49
Speaker 1: first four commandments. And man in direct violation of our
35:54
Speaker 1: duty to God. And we move into the last six
35:58
Speaker 1: commandments in man's direct violation of his duty toward his
36:01
Speaker 1: fellow man. But I want you to notice something that
36:04
Speaker 1: happens between the last paragraph and this paragraph.
36:07
Speaker 2: Look at verse 24.
36:09
Speaker 1: Therefore God gave them up to the lust of their hearts,
36:12
Speaker 1: to impurity, to dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. That's
36:17
Speaker 1: a statement about what we do with God. But we
36:25
Speaker 1: just turned the corner. And now we're talking about what
36:29
Speaker 1: we do to one another. And there's a difference.
36:45
Speaker 2: There's a difference between what we do with one another
36:47
Speaker 2: and what we do to one another. Are they both sinful? Yes,
36:52
Speaker 2: they're both sinful.
36:55
Speaker 1: But one of the most unthinkable aspects of the homosexual
37:00
Speaker 1: lifestyle is the devastation that individuals are heaping upon one
37:07
Speaker 1: another in the name of love. And that's not love.
37:19
Speaker 1: Love doesn't do this. But here's the other problem and
37:25
Speaker 1: the bigger picture. And again, by the way, all of this,
37:28
Speaker 1: here's what I want you to note. I want you
37:31
Speaker 1: to note that you don't need special revelation for what
37:34
Speaker 1: Paul just said.
37:35
Speaker 2: Do you realize that?
37:36
Speaker 1: We didn't have to go to all the Bible verses
37:38
Speaker 1: about homosexuality in order for Paul's point to be made.
37:42
Speaker 1: His point is, one, it's unnatural. You look at nature
37:45
Speaker 1: and you see that. General revelation, common grace gets us there. Secondly,
37:50
Speaker 1: it's insatiable. Kirk and Mattson in their book and other
37:53
Speaker 1: homosexual authors have made that very observation.
37:57
Speaker 2: It's insatiable.
37:59
Speaker 1: You cannot be satisfied, which is why there's such alcohol
38:03
Speaker 1: use and drug use and depression and attempts at suicide.
38:06
Speaker 1: It's insatiable. There is no hope. There is no light
38:10
Speaker 1: at the end of the tunnel. You do not need
38:12
Speaker 1: special revelation in order to demonstrate that. And finally, it's devastating.
38:16
Speaker 1: It's destructive. The statistics that I read... Again, he took
38:22
Speaker 1: those from authors who are pro-homosexual and many of them
38:26
Speaker 1: homosexuals themselves, not from evangelicals who are out to warn
38:31
Speaker 1: the world. So this goes right back to Paul's argument
38:36
Speaker 1: at the beginning of this section. Man is without excuse,
38:39
Speaker 1: not because of what God has said, but just because
38:42
Speaker 1: of what God has revealed in nature. How much more
38:53
Speaker 1: so when we recognize the special revelation that has been violated?
39:07
Speaker 1: Let me give you a list. Genesis 19, 4-9. That
39:18
Speaker 1: is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Leviticus 18, 22.
39:28
Speaker 1: You shall not lie with a male as with a woman.
39:30
Speaker 1: it is an abomination Leviticus 20 13 if a man
39:36
Speaker 1: lies with a male as with a woman both of
39:37
Speaker 1: them have committed an abomination they shall surely be put
39:40
Speaker 1: to death their blood is upon them Deuteronomy 23 17
39:44
Speaker 1: and 18 None of the daughters of Israel shall be
39:48
Speaker 1: a cult prostitute and none of the sons of Israel
39:50
Speaker 1: shall be a cult prostitute. By the way, cult prostitutes
39:53
Speaker 1: for males was homosexual prostitution.
39:56
Speaker 2: You shall not.
39:57
Speaker 1: Bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of
40:01
Speaker 1: a dog into the house of the Lord your God
40:04
Speaker 1: in payment for any vow. For both of these are
40:08
Speaker 1: an abomination to the Lord your God. Even things that
40:11
Speaker 1: were associated with the practice. 1 Kings 14, 24, 15, 12,
40:15
Speaker 1: and 22, 46, and 23, 7 all deal with the
40:16
Speaker 1: issue of cult prostitution for males. Isaiah chapter 3 and
40:20
Speaker 1: verse 9. For the look on their faces bears witness
40:28
Speaker 1: against them. They proclaim their sin like Sodom. They do
40:31
Speaker 1: not hide it, woe to them, for they have brought
40:33
Speaker 1: evil on themselves. Lamentations 4, 6. For the chastisement of
40:39
Speaker 1: the daughters of my people has been greater than the
40:41
Speaker 1: punishment of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and
40:44
Speaker 1: no hands were wrung out for her. 1 Corinthians chapter 6,
40:48
Speaker 1: beginning at verse 9. Do you not know that the
40:52
Speaker 1: unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not
40:54
Speaker 1: be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
40:58
Speaker 1: nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy,
41:01
Speaker 1: nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom
41:04
Speaker 1: of God. Ephesians 4.19 They have become callous and have
41:09
Speaker 1: given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind
41:13
Speaker 1: of impurity. The word used there for impurity includes the
41:16
Speaker 1: practice of homosexuality. 1 Timothy 1.9 Understand this. that the
41:21
Speaker 1: law is not laid down for the just, but for
41:23
Speaker 1: the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for
41:27
Speaker 1: the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers
41:31
Speaker 1: and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers,
41:38
Speaker 1: and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine. 2 Peter 2, 6.
41:42
Speaker 1: If by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes,
41:46
Speaker 1: he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of
41:50
Speaker 1: what is going to happen to the ungodly.
41:53
Speaker 2: And Jude, verse 7.
41:56
Speaker 1: Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which
41:59
Speaker 1: likewise indulge in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve
42:05
Speaker 1: as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. See,
42:11
Speaker 1: Here's what the homosexual community says on the inside.
42:14
Speaker 2: Of the church. There are just a few obscure verses.
42:22
Speaker 1: That make mention of homosexuality, and those verses are all
42:27
Speaker 1: talking about practices that are not loving. But none of
42:33
Speaker 1: them would condemn a loving, committed relationship. I didn't hear
42:44
Speaker 1: that in what we read. General revelation condemns this. Special
42:51
Speaker 1: revelation condemns this. But here's what I also want you
42:56
Speaker 1: to understand. In almost every instance where you see the
43:01
Speaker 1: practice of homosexuality condemned, you see general sexual immorality condemned
43:07
Speaker 1: right alongside with it. Amen. Amen. So here's what we
43:19
Speaker 1: need to know. What the homosexual needs is the same
43:23
Speaker 1: thing that the rest of us need. We need Christ.
43:32
Speaker 1: We need to be redeemed. And there is hope. I've
43:37
Speaker 1: told you this before, perhaps. I don't know, but I'm
43:41
Speaker 1: going to tell you again. Because it marked me indelibly.
43:45
Speaker 1: This is several years ago now. I'm on the campus
43:50
Speaker 1: at San Jose State University. Spent a week between San
43:55
Speaker 1: Jose State and Stanford preaching on the campus there. Sometimes
43:59
Speaker 1: just preaching, you know, out in the quad, you know,
44:01
Speaker 1: just sort of open-air preaching. Other times we were doing
44:03
Speaker 1: different things. But so we're there at San Jose State,
44:07
Speaker 1: and we have these tracts that we're passing out, and
44:10
Speaker 1: we're talking to people about the gospel, and we're preaching.
44:12
Speaker 2: And this young lady comes up to me.
44:16
Speaker 1: This young lady comes up to me and she has
44:19
Speaker 1: on some blue jeans and combat boots and an army jacket.
44:24
Speaker 1: And she's, you know, sort of wearing her clothes and
44:27
Speaker 1: her hair in such a way as it didn't take
44:31
Speaker 1: a lot to figure out which group she represented. She
44:35
Speaker 1: was part of a lesbian group on campus. She and
44:38
Speaker 1: a friend came up, got in our faces. And it
44:43
Speaker 1: was obvious in that moment. She got right up in
44:46
Speaker 1: my face. It was obvious what she wanted. She wanted
44:48
Speaker 1: a confrontation. She wanted me to go off. And she
44:53
Speaker 1: was pushing all the buttons just right up in my face.
44:59
Speaker 1: And by the grace of God, I was able to
45:01
Speaker 1: remain calm and continue to smile and all these.
45:04
Speaker 2: Sorts of things.
45:05
Speaker 1: Eventually I gave her some of the literature that we
45:06
Speaker 1: were passing out. She didn't get the fight that she wanted,
45:10
Speaker 1: and so she walked off. And I'm just thanking the Lord.
45:13
Speaker 1: I'm grateful because we've experienced victory. She wanted a war
45:18
Speaker 1: right in front of everybody. She didn't get the war
45:20
Speaker 1: that she wanted. There's been victory, and so we're all celebrating.
45:25
Speaker 1: Things calm down, and people are in classes. Half an hour,
45:29
Speaker 1: 45 minutes later, she walks up to me, but her
45:34
Speaker 1: gait is different than it was before. She opens up
45:38
Speaker 1: this tract and she says, what does this mean? And
45:43
Speaker 1: so I explain to her what it means. Well, what
45:48
Speaker 1: about this? I explain to her what it means. She's
45:53
Speaker 1: asking questions about the gospel. And she looks at me
45:56
Speaker 1: and she says, do you mean to tell me that
45:59
Speaker 1: you believe that this Jesus that you preach would save
46:05
Speaker 1: me too? And I looked at her and I said,
46:12
Speaker 1: oh yeah. And she just stood there. And so I
46:21
Speaker 1: looked at her and she just stood there not knowing
46:23
Speaker 1: what to do. And I said, can I pray for you?
46:30
Speaker 1: And with tears coming down her face, she looked at
46:33
Speaker 1: me and she asked me, would you really do that?
46:42
Speaker 2: Right here? Right now? I said, I'd be honored to.
46:49
Speaker 1: So she just kind of stood there and put her hands,
46:51
Speaker 1: she didn't know what to do. I put my hand
46:54
Speaker 1: on her shoulder and I began to pray for her.
46:59
Speaker 1: And she just leaned forward and her head just fell
47:02
Speaker 1: on my shoulder as I was praying for her. And
47:06
Speaker 1: all of a sudden it just dawned on me. I
47:10
Speaker 1: wonder how many times in this young woman's life a
47:13
Speaker 1: man has touched her with no intention of harming her
47:19
Speaker 1: or using her. And I prayed for her and she
47:23
Speaker 1: began to sob. And then this thought dawned on me.
47:32
Speaker 1: It would take no more grace for God to save
47:36
Speaker 1: her than it did for God to save me.
47:42
Speaker 2: No more.
47:45
Speaker 1: She was caught up in a particularly heinous lifestyle. But
47:50
Speaker 1: hear this. Jesus saves to the uttermost.
48:01
Speaker 2: He is able. The last thing you and I need
48:06
Speaker 2: to do is to buy this lie.
48:10
Speaker 1: That says what the homosexual needs is for us to
48:13
Speaker 1: alter what God has revealed in nature and what He
48:17
Speaker 1: has revealed in His Word so that there is no
48:20
Speaker 1: longer this condemnation of sin.
48:24
Speaker 2: Don't believe that. But at the same time, don't you
48:28
Speaker 2: dare believe you're better. Don't you dare believe that homosexuality
48:38
Speaker 2: is a bridge too far. God is able. Share the gospel.
48:48
Speaker 1: Share Christ as your only hope and as the homosexual's
48:51
Speaker 1: only hope. Not to condemn. God's law can do that
48:58
Speaker 1: all by itself. That's not our job. Speak the truth.
49:05
Speaker 1: But by all means, speak the truth in love. That
49:09
Speaker 1: is the homosexual's only hope And it is yours as well.
49:15
Speaker 2: Let's pray. Father as we bow we confess to you
49:31
Speaker 2: our natural tendency.
49:35
Speaker 1: To stand tall in condemnation of sins that we don't practice.
49:48
Speaker 2: Grant, Father, by Your grace, that we might recognize.
49:53
Speaker 1: That it is purely Your mercy.
50:07
Speaker 2: That has brought us to You. Purely Your mercy.
50:17
Speaker 1: That has allowed those of us in this room who
50:21
Speaker 1: aren't fighting this battle to not be caught up in
50:24
Speaker 1: this lifestyle. And it is purely your mercy and your
50:29
Speaker 1: mercy alone that can save the homosexual.
50:38
Speaker 2: The gospel. Not failing to speak the truth about this issue.
50:44
Speaker 2: The gospel. The gospel.
50:47
Speaker 1: Not being unnecessarily offensive on this issue. The gospel and
50:51
Speaker 1: the gospel alone. So may we recognize our own need
51:03
Speaker 1: for mercy. May we recognize how heinous our own sin
51:07
Speaker 1: is before you. And in doing so, may we turn
51:12
Speaker 1: to those enslaved in this lifestyle. and speak truth as
51:20
Speaker 1: those who are recipients of it in spite of our
51:22
Speaker 1: lack of worth, in spite of our unworthiness, and solely
51:34
Speaker 1: because of the value placed on us by Christ who
51:37
Speaker 1: shed His blood.
51:39
Speaker 2: To redeem us for Himself. Make us humble. Make us bold.
51:57
Speaker 1: We ask this because we believe it's in accordance with
51:59
Speaker 1: the will and the nature and the authority of your.
52:01
Speaker 2: Son, Jesus, who is the Christ, our only Savior, Master,
52:11
Speaker 2: and Lord. Amen.