What the Bible Teaches About Homosexuality

TEXT: Romans 1:24-32

INTRODUCTION: Today I want to teach exactly what the Bible says about the SIN of homosexuality. We hope to do 3 things:

1)      …educate you on this subject – from a Biblical perspective!!

2)      …expose the hidden agenda of radical homosexuals – who are determined to legalize and legitimize this wicked practice, and

3)      …erase the myths being propagated within our society surrounding homosexuality – by answering some basic questions regarding homosexuality such as, “Can a Christian be a homosexual?” and “Can homosexuals be saved?”

You probably have an opinion on this subject, and a reaction to it. But what is it based on? Is it your gut instinct, family background, or something deeper?

If you were a landlord, and a gay couple wanted to rent your house, what would you do? Should you do business with a homosexual person? If your grown up child wanted to bring home a gay partner, would you let them stay at your house? Would you even let them in? What if they invited you to their wedding? What If someone at school announced, "I’m gay", how would you treat them?

As believers, what should we do when confronted with this issue?

KEY POINT: Our answers MUST be based upon the Word of God!

As Christians, we have a right and responsibility to respond as Christians

KEY OPENING THOUGHTS:  As we begin, please grasp these 3 key thoughts – and keep them in your mind throughout this message:

1. According to the Word of God, homosexuality is a sin.  It is wicked; it is evil; it is deviant; and it is NOT normal.
2. Proclaiming the sinfulness of homosexuality is NOT preaching hatred; NOR is it advocating violence against “homosexuals”.
3. In this cultural and spiritual warfare; we, as believers; have both a right and an obligation to speak the truth about homosexuality BOTH in our pulpits AND in public places.  We should NOT be ashamed; nor should we be silenced!

How can we say such things? By what authority can we say that homosexuality is wrong and sinful?

Let’s look FIRST at what the Bible says about this wicked practice:

NOTICE THE 1^st MENTION OF SODOMY:

·        Genesis 13:13 = "...the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly."

·        God revealed to Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;” Genesis 18:20

·        Genesis 19:24 = "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven…”

Let’s examine some other clear Scriptures:

1. Romans 1:24-32 = Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
2. Leviticus 18:22 +24-25 = "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."
3. Leviticus 20:13 + 23 = "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death;”
4. Deuteronomy 23:17 = "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel."
5. I Kings 14:24 = "there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel."

WITHOUT QUESTION… GOD’S WORD CONDEMNS HOMOSEXUALITY… SO… why is it so prevalent in our society?  Why is it increasingly accepted by Americans?

(Stephen Bennett) “Day in and day out, America is getting bombarded with 'pro-gay' propaganda. It's relentless. You can't open a newspaper or magazine, listen to the radio, or turn on the television without someone, somewhere pounding the 'glories of gayness' into your brain. Stories that would never have aired or have been published twenty years ago are now common place. 'Homosexual Male Couple Proud Parents of Quadruplets.' 'Rosie and Gal Pal Kelly Expecting.' 'Male Gay Couple Crowned King and Queen of High School Prom.' What once was considered a deviant perversion, is now politically correct – and woe to those who oppose this new 'rainbow' morality. Those who disagree with this new 'alternative' lifestyle are called 'hate-filled, intolerant, bigoted homophobes.'

The calculated, planned 'homosexualization' of America by militant 'gays' and lesbians was encouraged well over (15 years) ago by homosexual advocates Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen in their book After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90's (1989, Doubleday/Bantam).”

These Harvard-trained social scientists in the late '80s issued a call for 'gay' activists to adopt "…carefully calculated public relations propaganda."

Their 3-step plan came dressed up in marketing lingo:

1.)    Desensitize,

2.)    Jam, and

3.)    Convert.

1.) "Desensitization," writes Kirk and Madsen, means subjecting the public to a "…continuous flood of gay-related advertising, presented in the least offensive fashion possible.” “If 'straights' can't shut off the shower, they may at least eventually get used to being wet."

Their 1^st step = Desensitization

2.) 'Jamming' is smearing anyone who disagrees with the homosexual agenda. Kirk and Madsen urged their followers to “…associate all who oppose homosexuality with images like "Klansmen demanding that gays be slaughtered," "hysterical backwoods preachers," "menacing punks," and a "tour of Nazi concentration camps where homosexuals were tortured and gassed."

Moreover, they add, "Gays can undermine the moral authority of homo-hating churches over less fervent adherents by portraying (them) as antiquated backwaters, badly out of step…with the latest findings of psychology.

Against the atavistic tug of 'Old Time Religion' one must set the mightier pull of science and public opinion…Such an 'unholy' alliance has already worked well in America against the churches, on such topics as divorce and abortion…(T)hat alliance can work for gays."

The authors urged homosexuals to cast themselves as "victims." By doing so, homosexuals are able to "invite straights to be their protectors."

3.)"Conversion" means "…conversion of the average American's emotions, mind, and will through a planned psychological attack, in the form of propaganda fed to the nation via the media."

The homosexuals developed a plan to convert America and they are doing it!

THIS IS THE 3-STEP PLAN OF THE HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY!!!

1.)    Desensitize

2.)    Jam it down our throats

3.)    Convert society to their way of thinking!!

EXAMPLE OF THEIR GOALS: In an article printed in the February 1987 edition of the “Gay Community News” (19 years ago) these radical homosexual activists set some significant goals: “All laws banning homosexual activity will be revoked… We shall make films about the love between heroic men… The family unit…will be abolished…All churches who condemn us will be closed…”

(These are their goals!!  BUT THERE IS MORE… The article went on to say this…)

“We shall sodomize your sons…We shall seduce them in your schools, in your dormitories, in your gymnasiums, in your locker rooms, in your movie theater bathrooms, in your army bunkhouses, in your truckstops, in your all-male clubs, in your houses of Congress, wherever men are with men together.”

EXAMPLE OF THEIR GOALS: Steve Warren, a spokesman for the homosexual activists group called ACT UP, wrote an article for a gay magazine called The Advocate entitled, “Warning to the Homophobes”. In the article he boasts: “We are going to force you (Christians) to recant everything you have believed or said about sexuality.”

EXAMPLE OF THEIR GOALS: Paula Ettelbrick, the executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said this: “Being queer is more than setting up house, sleeping with a person of the same gender, and seeking state approval for doing so… Being queer means pushing the parameters of sex, sexuality, and family and in the process, transforming the very fabric of society… We must keep our eyes on the goal... of radically reordering society’s views…”

(AGAIN) THIS IS THE 3-STEP PLAN OF THE HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY!!!

1.)    Desensitize

2.)    Jam it down our throats

3.)    Convert society to their way of thinking!!

EXAMPLE: Ford Motor Company

THEIR CRY FOR “TOLERANCE”:

In today’s society, the key word is “tolerance”.  We are supposed to be tolerant of everything except Biblical fundamentalism.  If you say that anything is wrong, then you’ll be accused of being “judgmental” and “intolerant”!

BUT… the homosexuals do NOT just want “tolerance” anymore!  (That’s what they asked for 25 years ago.) TODAY…They want full affirmation of their lifestyle!!

First we heard that homosexuals just wanted not to be discriminated against, then they wanted benefits at work for their partners, then they said they wanted civil unions with just some of the benefits of marriage and then… once the sodomy law from Texas was struck down by the Supreme Court… within months they were ignoring state laws and marrying one another anyway

NOW…The homosexuals want full equal rights as victims of a prejudiced society. 

So… where are we at today?  Homosexuality is being portrayed as a normal, natural and acceptable “alternate lifestyle”.  (50 years ago America had a completely different attitude!)

Your children and grandchildren are being taught this in school every day.

HOW ARE HOMOSEXUALS INFLUENCING / CHANGING OUR CULTURE??  How are they doing this?  How could the homosexual activists cause such a radical change in attitude, morals, and values in American society in less than 25 years?

ANSWER: (3 areas)   1. public education

                                    2. media influence

                                    3. public policy

1. Public Education

Did you know that there are over 2,000 schools in America with Gay-Straight Alliance Clubs? The purpose of these clubs is to make homosexuality acceptable to kids, to teach them tolerance of so-called alternative lifestyles.

The NEA, the National Education Association is already pushing for total acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle by teachers and in the curriculum of our kid’s schools.

A representative from the National Education Association added: "The fear of the religious right is that the schools of today will be the governments of tomorrow. And you know, they're right.”

In some areas of the country where homosexual activists have had free reign for years, the indoctrination of children starts as early as kindergarten.

EXAMPLE: At a Massachusetts Gay, Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) conference, there was a specific workshop on how to “incorporate gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues into the early elementary years.”¹

EXAMPLE: In 1997, speaking at a regional GLSEN (Gay & Lesbian and Straight Education Network) conference in New York, teacher Jaki Williams led a workshop titled “Inclusive Kindergartens” in which she gave the following chilling advice to other teachers:

Children in the kindergarten age are “developing their superego,” Williams said, and “that’s when the saturation process needs to begin.” … She explained that “five-year-olds really are very interested in the big questions. They’re very interested in sex, death, and love, and they ask those questions, and they talk about them. And we want to help them find the answers … on their level.” To initiate conversation, Williams said she has her class read from an assortment of pro-homosexual children’s books, such as “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads.”

EXAMPLE: GLSEN, (Gay & Lesbian and Straight Education Network) working with lesbian activists and filmmakers Helen Cohen and Diana Chasnoff, has created a video titled "It's Elementary" for schoolteachers and administrators. The video openly promotes homosexual behavior and not only ridicules Christianity, but also accuses Christians of persecuting homosexuals.

Featured in the video are many real scenes from elementary school classrooms. In one such scene, a fifth-grader who has been thoroughly indoctrinated states: "Some Christians believe that if you're gay you go to hell, so they want to torture them and stuff." In another scene, a fourth-grade girl is asked to read to her classmates an essay about her lesbian parents. When she gets to the section about people who have Biblical objections to homosexual behavior, she says: "Some people believe in a version of the Bible that says what my mommies do is wrong. I think that is just stupid." The teacher goes on to explain (in the video) that the girl’s essay won an award.

EXAMPLE: On the GLSEN website, there are elementary school lesson plans featuring the themes “What is Boy/Girl?” along with books with titles such as Queering Elementary Education. ²

KEY EXAMPLE OF THEIR GOALS: At a 1999 conference held by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educational Network (GLSEN), their director of communications said: "If we do our jobs right, we will raise a whole generation of children who will reject the claims of the religious right."

CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT ALLOW THESE PEOPLE TO INFLUENCE THEIR KIDS!!

GET YOUR CHILDREN OUT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION!

What is the goal of these pro-homosexual educators?

(Stephen Bennett) Innocent little boys and girls are having their childhood ripped from them as they are daily being indoctrinated into homosexuality via their public schools.

The homosexual's main goal is to wipe out "homophobia" in one generation – by getting the children now.

Is their agenda working in our schools?

As much as I hate to say it, that agenda is working.

POLLS: According to a 2001 Zogby poll of U.S. high school seniors found that nearly two-thirds surveyed said homosexual marriages should be legal and 68 percent said homosexual couples should be allowed to adopt children.

POLL: According to Newsweek last year (2005), 41% of 18-29 year olds back gay marriage, compared with 28% of Americans overall.

POLLS: National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found in 1988 that 74.9% of Americans believed homosexuality was wrong.  By 1998, (in just 10 years) that number had dropped to 54.6%!!

POLLS: When American were asked in a February 1999 Gallup Poll if they felt homosexuality should be considered an acceptable lifestyle or not, exactly 50 % said yes - up from 34 % who said yes to the same question in 1982.  (just 17 years prior)

POLLS: This coincides with a 1997 poll by George Barna, which reported that 46% of people who had an opinion on the subject stated that Christian churches should accept gay people as church leaders. (Charisma Magazine July 2001)

How are the homosexual activists changing American society?

First = through public education

2. Hollywood / Television

In the 1970’s, the incredibly stupid show, "Soap," made headlines when it introduced the network’s first openly gay character.

In the 2001 season there were few headlines when there are 25 full time homosexual characters on prime time television.

Some have pointed out that at least these characters aren’t openly sexual. But that’s not true, we’ve had the first lip to lip kiss between a couple of the same sex on prime time TV

According to one media consultant, keeping programming with homosexual content in it “gives straight viewers a chance to make friends with gays in their living rooms. It’s like sensitivity training.”

EXAMPLE of Brokeback Mountain

EXAMPLE of the popular comedy series, Will and Grace.

Eric McCormick, who plays Will on the series, said, “When little old women say, ‘I hope he finds a nice man,’ the show will be successful.”

Make no mistake. Homosexuals have an agenda!

EXAMPLE OF HOW LOW OUR SOCIETY HAS SUNK: In 1985 the popular "Dear Abby" newspaper column contained a letter from a woman who complained that her 29-year-old son had been "married" to his male friend in San Francisco. "Dear Abby" replied, "Congratulations, you haven't lost a son, you've gained another son."

NOTE: Culture has hit rock bottom when it celebrates homosexuality!! (Romans 1:26-27) Society has come to its lowest point. It is the obvious sign that a culture has become wicked.

Do you really want to know how low our society has sunk???

CONSIDER THE FACT THAT HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOW IN RELIGION:

HOMOSEXUALITY AND MODERN RELIGION

EXAMPLES OF THEIR “RELIGIOUS” LEADERS:

• Gene Robinson (The Gay Episcopalian Bishop) has claimed: “I answered God’s call to acknowledge myself as a gay man”
• One woman says, “My lesbianism is an act of Christian charity.”
• A church minister says, “The Lord is my Shepherd and he knows I’m gay.”
• Another man is quoted as saying, “If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise.”
• In his defense of homosexuality, one man writes, “The God I worship endorses loving, committed, monogamous relationships, regardless of the gender of those involved.”
• Another writes, “I do not believe in a…God who defines or delineates sinful behavior. But even if I did, I cannot believe that such a God would reject any of his or her children on the basis of their affectional orientations.

Stephen Hayner, president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, takes what he calls a "mediating" view on homosexuality. He does not believe homosexuals choose their sexual orientation and he thinks God allows homosexuality in some circumstances (World, Dec. 9, 1989).

The second edition of InterVarsity’s New Bible Dictionary makes the following amazing statement:

"The Bible says nothing specifically about the homosexual condition ... [and] its condemnations of homosexual conduct ... too often ... have been used as tools of a homophobic polemic which has claimed too much. ... [N]either account [Sodom and Gibeah stories (Gn. 19:1-25; Jgs. 19:13--20:48)] amounts to a wholesale condemnation of all [homo]sexual acts. On both occasions the sin condemned was an attempt at homosexual rape, not a caring homosexual relationship between consenting partners" ("Homosexuality," New Bible Dictionary, 2nd edition, p. 488).

Did you know??   … they even have a homosexual denomination?

What in the world do they teach in these homosexual churches????

Summary of Gay theology:

·        When Paul calls homosexual relations “unnatural” homosexuals claim that Paul is not condemning them, but rather saying they are beyond the scope of normal behavior.

·        Homosexuals claim that the sin Paul is condemning is acting outside of one’s nature. (e.g. heterosexuals engaging in homosexual acts)  They say each person should act according to their nature, whether homosexual or heterosexual.

·        Homosexuals claim that Paul was condemning homosexual acts connected with idolatry, not loving, monogamous homosexual relationships.

VA. BAPTISTS FUND PRO-GAY SCHOOL – The Calvary Contender reported on May 1, 1999 that the U. of Richmond, a Southern Baptist School established by the Baptist Gen. Assoc. 169 years ago, has added to its non-discrimination policy an amendment that will drop the school's ban on homosexual students (3/31 Baptist Standard). Homosexuals will now be actively recruited by the University's recruiting staff .

CAN OUR SOCIETY POSSIBLY GO MUCH LOWER??

How are the homosexual activists changing American society?

First = through public education

Second = through media (Hollywood / Television)

3. Public Policy

The homosexual community is working actively not only to change the minds of Americans, but to change the laws of America!

What laws are they trying to change?

• Legalization of homosexuality! (Accomplished when the Supreme Court repealed all sodomy laws)

• Legitimization of homosexuality.

• Legalization of Gay Marriage (Praise the Lord that we are witnessing a backlash of amendments opposing Gay marriage.)

• Addition of the phrase, “sexual orientation” to discrimination laws.
  • The 1^st thing Virginia democratic Gov. Mark Warner did was to issue as Executive Order declaring state employees could not be discriminated with for “sexual orientation”.  Warner had to use an “Executive Order” because it could not pass through the Legislator to become a Law in Virginia!!
  • This was also the 1^st thing that Virginia democratic Gov. Tim Kaine did!

• Requirement of health benefits for gay partners from corporations

• Addition of the phrase “sexual orientation” to Hate Crimes legislation.
  • If this were to pass, then articles like this one could be used to prosecute preachers like myself for “hate crimes”.
  • This is already being done in some countries like Canada and the Netherlands!

EXAMPLE of Canadian Law = Left-wing parliamentarian, Svend Robinson, drew up a bill that passed with the goal that the measure would not only criminalize violence, but speech per se, making the current uses of (as he said it) “homophobic pejoratives in public schools and in public places socially and criminally reprehensible.”

EXAMPLE of a Canadian newspaper paid advertisement where a group published an article condemning homosexuality.  The ad contained an image of 2 stick-men holding hands – with a red line drawn through the picture PLUS 4 Bible references against homosexuality.  The Court ruled that the picture was okay but the 4 Bible verses were illegal!! AND fined the group $1500!!

• Legalization of polygamy and other bizarre forms of “marriage”!

EXAMPLE: The ACLU Policy Guide states this… “The ACLU believes that criminal and civil laws prohibiting or penalizing the practice of plural marriage violate constitutional protections of freedom of expression and association, freedom of religion, and privacy for personal relationships among consenting adults.”

• They have even demanded (in the 1986 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights) that “…Institutions that discriminate against lesbian and gay people should be denied tax-exempt status.

• Support for Gay Adoption

Make no mistake… homosexuals have an agenda!!!

Our goal today has been to educate you on what the Bible teaches, expose their hidden agenda, and now I’d like to try to erase some myths regarding homosexuality.

There are a lot of lies---I’ll call them myths -- in this homosexual matter.

(the 1^st 3 myths go together)

MYTH #1---People are born homosexuals.

MYTH #2---Since homosexuals did not choose their orientation (i.e “they were born that way”), they cannot control their behavior or change it.

MYTH #3---It would be wrong for a person to try to change their natural sexual identity. In fact, God does not require him/her to change

All three of these myths are derived from the false idea that people are “born that way”.

How many of you have heard that there is a gay gene that has been found?  

THIS IS A KEY ISSUE:  The homosexual community is adamant in denying that their lifestyle is a matter of choice!!  They want society to believe that they were “born that way”!!

THE KEY QUESTION: Is homosexuality genetic and natural or is it a choice?

EXAMPLE: They used to ask questions regarding your “sexual preference”; now they ask about your “sexual orientation” – as if no one can choose their lifestyle.  Even the term, “alternate lifestyle” (which was coined to teach legitimacy) still implied a choice – and today is gradually being replaced by the newest phrase, “sexual identity”.

EXAMPLE of Presidential debate: Towards the end of a 2004 presidential debate there was finally a question on something that has the potential to be far more devastating to more people’s lives than a terrorist attack or even a war. The moderator asked “Homosexuality, is it a choice?”

-One of the candidates answered with a very strong religious statement. It wasn’t George Bush because he answered, “I don’t know”

-It was Senator John Kerry who said - "We’re all God’s children," he said. "And I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney’s daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she’s being who she was. She’s being who she was born as. I think if you talk to anybody, it’s not a choice."

Do you remember that debate?  Do you remember the outrage of those who accused Kerry of using Cheney’s daughter?  Did any of you catch the insinuation…. Kerry’s fundamental belief … that homosexuality is genetic; NOT a choice?

The homosexual community does not want us to view homosexuality as a choice – but as a natural, normal, “God-created” 3^rd gender!!

The goal in this is to completely remove any responsibility or indication of choice by the person for this lifestyle.

People are not born homosexual---it’s a lie!!!

God would never condemn something so clearly and then turn around and create someone “that way”!!

MYTH #4---Homosexuals cannot change!

(Again, it goes back to their fundamental belief that they were born that way.)

JUST A NOTE: Homosexuals got homosexuality removed from the list of mental illnesses in the early 70s by storming the annual American Psychiatric Association (APA) conference on successive years. "Guerrilla theater tactics and more straight-forward shouting matches characterized their presence" Since homosexuality has been removed from the APA list of mental illnesses, so has pedophilia (except when the adult feels "subjective distress").

This is another lie!  Homosexuals CAN change!!

MYTH #5---Gay Marriage is a civil rights / discrimination issue; NOT a moral issue.

They desire to be classified as a minority---as a group that has been victimized.

1.)    Homosexuality is NOT a civil rights issue, because their lifestyle is a matter of choice.

2.)    Homosexuality is NOT a discrimination issue, because no one has the right to force their immorality upon another person.

NOTICE: Why should they be a protected class?  They don’t need any protection!

·         The average yearly income of a homosexual is $55,430.00 (most of which is disposable because they have no children to take care of!). The average income of the general population is $32,144.00. The average of income of blacks is $12,166.00.

·         59.6% of homosexuals are college graduates. 18.0% of the general population are college graduates . Too bad they aren't smart enough to listen to God. "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22).

·         49.0% of homosexuals hold professional/managerial positions. 15.9% of the general population hold such positions. Where's the job discrimination?

MYTH #6 = Government should not try to legislate morality.  The government has no business dealing with this (or any other) private issue between two consenting adults.

I know you’ve heard this argument… “What two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own homes is their own business.”

BUT REMEMBER THIS:  God judges people and nations because of their sin!!  If America is going to be judged because of its sodomy – then it is my business!!

Government can, should, and already does legislate morality!!  There are laws against all kinds of sin (drugs, rape, kidnapping, incest, prostitution, laws against corruption of minors, etc)

NOTICE: These last two examples are unlawful acts between 2 consenting people!!!

Why is it our business?

• Because it corrupts society as a whole!! 

• Because it endangers our children!!

• Because it will endanger our country!

MYTH #7---People that speak against homosexuality are homophobic! They are filled with hate and just won’t love and accept people as they are.

Opposing homosexuality as a behavior is seen by many as preaching a message of hate. “Homophobia” is the byword of the times!!

What is “homophobia”?

In a September, 1992 editorial in The New York Times, Dr. Richard Isay, chairman of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Issues Committee, of the American Psychiatric Association, defines homophobia as “the irrational fear and hatred of homosexuals.”

The problem is this definition cannot apply to a Christian addressing the subject of homosexuality. Why?

As for IRRATIONAL: Rational means according to reason. It means to have a sound basis or foundation for what you say or believe.

Christians do have a very sound basis for what they say…. GOD”S WORD!!!! The Christian message is founded on the inerrant, unchanging, authoritative word of God… the Bible.

As to FEAR OF HOMOSEXUALS: Christians do not have a fear OF homosexuals… we have a fear FOR homosexuals. We fear because we know that the wages of sin…. All sin…. Even homosexuality…. is death = eternal separation from God in hell.

Christians fear that if homosexuals, and murderers, and adulterers, and co-habitors, and liars, and thieves and all sinners do not hear the gospel, confess their sinfulness, and accept the salvation offered through Jesus Christ… they have no hope... and will spend eternity in hell!!

As for HATRED OF HOMOSEXUALS: Christians are not to hate anyone.

The scripture is clear that we are to abhor sin, in order to avoid it. God too abhors sin. But, like God, we are to love all persons. We are never allowed to mistreat, be rude to, or be unloving to any persons.

Therefore… irrational fear and hatred of any group (including homosexuals) is impossible for obedient Christians.

Telling the truth is NOT “homophobia”!!

Telling the truth is NOT being “insensitive” or “hateful”!!

The homosexuals attack us because they want to shut us up!!

They want to silence the church. They want to silence the Christian in the workplace and in school!!

MYTH #8---No one is supposed to judge others.  No one is supposed to be intolerant of others.

ANSWER: We don’t / can’t judge anyone – BUT God’s Word can!

MYTH #9---Gays constitute 10% of the population.  FACT: 9 different studies have confirmed that only 1-3% of the population are homosexual.

MYTH #10---Homosexuals are not a threat to children.  It’s just a private matter between consenting adults

EXAMPLE: “Homosexual men are far more likely to engage in child sexual abuse than are heterosexuals.” (Peter Sprigg, “Questions and Answers: What’s Wrong With Letting Same-Sex Couples ‘Marry’?” Family Research Council)

EXAMPLE: Captain William Riddle of the Los Angeles Police says, "30,000 sexually abused children in Los Angeles were victims of homosexuals".

EXAMPLE: A disproportionate percentage - 29 percent - of the adult children of homosexual parents had been specifically subjected to sexual molestation by that homosexual parent, compared to only 0.6 percent of adult children of heterosexual parents having reported sexual relations with their parents. . . . Having a homosexual parent(s) appears to increase the risk of incest with a parent by a factor of about 50.” (P. Cameron and K. Cameron, “Homosexual Parents,” Adolescence 31 (1996), 72)

Homosexuals DO prey on children!!

1.      33% of homosexuals ADMIT to minor/adult sex.

2.      Homosexuals commit more than 33% of all reported child molestations in the United States, which, assuming homosexuals make up 2% of the population, means that 1 in 20 homosexuals is a child molester, while 1 in 490 heterosexuals is a child molester.

3.      73% of all homosexuals admit to having had sex with boys under 19 years of age.

4.      Many homosexuals admit that they are pedophiles: "The love between men and boys is at the foundation of homosexuality".

5.      Because homosexuals can't reproduce naturally, they resort to recruiting children. Homosexuals can be heard chanting "TEN PERCENT IS NOT ENOUGH, RECRUIT, RECRUIT, RECRUIT" in their homosexual parades. A group called the "Lesbian Avengers" prides itself on trying to recruit young girls. They print "WE RECRUIT" on their literature. Some other homosexuals aren't as overt about this, but rather try to infiltrate society and get into positions where they will have access to the malleable minds of young children (e.g., the clergy, teachers, Boy Scout leaders, etc.).

MYTH #1---People are born homosexuals.
MYTH #2---Since homosexuals did not choose their orientation (i.e. “they were born that way”), they cannot control their behavior or change it.

MYTH #3---It would be wrong for a person to try to change their natural sexual identity. In fact, God does not require him/her to change

MYTH #4---Homosexuals cannot change!

MYTH #5---Gay Marriage is a civil rights / discrimination issue; NOT a moral issue.

MYTH #6 = Government should not try to legislate morality.  The government has no business dealing with this (or any other) private issue between two consenting adults.

MYTH #7---People that speak against homosexuality are homophobic!

MYTH #8---No one is supposed to judge others.  No one is supposed to be intolerant of others.

MYTH #9---Gays constitute 10% of the population. 

MYTH #10---Homosexuals are not a threat to children. 

MYTH #11---Homosexuality is a harmless, private practice between two consenting adults!

THE TRUTH = Homosexuality has dire consequences…

What do they mean by “harmless”?

Hasn’t anyone ever heard of AIDS?

• It’s original acronym was GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency)

• AIDS was started in the Gay Community, but rapidly spread through blood transfusions and sharing needles.

• AIDS IS STILL A PREDOMINATELY HOMOSEXUAL DISEASE

FACT: Statistics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (June 2003) reported that almost 70 percent of male infection of AIDS in America is due to homosexual sex.

            FACT:

-          The chances of getting AIDS from one unprotected heterosexual encounter is 1 in 175,000.

-          The chances of getting AIDS from one unprotected homosexual encounter is 1 in 165.

BY THE WAY: It takes approximately $300,000 to take care of each AIDS victim, so thanks in part to the promiscuous lifestyle of homosexuals, medical insurance rates have been skyrocketing for all of us.

AIDS is only one of the many STD’s that are plaguing the homosexual community:

·         78% of homosexuals are affected by STDs.

·         The Archives of Internal Medicine found that homosexuals acquired syphilis at a rate ten times that of heterosexuals. [Issue 151; 1991]

·         Homosexuals account for 3-4% of all gonorrhea cases, 60% of all syphilis cases, and 17% of all hospital admissions (other than for STDs) in the United States.

REMEMBER: Homosexuals make up only 1-3% of the population.

·         According to the homosexual newspaper The Washington Blade, “A San Francisco study of gay and bisexual men revealed that HPV (Human Papillomavirus) infection was almost universal among HIV-positive men, and that 60% of HIV-negative [homosexual] men carried HPV.” [December 8, 2000]

·         The Centers for Disease Control reports, “Outbreaks of hepatitis A among men who
have sex with men are a recurring problem in many large cities in the industrialized world.”
[Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, Sept. 4, 1998]

·         Homosexuals account for a disproportionate number of hepatitis cases: 70-80% in San Francisco, 29% in Denver, 66% in New York City, 56% in Toronto, 42% in Montreal, and 26% in Melbourne.

·         Homosexuals live unhealthy lifestyles, and have historically accounted for the bulk of syphilis, gonorrhea, Hepatitis B, the "gay bowel syndrome" (which attacks the intestinal tract), tuberculosis and cytomegalovirus.

·         Depending on the city, 39-59% of homosexuals are infected with intestinal parasites like worms, flukes and amoebae, which is common in filthy third world countries.

Homosexuality is NOT a harmless or happy lifestyle!!

Let’s examine the research even further…

·         A study in Nursing Research found that female homosexuals are 3 times more likely to abuse
alcohol than heterosexual women. [Issue 43; 1994]

·         73% of psychiatrists say homosexuals are less happy than the average person, and of those psychiatrists, 70% say that the unhappiness is NOT due to social stigmatization.

·         Dr. Daniel Capron, a practicing psychiatrist, says, "Homosexuality by definition is not healthy and wholesome. The homosexual person, at best, will be unhappier and more unfulfilled than the sexually normal person". For other psychiatrists who believe that homosexuality is wrong, please see National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality.

·         25-33% of homosexuals and lesbians are alcoholics.

·         Judge John Martaugh, chief magistrate of the New York City Criminal Court has said, "Homosexuals account for half the murders in large cities".

·         50% of suicides can be attributed to homosexuals.

·         Homosexuals are 100 times more likely to be murdered (usually by another homosexual) than the average person, 25 times more likely to commit suicide, and 19 times more likely to die in a traffic accident.

·         21% of lesbians die of murder, suicide or traffic accident, which is at a rate of 534 times higher than the number of white heterosexual females aged 25-44 who die of these things.

·         About 50% of the women on death row are lesbians.

Before we close, let’s answer some fundamental questions relating to this issue

1.      Is homosexuality normal? Are people born that way? (ABSOLUTELY NOT)

2.      Is homosexuality a sin?

ANSWER: According to Romans 1, homosexuality is the result of a twisted mind that the Bible calls “a reprobate mind”. The Bible refers to it as an abomination. It IS a sin!

3.      Is homosexuality a worse sin than other sins?  Is it an unforgivable sin?

ANSWER: While it is true that all sin is wicked before God, the Bible does not say that all sin is the same in its effect in this world.

IN FACT:  The Bible teaches degrees of punishment in hell based on degrees of sinfulness.  However, there are NO degrees of being a sinner! God does NOT view or judge all sin equally.

EXAMPLE: God did not pour out fire and brimstone upon Sodom because of its jealousy or covetousness or lack of hospitality. He did not pour out fire and brimstone upon Sodom even because of its adultery. It was specifically because of its homosexuality (Genesis 19; Jude 7).

Though all moral sins are evil in God's eye, homosexuality is especially corrupt because it is a sin against nature itself.

The Bible teaches that the sin of homosexuality changes “the natural use into that which is against nature" (Romans 1:26). In Romans chapter one, homosexuality is called "vile affections" (v. 26), "against nature" (v. 26), "unseemly" (v. 27), "a reprobate mind" (v. 28), "not convenient" (v. 28)

Homosexuality is among the small group of sins that are referred to in the Bible as “abomination”.

HOWEVER… the only unforgivable sin mentioned in the Bible is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

4.      Is AIDS the judgment of God? (Study Romans 1:27)

5.      Should Homosexuals Be Punished by Law?

Homosexual behavior should be punished by civil government. I Timothy 1:8-10 specifically includes homosexuality in the things that the law should punish:

"But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind (the homosexual), for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine."

In the Bible those kings who condoned and tolerated the sodomites were condemned by God. However, the kings who properly handled the homosexual issue "did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord."

EXAMPLE: King Asa "did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD,...he took away the sodomites out of the land,..." I Kings 15:11,12.

EXAMPLE: King Jehoshaphat "did which was right in the eyes of the LORD:…the remnant of the sodomites,...he took out of the land." I Kings 22:43,46.

EXAMPLE: King Josiah "did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,...he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the Lord..." II Kings 22: 23:7.

Society has a right to protect itself against destructive crimes. These things are not private matters and should not be treated as such. It is not a matter "between consenting adults in private"!!

6.      How should we treat homosexuals? 

BASIC PRINCIPLES:

A.    Civil government alone has the authority to punish lawbreakers – not individual citizens. We should NEVER advocate any kind of violence against homosexuals.

B.     We should be kind and respectful of ALL people.

C.     We have a duty to witness to ALL lost people.

D.    We do not have a duty or obligation to accept their lifestyle or honor it in any way – even if it means separating from family and friends.

a.       Separation is never done in arrogance.

b.      Separation is ALWAYS a last resort.

c.       Separation is ALWAYS done in love with a view to invoke repentance.

7.      Should practicing homosexuals be accepted into the church? (NO)

8.      Is Gay Marriage acceptable? 

Homosexual marriage is a perversion of the institution of marriage and an offense to the God who created marriage. God forbids and condemns homosexuality, so He clearly is opposed to homosexual marriage.

Probably a better way to view this issue is to ask the question: Why would homosexuals want Gay Marriage? Even though the news media tries to parade homosexual couples who have lived in “silent agony” for years and year “just waiting for an opportunity to get married”… this is NOT the typical homosexual!

Thomas Schmidt—in a study of homosexual relationships found only 8% of men and 7% of the women ever had a relationship that lasted more than 3 years. He said, “Tragically, lifelong faithfulness is almost nonexistent in the homosexual experience”

·         50% of the calls to a hotline to report "queer bashing" involved domestic violence (i.e., homosexuals beating up other homosexuals).

·         37% of homosexuals engage in sadomasochism, which accounts for many accidental deaths. In San Francisco, classes were held to teach homosexuals how to not kill their partners during sadomasochism.

·         41% of homosexuals say they have had sex with strangers in public restrooms, 60% say they have had sex with strangers in bathhouses, and 64% of these encounters have involved the use of illegal drugs.

9.      How can we make it less likely for our children to choose a sinful homosexual lifestyle?

1. Be a good gender role model. Be a man. Be a lady.  Beware of blurring the roles of man and woman. Beware of the “weak”, effeminate man; and the bossy, domineering woman!

2. Spend lots of time with both parents.

3. Encourage gender-appropriate activities.  Encourage boys to be boys.  Do masculine things with your sons.  Encourage girls to be girls.

4. Be wary of emotional detachment from the same sex parent.

5. Guard your child’s influences. (education, entertainment, and friends!)

6. Protect your child from sexual abuse – which seems to be a leading factor.

7. Pray for your children!

10.  Can a person be a homosexual and be a Christian?

 Please study 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Can a person be a Christian and take a drink of alcohol? Can a person be a Christian and STEAL something? Can a person be a Christian and commit ADULTERY one time?

I think we would all say “yes” to these. BUT, many people will say that you can’t be a Christian and commit a homosexual act.

What about the homosexual who is genuinely converted … and has given up the homosexual lifestyle … BUT … when tempted, commits the sin again?

 Some will say he was never saved.

BUT … what about the alcoholic who has been genuinely converted … and falls off the wagon? OR … the Christian who commits adultery when tempted?

Can they be a Christian and commit these sins … or do we say that they were never saved?

Let me clarify this.  When you become a “new creature”, and “old things are passed away”, it doesn’t mean that some of the old sins won’t tempt you, and you won’t occasionally fall into them.

It means that you don’t HAVE to sin anymore, but you also won’t be PERFECT until you are in Heaven.

This doesn’t mean that it is ACCEPTABLE to commit these sins, but it also doesn’t mean that just because a person hasn’t had complete victory over every sin in their life, that they aren’t saved.

Being saved doesn’t necessarily mean that a previous sin will immediately cease … will never be repeated … that they will have immediate and consistent victory over their sin. A converted homosexual may well struggle with this sin in his life – just like a saved drunk might struggle with the temptation to drink at times.

BUT, a true Christian will not continue to practice a lifestyle of homosexuality or any other sinful lifestyle.

A true Christian will not deliberately and continuously violate what they know to be a commandment of God …and practice a sin that they know God hates and forbids … a sin that brings shame to His name.

A true Christian will repent of their sin and seek to honor God … and NOT flaunt a sinful lifestyle. This is what the so-called “Christian homosexuals” are doing … flaunting a sinful lifestyle.

THIS IS MY STATEMENT: The homosexual who refuses to repent, and openly lives in this sin, and refuses to accept their lifestyle as a sin against Holy God, is not saved … just like the thief, alcoholic, or adulterer who refuses to repent and lives habitually in their sin … flaunting their sin in an open lifestyle for all to see.

To say that person is a “Christian homosexual” is like saying someone is a “Christian drunk” or a “Christian rapist”,  or a “Christian thief”, or a “Christian dope addict” – there is no such thing!!! 

We hasten to say, that we do not believe that a person who is saved will remain a homosexual.

Any person who is saved will turn from their sin, repent of it and forsake it.

11.  Can homosexuals be saved?

I Corinthians 6:9-11 = Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (Greek "arsenokoites" meaning "sodomites"), nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." I Cor. 6:11.

So there you have the truth. Some of the Corinthian Christian had been sodomites, but they no longer were sodomites, for they had been washed, sanctified and justified by the Lord. They were no longer involved in this awful sin.

They were not saved by quitting their sins, but they were saved out of their sins.

CONCLUSION: Our society is in danger!  Our country is in danger!  Your family (children and grandchildren) are in danger!!

There are people in our country who are committed to doing everything they can to tear down ALL Biblical family values in America!!

These same people are after your kids!

What are we doing about it?

A FINAL WORD:

FOR THE UNSAVED:  You cannot be a practicing ________________ (fill in “anything sinful” in the blank – such as “homosexual”, “thief”, “adulterer”, “pornographer”, etc. etc.) and be a Christian! 

Are you saved?  Have you ever been changed by the power of God?

FOR THE SAVED:

Do you have the right attitude toward this sin?

Do you take a strong, vocal stand against this sin?  (It may cost you.)

What are you doing to stop the creeping influence of the homosexual community?

Are you protecting your children and grandchildren from the agenda of the homosexuals?

Will you educate others about this national crisis?

Do you love and pray for homosexual people as you should?

Pastor’s Note: Please understand that these notes were derived from hours of research. Many books, articles, and websites were consulted and many of the ideas are borrowed from others. Although I have attempted to give credit for direct quotes, other footnotes may have been unintentionally omitted. I have not knowingly attempted to steal anyone’s material. Please use these notes with the understanding that many of the ideas are not original to me.