"SAME-SEX MARRIAGE"

INTRODUCTION
  1. Same-sex marriage will probably be a controversial issue for some time to come...
    1. Precipitated by state justices in Massachusetts and the mayor in San Francisco
    2. Likely to be an issue in many political campaigns
  2. Churches and Christians everywhere will be confronted by this issue...
    1. If same-sex marriages become sanctioned by the state, should the church accept them?
    2. Should Christians view such marriages as ordained by God?

[For Christians who accept the Word of God as the ultimate authority in their lives, the answer lies in the Bible. What does it say regarding same-sex marriage? Let's first review...]

  1. WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY
    1. SURVEY OF BIBLICAL PASSAGES...
      1. Old Testament references
        1. The Sodom incident - Gen 19:1-13
        2. The Levitical prohibition - Lev 18:22; 20:13
        3. The Gibeah incident - Judg 19:15-25
        4. The perverted persons (male temple prostitutes) - 1 Kin 14:24
      2. New Testament references
        1. Women and men committing acts against nature - Ro 1:26-27
        2. Practicing homosexuals and sodomites will not inherit the kingdom - 1Co 6:9-10
        3. Sodomites (those who practice homosexuality) contrary to sound doctrine - 1Ti 1:10
        4. Reference to Sodom and Gomorrah, going after 'strange flesh' - Jude 1:7
    2. SUMMARY OF DIFFERENT VIEWS...
      1. Arguments by those approving homosexuality
        1. The incidents at Sodom and Gibeah were gang rapes, which are wrong whether homosexual or heterosexual
        2. The Levitical prohibitions were condemning ritual sodomy and prostitution like that referenced in 1Ki 14:24
        3. 'Acts against nature' are not against nature if you are born homosexual
        4. The Greek words malakos and arsenokoites (1Co 6:9, 1 Ti 1:10) refer to either temple prostitution, pedophilia, or male rape, not committed relationships
        5. Some seek approval for gay sex from the relationships of:
          1. David and Jonathan - 1Sa 18:1,3; 20:17,24; 2Sa 1:26-27
          2. Naomi and Ruth - Ruth 1:16-17
        6. Gay sex by two loving, committed companions is never condemned in the Bible
          1. Jesus never mentioned it
          2. He condemned divorce and adultery, but not homosexuality
      2. Observations by those opposing homosexuality
        1. Every reference to homosexuality is condemned in the Bible; as per Donald Sensing...
          1. Jesus' failure to mention homosexuality is not an argument for its permissibility
          2. Prophets prophesied against things that needed fixing
          3. The proscription against homosexuality in first century Judea was strong and certain
          4. Jesus' silence shows He was in agreement with its proscription in Jewish law
        2. The Levitical prohibitions...
          1. Not just against pagan ordinances, but also 'the doings of the land' - Lev 18:3
          2. Forbid adultery, incest, bestiality; shall the same arguments be applied to them?
        3. The argument seeking to defuse Ro 1:26-27...
          1. Assumes one is 'born gay'; no scientific study has yet proved it
          2. Reproductive organs indicate otherwise, to use them in gay sex is 'against nature'
        4. The Greek words...
          1. malakos may have limited meaning (effeminate, catamite)
          2. But the word arsenokoites (male sex) can include any homosexual act
        5. The Bible does praise same-sex platonic relationships
          1. David and Jonathan illustrate the value of friendship (phileo)
          2. Ruth and Naomi exemplify the beauty of familial love (storge)
        6. There is not one indication of gay sex (eros) being approved in the Bible

        [While many try to defuse passages condemning homosexuality, one fact is indisputable: there is no evidence of gay sex of any sort being approved by God! Now let's consider...]

  2. WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT MARRIAGE
    1. SURVEY OF BIBLICAL PASSAGES...
      1. Jesus' teaching on marriage
        1. Marriage was instituted by God at the beginning - Mt 19:3-4
        2. Marriage was designed for those created male and female - Mt 19:4
        3. Marriage is for man and wife, who become 'one flesh' (produce offspring) - Mt 19:5
        4. Marriage is a union that God joins, not the state - Mt 19:6
        5. Man may try to put asunder, but only God puts asunder - Mt 19:7-9
          1. One may divorce and remarry, but still commit adultery - Mt 5:31-32
          2. God allows divorce only for fornication, and remarriage by the innocent - Mt 19:9
        6. The kingdom of heaven may require some to 'make themselves eunuchs' (i.e. remain celibate) - Mt 19:11-12
      2. The apostles' teaching on marriage
        1. Sex in marriage is honorable, sex outside marriage is not - He 13:4
        2. To avoid fornication, let each man have his own wife - 1Co 7:1-2
        3. All other discussions pertaining to marriage describe husband-wife (male-female) relationships - 1Co 7:3-48; Ro 7:1-4; Ep 5:22-33; Col 3:18-19; 1Ti 3:2,11-12; 5:14; Tit 1:6; 2:4-5; 1Pe 3:1-7
    2. SUMMARY OF BIBLICAL TEACHING...
      1. All sex outside of marriage is sinful, whether heterosexual or homosexual
      2. Marriage is a divine institution, not a civil one
      3. God determines what constitutes a proper marriage, not man
      4. Marriage throughout the Bible is always between a man and woman
      5. There is not one mention regarding same-sex marriage (though the practice was known among the Gentiles)
      6. There is no teaching on how same-sex marriages work (who is the head? who is to submit?)
CONCLUSION
  1. Same-sex marriage is totally foreign to the Bible, and to the doctrine of Christ...
    1. The only marriage approved of God is between male and female
    2. All mention of same-sex relationships in the Bible are condemned
  2. The sanctity of marriage has long been under attack...
    1. Divorce and remarriage for any reason have undermined the institution for generations
    2. Same-sex marriage is only the latest attack; it probably won't be the last
  3. While same-sex marriage threatens the moral fiber of society...
    1. So does adultery and unscriptural divorce!
    2. All deviations from God's design for marriage and family should be opposed
  4. God intended for children to be raised in a loving family...
    1. With the emotional security and nurture provided by a loving father and mother
    2. Divorce destroys what God intended, same-sex marriage cannot provide it
  5. Since government is to...
    1. Be God's minister for good - cf. Ro 13:4
    2. 'Promote the general welfare' - Preamble To the US Constitution - It should be our prayer and goal that laws governing marriage and divorce be consistent with Divine revelation (and not secular humanism)

For those caught up in the sins of fornication, adultery and homosexuality, please take notice of both the warning and hope offered in the gospel of Christ...

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. "
"And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. " - 1Co 6:9-11
In a world morally adrift, plunging deeper and deeper into sin, let Jesus be the way to light and truth...
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." - Jn 8:12