Following Judah's Lion

Homosexuality - Orthodox Hypocrisy

The self serving hysteria concerning homosexuality continues. Church leaders stand “boldly” and aghast at the “normalization” of homosexual behavior including gay unions.

"It leads to the redefinition of reproduction and parenthood, produces a legal revolution with vast consequences, replaces an old social order with something completely new, and forces the adoption of a new morality," said Albert Mohler.

John Piper said, "[Homosexuality] has been here since we were all broken in the fall of man," he wrote. "What’s new is not even the celebration of homosexual sin. Homosexual behavior has been exploited, and reveled in, and celebrated in art, for millennia."
"What’s new," he underscored, "is normalization and institutionalization. This is the new calamity."

OK, come on. The fallen community is supposed to be dead in sins and trespasses, so when something like homosexuality becomes more accepted and prominent does that make them more dead? Have they been able to manage their fallen-ness until now? And let us remember that the sin that plunged the entire human race into spiritual death was one “small” act of disobedience. It was far from the sin of homosexuality.

It's as if we expected the fallen culture to stay within accepted parameters of sin which would still be sinful but at least more palatable to us in the moral, Christian community. Never mind that adultery and divorce are raging throughout the “moral” evangelical community. Never mind that millions of believing men, including preachers, regularly watch some form of pornography. Never mind that the evangelical church is bursting at the seams with false teachers and feel good nonsense messages. At least we can rise up and express moral outrage at homosexuality and stroke our self righteous souls.

Is it not the zenith of hypocrisy when the divorced and remarriage community carries the banner for the Defense of Marriage Act? I mean let us retain the traditional man with woman marriage construct so we can also exhibit the traditional man divorces woman construct? I mean what is next if gays are to be married? Man divorces man and woman divorces woman? We could stomach their divorce much better than their sexual behavior! What hypocrites we are. Perhaps we are afraid the divorce rate among gay marriages would be less than among evangelical unions?

Ok, the Scripture is clear. Homosexual behavior is a sin. In other words it is wrong before God. There are numerous Old Testament references as well as several New Testament references that make that very clear. But before we all climb the throne of moral self righteousness let us pause and take a look at something else about which the New Testament is explicit. Those who dilute the Word of God point out that there are only a scant few references to homosexuality in the New Testament and they are correct. However Scriptural truth is not quantitative. It is qualitative and only needs one mention or teaching.

Rom.1:26-27 - 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.

I Cor.6:9-10 - 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,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

I Tim.1:9-10 - 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,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;


But for every one reference to homosexual behavior there are at least ten references to sins involving money. Oh yes, its our dirty little secret. And if we can magnify homosexuality perhaps we can obscure the sin that runs rampant within our own moral camp. Let us examine some of the Scriptures that we love to ignore and resist confronting.

Matt.6:19-21
Matt.6:28-34
Matt.13:44-46
Matt.19:44-46
Matt.22:16-
Lk.6:24-25
Lk.12:13-15
Lk.12:16-21
Lk.22-34
Lk.16:10-13
Lk.19:7-9
Lk.21:1-4
Acts 4:32-37
Acts 20:34-35
I Tim.6:11
I Tim.6:17-19
II Tim.3:1-5
Heb.10:34
Jam.2:1-7
I Jn.3:17-18
Rev.3:17-18

These are certainty not an exhaustive list of Scriptures and teachings about money. But they clearly reveal a distinct difference in the way this culture lives, believers and unbelievers alike, and the way God would have us live. And now we are confronted by our own sin and Scriptural compromise. And if we are honest, that may well consume all our time dealing with it. But how can we live like we live, spend like we spend, borrow like we borrow, save like we save, and still claim to be “Biblical Christians”? And while we are immersed with all sorts of greed, avarice, hedonism, and financial idolatry, we still have the hubris to condemn the fallen culture when they exhibit the fruits of who they actually are? But where are our fruits that mirror these Scriptural commands?

But homosexuality provides a great whipping boy and a distraction from our own grievous compromises. And worse yet, we are not confronting homosexuality within the church, but we are commanding the dead, fallen world to stop? And with what power, pray tell, do we expect them to see and repent of their sin? Information? The words of our condemnation? The “great” model of traditional marriage the church has exhibited? How can a dead person hear? How can a blind person see? Sinners need the gospel not a lesson on marriage and the moral issues outlined in the Bible.

But my point is that we continue to openly and energetically disobey and compromise the Scriptures but we demand lost sinners to cease and desist from certain sins. And with what method do we seek to defeat sin? By the ballot box? By the embarrassing bemoaning of today’s fallen situation and a yearning for days gone by? If we are so concerned with the fallen culture then why are church houses dark during the week and yet our televisions burn brightly? If we are so outraged by this culture’s support of homosexuality then how can we attend Hollywood movies and give into their coffers? Why do we borrow from lending institutions that lend to gays and gay supporting institutions?

But again, our so called “culture war” is nothing more than moral hot air that strokes our flesh and does nothing to forward the kingdom of God. But it does make us believe we are “taking a stand” for God, when in fact we are countermanding the gospel of grace. Fighting fire with fire is an exercise in hopelessness. Has anyone ever read these words:

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

The Person that said those words desires us to mirror their spirit. But until we become living sacrifices for His gospel we can always claim to be “orthodox”. After all, we believe homosexual behavior is sin. (The applause light has been turned on.)