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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
January 9, 2022
God’s Design for Human Sexuality
Selected Scriptures
Introduction
In last week’s sermon I mentioned that one of the ways that God’ uses us to be a comfort to those that are persecuted is to stand with them. This morning’s sermon is designed to do just that as our brothers and sisters in Christ in Canada will be persecuted due to a new law there – Bill C-4 – that went into effect yesterday. I received an e-mail about two weeks ago from John MacArthur sent to those on his Shepherd’s Conference list highlighting the information he had received from Canadian pastors James Coates and Andrew DeBartolo. You may recall that Pastor Coates went to jail last year due to having the church he pastors continue to meet contrary to government efforts to shut down all churches. Pastor MacArthur urged us to take a united stand with the Canadian pastors and preach on the subject of Biblical sexual morality. I am sure I will have some criticism that I am preaching politics again, but I will point out again that, as MacArthur well stated, it is the Canadian and U.S. governments that are attacking the Word of God, therefore, it is incumbent upon all Bible believing pastors to speak out against such policies and those that push these evils just as the prophets of old did.
The specifics of Bill C-4 go beyond similar legislation already passed in California, Nevada, New Jersey and here in New York banning “conversion therapy” for various sexual perversions. A plank that was passed at the Democrat National Convention on August 18, 2020 was to “ban harmful conversion therapy practices.” The therapy practices were considered harmful because they would help individuals with unwanted sexual desires reorientate themselves according to biological reality. Those promoting the LGBT+ agenda claim that “gender is fluid,” but they want the flow to go only in the direction of sexual perversion. They want to legalize, promote and give greater preference to sexual perversions that are abominations before God and ban efforts to hinder, stop and reverse such perversions. While the laws already passed in the states mentioned are evil, they directly affect professional counselors, not religious counselors or the public at large. The new Canadian law goes far beyond that as Pastor DeBartolo pointed out in his letter to MacArthur which I will summarize.
Bill C-4 criminalizes, among other things, “causing another person to undergo conversion therapy; promoting or advertising conversion therapy.” Conversion therapy is defined as, “a practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual; change a person’s gender identity to cisgender; change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth; repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behavior; repress a person’s non-cisgender identity; or repress or reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned to the person at birth.”
I will quickly note here that the now commonly used phrase, “sex assigned at birth,” is used on purpose to distort reality. Your sex is not arbitrarily assigned by someone when you are born. What is put on your birth certificate is simply the person filling it out recognizing the physical realities that easily distinguish a boy from a girl. Those physical distinctives arise directly from the genetics of the individual. In every cell of your body you have either a XX sex chromosome set and are a female or you have a XY set and you are a male. That is the physical reality of genetics regardless of whatever emotional dysfunction or cognitive confusion may exist. You cannot change that regardless of any psychological therapy you receive or surgical mutilations you undergo. You will live your life either in harmony with your chromosomal reality or in rebellion against it, but you can’t change it. Anyone unable to make the simple distinction between a baby boy and a baby girl should not be assisting with delivery of any baby or filling out any kind of form much less a birth certificate.
Bill C-4 is based on the premise that it is a “myth” to prefer “heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth” over “other sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.” That is certainly the opposite of God’s design, but because of their premise, Bill C-4 will make it against the law to preach, teach or counsel regarding God’s design for marriage and human sexuality. It specifically states, “Everyone who knowingly causes another person to undergo conversion therapy – including by providing conversion therapy to that other person is guilty of an indictable offense and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years.” And “Everyone who knowingly promotes or advertises conversion therapy is guilty of an indictable be offense and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years.” The new law is intentionally broad so it can be applied broadly including anyone who counsels obedience to Christ in abandoning sexual perversions.
As already mentioned, this ideology is not exclusive to Canada. It is being pushed in many other “Western” nations and by our own Federal government and already being implemented in several states, by many colleges, school districts and businesses. This morning I want to make sure there are no doubts in your mind about God’s design for human sexuality because without that the increasing social pressure will cause you to succumb to this evil ideology. But before I do that, I want to address the question of how societies that were once dominated by Christian thought degenerate into such a depraved state?
Degeneration into Depravity – Romans 1:18-32
Turn to Romans 1:18–32. I am going to read this passage and insert some brief comments as we go.
18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”
The starting point of the downward slide into depravity is rejection of God as the Creator despite all of the overwhelming evidence He has given in Creation itself. In Western societies that battle has been fought for over a century as evolutionary philosophy has steadily replaced actual science in education and government policies and made a normal reading of Genesis impossible in most churches. Those who professes to be wise become fools when they are enamored with what has been created instead of the Creator.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Though sinful man has always been lustful, most societies place a lot of restrictions on the expression of it in order to maintain healthy families. That began to erode in our own nation in the 1920’s as European influence on the doughboys of WW1 spread. The “sexual revolution” of the 1960’s was open rebellion against morality. Parallel to this was a decline in the strength of most churches as they turned away from Biblical truth to embrace cultural trends.
26″ For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”
By the 1990’s, the push for open acceptance of homosexuality was in full swing and was gaining considerable political influence. Consider that AIDS became the first contagious disease that was federally protected from contact tracing since that was considered discriminatory against homosexuals who were hard hit by the disease due to their sexual practices. The word “gay” changed meaning as shown in the fact that the “Gay 90’s” of the 1800’s was very different from the “gay 90’s” of the 1900’s.
28 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
All of the evils listed have become prevalent as the new millennium has progressed. Wickedness that was not even imagined in most of society when I was young has pushed beyond being tolerated to being accepted to being celebrated. The minds of many of the elite in society – leaders in government and business along with entertainment stars – are so depraved that you cannot argue with them logically.
The degeneration of our society into its current state parallels its rejection of God. Over a quarter of the population now claim to be religious “nones.” Only 25% claim to be “evangelical,” but that is a loose term that includes those who are woefully Biblically illiterate and whose moral positions are set more by society than anything God has revealed in the Scriptures. People that no longer want to acknowledge God are not interested in following what He has commanded. They want to do what they desire, and since that is according to the lusts of their hearts and their depraved minds, then it is not surprising that is perverted and wicked.
God’s Design for the Family at Creation – Genesis
What is God’s design? It begins in Genesis 1:26-28, 26 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
From creation, humans were created in God’s image in two forms, male and female, and together they were to “be fruitful, multiply & fill the earth.” More detail is given about this in Genesis 2:7, 20-24.
The man is formed first – 7 “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Adam, the first man, names every beast of the field, but he does not find any animal that would be a helper in fulfilling God’s mandate given to him that corresponded to him. The text continues 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
First, take note that before the fall into sin there was no perversion in the mind so that neither of them were ashamed though they were both naked. Human sexuality was pure. It is not until after the fall into sin in Genesis 3 that shame enters the picture and they try to clothe themselves due to minds that had become corrupt so that improper lusts were stirred up. Second, notice as well that in both Genesis 1 & 2 that there are two and only two forms of humanity – male and female. Third, notice that the pattern for the family is established in verse 24 consisting of a man and his wife leaving their parents and establishing a new family in which they become one flesh resulting in children who will grow up and repeat the process producing succeeding generations.
Procreation – having children – is essential for being able to fulfill the Genesis 1:28 dominion mandate to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And though some religious groups emphasize this so much that they teach that human sexuality is only for the purpose of procreation, that is contrary to Genesis 2:18 in which the first purpose was to resolve the issue that “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Which is why God made a helper who was “suitable” or “corresponded” to the man. The importance of the husband and wife relationship is seen throughout Scripture because the general truth is that man and woman need each other. Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the Lord.” Ecclesiastes 9:9 adds, “Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.” And though it will take work, a good marriage is to be one of God’s blessings upon humanity.
There is also the pragmatic side of it as Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 states it, 9 “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?” The husband in Proverbs 31:23 who was able to be a leader in the civil affairs of his city (known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land) because he had an excellent wife as described in the rest of that chapter.
God’s Design for Sexual Fulfillment – Proverbs / Ecclesiastes / Song of Solomon
God created man and woman to need each other as the solution for loneliness and to work in harmony together to fulfill God’s mandates upon them including having children. Marriage is to be a blessing from God. It is good to be reminded that all of this, including the desire for physical intimacy between humans is God’s design, not man’s. Though Paul advocated singleness in 1 Corinthians 7 as being beneficial in serving the Lord (1 Cor. 7:7, see also Matthew 19:12), he fully recognized the normal desires of men and women for each other including physical intimacy. Marriage is the solution for fulfillment of those desires as he states in verse 2-7, 2 “But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. 3 The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” While that is not very romantic, there are plenty of other Scriptures that do describe the romantic pleasure of physical intimacy in marriage.
Without reading the full passage, Proverbs 5 warns about the dangers of the adulteress in verses 1-15 and then describes God’s design to “rejoice in the wife of your youth” with appropriate euphemisms to describe physical intimacy without being crass. The Song of Solomon does the same thing. There is no question that God’s design for sexual fulfillment is best. I have seen many secular polls over the years and consistently they have shown that it is committed Christians that have the best fulfillment in this area. Why? Because it is God’s reward for following His design. The commitment a husband and wife make to each other enables security to be there so that they can be completely vulnerable to each other and completely safe. They learn that the joy of giving pleasure is greater than fulfilling a quest to gain it for yourself, but then isn’t that just an expression of true love of making the other person more important than yourself and sacrificing for their best interest?
Again, God designed human sexuality, so He absolutely knows how it is best experienced and fulfilled, and He wants humans to know all the blessings He has designed for marriage which is only defined within the scriptures as being between a biological man and a biological woman. Any pursuit of sexual fulfillment apart from that will be going contrary to His design and it will have consequences. It is because of man’s inherent sinful nature that men and women seek to pervert God’s design foolishly thinking their own way is better. The more sinfully depraved the mind, the more perverted the pursuit.
Sexual Perversions & Abominations – Genesis, Leviticus 18, etc.
It did not take long for sin to dominate mankind. Genesis 4 records not only Cain killing his brother able, but also Cain’s descendants culminating in six generations with a man name Lamech that was also a murderer and he had multiple wives. By the time of Noah, ten generations from Adam, mankind was so perverse that “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). That was the reason for the world-wide flood and starting over with just Noah, his three sons and their wives – eight people total (Genesis 6-9).
By the time of Abraham, nine generations from Noah, some groups of humans had already descended into utter wickedness. Genesis 18 records that the Lord along with two angels appeared to Abraham. They not only announced to him that he would have a son by his wife, Sarah, by the next year, they also revealed to him another purpose in their coming recorded in verse 20-21. 20 And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. 21 “I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” The rest of the chapter records Abraham’s plea to spare Sodom if enough righteous people were found there working it down from 50 to 10, the number of people that would have been part of his nephew Lot’s household that lived there (Lot + Lot’s wife + 2 single daughters + married daughter and husband + sons + wives).
Genesis 19 records what the angels found. A wicked city marked by men, young and old from every quarter, that came to Lot’s house and demanded that Lot bring out the two men (angels) who were staying with Lot “that we might have relations with them” (NASB), “that we might know them” (NKJV / ESV) (Gen. 19:5). That this was sexual is proven by Lot’s response to protect the men even at the cost of his two virgin daughters whom he offers to them in verse 8. The angels pulled Lot inside and then struck the men so that they were blind, yet instead of fleeing, these wicked men “wearied themselves trying to find (groping for – ESV) the doorway” (Gen. 19:10-11). In the end, only Lot and his two daughters survived. The Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (Genesis 19:24-25). Claims that this, or the incident recorded in Judges 19:16-27 that resulted in the destruction of nearly the whole tribe of Benjamin was due to “being inhospitable” to the strangers is utter nonsense only believed by the credulous who grasp for anything to divert attention away from the utter wicked actions of the homosexuals described in both passages.
God placed into the Mosaic code in Leviticus 18 a description of immoral behaviors that He will judge and for which He had judged Egypt and Canaan because they were common practices in them and for which the land “spewed them out.” Collectively they are all referred to as “abominations” in verse 26, but one immorality is specifically called an “abomination” and one is specifically called a “perversion.” The list begins with a list of consanguinity – too near relationships. This includes sexual intimacy between any blood relative (vs. 6): parents with children, grandchildren or step children (vs 7-8,10); siblings of any kind (vs. 9, 11); aunts or uncles with nieces or nephews (vs. 12-14); or in-laws of any kind (15-16). A woman and her daughter or granddaughter is specifically called “lewdness” (vs. 17), and marrying two sisters is also immoral (vs. 18).
Before I go on, I will mention here that there had not previously been restrictions on marriage between siblings or of siblings. Cain married his sister for there was no other option. Abraham married his half sister. Jacob married two sisters. God does not add this restriction on man until this point in time. We now understand that the purpose of this is a least in part to prevent the genetic problems that develop in children of such close relatives due to passing down the same mutated gene so that it becomes expressed in the descendants. Marrying someone who does not have that mutated gene can keep it from expressing itself due to the healthy gene in the spouse who is from outside the family. This is the reason many nations and states have also made it illegal to marry a first cousin though that had been a common practice in western culture even into the 19th Century.
Another reason for these restrictions on consanguinity was to prevent exploitation of the vulnerable – the older generation upon the younger generation or a family member who was stronger either physically or by position upon a weaker member.
Adultery was recognized by Joseph as a sin against God in Genesis 39:9. It is prohibited as the seventh of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:14. It is mentioned here verse 20 as it is in Exodus 20:10 in which the death penalty is added for both the adulterer and the adulteress (see also Deut. 22:22). Jesus clarified in Matthew 5:28 that adultery begins as a sin of the heart, and also clarifies that divorce apart from the cause of a sexual sin will result in a multiplication of adultery when remarriage takes place for all involved (Matthew 5:32; 19:9).
The distinction between fornication and adultery is the marriage status of the sinners. Fornication is not specifically mentioned in Leviticus 18, but several Old Testament passages deal with the sin of pre-marital sexual intimacy and harlotry. In Exodus 22:16 seduction of a virgin results in the requirement of paying the dowry whether the father gives her to him as a wife or not. In Deuteronomy 22:28 a man that seizes a virgin and lies with her must pay the girl’s father a fifty shekel dowery and “she shall become his wife because he has violated her; and he cannot divorce her all his days.” In Deuteronomy 22:23-27 there is a greater penalty for an engaged woman for she is treated as a married woman. The man is to be stoned in either case, but the girl is to be stoned only if this happens in a city and she does not cry out. Fornication is listed several times in the New Testament in lists of various sins (Matthew 15:19; Acts 15:20; 1 Corinthians 6:9).
Whether by someone who is married or unmarried, harlotry / prostitution is trading sexual favors for compensation of some kind. Some people are forced into it by someone who has power over them (Lev. 19:29). Some do it because they are desperate and think that is their only option (Genesis 38). Some do it because it is part of their false religion (1 Kings 14:24; Hosea 4:14). Some do it because they like it (Hosea). All of it is evil for it profanes both the person doing it and the land (Leviticus 19:29).
Hebrews 13:4 summarizes, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”
Leviticus 18:22 addresses homosexuality. “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.” Leviticus 20:13 adds, “If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.” I will cite again Romans 1:26-27 which includes both male and female forms of this vice. “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” These sins are included in passages which list those that will be excluded from the kingdom of heaven (1 Cor. 6:9-10, Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 21:8). Homosexuality and lesbianism are not just “alternative lifestyles.” They are abominations before God which defile both the person and the nation in which they are allowed to be practiced and God will punish both (Leviticus 19:24-29).
What about transvestites and transsexuals? Deuteronomy 22:5 states, “A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.” This was evil both for its practice in heathen cult worship, but also because it confuses the sexes. Throughout the holy Scriptures God makes a distinction between males and females giving each specific roles and each has specific commands that apply only to that particular sex. Transsexuals take it beyond just wanting to look like and act like the opposite sex, they want to try to become what they are not.
Both are to be pitied for their confusion and the natural consequences that will come upon them as they pursue their perverted desires, but pity is to result in efforts to help them come to grips with actual biologic reality and adjust to it. Accepting them in their lies only promotes their perverted fantasies which are abominations before God who will judge them for their sin. Even worse are those who are both advocating and leading children into such perversions even to the point of giving them puberty blockers and surgically mutilating their bodies. That is heinous child abuse, plain and simple, regardless of whatever gender dysphoria a child may have at a given time. Children are to be protected and taught truth, not exploited, lied to, led into perversion and physically mutilated by chemicals and surgery. Yet that is exactly what is being promoted by perverted people, wicked doctors and now governments that have made themselves illegitimate by promoting evil and punishing righteousness which is exactly the opposite of what God requires of them (Romans 13:3-4; 1 Peter 2:14).
Leviticus 18:23 adds one additional sexual perversion. “Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.” Leviticus 20:15-16 requires that both the person and the animal that are involved in this are to be put to death.
One final important point. It is not only these behaviors that are sinful, but so are the attractions themselves. The counter to this is that you can’t help your attractions. Really? There are many sins of the mind including coveting and immoral lust. In Matthew 15:19 Jesus made it clear that it is out of the heart that come evil thoughts and actions including adultery and fornication. Jesus was specific in Matthew 5:28 that to lust for someone who is not your spouse is to commit adultery in your heart. Are we to then say that a perverted lust is then okay? Absolutely not! If lust for the opposite sex outside of marriage between a biologic man and a biologic woman is immoral, so is every other kind of perverted sexual lust. What needs to change? Both behavior and the heart – but that is what Jesus came to do. Salvation in Christ transforms the life of a Christian through the renewing of the mind as it is washed by the Word of God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2). We are specifically called to set our minds on things above and walk in the Spirit instead having our minds set on the things of this earth and walking in the flesh (Col. 3:2; Galatians 5:16). The Christian’s battle for holiness is waged in the heart and mind. The actions only reveal whether obedience to Christ and righteousness are winning or obedience to lust and sin is winning.
Sin is fluid expressing itself in all sorts of ways and often repeating itself. Gender is not fluid. There is only male and female as determined by God when He formed you in your mother’s womb with your genetic code. Anything contrary to that God given biological reality is perversion and an abomination before God which He will judge. The natural consequences begin in this life and the punishment will continue throughout eternity in being cast away from the presence of God and into everlasting Hell (2 Thess. 1:8-9; Revelation 20:11-15). Yet, God also provides hope to sinners.
God’s Redeeming Grace – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
We must thank God that His grace is sufficient for every sinner. While sexual perversions have their own set of natural consequences since their sin is also against their own bodies as stated in 1 Corinthians 6:18, it must be pointed out that those who practice these things are neither worse sinners than any other sinners nor is their sin unforgivable. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 is a great passage of hope given to all sinners.
9 Or 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 effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” If the passage stopped there, we would only be left with despair, but Paul continues. 11 “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
Take that to heart. The Christian has his or her life changed when they place their faith in the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ who, being God in human flesh, lived a sinless life and then voluntarily died as the sacrificial price of redemption for sin, and then rose from the dead proving all of His claims and promises are true. That includes forgiving the sins of those who will turn from their own sin and self-righteousness to believe Him. By the working of the Holy Spirit, Christians are cleansed from their sins, set apart to God to become holy, and declared righteous before Him based solely on His grace and their faith in Him.
That offer is given to all sinners including those who are wretched in their immoralities. That is the message we are to take to the world. That is the message the immoral of every type needs to hear. We do not placate the lies people believe because we don’t want to hurt their feelings, or they become politically correct, or because we fear being persecuted for the sake of righteousness. We speak the truth in love that sinners may be saved and receive eternal life in Christ, and be able to live a life in the present that pleases and glorifies God.
Sermon Notes – 1/9/2022
God’s Design for Human Sexuality – Selected Scriptures
Introduction
Standing with those who are persecuted ______________________________________________________
Canadian Bill C-4 _______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
“Assigned at birth” – used on purpose to distort reality __________________________________________
XX or XY _____________________________________________________________________________
Its anti-God, anti-science premise ___________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Degeneration into Depravity – Romans 1:18-32
The decline begins with the rejection of God as the ________despite the overwhelming evidence in Creation
The 20th Century yielding to lust ____________________________________________________________
The yielding to perversion _________________________________________________________________
Degeneration into depravity ________________________________________________________________
Rejection of acknowledging God ____________________________________________________________
God’s Design for the Family at Creation – Genesis
Genesis 1:26-28 _________________________________________________________________________
Genesis 2:7, 20-24 – the formation of man and fashioning of woman ________________________________
1) No perversion of the mind _______________________________________________________________
2) Two and only ________ forms of humanity: Male & Female
Purpose: A) Dominion mandate – Procreation (Gen. 1:28).
B) Abate being alone (Gen. 2:18).
C) Dominion mandate: a helper (Gen. 2:18)
D) A blessing / joy (Prov. 18:22; 31:23; Eccl. 9:9; 4:9-11)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
God’s Design for Sexual Fulfillment – Proverbs / Ecclesiastes / Song of Solomon
The desire for physical intimacy is God’s _____and marriage is the solution for its fulfillment – 1 Cor. 7:1-7
Proverbs 5 – warning against adultery (1-15), and advocation to “________in the wife of your youth (16-19)
_______________________________________________________________________________________ God design is best. Any pursuit outside of God’s design is ____________& will have consequences
Sexual Perversions & Abominations – Genesis, Leviticus 18, etc.
Man quickly descended into sinful depravity – Genesis 3, 4, 6:5; 6-9 ________________________________
By the time of Abraham, 9 generations after Noah, Sodom & Gomorrah were so sinful God _________them
Gen. 19 – The sins of Sodom included unabated homosexual ________
Leviticus 18 – God’s revelation of what He declares to be immoral / abominations within the ________Code
Consanguinity (vs. 6-18) – too ________a relative
Consanguinity became an issue due to genetic problems for children & abating sexual _______________
Adultery (Gen. 39:9; Lev. 18:20; 20:14; Exod. 20:10; Deut. 22:22; Matt. 5:28, 32; 19:19)
Fornication is the same sin among the _________: Consequences: Exod 22:16; Deut. 22:23-28; Matt. 15:19)
Harlotry / prostitution – same sin, but done for _______________of some kind
Hebrews 13:4 summary: Marriage is to be held in __________- fornicators & adulterers God will judge
Homosexuality – Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Eph. 5:5; Rev. 21:8; Lev. 19:24-29
Transvestites / Transsexuals – Deut. 22:5 _____________________________________________________
Pity should lead to helping them overcome perversion. Accepting the lies promotes their condemnation
Bestiality – Lev. 18:23; 20:15-16 ____________________________________________________________
Both the actions and the _________are sinful – Matthew 5:28; 15:19; Romans 12:2; Col. 3:2; Gal. 5:16
Sin is fluid – Gender is _____
God’s Redeeming Grace – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
God will judge – 1 Cor. 6:9-10 ______________________________________________________________
God ___________, sanctifies and justifies in Jesus Christ – 1 Cor. 6:11
Proclaim the gospel speaking the __________in love – do not placate the lies people want to believe
KIDS KORNER – This sermon is not geared for children. If a child is present, the parent should direct them with an alternative activity – a book, coloring, etc. If a child is present and listening, be prepared to talk to them in simple but direct terms. God has only made humans a boys and girls and whatever you are at birth is what you will remain for the rest of your life. God’s design is for a man and woman to marry and have children. God wants children to come from the love that a husband and wife have for each other. If they ask questions about any of the perversions, it is simplest to say these are people that want to play being married with someone other than their actual husband or wife.
THINK ABOUT IT! – Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. How can you comfort those that are being persecuted for righteousness? Why is it evil to enact laws or regulations that seek to restrict of ban “conversion therapy” for those with sexual attractions that are contrary to biological reality? Why is the phrase assigned at birth” being used and why is it a lie? Why do genetics determine biological sexual reality? Why is it impossible to change that biological reality? How can you fight against these perversions in our own society? Read Romans 1:18-32. What are the specific reasons for each of the three times that God “gives them over” eventually resulting in depraved minds? How have you witnessed this happening in our own society? What is God’s design for the family? How many genders did God create? How many genders exist now? Explain. Why was Eve fashioned from Adam and given to him as a wife? How does she help Adam fulfill the dominion mandate (Gen. 1:28)? Why is it a blessing from the Lord for a man to find a wife (Prov. 18:22)? What is God’s design for sexual fulfillment? What Bible passages celebrate God’s design for this? Why do so many people seek to pervert God’s design? What is consanguinity and why did God place this restriction upon mankind? What is the difference between adultery and fornication and why are both sinful? What Bible passages prove homosexuality is an abomination before God? What is God’s punishment for it? Why is it sinful to be or pursue being a transvestite or a transsexual? Why are both the actions and the lust sinful? How should you respond to those with perverted sexual desires / practices? How would you share the gospel with them?
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