Worship God with Your Body
Bible Passage:
1 Cor. 6:9-11
Pastor:
Pastor Mike
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Sermon Date:
2011-06-04
The preacher stood up, pointed right at me, and said, “I don’t want any fags in our church.” Those are the heart-breaking words of a gay man who grew up in a church he loved, but that didn’t love him back. The story comes from a movement called “It Gets Better”, which reaches out to young, struggling gay men and women. The movement has grown to 400,000 strong, fueled by the tragic stories of gay bullying that ended in suicide. The story of the preacher makes a simple statement: Those who oppose homosexuality are obviously wrong.
“God sent a tornado to warn them.” That was the simple statement of another preacher on August 19, 2009. No severe weather was predicted that day. It seemed as if the only storms would take place inside the Minneapolis Convention Center as the ELCA, the largest Lutheran denomination, discussed its controversial statements on openly gay clergy. The main session began at 2pm, right when a mysterious tornado appeared. It crossed I94 and moved straight downtown. The first buildings it strikes? The Minneapolis Convention Center and the next-door church used for the gathering. The tornado damages the convention center roof, breaks off the steeple of the church, splits the stump of the steeple in two…and then lifts. The story makes a simple statement: Those who support homosexuality are obviously wrong.
So which story do you believe? It probably depends on your friends, your family, and your faith. Maybe the debate began in your family when your cousin came out of the closet? Or among your friends when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” grabbed the headlines? Or in your church where a member struggled with her sexual identity? Or in your heart where you wrestled with who you are and how you feel? The debate is fierce. The sides are opinionated. And the church cannot avoid the honest question: Do you hate gay people?
If our church has a policy, it’s this: Go back to God’s Word for answers. What does the Word reveal to us about God and being gay? We’re about to study one of the eight passages in the Bible that deal with these difficult questions. Some in the gay community call these the “clobber passages”, but our goal isn’t to pick up clubs today. Our goal is to take an honest and hopefully unbiased look at what God says about sexual identity.
Let’s look at the Apostle Paul’s words to the church in Corinth, a city of sexual diversity. They are surprisingly bold for our 21st century, sensitive ears, but their clear message can’t be missed. 1 Corinthians 6:9—“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?” That’s an easy question. Yes! We do know that. Wicked, godless people obviously aren’t part of God’s kingdom. (You don’t have to be a Bible-expert to know that!) But look at what’s next: “Don’t be deceived.” Why would Paul write that? Perhaps because it’s easy to define “the wicked” as a group that includes “those people” and not us. It’s easy to draw the line and make sure you’re on the right side of it. Who is wicked? That might depend on whom you ask. “Greedy corporate executives!” the UW student shouts as he pounds beer #5. “Those drunk UW students!” the conservative father shouts as he tries to hide his internet history from his wife. “Those porn addicts!” the elderly woman shouts as she gossips with her best friend. “The gossips!” the corporate executive shouts as he fills his pockets. “Don’t be deceived,” God warns the world. “You don’t define what is wicked—you’d be entirely too biased. I define who will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
So who are the wicked? “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Note two things—First, God doesn’t have a list of tolerable sins and a list of intolerable sins. Sin is sin and it makes a person wicked and unable to inherit the kingdom of God. Second, note how much emphasis God puts on sexuality. Out of the ten sins listed, the first five are sexual issues. God is pointing out the power of sexuality and its ability to affect our relationship with him.
Before we walk through this controversial verse, can I ask you which phrase in that first list of five doesn’t quite seem to fit—Sexually immoral. Idolaters. Adulterers. Male Prostitutes. Homosexual offenders? Idolaters? How does that fit in a list of sexual practices? Isn’t idolatry when you have a statue of some god in your living room?
But stop and think—An idol is something you worship. You trust it. You love it. You fear it. You can’t imagine living without it. It’s the panic that sets in when the true God says, “Throw out that idol. Never worship it again. Never get drunk again. Never look at porn again. Never hook up with her again unless you’ve said, ‘I do.’” If that terrifies you, you have an idol. When life seems miserable without it, the “it” has become your idol. And so the idol will fight back. It will demand God be thrown out so it can survive. It will insist God’s Word be ignored so it can remain in your heart.
Do you see why idolatry is the perfect word in a list of sexual sins? Our sexual identity can quickly become our god. We worship its desires. We listen to its words. Jesus comes in love and says, “Repent and believe” and our idol shouts, “No! Don’t turn your back on me! Turn your back on him!” God comes in mercy and says, “The wicked can’t inherit the kingdom” and our idol shouts, “No! That’s narrow-minded. Be who you are.” Do you see why the wicked cannot inherit the kingdom of God? Because they have another god!
A few years ago, a young woman came to our church and heard an announcement about an upcoming presentation by a man who had repented of his homosexuality and stopped embracing the gay lifestyle. I could feel the tension in her voice as we spoke after the service. “This is why I don’t come here,” she steamed, “God loves me for who I am, even if I don’t love men.” I tried to get her to at least come and listen or sit down with me and talk, but she had no desire. She walked away…and I haven’t seen her since. That’s the power of an idol. It will fight to control you. It will separate you from anything and anyone who threatens its place in your heart.
Now do you see how the list fits together? Idolatry isn’t the “thing that’s not like the others.” It’s the word that ties them all together. Each of these sexual sins is a form of idolatry, a way to worship the body instead of God. It starts with sexual immorality. That’s the catch-all word to refer to any and all sex outside of marriage. In Greek, it’s the word “pornoi”—where we get the word “pornography” from. Whether you’re watching it or doing it, hooking up without a ring on your finger is wicked to God. Next is adultery. No explanation needed. Then male prostitutes. The phrase means men who are soft or effeminate and almost all Greek dictionaries say the word refers to the effeminate partner in a gay relationship. Finally, God lists “homosexual offenders.” Literally, these are men who take other men to bed. The word is connected with the Old Testament verses from Leviticus that label homosexuality as a sin. So what is God saying here? That sexual sin—gay or straight, thought or deed—is serious enough to exclude people from heaven. “Don’t’ be deceived!”
This text is not meant for straight people to “clobber” gay people. It’s meant for God to clobber our idols and call us to repentance. This really isn’t a sexuality issue. This is a worship issue. God is outing our idolatry. So whom will you worship? You can do whatever you want, but, in love, I have to tell myself and all of you, “The wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
But God is good at smashing idols. God is the one who took the idol-worshiping Corinthians and smashed their false gods. Scott Barefoot knows that. Scott was raised in a Christian home, but walked away from God for the sake of a proud, gay lifestyle—his idol. He spent a decade living how he wanted to live, sacrificing the loving concern of his father on the altar of his idol. But God still pursued him. And one day, Scott turned back to God in repentance and the Lord smashed his idol. Looking back on his journey, Scott wrote, “God’s promised forgiveness for me—and us all—is very real. I turned my back on him for more than a …In society, we hear things like ‘Three strikes and you’re out’ or ‘You’ve crossed the line one too many times.’ I’m so thankful God is not like that. He has not kept score in my life. I find comfort in what the apostle John wrote: “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Isn’t Scott’s experience just like the Corinthians? These words convicted them of idolatry, but look at v.11. “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” Yes, they had committed idolatry, but idolaters are what they once were, not what they now are. As we come to God in repentance, he says the same thing. “Adulterer. Sexually immoral. Gay. Body-worshiping idolater. Yes, that is what you were. But that’s not what you now are. You were washed. Your baptism means I washed away all the filth of wickedness and made you clean in my sight. You were sanctified. The blood of Jesus rinsed you of the smut of sin and made you holy in my sight. You were justified. The resurrection of Jesus smashed your impure idolatry and set you free.”
God smashes our idols today and gives us a new identity. Our sexuality doesn’t define us. The gospel does. We are holy, pure, and perfect children of God. We don’t need that sexual activity or this sexual lifestyle to be whole. We don’t need to think this or do that to have lasting peace. We find that in Christ. Like ex-girlfriends, our idols may tell us we’ll be miserable without them, but that’s a lie. God will fulfill our needs. He will empower us to worship God with our body instead of worshiping our body as god.
Since there are so many questions about the Bible and homosexuality, let’s end today with a few minutes of Q&A:
Q: Does the Bible say gay people can just stop being gay?
A: God gives us the gift of repentance, which means gay people can turn from their sin and turn to God’s forgiveness. That will give them a new identity, a new power, and a new purpose for life. Does that mean they will be free from their former desires? No. Sexual temptation is like all other temptation. It’s a fight, but as you keep fighting, God makes you stronger. Scott Barefoot writes, “Am I cured of homosexual temptations? My answer surprises many: No, I am still not cured of those struggles. But I continue to go back to God’s promise, ‘All things are possible with God.’” That’s why it should not surprise you if dozens of people who’ve struggled with homosexuality are members of our church.
Q: Does the Bible say if gay people are born that way or if they choose it?
A: Good question. Lady Gaga, the pop-star of the year, sings, “I’m beautiful in my own way/Cause God makes no mistakes/I’m on the right track baby/I was born this way.” Her argument goes—You’ve always felt gay. God made you. Therefore, God must have made you gay. But that logic isn’t biblical. Although God is the Creator, something has messed with his creation. Psalm 51:5 says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Are people born gay? Biblically, it doesn’t matter. We are born broken. We were not on the right track, baby. That’s why need God’s grace in baptism.
Q: What about gay bullying?
A: Absolutely unchristian. Anyone who mocks, shoves, ridicules, or humiliates someone for being gay is worshiping an idol of their own. They need to repent, ask the gay person for forgiveness, and rely on God’s strength to be kind and compassionate like Jesus.
Q: Are all gay people going to hell?
A: That’s the exact same as asking, “Are all proud people going to hell?” It depends on if they are repentant. I struggle immensely with pride, but I hate it. I never want to be proud again. If a person is turning from their homosexuality and repenting of their sinful desires, they will be saved. Struggling with sin is not a sign of unbelief, but a sign of faith. But if they hear God’s Word and don’t turn back towards God, they can’t be saved.
Q: Aren’t churches picking and choosing which Bible passages to follow?
A: In the same book of the Old Testament which forbids homosexuality, there are passages about eating shellfish, which we ignore every time we go to Red Lobster. Jennifer Knapp, the Christian singer who came out of the closet last year, says, “I find myself between a rock and a hard place—between the conservative evangelical who uses what most people refer to as the ‘clobber verses’ to refer to my loving relationship as an abomination, while they are eating shellfish.” So what gives? There are plenty of Old Testament passages that were only for Old Testament people—the animal sacrifices, the dietary laws, the special services in Jerusalem. And there are plenty of passages that are for all people of all time—“Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Be holy. Love the Lord your God with all your heart.” So how do we know which ones to follow and which ones not to? God tells us in the New Testament! He has repeated the commands he wants us to keep like he does with homosexuality in 1 Cor. 6 and Rom. 1, while pointing out which commands were just for back then, as he does in Colossians 2, “Don’t let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink in with regard to a festival or a Sabbath Day. These were a shadow of the things that were to come.”
Q: How should our church address this controversial topic?
A: That one is easy—love. Love gay people. Love bisexual people. Love transgender people. Love drag queens. Be kind. Be compassionate. Visit them when they’re sick. Go to their birthday parties. Listen when they’re hurting. Don’t use “gay” as a synonym for “dumb”. Don’t mock how some gay men walk or talk. Love them. Pastor Ed Dobson from Grand Rapids is a great example. Dobson took an uncompromising stance on homosexuality—he spoke the truth about its sinfulness and the need for repentance. Yet Dobson also took on uncompromising stance on love. He reached out and helped those who were struggling and suffering with AIDS. His compassion soon earned the respect of the gay community. One gay radio talk show host introduced him by saying, “Our guest does not believe what we believe on issues of sexuality. But I’ve invited him because there are many people suffering with AIDS who attend his services. While his congregation disagrees with us on sexuality, they love people.” Some in Pastor Dobson’s church feared the church would be overrun by homosexuals. Dobson replied, “Terrific! They can take their place in the pews right next to the liars, the gossips, the materialists, and all the rest of us.” Then he added, “When I die, if someone stands up and says, ‘Ed Dobson loved homosexuals, then I will have accomplished something in my life.”
The campaign says, “It Gets Better.” I pray that gay people would find something better here at Eastside, not when they graduate high school, but right now. I pray they would find a community of people who know what it’s like to fight against idols every day. I pray they would find a humble people who know what it’s like to feel ostracized. I pray they would find a church that would speak the truth and say every word of it in Christ-like love.
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Our sexuality affects every
Our sexuality affects every decision we make whether we're conscious of it or not. That's why you can't minimize homosexuality as just being a sin--it's as much a part of who you are as your gender, maybe more--and why anyone with a pulse is guilty of idolatry. How do you change the gender you're attracted to? That's a pretty big part of who you are... Isn't asking God to help you not be gay a little like asking God to change the color of your hair or alter laws of nature for you? Is it enough to just not have gay sex? And what do you do as a parent if your male child is effeminate or your female child is a tomboy? You CAN'T do anything about it and if you TRY you just get a kid who may or may not be gay who has been emotionally abused (pretty common). Those are the kids who commit suicide. That's why they need It Gets Better. Dr. Dobson wants gay people attending church but where does Eastside stand on letting gay people become members? Would you require them to stop being gay first (impossible)? I'm as sorry for being gay as I am sorry for being a woman. How can it be any other way?
Woops, wrong Dobson--sorry
Woops, wrong Dobson--sorry about that.
I think you are right when
I think you are right when you say homosexuality/heterosexuality is part of who you are, in that who (or what) we are are sinful human beings. I liked the analogy Pastor Mike used when he used the analogy of pride. Are proud people going to hell? Yes. Are proud people going to heaven? Yes. What matters is (scary Christian word alert :) ) repentance. This means we realize what we've done is against what God commands and asking God for help in trying to change so that you have the strength/wisdom to deal with this particular temptation when it rises. Homeosexuality is no different in God's eyes than any other sin. So you're right in saying it's part of a person, the sinful part.
As for Eastside, would we welcome gay members into our church? Absolutely. Would we welcome gay people as members of Eastside? Yes and no. Would we welcome people that struggle with homosexuality but realize it's against God's will? Absolutely. Would we welcome someone who is practicing the homosexual lifestyle? I don't think so (someone can correct me if I'm wrong) but it's the same as if someone were practicing any sin without repentance. We reach out repeatedly in love, telling them we love them and want them to be with us in heaven, but they obviously don't believe all that God has commanded.
The best part of this, though, is we are not defined by our sins. Jesus covered ALL of our sins through his death on the cross. It's because of this that we want to do what God commands, even though we will fall short. So we are defined by Jesus' love.
Pastor Mike mentioned Scott Barefoot in his sermon, and he wrote a very thorough article for WELS about his experiences. I encourage you to read it: http://bit.ly/k9l3X6
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