God's View of Homosexuality, Part 2

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.

For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

One man one woman for life. The Bible specifically, he meant that the Bible should be changed to support special rights for homosexuals, including the right to marry will affect is many churches have attempted to amend what Scripture clearly says about homosexuality, but God's word remains unchanged and it's vital to think biblically about the issue of homosexuality and to know how to show true Christian love the homosexuals a love based on biblical truth. So, let's turn to the truth of Scripture now on, grace to you. Follow along with John MacArthur as he continues his series titled homosexuality in the Bible, Genesis chapter 1 in verse 27 says, and God created man in his own image in the image of God he created him male and female he created them there. You have been very simple and direct indication that the reference to God's creative purpose God created male. He created female in chapter 2 in verse 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. For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. God made male Sarkar in Hebrew, God made female Mecca by an Hebrew. They were to come together to complete each other, making one flesh that is God's on alterable creative design. One man for one woman for life.

Now there are number of ways that such a marital relationship. In God's design can be convoluted and confused and perverted isn't very long. Actually, in the book of Genesis until perversions of all kinds begin to manifest themselves, you have a relationship that services in the sixth chapter of Genesis, which appears to be a relationship in which fallen angels or demons cohabitate with women and produce some kind of strange offspring. Satan's attempt to bring about some kind of perverted sexual relationship to produce an unredeemable race you move ahead from the fornication of chapter 6 a bizarre kind to chapter 19 in Genesis you have indication of incest. It says in verse 36.

Both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father, adding to fornication incest. If you come over to chapter 34 you find here raped Dino, the daughter of Leah, whom she had born to Jacob went out to visit the daughters of the land and when check on the son of Hamer, the Hivite, the Prince of the land.

Sorry, took her and lay with her by force. He was deeply attracted to Dino, the daughter of Jacob. He love the girl spoke tenderly to her in the story goes on here is an incident of outright rape. We will take the time to look in detail go to chapter 38 and chapter 38 you have another perversion and this one is prostitution it mentions in verse 15 when Judas already thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face already. Harlotry exists, prostitution exists, there is an occasion other than the ones I've read you about polygamy in the book of Genesis and so it isn't long after God has ordained one man for one woman for life that all kinds of perversions occur. Fornication and adultery, incest, rape, prostitution, polygamy, and you can add to that the sin of homosexuality. For that you go to chapter 19 of Genesis and I do want to spend some time in the details of this because it is our subject Satan obviously is trying to pervert and confused. God's order. He is brought into human society. All these other matters. And now introduces homosexuality. Apparently, it became very widespread, very rapidly, as did adultery, fornication, incest, rape and prostitution, and of course they're still rampant in the world today, but apparently the city of Sodom was filled with all kinds of iniquity. If you can just make a note to read Ezekiel 16 you read in Ezekiel 16 a little bit of a listing of some of the sins characteristic of Sodom.

The one sin that isn't mentioned in Ezekiel 16, but the one that is carefully detailed here, and thus doesn't require a further mention is the sin of homosexuality. There were all kinds of iniquities characteristic of this particular city, but none of them was more shocking than homosexuality, adultery and fornication in polygamy and incest and rape and prostitution are already present in the world. By the time you get very far into human civilization and with them. This sin of homosexuality, of course, rears its ugly head we have in this 19th chapter of fairly careful record of the kind of thing that was going on in Sodom and it gives us a good understanding so we want to take it rather carefully look at verse one of the two angels came to Sodom in the evening.

These were two angels, who by the way, along with the presence of God, perhaps in a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ visited Abraham and Sarah, two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting, the brother of Abraham sitting in the gate of Sodom when Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. Now we know that angels can take on human bodies and take on human form. You will note that I just mentioned you the two angels along with perhaps a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ.

At least we know that God was present there in some way that appeared to Abraham and so angels occasionally do appear in human form and certainly holy angels can occasionally when it fits the purposes of God take on some kind of form which is or appears to be human. Two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. He recognized the magnificence of these beings.

And he bowed down with his face to the ground and he said to them now, behold, my Lord's. Please turn aside into your servant's house.

That's my house and spend the night and wash your feet. That was not a derogatory statement about the condition of their feet. That was a common courtesy because everybody's feet were either dusty or muddy. That was simply a way of saying come in and cleanse yourselves take care of your physical needs, then you may rise early and go on your way. What he means to say to them is you better get out of town fast and you don't want to linger in the public square, or anywhere where you can be observed here. They were approaching the gate of the city and a lot runs as it were, to them and says hold it, you gotta come immediately to my house and you've gotta be cared for their spend the night and be fast on your way early in the morning before anyone can notice you, they said.

However, no will just spend the night in the square is not a good idea years them strongly so they turned aside to him and entered his house and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread in the eight just as Abraham had demonstrated kindness in chapter 17 to his angelic visitor. So does a lot. He's very kind to them. He must've known who they were. Must've recognize the magnificence of them in verse four before they lay down before these two angels could lay down and it's interesting, isn't think about the fact that these angels who take on human form have the need to sleep. I'm not sure that I can explain all of this. II don't understand it all, but nonetheless the plan was that they would sleep, which shouldn't surprise you since they had just eaten.

Also, angels apparently then did take on an actual human form which could eat and needed to sleep.

But before they could lay down the men of the city men of Sodom, surrounded the house. Both young and old, all the people from every quarter, every section of town what's going on here. Verse five says they called to Lot said to him, where are the men who came into you tonight bring them out to us that we may have relations with them. Not very subtle.

Are they here are the most magnificent objects for their perverted lust that they had ever laid eyes on a new flesh, as it were, to pander to their insatiable wickedness. Where are the men who came to you tonight. We saw them bring them out, that we may have relations with them, that we may have actually intercourse with them. That's how perverted that city was people came from all over town. This is in the little group. This is people from all over town from every quarter all the people, both young and old homosexuality had run the gamut of age throughout the whole city that we may have relations with them takes a Hebrew word jet, which implies sexual knowledge, some versions might translated that we may know them. But it is not just a welcome committee but Lot went out attempt to them at the doorway and shut the door behind him. He went out to speak to them in close the door behind him because he knew of the passion, the viciousness, the insatiable lust that would drive past him and through the door if given the opportunity said please my brothers do not act wickedly. They wanted to act wickedly many Bailey has written a book in which he says the sin of Sodom was a lack of hospitality. And that's why God destroyed them. No, it wasn't a lack of hospitality.

It was the fact that they wanted to do wickedly.

They wanted to attack those angels and sodomize them verse eight says now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man two virgin daughters. Please let me bring them out to you and to do to them whatever you like. Only do nothing to these men and is much as they have come under the shelter of my roof's estrangement was he doing here he is saying look, rather than defile these angelic visitors, I'd rather give you my two virgin daughters.

You don't give up your two virgin daughters to people just because they lack hospitality and you're trying to appease them. He was saying. Can I substitute my own virgin daughters.

Would you please do to them what your lust desires rather than to these two angelic visitors. Frankly, I think it's pretty stupid thing for a lot to do or to offer to do but admittedly he's in a tough spot. He certainly doesn't want to have two angelic visitors who sought shelter in his home and who are sodomized while under as it were his roof and protection.

The dilemma was hard, but the solution was pretty dumb. On the other hand, he may have felt safe knowing that they were all homosexuals. Verse nine, they said stand aside, get out of the way. Furthermore, they said this one came in as an alien and already he's acting like a judge who is this a lot you comes into our town is an alien need is a stranger. He doesn't even belong here and now is sitting in judgment on our behavior.

Now we will treat you worse than them, which may have been a promise that they're gonna rape him a crowd of people raping two angels and then a crowd of people raping lot so they pressed hard against lot and came near to break the door this to tell you something about the uncontrollable lust of homosexuals but the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house. The Angels with them and shut the door and they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, with divine power. They just instantly made them blind after rescuing lot. Amazingly, they blinded these homosexuals but would you notice this having been blinded, says they wearied themselves finding the doorway. You would think if you had just been struck blind you would accept your fate and get out of there and bemoan your blindness when you if I would think to myself if I got that close and I had just been Maidstone blind.

I would be so horrified at my blindness that I would be running away in sheer terror. The passion and the last was so strong and so insatiable and so unbreakable that all it did was make it harder for them to find the doorway here. They are blind and driven by their lust groping in their brought blindness to get in the door, the lust of homosexuality is compelling, isn't it so wicked and so vile was the city with its homosexuals that God burned the whole place to a crisp. In verse 12, and the men said a lot. Whom else have you here son-in-law on your sons and your daughters and whomever you have in the city bring them out of the place but were about to destroy this place because their outcry has become so great before the Lord, that the Lord is sent us to destroy it.

And I remind you that homosexuality this insatiable driving lust can take over a whole city which then is obviously a city to be destroyed by God. Down in verse 24 Lord rained on Sodom and its sister city, 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. In fact, archaeologist can even find the place. When I say it was incinerated. That's exactly what happened. They don't even know where it is God burned it to a crisp. It was there that the term sodomy was originated there. The term sodomy had its origin.

The term sodomy appears in first Kings 1424 in Deuteronomy 2317 and 18 and it means homosexuality is the term for homosexuality. A homosexual is a sodomite who gets his characterization from that city. Clearly, the term sodomy wouldn't refer to homosexuality. If the sin of sodden. Sodom wasn't homosexuality to see something more of the characterization of that sin and that city look at Jude verse six and I think this is a very very important text to sort of solidify our thinking in verse six. Jude talks about angels who did not keep their own domain or habitation, but abandoned their proper abode. I take it that that refers to Genesis 6, we have those fallen angels who did not stay in the angelic community but abandoned their proper abode and cohabitated with human women. God has kept them in eternal chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. They were angels who went out of their normal relationships in verse seven says, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them since they, in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing a punishment of eternal fire sin of Sodom was going after strange flesh and the rest of the cities on the plane there that were drowned in fire and brimstone, and burned to a crisp sodomite then is a homosexual, and frankly that's the best term to use. I use the term homosexual because up to this point, we haven't gotten to this text. I don't prefer the term homosexual is clinical Homo sexual just identifying same-sex the term that they like to use the term gay is absolutely ridiculous.

They are anything but gay. The biblical term really is sodomite.

If you take the illustration of Genesis 19. Although, as we noted, the term homosexual in the Greek is used. I think it's a good reminder to them.

When you identify them to call them sodomites because that's the best and most graphic illustration of that lust in its perversion before we go to the New Testament. I want to look at Isaiah chapter 3 Isaiah chapter 3 in verse nine dear Isaiah is pronouncing judgment on Jerusalem and Judah.

The prophet says Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen. He says there against the Lord and their provoking the Lord in verse nine of Isaiah 3 indicts them because he says they display their sin like Sodom, not only do they sin, but they are blatant, they do not even conceal it wool to them, for they have brought evil on themselves say to the righteous that it will go well with them, for they will eat the fruit of their actions wool to the wicked.

It will go badly with them for what he deserves will be done to him all my people. Their oppressors are children and women rule over them all my people.

Those who guide you, lead you astray and confuse the direction of your pads. Here is an indictment against Judah and Jerusalem for parading their sin like Sodom, this is a flagrant rebellion against God, and no doubt encompassed sins of homosexuality. This shouldn't be surprising because homosexuality was rampant in the life of Assyria and Babylon, and Egypt took 150 years but finally these same sins that were all around Israel became a part of Israel's life and culture and bled to divine judgment.

What destroyed Sodom what would destroy eventually Greece and Rome destroyed Israel is a deadly, destructive sin and Isaiah says, when the judgment of God falls is going to fall because you have displayed your sin like Sodom is a destructive and damning and destroying sin.

It has destroyed millions throughout history, it is still destroying millions today, God hasn't changed his view of it at all.

It may well be the most damning sin in terms of the public acceptance in the future of our country and our world. Since it is being advocated in TV and books and films papers worldwide. Our society needs to see it for what it is and that is sin. And as long as we don't and the people who are engaged in it. Don't recognize their true condition. This is grace to you with John MacArthur. Thanks for being with us the lesson you just heard is part of John series titled homosexuality in the Bible John I'm want to follow-up on the conversation we had yesterday where you were talking about the fact that homosexuals are not the enemy.

Either the mission field.

It's likely that believers listening to this program right now have relationships with coworkers or friends or family members who identify as homosexual or transgender or something else and so I'm wondering what does the Bible say about how we should navigate those relationships. How do you express love without compromising your convictions. Everyone you're going to be interacting with his center and they're all under the divine judgment of God for their sin. Whatever that sin is might be. Homosexuality might be adultery there might be theft. It might be lying.

It might be a complex of all those things so because someone is sinning in you know what is an aberrant way, such as homosexuality doesn't put them beyond the pale of the gospel because the apostle Paul said in first Corinthians talking about homosexuality. Such were some of you but you been washed and you've been sanctified so homosexuality is the sin like any other sin, and it is forgivable to the one who repents and embraces Jesus Christ's. Although it is a perversion that for some people seems so abnormal and even repulsive that it shouldn't be beyond our compassion. These these are people who like all sinners are trapped in their sin. I'm not denying that there are people who have strong temptation start homosexuality. I think it's a matter of choice. I think it's sin. It's not some kind of genetic disposition is sin, but there are people who are trapped in that sin. It has great power over them, and truthfully, the only thing that can change. That is the saving power of Jesus Christ through the gospel. The culture doesn't like that homosexuals are trying to do everything they can to make laws against any kind of the transforming work that there try to make laws against deprogramming homosexuals because they see that as a threat, but homosexuals can be transformed. Such were some of you. We need to be able to be faithful to proclaim the gospel to those trapped in that sin and show them the same love, we would show any sooner. Absolutely, John, and friend. Let me mention a resource that can equip you to bring God's truth to people you know who are dealing with same-sex attraction. It's a booklet called what the Bible says about homosexuality and will send you a free copy just ask for it today. Our number here 855 grace and our website Jide TY.org again the booklet is titled what the Bible says about homosexuality. It's ideal for passing along to someone you know who needs to understand what Scripture plainly says about homosexuality. Maybe a friend or someone in your family is in a same-sex relationship to request a free copy of what the Bible says about homosexuality. Call 855 grace or go to Jide TY.and keep in mind through this Friday, June 18. Nearly everything we sell is 25% off the regular price. Maybe you know a new believer who could benefit from the MacArthur study Bible, or a really serious student of Scripture would love John's 34 volume New Testament commentary series to take advantage of our sale, call 805 grace will go to the website Jide TY.org now for John MacArthur in the entire staff on Phil Johnson. Remember to watch grace to you television this Sunday on DirecTV channel 378 that's in our BTV or check your local listings were cattle and times and then be back tomorrow for another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on race team