“If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” Leviticus 20:13 ESV

       Verses like this one have led our society to hate Christianity. Sadly, they have also led many modern Christians to hate the Old Testament. Yet for those who claim that God’s word is authoritative, this verse is just as true as the red-letter words. 

The sexual revolution of the 1960’s generated an environment in which sexual desires could run rampant without direction or instruction from God’s word. On the whole, the church’s reaction to this sexual immorality was to suppress the sexual desire rather than provide the direction from God’s word. What was the result? The world views Christians as a group of killjoys who do not know how to enjoy life. Some may say, “Why is this a problem? The world is supposed to hate us, right?” The problem is that the world should hate us for preaching the truth, not our own philosophies. Sexual desire is a blessing from God to be used in a way that He ordained. The problem is not the desire, but the standard to which it is being subjected.

In this post, I would like to demonstrate that homosexuality is open rebellion against God, man’s purpose, and the gospel itself. The mantra “love is love” has been the banner of the homosexual movement for quite some time; however, the root of homosexuality is hatred. This rebellion is a result of the hatred of God’s Lordship, creation mandate, and gospel.  

Hatred of God’s Lordship

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. … because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” Romans 1:19-21, 25-27 ESV

        In verse 5 of the same chapter, Paul wrote that his apostleship was given to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations for the sake of Jesus Christ. This obedience only comes about through the grace of the gospel when a sinner is transformed by the redemptive work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The obedience mentioned in verse 5 stands in antithesis to the rebellion found in verses 18-32. Paul strategically demonstrated that every member of mankind is in active rebellion against God. While God has made Himself known through the created order, mankind rejects this truth through unrighteous suppression. They deny the Lordship of their Creator all while living, moving, and having their being in His creation. God judges this wicked act by giving these rebels over to foolishness. 

        However, mankind was created in the image of God and made to worship. We are worshipers in our work, thoughts, emotions, etc. As a result of the foolishness of suppressing our knowledge of the Lord and Creator, we turn to the worship of created things. More times than not, this turning is a turn from God to ourselves. Our desires and passions become our standard for living rather than God’s standard. God hands over those who reject his standard to dishonorable passions. They seek to be autonomous, following their own law; yet their compass is tainted by foolishness and dishonorable passions. What sin does Paul describe as the prime example of unbridled foolishness and rebellion? Homosexuality.

        When the creature worships himself rather than his Creator, he will sin in a way that rejects the Creator’s commands and purposes. Paul describes both gay and lesbian relationships as “contrary to nature”. When a rebel suppresses the Lordship of God, he will rail against the natural order ordained by God. Can homosexual relationships be consistent with the obedience of faith? Why is homosexuality contrary to nature? If someone has the desire for that kind of relationship, is that not “natural” enough? To answer these questions, we must go back to the beginning.

Hatred of God’s Cultural Mandate

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Genesis 1:26-28 ESV

      God created man with a purpose. Some call this purpose the cultural mandate or the dominion command. Whatever you decide to call it, man and woman are made in the image of God and commanded to be fruitful and exercise dominion. These three verses answer the questions of who we are and what is our purpose. As God’s image-bearers, we are His representatives on the earth. This identity allows us to understand our purpose. As God’s representatives, we are to multiply through childbearing while having dominion over the creation that God has entrusted to us. The end goal of this mandate was to cultivate and subject the creation until the entire world looked like the garden of Eden. Obedience in training children to have dominion accomplishes this end goal because the earth would be filled with obedient image-bearers. However, sin marred this picture and we have our ways of rebelling against that cultural mandate.

          

Homosexuality is one of these rebellious sins. A homosexual is incapable of being fruitful and multiplying. God created man to have dominion with a woman as his helpmate. This isn’t an arbitrary combination. God created male and female with unique functions. The most obvious of these functions is our reproductive systems. Men cannot have offspring without women and vice-versa. This is obvious, right? Nevertheless, we see widespread rebellion against God’s design and God’s command to have children. Another way this rebellion exposes itself is in the continual practice of child sacrifice (think abortion) throughout history, but that is a topic for another day.

          

Some are quick to say, “But why can’t we love who we want to love?” Here’s why: You cannot truly love any other person without first loving God Himself. If you are on an apologetic rampage to defend your love which defies God’s commands, then what you have is lust, not love. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Love itself is closely associated with obedience to God. We cannot love someone apart from obedience to God’s commands on how we relate to others. God has clearly commanded that man is only allowed to sexually interact with a woman. 

        

Furthermore, that woman must be his wife. This isn’t arbitrary either. Genesis 2:24 says that a man becomes one flesh with his wife. This is visibly manifest in the physical act of sexual intercourse, but there is also a spiritual joining of man and woman when they have sex. They become one flesh because they have covenanted with one another before God and man to join as a team in having dominion over creation. Their becoming one flesh results in children who are trained up in their homes for the purpose of leaving their father and mother and becoming one flesh with their partner. The issue of homosexuality is much bigger than Christian heterosexual bigots oppressing those who choose differently. God’s plan for the family is at stake. The purpose of mankind itself is at stake.

Hatred of the Gospel

“‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” 

Ephesians 5:31-33 ESV

    

Not only does homosexuality rebel against the literal purpose of marriage (be fruitful, multiply, have dominion), but also its symbolic purposes in pointing to the gospel. Paul commands wives to submit to their husbands just as the church should submit to Christ. Likewise, husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the church. This love manifests itself through their nourishing and cherishing of their wives. Paul claims that the joining of husband and wife to become one flesh is a profound mystery which refers to Christ and the church. 

     

The very act of a man pursuing a woman and joining himself to her in marriage is a picture of Jesus Christ in the gospel. As the Bridegroom, Jesus laid down His life for the sake of His bride and He is presently in the process of effectually calling her to Himself. Jesus nourishes and cherishes His bride and she humbly submits to His headship. The very fabric of the family is a visible picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Homosexuality destroys this picture, revealing its hatred of the gospel. 

Conclusion

      I believe this is the reason Paul used homosexuality as his example of rebellion in Romans 1. When mankind removes God’s law as the standard for living and replaces it with our own desires and passions, it results in rebellion. Homosexuality is one of the more grotesque manifestations of this rebellion because it destroys God’s plan for the family, God’s prescription for dominion, and God’s picture of the gospel. Do not relegate this argument to the simple issue of letting people love who they want to love. To love is to obey God. Disobedience to God when it comes to matters of sex isn’t love. It’s lust.