The Bible and Sex

With all the discussion in the news about the growing affirmation of same-sex sexual relationships it’s understandable many wonder why traditional Christians don’t get on board.  To help people understand the traditional Christian position here’s a brief catechesis (teaching) on the Bible and sex.

First, the Bible begins by saying that our sexedness, our being male and female, is on purpose (Genesis 1:27).  To be a Christian is to affirm purpose, to see meaning behind the reality we see. 

Furthermore, the Bible says that our sexedness relates to our need for companionship (Genesis 2:18).  We are made for fellowship on purpose, and the purpose of our being male and female is to provide the means for our finding fellowship. 

We see that human community is meant to be male and female, an all male world would be deficient, as would an all female world.  Genesis 2:18 explains why, it says the other sex is “a helper suitable” (NIV).  A literal translation of “suitable” is “like opposite” (Word Biblical Commentary).  The idea is complementarity.  The two sexes complement and complete one another.

This means that male and female are different on purpose.  They are not meant to be interchangeable.  God intended that the two halves of humanity would come together.

Sexual immorality (misuse of our sexual nature) gets defined in Leviticus 18, 19, and 20.  The first thing to notice is that God judges the non-Jewish nations for their sexual immorality (Leviticus 18:24-25).  He expects non-Jews to know right and wrong when it comes to sex.  As Paul would later say, God’s law is written on their hearts so they’re without excuse (Romans 2:14-15, Romans 1:20).

God never judges the non-Jewish nations for eating pork or shellfish.  Those were ceremonial laws which are not binding on non-Jews. Ceremonial laws were meant to identify the Jews as God’s peculiar people.  Those laws were limited to Jews of the Old Testament and were fulfilled in the coming of the messiah.

Now what is the nature of the sexual immorality as described in Leviticus 18, 19, and 20?  The defining characteristic of sexual immorality is that which goes against the healthy coming together of the two halves of humanity (male and female).  For this reason incest, bestiality, and same-sex sex are all condemned. 

Later in the gospels Jesus will affirm that our being male and female is on purpose and the reason we have marriage (Mark 10:7).  Likewise, Jesus will say that “sexual immorality” defiles (Matthew 15:19).  “Sexual immorality” in that Jewish context meant Leviticus 18, 19, and 20.  So Jesus not only affirmed traditional marriage he condemned behavior that is contrary to the healthy coming together of male and female.

Sometimes people will say Jesus had nothing to say about same-sex sexual behavior.  This either shows an ignorance of what “sexuality immorality” meant to Jews or a willful distortion of Jesus’ teaching.

Later, when the apostle Paul went out into the non-Jewish world the leaders in Jerusalem (those who had walked and talked with Jesus) told him to teach non-Jewish Christians to abstain from sexual immorality (Acts 15:29).  In his own letters Paul taught the non-Jewish Christians that sexual immorality includes same-sex sexual relations (Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10). 

Given all this traditional Christians, whether they be Protestant, Roman Catholic, or Greek Orthodox, have always taught that same-sex sexual relations are contrary to God’s purpose.  They can’t teach anything else.  To do so would be to go against the plain teaching of Scripture.

The Bible and Sex

The Loving Thing to Do?

I’ve noticed discussions on homosexuality continue among many of my Facebook friends.  (As a result of the recent Supreme Court proceedings.)  This prompts me to post one more time on the subject.  I want to look briefly at one of the relevant New Testament passages.

In 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 Paul confronts the Corinthians for tolerating sexual sin (incest) among them.  He said they were even proud of their tolerance (1 Cor. 5:2).  Evidently they thought this was the gracious thing to do. 

It culminates in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 when Paul explains why they cannot tolerate such sin.  Why?  Because it (sexual sin) along with other sins (when practiced as a lifestyle) lead to exclusion from the kingdom of God.  To affirm or tolerate such practices in the name of grace is to confirm people in a way of life that leads to horrible consequences.  (Certainly not the loving thing to do!)

Here’s what Paul wrote:

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NIV2011).

A footnote on this passage in the new NIV (2011) says,

“1 Corinthians 6:9 The words men who have sex with men translate two Greek words that refer to the passive and active participants in homosexual acts.”

New Testament scholar N.T. Wright says of this passage:

“As with everything else on this list, these are practices that some people find they deeply want to engage in, so much so that in our own day (this is a novelty of the last hundred years or so) we have seen the rise of the words ‘homosexual’ or ‘gay’ as an identifying label, a sign of a hidden ‘identity’ which can be ‘discovered’ or ‘recognized’.  Biblical witness and pastoral insight alike suggest that this is deeply misleading—as is the implication that all humans need active sexual experience, of whatever sort they prefer, in order to be complete, to be fully alive.”

He goes on to write,

“It isn’t … that God has an arbitrary list of rules and if you break them you won’t get in.  It is, rather, that his kingdom will be peopled by humans who reflect his image completely; and behaviour in the present which distorts and defaces that image will lead in the opposite direction.  The whole New Testament joins in warning of the real possibility of this happening” (Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians, 69-70).

It’s because of this that a church, a pastor, a Christian who takes the Bible seriously cannot and will not affirm same-sex sexual practice.  It’s simply not the loving thing to do.

The Loving Thing to Do?

Don’t Simply Trust Your Preacher. Verify.

“During this time of struggle, others tried to help. A Methodist pastor and the Dean of the Chapel at Syracuse University believed that I did not have to give up everything to honor God. Indeed, he told me, since God made me a lesbian, I gave God honor by living an honorable lesbian life. He told me that I could have Jesus and my lesbian lover. This was a very appealing prospect. But I had been reading and rereading scripture, and there are no such marks of postmodern “both/ and” in the Bible.”        (Rosaria Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert)

When I saw the quote above I was reminded of Martin Luther’s statement,

"If the laymen read the Scriptures, the preachers would have to study so that they would not be reproved and overcome [from Scripture by the laymen]" (quoted by Francis Pieper in Christian Dogmatics).

Luther risked his very life translating the Bible into the language of the people so they could read it for themselves.  His reason?  He didn’t want laypeople being deceived by their preachers.

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield was a tenured professor of English at Syracuse University.  She was and is a sophisticated reader.  She knew what the Bible says (having read through it several times in an effort to discredit traditional Christians as being bigoted homophobes).

A strange thing happened to Rosaria, though she was the faculty advisor to the GLBT student group on campus and was herself in a lesbian relationship, she found herself being convinced by the Bible.  Her conscience was bound by Scripture (not by what some well-meaning preacher tried to tell her).

Again Luther,

“We must ourselves know what we believe, namely, what God has said and not what the Pope or the councils decree or say. For you dare not trust in men, but must trust in the bare Word of God" (St L. IX:1235 f., quoted in Christian Dogmatics by Francis Pieper).

Not being able to affirm same-sex sexual relationships is not a popular position to hold today, but here I stand with Rosaria and other traditional Christians.  Luther’s famous statement at the Diet of Worms says it so well. 

"Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils [or well-meaning “progressive” pastors and denominations], for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen."  (Diet of Worms, 1521).

Read Rosaria’s story here.  Or watch an interview with Rosaria below.  For a short and simple summary of the biblical teaching on homosexuality from a Reformation Protestant perspective click here.

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

Don’t Simply Trust Your Preacher. Verify.

Living a Lie

“You will be like God …” (Genesis 3:5 ESV).

“Knowing about God beyond his given Word is man’s being like God; for whence comes this knowledge if not from the springs of his own life and being?”  (from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall).

God has spoken.  We have his Word.  He has given us the knowledge of good and evil.  The question is, Will we submit to it? 

The perennial temptation is to be like God, knowing good and evil (God and his character) in ourselves, apart from God’s Word (his revelation of himself and his character).  To stand apart from God’s Word is to be like God.  It is to set yourself up as God.  It is to put yourself in God’s place.  It is the ultimate form of hubris and denial of reality.

You know you have succumbed to this temptation when in a discussion of good and evil you say, “I think it is like this” or “I feel this is the way it is”.  The follower of Jesus cannot do this.  In his battle with the devil (his experience of the perennial temptation) Jesus always said, “It is written” and then quoted scripture (Luke 4:1-13), revealing to us what it means to live as a human being should.  To live any other way is to live a lie.

Living a Lie

The Protestant Principle

"When your last hour comes, I won’t be with you, neither the Pope; if then you don’t know the foundation of your hope and merely say: I believe what the councils, the Pope, and our fathers believed, the devil will answer: Yes, but what if they erred? Then he has won and will drag you into hell. Therefore we must ourselves know what we believe, namely, what God has said and not what the Pope or the councils decree or say. For you dare not trust in men, but must trust in the bare Word of God."

--Martin Luther (St L. IX:1235 f.) quoted in Christian Dogmatics by Francis Pieper

“Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess” (1 Peter 3:15 NET).

What is the job of pastor?  The pastor’s job is teach Christians the Word of God and to show Christians how what we believe, teach, and confess is taught in the Word of God.  The Christian conscience is to be bound to God’s Word alone.

Personally, I don’t care what a particular preacher feels is true.  I dare not trust some person’s feelings about how they think things are or should be.  What I want is the Word of God.  Give me God’s Word.  Any preacher, synod, or theologian that says in effect, “trust me over the plain teaching of Scripture” has no binding authority (for their authority is merely human and not divine).

The preacher’s job is to help Christians know God’s Word for themselves so that they themselves can give reasons for their faith.  This is the Protestant principle.  Authority is located outside the preacher and in God’s Word alone.

The Protestant Principle

A Sign of the Times

“Indeed, there are many—including some who would identify themselves as Christian theologians—for whom the Bible is seen as a source of oppression and moral blindness, particularly with regard to issues of sexual ethics; for such interpreters, the most crucial question about the moral teaching of the NT is how we can get critical leverage against it.  Such forthright repudiation of biblical authority by self-identified Christian thinkers is a historical phenomenon that is both relatively recent and unlikely to exercise any lasting influence within the church.”

from Richard B. Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics, page 11.

I was reminded of the quote above when the news broke that Rob Bell is calling Christians to affirm same-sex sexual relationships.  He is quoted as saying that many are "realizing that God makes some of us one way and some of us another, and it can be a beautiful thing."

Such a statement about homosexuality stands in direct contradiction to the Bible.   As New Testament scholar Richard Hays (Duke Divinity School) points out, the Bible is unified in its rejection of homosexual behavior and in affirming heterosexual marriage as God’s purpose for human sexuality (see “Homosexuality” in The Moral Vision of the New Testament).

In biblical perspective homosexual desires exist because the world is not the way God intended.  Jesus came to bring in a new creation, and those in Christ are to live into that new creation through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Nowhere is there any hint of compromising with the old creation/old self.

Rob Bell is a popular preacher and teacher.  His popularity may even grow, but as the quote at the top suggests, in the long run views like Bell’s won’t last.  They will have no “lasting influence.”  Why?  Because the Bible is a brute fact.  It will keep reasserting itself.  It takes too much work to suppress the plain teaching of the Bible.  Like Josiah rediscovering the law (2 Kings 22:1-13) future generations of Christians will invariably be drawn back to the plain teaching of the Bible, and folks like Bell will be seen as compromisers who proved unfaithful to Christ who himself affirmed the Old Testament and authorized the apostles to pass on his teaching.

I see no way for a traditional Christian to follow in Bell’s footsteps, and because more and more of society will judge traditional Christianity as oppressive the days may soon be coming when American Christians will have to pay a price for remaining faithful to God’s word.

A Sign of the Times

What You’re Saying When You Say “Amen”

“By these closing words [to the Lord’s prayer'] we mean to express our confidence that God will hear and answer our petitions; for he himself has commanded us thus to pray and promised that we shall be heard. Amen: That is, Yea, yea, it shall be so” (Evangelical Catechism, Question 111).

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24 ESV).

As indicated by the catechism, to say “amen” means we’re ending our prayer by saying “it shall be so.”  That’s the meaning of “amen,” going all the way back to the original Hebrew.  To say “amen” and mean it is to do what Jesus says in Mark 11:24, “believe that you have received it” (ESV).  That’s how Christians are to pray.  We’re to pray in faith.  Why?  Because all the promises in Christ are yes (confirmed) and therefore call for our amen (2 Corinthians 1:20).

The key is that all the promises are yes, NOT whatever we decide we want or need.  God has not promised us a life without trial or heartache or suffering.  Anyone who tells you that is selling you a pack of lies.  But God has promised that his grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9), and that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).  We are promised the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13, Acts 2:38-39).  When you pray for these things you should then act as if you have them because you do.  God has promised to give them to those who ask, and if you ask they are yours.  God is good on his promises.  Jesus’ coming into the world confirms it.  He is God’s “yes.”

This is the truth of the so-called “Word of Faith” movement.  God’s gifts are experienced as we receive them in faith.  Jesus is clear.  He says, “Believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24 ESV).  My disagreement with Word of Faith theology isn’t over this point.  On this they’re absolutely right.  Where I’m convinced they’re wrong is in their extending this promise to material and physical blessings.  Such things do occur but as “signs and wonders.”

By definition signs and wonders are unusual happenings, special gifts.  God still gives these, but we’re not guaranteed a miracle in every case.  The apostle Paul recognized this and so counseled Timothy to take medicine (1 Timothy 5:23).   Paul could even say to the Galatians, “You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first” (Galatians 4:13 NKJV).

Christians experience sickness and financial struggles like everybody else.  Sometimes we experience a miracle, sometimes we don’t, but we are guaranteed God’s grace and his Spirit.  We can pray in full assurance God will give us these things, and so when we ask for them we can boldly say, “Amen.”

What You’re Saying When You Say “Amen”