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BY TONY HOSS
Today we continue our articles concerning homosexuality. In doing so we will consider what God has done to help man remain in a proper relationship with Him. In Genesis 2:18-25, God created the institution of marriage. The institution of marriage was for the benefit of humanity in many ways. One of the benefits was that the sexual relation between the woman and the man were a built-in feature. In Genesis 2:24 and Mark 10:7-8 we find the statement, “the two shall become one flesh”; this statement is no doubt a direct reference to the marital relationship of the man and woman. Within the expression itself is referenced the most physically intimate relationship that a husband and wife can have. In this relationship, God has provided a way for humanity to fulfill its physical desire and a way to prevent mankind from venturing into sinful relationships. None-the-less, humanity often becomes disgruntled with what God has provided for him. In this case it would be the sexual relationship between the husband and wife. In his dissatisfaction with what God has provided, mankind often turns from God as he abuses and perverts what was once wholesome and pure. As we consider the Word of God we must ask, where does homosexuality place in all of this, is same sex marriage authorized by God?
The term “homosexual” is defined as “(of a person) sexually attracted to people of one’s own sex. A homosexual person is often referred to as “a lesbian” (if it is a woman) or “a gay” (if it is a man). We should be reminded that homosexuality is at least as old as the book of Genesis; it’s not something that is new to humanity but has existed nearly as long as has mankind himself.
There are several types of sexual relationships that people are often involved in. Whether for good or for evil, these relationships would include various types of heterosexual relations (male with female), the homosexual relations (male with male; female with female), bestial relations (man or woman with an animal) and other various types of sexual activities. The question that must be resolved is which does God approve of, is it one of these, all of these or some other? As with all such important questions we should allow the Word of God to speak to us and guide us in our actions.
We learn in Genesis 2:7, 18-25; Matthew 19: 4-5, that in the beginning God created a man and He created a woman to be the man’s wife. Of this there can be no denial. The Bible also reveals that by God’s design a marriage was to be between a man and a woman. This was God’s design; if it were not so He would have made a man for a man or a woman for the woman. In Genesis 2:24, we learn that the man was to leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. The Hebrew word for wife in this verse has reference to a woman, a female. Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 said of marriage: “…It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.” It is plain to see that if God had intended this to include same-sex marriages the text would have allowed for a man to have his man or a woman to have her own woman. But these are exceptions that the scriptures do not allow. They are objections that cannot be answered.
Within the pages of sacred text there is an overabundance of evidence that God approves of a heterosexual marriage. To the contrary, there is nowhere in the Bible that God gives approval or endorses homosexual marriage or homosexual relations of any kind. The writer of the book of Hebrews makes it very clear for us when he said, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).
According to the Bible, marriage is to be between a husband (man) and a wife (woman). According to Hebrews 13:4 any sexual relationship outside of that union is “adultery” or “fornication” (which is sin – Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Cor. 6:9-10). It is sin regardless of whether it is heterosexual, homosexual, bestial or some other form of sexual activity. While it is clear the Bible gives us sufficient evidence to settle the issue once and for all, I want to go further with this discussion in the next few weeks and give some consideration to other arguments and thoughts that some often give. In doing so we will help to settle in our minds once and for all, the question, “Is homosexuality really a sin?”
(Tony Hoss is minister of the Centerview Church of Christ, Elizabethton)