Romans Chapter One                                 Lesson 22

Review:

 

Observations:  Rom 1:26-27

1. The emphasis on the natural over against what is unnatural reinforces the fact that there is a natural order of creation,  often call it nature, which is like a law established over human existence.  [in reality a series of laws]

 

2. The close link here between idolatry and sexual immorality makes an important point!

 What mankind chooses to do with God has much to do with their character and life style!

 

 

3. As a society moves farther and farther away from honoring God an increase will be observed not just in immorality and indecent acts but in the acceptance of this kind of activity as "normal."

 

4. Throughout the passage both men and women are represented as active, he sees, he thinks, he responds.  He is not represented as victimized, as taken captive somehow against his will, or as the dupe of evil influences outside of himself.

 

5. We live in a time where the absolutes of the word of God stand in such stark contrast to the standards held in the society in which we live.

 

 

HOMOSEXUALITY: WHAT THE WORD OF GOD TEACHES

 

1. Homosexuality is a sin.  Gen 19; Lev 18:22; Rom 1:26,27;          1 Cor 6:9;  1 Tim 1:10; 2 Pet 2:6; Jude 7

 

a. As a phallic sin the WOG labels is as an abnormal perversion: Rom 1:26,27  [para phusis  against or contrary to nature]

 

b. It was the principal sin which led to the violent and total annihilation of prosperous Sodom and Gomorrah. Gen 18:20 - 19:29.

 

1. This once fertile prosperous area (Gen 13:10) has remained a blighted, barren, uninhabited, dry, denuded, and hot desert as a warning to all whose pattern of life would follow the same pattern.  2 Pet 2:6

2. From this historical precedent and incident came the term "sodomite" (1 Kg 22:46) and the legal term to describe this perversion - sodomy.

 

2. In addition to being a sin it was legislated against under the Mosaic Law therefore was a criminal act.  Lev 18:22

What does that tell us about God's view of homosexuality this is also seen in the consequence under the M/L.

 

a. The criminal penalty was capital punishment (Lev 20:13)

 

b. Certain Kings of Israel are remembered specifically for shutting down the houses of male sodomites.

1. Asa 1 Kg 15:11,12 cp 14:24

2. Jehoshaphat  1 Kg 22:45,46

3. Josiah  2 Kg 23:7

 

3. A perspective we must have related to the use of the M/L in the Church age.

a. They are important for examples and for instruction. Rom 15:4;     1 Cor 10:6-11

 

b. A "lawful" and abiding value of the Mosaic Law is to teach us what is right and what is wrong from God's viewpoint.  1 Tim 1:8-10 

 

c. We live in an era when society is being programmed to consider this perversion normal, natural and non-criminal.

 

d. A part of sound teaching is to point out that this sin is the same before God as it ever was, an abomination.

 

4. Homosexuality is a sin for which there is forgiveness.

a. Christ died for all sins. Mk 3:28

 

b. The homosexual therefore can be saved, their sin can be forgiven. 1 Cor 6:11

 

c. The believer who practices this sin nature activity, as with any sin consistently practiced looses out in time but also on rewards for eternity not salvation.  1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:21

5. Conclusion

a. Homosexuality (male or female) is an abnormal sexual activity and a sin.  It is an abomination in God's view.

 

b. Homosexuality and society's acceptance of it is a major sign that judgment of that nation is near.

- it is associated with defilement of the land, the nation.

 

c. Practically every segment of American society is pro-sodomy today.

(NEA, entertainment world, courts, liberal clergy, women's lib, gov't via its anti-discrimination policies and hate crimes laws)  

 

d. We must stay with what the WOG says on this subject as with any other, no matter what some sexologist, doctor, lawyer, talk-show host or sodomite says.

- its easy to get emotionally sidetracked 

 

1:28 3rd God gave them over - to a depraved mind!

"And just as"  kaqw,j  just as, exactly as;  says that in the same way that sexual immorality pervades society as a result of rejection of the light of God in creation, in the same way this 3rd and final indication of the wrath of God is directed toward that same rejection of light and we find here an impact on man's thinking and its consequences in a list of sins in  29-31.

 

-  what this section does is fill in the blanks for us as to what is the unrighteousness of men, [horizontal]

 

Several Observations:

1.  Man has not just somehow become sidetracked by other issues and simply lost sight of or interest in God.

2.  They have put God to the test, they have examined Him, rem; they knew God [v.21] and they concluded that God was unnecessary in their life.

3.  In their view, according to their standard, God did not measure up,  didn't meet their specifications;

4.  So they refused to approve Him as God, to honor Him as God, and therefore to worship Him as God.

 

- What you hear today, the modern disclaimer is that God as creator is an unnecessary hypothesis, its an infantile understanding that is no longer needed by man, we've come of age! Hey it’s the 21st century!