Homosexuality: The Revealed Wrath of God

Romans 1:26-27

August 26, 2007

We have been looking at Paul’s letter to the church at Rome,

In which Paul has begun his first theme of the book.

Paul first begins with the wrath of God.

Certainly and unpopular topic…

Also a seemingly forgotten topic…

BUT AS WE HAVE LEARNED AND EXTREMELY RELEVANT TOPIC

Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

God’s wrath is real, and God’s wrath is revealed.

God still judges ungodliness and unrighteousness,

And the fact that man continues to suppress God’s truth,

Only makes His wrath that much greater.

And as we said this morning,

Paul is taking this first chapter and

Giving us three illustrations of how God is revealing His wrath.

This morning we saw that the existence of idolatry

Is evidence of God’s wrath.

God doesn’t have to allow men to worship other gods.

He could stop it any time He wants.

And in reality it is not wise for men to worship false gods,

For they are placing all their hope in a myth that cannot save.

But since man is so determined to follow this lust for impurity,

God has finally allowed it to happen.

Tonight we see the 2nd illustration of the revealed wrath of God.

Tonight we talk about

HOMOSEXUALITY

AND WHAT A DIFFICULT TOPIC

People all across our nation seem to be caught in limbo

As to what to do about homosexuality.

But I hope you realize this is not a new problem.

Abraham’s nephew dealt with it.

Moses commanded against it.

The Judges dealt with it.

And in the New Testament Paul wrote against it.

This specific sin has always been around.

At any given point in history, men could look up

And see that this was occurring.

(Probably one of the reasons why Paul chose it.)

NOW I DO NEED TO SAY AT THE START,

That this sermon is not for the purpose of “gay bashing”.

Homosexuality is a sin,

Those who live in it evidence that they are not believers in Jesus, And that they will not inherit eternal life.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

FURTHERMORE IT IS AGAINST THE COMMAND OF GOD

Leviticus 18:22 'You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.”

Leviticus 20:13 'If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.”

But, as we heard this morning, God can forgive sinners.

God can change sinners, even homosexuals.

My prayer is that through this sermon, even homosexuals

Would come to know of the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

But beyond that, let’s take a moment and look at what Paul teaches, and we will follow the same basic outline as this morning.

#1 THE DESCRIPTION OF HOMOSEXUALITY

Romans 1:26-27a

I don’t want to get graphic here as to what is occurring,

But we do need to understand

WHY HOMOSEXUALITY IS CONSIDERED AN ABOMINATION TO GOD.

In these two verses, Paul mentions two groups of people.

First he mentions women who he says, “exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.”

Second he mentions men who he says, “abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another,”

Now you do need to notice that in both cases,

Paul refers to the misuse of “the natural function of the woman”

He says nothing of the natural function of the man.

Women “exchanged” that natural function

Men “abandoned” that natural function

But in both cases,

Paul is referring to the natural function of the woman.

And this will help us understand the problem here.

SO FIRST, we need to take a look at “the natural function of the woman”

Genesis 2:18-25 “Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 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 reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

Now if you read that passage,

It becomes apparently obvious that man needed a companion.

“It is not good for the man to be alone”

And so first God created all the animals and brought them to man.

“but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.”

And so God created woman

And He created her to be a compliment to man.

She was created FOR the man.

She was created to be COMPLIMENT.

She was created to be a HELPMATE.

She was created to be a COMPANION.

She was created to BRING FULFILLMENT to his life.

And obviously included there is an emotional fulfillment.

I want to give you a theological fact.

MEN AND WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT

They were created different on purpose,

So they could complement one another,

Not so they could compete against one another.

And because this is God’s design,

God made them different,

And even gave them different roles to play.

Titus 2:1-8 “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”

Even in that letter you can see the different makeup

And different expectations God has for men and women.

There is an emotional fulfillment a woman brings to a man’s life.

Carrie and I used to talk on the phone for hours.

BUT EVEN THAT IS NOT THE MAIN THRUST OF THE TEXT

(Not in Romans, Not in Genesis)

The main thrust of both of those texts

Is that woman was created to be a physical partner to man.

She was created with a different body than man,

So that she would be fulfilling to man physically.

There is a definite idea of sexual fulfillment here.

Notice what God said to Adam.

Genesis 2:24-25 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

“they shall become one flesh” “naked and not ashamed”

(My mom’s translation)

The physical aspect between man and woman

Was part of the plan from the get go.

No one reason is obvious.

PROCREATION

Genesis 9:7 "As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it."

But there is also another reason.

RECREATION

Genesis 26:8 “It came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah.”

The King James Version says, “Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.”

(that doesn’t mean they were playing tennis)

And this thought is also carried over to the New Testament.

1 Corinthians 7:1-5 “Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”

God created woman to be a physical fulfillment to her husband,

And even as Paul notes, she can also be a wonderful safety net

To help her husband in a world of sexual temptation.

THIS IS THE NATURAL FUNCTION OF THE WOMAN.

In fact,

“function” translates CHRESIS (khray-sis)

“sexual intercourse as an occupation of the body”

This is one of, if not the main reason women were created.

As God looked at man, the animals were not suitable for him.

So God created woman.

THAT IS THE NATURAL FUNCTION OF THE WOMAN

BUT WHAT IS OCCURRING HERE IN ROMANS 1?

“their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,”

These women took what was natural, and exchanged it for was not natural.

They took their natural role, and disregarded it.

They cast it aside in order that they might assume a role

That was not natural for them to assume.

AND WE SEE THIS IN VARIOUS WAYS

TURN TO: 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

That is not the only place it occurred.

1 Timothy 2:8-15 “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.”

Even Ephesus had a problem with role reversal.

These issues reveal disdain for God’s natural design.

Ephesians 5:22-27 “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

There is another place that God’s divine design is under attack today.

NOW, IN HOMOSEXUALITY,

NOT ONLY ARE ALL THESE INTENTIONS OUT THE WINDOW,

BUT SO IS GOD’S DESIGN OF SEXUAL FULFILLMENT.

These women here “exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.”

Jude 7 “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 the punishment of eternal fire.”

Jude said they went after “strange flesh”.

And really, this is why we have such a hang up with homosexuality.

Because it is unnatural. (That is why abortion bothers us too)

When you look at an animal, in their natural instincts. Even a mother animal naturally protects her young, and even a male animal natural desires a female.

But these women went for what was unnatural.

And the men were no better.

(27a) “and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts”

Now the women may have refused their role,

But here these men refused the women.

They “abandoned the natural function of the woman”

It is the picture of God giving woman to man,

And man willfully rejecting her,

And as such rejecting God’s perfect gift to him.

Instead they “burned in their desire toward one another”

They willfully rejected God’s natural order, and sought to gratify their lusts through their own way.

And of course, what started out as desire ended up in action.

“men with men committing indecent acts”

And if you want to see the degree of this desire,

You only need to read the Bible.

TURN TO: Genesis 19:1-11

These guys were intent on their lust weren’t they?

You would think that would be the last time in the Bible

That such atrocities would occur.

TURN TO: Judges 19:16-25

A man and his concubine were traveling and at night went to the city of Gibeah. It was in the tribe of Dan and he was waiting at the city square. (Read)

There again is the picture of the intense desire for sin.

This the definition of homosexuality.

It is men and women

Who completely overlook the natural function of the woman

As a gift from God to bring fulfillment to man,

And instead seek to fulfill that desire in their own way.

That is the definition of homosexuality.

#2 THE DANGER OF HOMOSEXUALITY

Romans 1;26a, 27b

There at the first of verse 26 is the phrase yet again.

“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passion”

Yet again, it is the picture of man being so persistent in his sin…

Of woman being so unwilling to listen to the counsel of God…

Of men and women so searing their consciences to the truth…

That God eventually says, fine you can have what you seek.

And He literally places them in the hands of the lifestyle they have chosen.

Psalms 81:11-12 "But My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me. "So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, To walk in their own devices.”

God finally allows them to reap the full consequence of their lifestyle.

In verse 26 Paul says, “God gave them over to degrading passions;”

“degrading” translates ATIMIA (at-ee-mee-ah)

“indignity, dishonor, reproach, shame”

It was the same word used in 1 Corinthians 11

About a woman with a shaved head being disgraced.

And the idea here is that the lifestyle itself brings shame on them.

And if homosexuals would open their eyes they would see this.

Despite all the pushes, despite all the legislature…

Even if gay marriage gets legalized some day.

Homosexuality will never be universally recognized as acceptable.

Even a non-believers see it as unnatural.

It is a shameful lifestyle, it embarrasses those who engage in it, and it always will.

But since they persist in it so fervently, God has finally said, “Fine embarrass yourself.”

But that is not the only consequence.

Look down to the end of verse 27.

“and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”

“due penalty” translates ANTIMISTHIA (an-tee-mis-thee-ah)

“a reward in return; wages in return”

It is the common payment for a common action.

It is the common reward for a common action.

And here it is used in a negative connotation to express that when you willfully reject the plan of God, then you will get the wages you deserve.

In short.

THIS IS NOT GOD ZAPPING HOMOSEXUALS

This is God simply allowing homosexuals to reap the natural benefits of their lifestyle.

WHAT ARE THEY?

One is obviously sexually transmitted disease, AIDS

It happens, and if you persist in that lifestyle, that is a natural reward.

Another is unfulfillment.

God knows what is fulfilling, for He created us, and that is not it.

And homosexuals are reaping this today.

Statistics say that a homosexual male will have around 300 different partners in a year.

Among females jealousy and rage are extremely high because a female is always looking for a new relationship, seeking fulfillment.

BUT THERE IS NONE TO BE HAD.

There is no fulfillment in that lifestyle, and that is their punishment.

It is a high risk – no reward lifestyle

AND YET GOD’S WRATH IS REVEALED

IN THAT HE ALLOWS IT TO HAPPEN.

SO WHAT IS THE POINT?

Well obviously, if you are here and homosexuality is something that you have struggled with. (and I realize you may be the only one that knows)

Maybe it is even something you have allowed to manifest in your life and it has led to action.

Let me say, please turn from this lifestyle.

There is nothing for you there. Momentary lust, momentary gratification, but there is no lasting satisfaction there, and the end result is judgment.

God created them male and female and He knows how to satisfy your life and your desires, and your cravings. TRUST HIM.

IF YOU DO NOT STRUGGLE WITH HOMOSEXUALITY

Then realize homosexuality is not the only issue we are dealing with here.

Homosexuality is just the extreme form of a person

Who has rejected God’s role for themselves.

There are plenty other (less extreme) manifestations of this same problem.

Men who refuse to love their wives…

Women who refuse to submit to their husbands…

Children who refuse to obey their parents…

Fathers who refuse to train their children…

Employers who refuse to submit to their bosses…

Men who refuse to lead in the church…

ALL ARE FORMS OF THE SAME SIN AS HOMOSEXUALITY

They are a rejection of God’s original design,

Seeking to gratify a desire in an unacceptable way.

Adrian Rogers

“Temptation tries to get you to fulfill a legitimate desire in an illegitimate way.”

That is what all those sins are.

Tonight I want to ask you to step back in to your God ordained role

And if you will,

Not only will you find the fulfillment that your life is looking for,

But you will also pull yourself out from under the wrath of God.

Romans 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”