God Made Them Male and Female

Human Sexuality and Sin, 

Part 1

And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment [regarding divorce]. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:5-9).

My parish is hosting a presentation by a speaker from the Christian, pro-family organization Focus on the Family tomorrow (March 28, 2018). There has been a bit of controversy within the community over this. It manifested when the Chamber of Commerce removed from its Facebook page an advertisement promoting the presentation, after receiving some complaints from local community activists. Focus on the Family has an “anti-LGBTQ agenda” and activists are outraged that a member of the community would give voice to such a bigoted organization. In light of this, I thought it would be good to talk a little bit about how Christianity understands human sexuality and sin.

Fellow Christians, I hate to admit it, but Jesus never said the word, “Homosexual.” He never explicitly said anywhere in the New Testament, “Don’t go around having sexual intercourse with other people who are the same sex as you.” Before we go all #LoveWins, painting our LCMS church buildings in rainbow colors, and ordaining transgender pastors, however, perhaps we should give this some more thought. Just because the word “homosexual” wasn’t uttered by Jesus, doesn’t mean that he condones homosexuality. If that were the proper method for interpreting the Scriptures, we could do away with the doctrine of the Trinity, as that word is also nowhere to be found in the pages of the Bible.[1]

When asked by the Pharisees about divorce, Jesus appeals to the beginning of creation. He points out to them that, “God made them male and female,” a fact which was obvious to his audience. It is the natural created order. Or, if you are a Darwinian Naturalist, it is the natural law produced through millions of years of evolution. In this passage, Jesus defines what marriage is, and his definition makes it clear that gender is essential to it. He doesn’t have to continue on and say, “But God did not make them male and male; neither did He make them female and female, nor male and female and female, or…” All other combinations are excluded by the example which Jesus gives.

But Jesus can’t mean that marriage is supposed to be exclusively between one man and one woman, because the Bible is full of polygamy, adultery, and all other manner of what up-tight confessional Lutheran types call “sin.” Yes, the Bible does record many instances of polygamy. The Bible also records many murders, thefts, and other felonies, but this does not mean that God is giving mankind Carte Blanche to commit these acts. The Bible records that Cain murdered Abel, yet we don’t call for the legalization of murder because it’s “in the Bible”. The Bible records David’s adultery with Bathsheba, yet we do not claim that it is sanctioning such behavior by us in the present day. The Bible isn’t even sanctioning such behavior by the people about whom it reports. God specifically judges the actions of David, Solomon, and many others by commanding, “You shall not murder,” and “You shall not commit adultery.”

Likewise, the Bible records at least one instance of homosexual behavior in the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 18 and 19 recounts the destruction of Sodom because of its wickedness: Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”[2] What was the sin of Sodom? Homosexual desire.[3]

Those passages about Sodom and Gomorrah are from the Old Testament though! They don’t apply. This isn’t exactly true. Jesus Christ is Immanuel, God, with us; He is God incarnate. He is the image of the invisible God, by whom all things were created.[4] Jesus is the very God who created and sustains the world.[5] He told the Jews this and, when they heard him assert that he was the great I AM who told Moses his name through the burning bush, the God who spoke to Abraham, they were ready to stone him for blasphemy.[6] The Jesus speaking to the Pharisees in Mark 10:7 is the same person speaking the words recorded in Genesis two. That also makes him the God who commanded what is recorded in Leviticus 20: 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.[7]

While Jesus in the Gospels does not use the word homosexual, the Apostle Paul does. St. Paul explicitly states that men who practice homosexuality with not inherit the kingdom of God.[8] Here St. Paul records a list of sinful behaviors, including homosexuality. His list is comprehensive; it includes every person. It’s like a buffet of sinfulness; everyone can find something that they like. St. Paul continues, however, reminding the Corinthians that, despite having once been sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, etc., they have been redeemed by Christ. St. Paul also takes Jesus’ thread from Mark 10:7 regarding the one-flesh union and explains it further, calling the Corinthians – and us today – to repent of our sins, flee from sexual immorality of all kinds, and glorify God in our bodies.[9]

It is clear, even to someone who is not a Christian, that the male body was not designed (either by God, or Nature, if you please) to mate with another male body; likewise with two female bodies. The fact that people crave such relationships proves that something has gone terribly wrong with creation.[10] That thing is sin, and no human being since The Fall has been immune to it.[11] We have all been utterly corrupted by sin from the time of our conception.[12] We are, by virtue of our utterly corrupt nature, objects of God’s wrath.[13] Man’s natural mind will not, and cannot, accept the things of God.[14] That corruption may not manifest itself as a desire to have sex with people of the same gender in some, but it does in many. Furthermore, those who do not struggle with homosexual desire most certainly struggle with something else. We are all in the same boat when it comes to sin, and our complete inability to overcome it.

The problem is that liberal Bible scholars and progressive social activists don’t believe that Jesus is God. They don’t believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired, inerrant Word of God. They don’t believe that St. Paul is an Apostle. They believe in moral relativism because that gratifies the desires of their flesh. They believe in the idea that every person has their own individual truth. Rather than freedom of religion and freedom of speech, they believe in the freedom of being protected from speech they find offensive. Nothing, short of God changing their hearts through the message of Christ, will change their darkened minds.[15] As Christians, we are called to abhor sin, and to flee from it. This also includes the sin of homosexuality. We must also remember that Christ shed his blood and died for all men. Christ took the sin of the homosexual, the idolater, the adulterer, the thief, the hypocrite, the murderer, the liar, onto himself, and atoned for that sin with His own blood, shed on the cross. A homosexual, like any other sinner, needs to hear God’s word of Law and Gospel applied to their life with the goal of repentance and faith.[16]

---

[1] If only progressive social activists would apply the same standard of interpretation to the US Constitution. That, however, is an article for another day.

[2] Genesis 18:20-21

[3] Genesis 19:4-5

[4] Colossians 1:15-20

[5] Hebrews 1:1-3

[6] John 8:48:59

[7] Leviticus 20:13

[8] 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

[9] 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

[10] Engelbrecht, Rev. Edward A., ed. The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009.

[11] Genesis 3

[12] Psalm 51:5

[13] Ephesians 2:3-5

[14] 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14

[15] Romans 10:17

[16] Engelbrecht, Rev. Edward A., ed. The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009.

God Made Them Male and Female

And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment [regarding divorce]. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:5-9).

Supporters of same-sex marriage took quite the arrogant victory lap on social media last month when the Supreme Court handed down their decision legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Two major focuses of the assault seemed to be 1) Christians shouldn’t judge homosexuals because their holy book tells them not to judge, and 2) Christians are just haters and homophobes, because Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. In a previous article I examined one of the memes prevalent in my Facebook news feed, which I referred to collectively as the “Judge not…” meme. This article will focus on a rather irritating, though clever, little meme featuring Stephen Colbert, which asserts that Jesus never had anything to say about homosexuality.

Fellow Christians, I hate to admit it, but Jesus never said the word, “Homosexual.” He never explicitly said anywhere in the New Testament, “Don’t go around having sexual intercourse with other people who are the same sex as you.” I’ve searched the New Testament front to back and still can’t find a passage where Jesus denounces legislation legalizing gay marriage. I guess that the “marriage equality” crowd has got us on this one, and we need to fall into line with the rest of main-line liberal Protestantism, and a big chunk of American Evangelicalism.

Before we go painting #LoveWins on our LCMS churches in rainbow colors and ordaining transgender pastors, perhaps we should go back and take one last look at the things Jesus did say regarding marriage, men, and women. After all, just because the word “homosexual” wasn’t uttered by Jesus, doesn’t necessarily mean that he condones the lifestyle. If that were the proper method for interpreting the Scriptures, we could do away with the doctrine of the Trinity, as that word is also MIA from the pages of the Bible.

When asked by the Pharisees about divorce, Jesus appeals to the beginning of creation. He points out to them that, “God made them male and female,” a fact which was obvious to his audience. Jesus is saying here, however, that the estate of marriage was intended by God from the beginning to be comprised of a man and a woman. It is the natural created order. Or, if you are a Darwinian Naturalist, it is the natural law produced through “millions” of years of “evolution.”

In this passage, Jesus defines what marriage is, and his definition makes it clear that gender is essential to it. He doesn’t have to continue on and say, “But God did not make them male and male; neither did He make them female and female, nor male and female and female, or…” All other combinations are excluded by the example which Jesus gives. Societies can pass laws legalizing whatever type of relationships they wish, but no human law can negate the natural law God has built into his creation. God made them male and female and, for this reason a man leaves his father and his mother and becomes “one flesh” with his wife.

But what about polygamy in the Bible? What about adultery? Jesus can’t mean that marriage is supposed to be exclusively between one man and one woman, because the Bible is full of polygamy, adultery, and all other manner of what up-tight confessional types call “sin.” Yes, the Bible does record many instances of polygamy. I am well aware of Abraham and Solomon. The Bible also records many murders, thefts, and other felonies, but this does not mean that God is giving mankind Carte Blanche to commit these acts. The Bible records that Cain murdered Abel, yet we don’t call for the legalization of murder because it’s “in the Bible.” The Bible records David’s adultery with Bathsheba, yet we do not claim that it is sanctioning such behavior by us in the present day. The Bible isn’t even sanctioning such behavior by the people about whom it reports, contrary to what the liberal Bible scholars and social activists would have people believe. God specifically judges the actions of David, Solomon, and many others by commanding, “You shall not murder,” and “You shall not commit adultery.” Likewise, the Bible records at least one instance of homosexual behavior in the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 18 and 19 recounts the destruction of Sodom because of its wickedness:

Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know,” (Genesis 18:20-21).

What was the sin of Sodom? Homosexual lust.

But before they [the two angels] lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them,” (Genesis 19:4-5).

Lot’s plan to avert the assault of the townspeople on his angelic visitors was less than noble. He offers his daughters to the crowd as a substitute, perhaps rationalizing that heterosexual rape of his virgin daughters would be less wicked than the homosexual rape of guests under the protection of his roof. Yet, no one in their right mind would suggest that the Bible condones fathers handing their daughters over to be raped. Nevertheless it’s recorded in the Bible. 

Those passages about Sodom and Gomorrah are from the Old Testament though! They don’t apply, and that still doesn’t negate the fact that Jesus never said anything condemning homosexuality. Checkmate! Well, not so fast…

In the passage cited above Jesus quotes the Old Testament, specifically Genesis 2:24, by which he calls to mind the passage read at many a Lutheran wedding:

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:18-25).

Jesus Christ is Immanuel – God, with us, God incarnate. He is the image of the invisible God, by whom all things were created.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:15-20).

Jesus is the very God who created and sustains the world. He told the Jews this and, when they heard him assert that he was the great I AM who had told Moses his name through the burning bush, the God who spoke to Abraham, they were ready to stone him for blasphemy. The Jesus speaking to the Pharisees in Mark 10:7 is the same person speaking the words recorded in Genesis two. 

That also makes him the God who spoke the words recorded in Leviticus 20:

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).

While Jesus in the Gospels does not use the word homosexual, the Apostle Paul does, offering the negative argument concerning the practice. St. Paul explicitly states that men who practice homosexuality with not inherit the kingdom of God.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Did you also notice how St. Paul singled out homosexuality? Quite to the contrary, St. Paul records a list of sinful behaviors, including homosexuality, which does not leave out one person. It’s like a buffet of sinfulness – everyone can find something that they like. St. Paul continues, however, reminding the Corinthians that, despite having once been sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, etc., they have been redeemed by Christ.

St. Paul also takes Jesus’ thread from Mark 10:7 regarding the one-flesh union and explains it further, calling the Corinthians – and us today – to repent of our sins, flee from sexual immorality of all kinds, and glorify God in our bodies:

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food” – and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:12-20).

It is clear, even to someone who is not a Christian, that the male body was not designed (or did not “evolve,” if you want to appeal to the secular Darwinist) to mate with another male body; Likewise with two female bodies. The fact that people crave such relationships proves that something has gone terribly wrong with creation (Engelbrecht 2009). That thing is sin, and no human being since The Fall has been immune to it. In fact, we have all been utterly corrupted by sin from the time of our conception. That corruption may not manifest itself as a desire to fornicate with people of the same gender in some, but it does in many. And, those who do not struggle with homosexual desire most certainly struggle with something else. We are all in the same boat when it comes to sin, and our complete inability to overcome it.

The problem is that liberal Bible “scholars” and social activists don’t believe that Jesus is God. They don’t believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired, inerrant Word of God. They don’t believe that St. Paul is an Apostle. They believe in moral relativism because that gratifies their flesh. Nothing, short of God changing their hearts, will change their darkened minds.

As Christians we are called, as St. Paul called the Corinthians, to abhor the sin of homosexuality – and all sin – and to flee from it. We must also bear in mind that Christ shed his blood and died for all men – for the homosexual, the idolater, the adulterer, the thief, the hypocrite, the murderer, the liar – no matter in what particular ugliness their sin might manifest. A homosexual, like any other sinner, needs to hear God’s word of Law and Gospel applied to their life with the goal of repentance and faith (Engelbrecht 2009).

Works Cited

Engelbrecht, Rev. Edward A., ed. The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009.

Judge not...

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye,” (Matthew 7:1-5).

In the wake of the same-sex marriage ruling by the Supreme Court, Facebook was deluged with memes celebrating the victory. Two of the most common memes I encountered were 1) of Stephen Colbert wanting to read what Jesus said about homosexuality in the Bible, but not being able to because he never said anything about it, and 2) some clever picture of Jesus reminding Christians to, “Judge not…” Christians may have allowed the secular society to legally redefine marriage, but we should not allow the secular, unbelieving world to misuse God’s word as a weapon against his Church. After all, when Our Lord was tempted in the wilderness, and Satan attempted to use Scripture to trap Jesus, Jesus answered right back with Scripture. So, in response to the “Judge not…” meme, here is some Scripture which I hope will put the opening of Matthew chapter seven into some context.

At first glance, this opening passage of Matthew chapter seven looks like it is telling Christians never, under any circumstances, to judge anyone else, or those same standards of judgment will be applied to them. In a way that is true. Because this passage is used to bludgeon Christians into remaining silent in the face of sin, however, one must look a little deeper into the context to find out whether or not this is what Jesus was really saying. After all, this is the same Jesus who called the Pharisees vipers and turned over the money-changer’s tables in the temple. Jesus clearly teaches his disciples to judge. The issue is that we must judge properly, using God’s Word as the standard for our judgment, rather than our own personal morality or behavior. 

Generally speaking, people are only familiar with the, “Judge not, that you be not judged,” part of this passage. What people often fail to recognize is that Jesus, in the same paragraph, called his disciples to “take the log out of your own eye,” so that they could see clearly to “take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Jesus did not forbid his followers from judging sin. He called them to judge the sin of others (the specks) in the light of their own sin (the logs), only after proper self-examination and repentance.

The “Judge not…” passage comes at the climax of what theologians have come to call the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:27). Most people, even if they aren’t church-goers, are familiar with the Sermon on the Mount. It begins with the Beatitudes:

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you,” (Matthew 5:2-12).

Throughout the secular world, not to mention American Evangelicalism, the Beatitudes are often understood as a quid pro quo. If you are poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven is yours, so work really hard to be as poor in spirit as you can. If you do this, then you get that, or this thing will happen to you. Jesus, however, is not declaring here an ethical demand of his followers by laying out a law of behavior or attitude. The Beatitudes are not so much a mountain of law which one is to climb to be a better Christian, but rather it can be seen – particularly by your “old” man – as a mountain of law under which one is to be totally crushed.

Make no mistake, Jesus is certainly also assuring his disciples of God’s goodness, and the future blessings in store for them. The crushing weight of the law, however, must first bring us to see our sin and to repent of it. This repentance and forgiveness comes as the gracious gift of God through the Gospel. The Christian is simul justus et peccator – simultaneously justified and sinner. My new man hears in the Beatitudes assurance of God’s goodness and future blessing; my old man hears law and judgment. When we recognize our own spiritual poverty, when the Lord leads us to hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness, when He makes us pure in heart so that we seek to worship only the true God, then we are blessed, now and forever (Engelbrecht 2009).

Jesus goes on from here and continues with this theme. He tells his disciples that he did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them[1]. In other words, man is still responsible for keeping the law. He tells them that unless their righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven[2]. At this point, I imagine the disciples would have been shocked. Who could be more righteous than the Pharisees? The Pharisees were the very definition of righteous. If, in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, I must be more righteous than the Pharisees, I must be utterly lost. For whom is there any hope then? I may not be perfect, but surely I’m at least a little better than people who commit all kinds of terrible sins! With that bouncing around in their heads, Jesus goes on to talk about sin.

Anger, lust, divorce, you think you know what those things are? Feeling superior to the man imprisoned for murder? You’re a murderer to, Jesus says, because, “…everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment[3];” Feeling proud that you have never committed adultery like your scum-bag neighbor down the street? Think again. Jesus says, “…everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart[4].” Jesus continues on, truly defining sin as God sees it, building to the climax of this section where he says we should, contrary to our feelings, love our enemies. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust[5].” He concludes this section with these words: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect[6].” If there were left any doubt as to whether or not we are sinners, or whether or not we could keep the law and earn the kingdom of heaven, Jesus’ teachings here on sin should have put that doubt to bed. He has brought all of us to the same level – we are all poor, miserable sinners, condemned under the law.

In chapter six Jesus talks about good works and religious practice. He tells his disciples not to do good works as a show to earn praise from other men, but rather that good works should flow from them naturally[7]. He teaches them how to pray[8] and, not ostentatiously to be viewed and praised by others, but in secret, as an outgrowth of their faith[9]. And finally living outwardly as they have internal faith, he teaches them to entrust their daily lives to God’s care[10]. It is only after this foundation is laid that Jesus utters the phrase, “Judge not, that you be not judged.”

Far from forbidding his disciples to judge other people’s sinful acts, Jesus is telling his disciples to judge by the proper standard and not as hypocrites. Kretzmann writes that the word used by Jesus in Matthew 7:1, which we render as “judge,” in the Greek implies personal, unkind uncharitable, unauthorized, condemnatory judgment (Kretzmann 1921). Christians must practice self-examination, and use God’s standard, rather than their own to judge the words and deeds of others.

If you do not realize your own sins and faults, you cannot offer admonition to a fellow Christian. One who assumes the task of taking the speck out of his brother’s eye must do so with sincere love, deep humility, and the prayer “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors[11]” (Engelbrecht 2009).

Jesus judged plenty but, being God, he did it in the proper context. In fact, the entire Sermon on the Mount is a judgment of sin, and the practices of the Pharisees. This is what he calls us to do as well. Jesus says so in as many words in the Gospel of St. John:

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well[12]? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment,” (John 7:14-24).

What is right judgment? What is our standard for judgment? It is God’s Word. St. Paul writes to Timothy the following, regarding the power and usefulness of Holy Scripture:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

To whom is this standard applied? Everyone. St. Paul, writing to the Romans has this to say regarding God’s righteous judgment, and how all men, standing on their own, would fare:

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man – you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself – that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed (Romans 2:1-5).

The secular world will always react to the judgment of its sin with hostility – just as we Christians often do when a brother rebukes us. We cannot expect the pagan world to live as though they were Christians. Moral criticism is necessary and religious teaching cannot be discarded, but it would be the height of folly to unload one’s religious beliefs and experiences, tender sentiments, and moral convictions on anyone that comes along, no matter in what condition he might be (Kretzmann 1921). We can, however, use God’s law to make men aware of their sin in all humbleness, knowing all the while that we are sinful human beings as well. We may not be guilty of some of the specific acts described by St. Paul in his build up to Romans chapter two, but we have all exchanged God’s truth for human foolishness (Engelbrecht 2009). When we see sin, whether it is the sin of another or our own, we should respond in penitent faith, confessing our sin, knowing that God is faithful and just, and that he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.

Works Cited

Engelbrecht, Rev. Edward A., ed. The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009.

Kretzmann, Paul E. Popular Commentary of the Bible: New Testament. Vol. 1. 2 vols. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1921.

End Notes

[1] Matthew 5:17 

[2] Matthew 5:20 

[3] Matthew 5:22 

[4] Matthew 5:28 

[5] Matthew 5:45 

[6] Matthew 5:48 

[7] Matthew 6:1-4 

[8] Matthew 6:5-15 

[9] Matthew 6:16-24 

[10] Matthew 6:25-34 

[11] Matthew 6:12 

[12] Jesus is here referring to his healing of an invalid at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-17).

The Destruction of Marriage

Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” “What did Moses command you?” he replied. They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery” (Mark 10:1-10).

Christian advocates for the protection of marriage (marriage between a man and a woman – what the media has dubbed “traditional” marriage) have said for years that the true purpose of the fight for gay marriage was the destruction of the institution of marriage itself. People holding this opinion were, and continue to be, derided as sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, and reactionary. Over the last several years, however, in the wake of unprecedented success in the battle to legalize gay marriage, leaders and militant activists associated with the movement have begun to speak more candidly regarding the marriage fight. It turns out, the sexist, misogynistic, reactionary homophobes on the lunatic right fringe (read “Christians”) may have been right all along, regarding the motives of those fighting for “marriage equality”.

Gay rights activists (or should it be “marriage equality activists”) are fond of saying that they aren’t the ones who are destroying the institution of marriage, but rather straight people are. They cite the 50% divorce rate statistic which is thrown about with reckless abandon by experts. They point to prostitution, rampant infidelity among married couples, spousal abuse, and “loveless” marriages.

While the average supporter of the marriage equality movement may believe they are fighting for the civil rights of homosexuals to marry, those who organize and shape the direction of this movement have been exposing their true agenda as of late. This agenda, surprisingly enough, is the disillusion of marriage as an institution. These radical leftists view marriage as a misogynistic institution developed to oppress women and to facilitate the transfer of property from one male to another. Carina Kolodny, writing for the Huffington Post in February 2014 wrote proudly of the duplicity, and shamed advocates of traditional marriage as the real liars:

I definitely never lied. I am much smarter than that. I didn't perpetuate a fallacy; I just continually failed to correct it. When your chest inflated and your eyes grew wider and you declared that "gay marriage is a threat to traditional marriage," I let somebody else tell you that you were wrong. And when that somebody else -- exhausted from having to defend their very personhood, tired from battling for their constitutional right to equality, drained from being persecuted by small men inflating their arrogant chests -- said to you, "No, marriage equality will not change traditional marriage," I didn't have the heart to correct them. For years and years I've strategically bit my tongue (Kolodny).

She goes on to make the case that, because of same-sex marriage, everyone will be forced to re-imagine the tenets of traditional marriage. This will lead to freedom for women, who are oppressed by men through marriage:

As questions continually arise, heterosexual couples will take notice – and be forced to address how much “traditional marriage” is built on gender roles and perpetuates a nauseating inequality that has no place in 2014…I believe that marriage equality will stomp out the remaining misogyny that you call “tradition.” That’s a win, not just for the LGBTQ community but for heterosexual women and the heterosexual men who see them as equals (Kolodny).

I must say, they do have a point. Certainly not about the tired radical feminist rhetoric that has been vomited by those on the left since the beginning of the sexual revolution. I suppose, however, it is not surprising that Ms. Kolodny wouldn’t take us Christians at our word when we support marriage as instituted by God, and deny that it is our intention to use marriage to enslave womyn. I guess if they’re willing to lie about what they believe, they probably figure we are as well.

They are right that the proponents of “traditional marriage” are responsible for the erosion of marriage as an institution. We should take just as much blame for what has happened to the institution of marriage as the leftist social activists, because we are just as human as they are. While Christians are certainly correct to worry about the erosion of marriage as a social institution, the worrying should be applied retroactively by a period of at least 45 years. And, considering that prostitution has been dubbed the world’s oldest profession, perhaps we should dial that back even a little further.

1969, however, is when California became the first state to enact no-fault divorce. It was at this point, at the height of the sexual revolution, it seems to me, that the Christian church began to seriously flirt with the idea of conforming more closely to the secular world’s view of marriage and sexuality, so as to be more tolerant and loving. Certainly, the other eroding factors mentioned above existed long before liberal wack-a-doo legislators on the left-coast decided that it was ok to dissolve a marriage for any reason, without having to prove wrong-doing on the part of the spouse. I seem to recall a story about an English king and a parade of headless ex-wives. The difference between good ol’ Henry VIII and the 40-year sonic dive into nationwide same-sex marriage in which our society is currently involved, is really one of acceptance of attitude.

Christian society, relying on God’s Law as a curb, refused to accept those things such as infidelity and divorce, even though sinful human beings engaged in those behaviors. What I’m getting at is the difference between living and sinning, and “living in sin”. Or, to put it in the words of St. Paul, it is the difference between walking according to the flesh, and walking according to the spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live (Romans 8: 5-14).

People get all hacked-off when Christians call homosexual behavior sin. Even Christians feel uncomfortable affirming this biblical teaching. This is because, for at least a generation, it has been taught as undeniable truth that sexual orientation is determined by genitics and homosexuals simply "are what they are". Science is even confident, the media tells us, that they have identified a strong genetic component to homosexuality[1]. This argument is somehow supposed to shame the Christian into silence by painting him as a bigot and a bully for picking on a group of people who can't help what they are.

Well, science also says that alcoholism is genetically determined, and alcoholics also can't help what they are[2]. Yet, society recognizes that alcoholism is unnatural and destructive, and supports groups with tax money and tax breaks which council them not to engage in such behavior. Is this cruel and bigoted? Hardly. What the secular world cannot acknowledge is that all of humanity is predisposed toward sinful behaviors. This is because we are all sinners, with a broken and corrupt nature. It doesn't matter in what form your sin manifests - gluttony, greed, sexual immorality, lying, covetousness etc - take your pick. All sin condemns and separates us from God.

The answer to sin is not acceptance, but repentance. If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But, if we confess our sin God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness[3]. There is forgiveness for the world in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Law and Gospel faithfully proclaimed, the waters of Holy Baptism, and the body and blood of Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine of the supper, coupled with God’s promises of redemption, create and sustain faith in us. They kill our corrupt sinful nature – our Old Adam – and make of us a new creation by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All of the sinful sexual perversion (along with the dissolution of marriage) that we deal with today was dealt with in ancient times as well; It isn’t as though human beings have changed since the Fall. Israelite husbands were divorcing their wives during the leadership of Moses long before Henry VIII got axe-happy. Jesus tells us, however, that this wasn’t meant to be. He teaches that divorce was only given to the people by Moses because of their stubbornness[4]. To put it another way, they allowed the dissolution of marriage because of sin – their sin. Because our nature is corrupt and sinful, we human beings sin. That doesn’t mean, however, we should accept it and live according to it.

…Jesus allows divorce for one reason only – “immorality,” or illicit sexual intercourse. His thought is plainly that a person dissolves his marriage by creating a sexual union with someone other than the marriage partner…the decree of divorce simply reflects that the marriage has already been broken (Packer and Tenney).

Just because people are sinful doesn’t mean society in general, but the Christian church in particular, should accept and celebrate sinful behavior. That isn’t being inclusive or loving. To hold that attitude is to reject Christ and embrace the world. It is truly loving to tell your neighbor the good news that, while they were dead in trespass and sin, God sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross in payment for that sin – whatever particular perversion they may struggle with (or, as is more often the case, be fond of) – and to call them to repent and to believe that this is most certainly true. All of the things St. Paul describes as works of the flesh that we commit are the sins for which Christ died as the atoning sacrifice. And, though Christians will inevitably fall into sin, that does not mean they should give in and gratify the desires of their sinful nature and flesh on purpose – that would be to make sin their way of life. In short, simply because some people will divorce, commit acts of infidelity, or are same-sex attracted does not mean that we should accept those things as a normal, healthy part of human behavior. Having a standard and failing to live up to it is quite a different thing than living as if there was no standard at all.

So, ultimately, the issue regarding the deterioration of marriage and sexuality has nothing to do with marriage equality being a civil right or whether or not “being gay” equates to a separate gender and needs to be a federally-protected group. It is even irrelevant to the discussion whether or not homosexuality is genetic, because all mankind is already predisposed toward evil and away from God. It’s not same-sex marriage that is destroying marriage; it isn’t divorce, or infidelity that is destroying marriage. The sinfulness of mankind is at the root of the deterioration of marriage. All of these things – homosexuality, adultery, divorce etc – are different manifestations of sin. The issue is, as always, Christ and him crucified. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The Father gave the Son to ransom mankind from sin – all sin. Repent, and believe the Gospel. Marriage will then take care of itself.

Works Cited

Davis, Jeanie Lerche. "Alcohol Addiction, High Anxiety Linked to Same Gene." 26 05 2004. WebMD. 12 06 2014. <http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20040526/researchers-identify-alcoholism-gene>.

Knapton, Sarah. "Being homosexual is only partly due to gay gene, research finds." 13 02 2014. The Telegraph. 12 06 2014. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10637532/Being-homosexual-is-only-partly-due-to-gay-gene-research-finds.html>.

Kolodny, Carina. "Marriage Equality Is Destroying 'Traditional Marriage,' and Why That's a Good Thing (An Open Letter)." 20 02 2014. The Huffington Post. 12 06 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carina-kolodny/marriage-equality-is-dest_b_4823812.html?view=print&comm_ref=false>.

Packer, J. I. and M. C. Tenney, Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1980.

End Notes

[1] A study found that, while gay men shared similar genetic make-up, it only accounted for 40 per cent of the chance of a man being homosexual. But scientists say it could still be possible to develop a test to find out if a baby was more likely to be gay (Knapton).

[2] Both the CREB gene and the central amygdala have been linked with withdrawal and anxiety. When there is less CREB in the central amygdala, rats show increased anxiety-like behaviors and preference for alcohol. Pandey's newest study puts it all together: It is "the first direct evidence that a deficiency in the CREB gene is associated with anxiety and alcohol-drinking behavior," Pandey writes (Davis).

[3] 1 John 1: 8-10

[4] Matthew 19:1-12; Mark 10:1-10

Listen to lesbian activist Masha Gessen talk about the "lie of gay marriage" at the Sidney Writer's Festival.