My friend Jim Decke and I recently did a sermon at Crossroads about homosexuality. Jim shared his testimony of discovering he was gay at a very young age and the ups and downs of trying to get rid of this orientation. Jim eventually gave up and just did as his sexual desires pleased, until eventually deciding to follow God in a path of singleness and celibacy. Jim has a powerful and remarkable quote at the beginning of our talk:
Much of my time in this sermon is spent showing that the Bible indeed does say homosexual sex is a sin, regardless of the context it is in. There are several ways to view the Bible, which I spell out in my part of the sermon but also have blogged about previously here. I also make sure to point out the Bible never says that homosexual orientation or same sex attraction is a sin, only the behavior, something I’ve also blogged about previously.
If you want an easy to understand explanation of what the Bible says about homosexuality in its original languages (Greek and Hebrew), as well as its original context, I highly recommend What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality by Kevin DeYoung, which is the source I used for almost all of the biblical content of my portion of the sermon. Pastor Kevin has also recently posted a very helpful blog about the debate (in response to Jen Hatmaker and Nicholas Wolterstorff recently saying homosexual sex within marriage is okay biblically), which you can read here.
I say this at the beginning of the sermon, but the point here is not to debate a point or to try to harp on homosexuals, it is that this has become a major biblical issue in today’s society and it’s important we are honest and clear about what the Bible says, and what people are saying the Bible says that it doesn’t actually say. The Bible is the source of authoritative truth for our faith so it’s not something to be taken lightly. In the process, we want to help people who struggle with homosexuality and same sex attraction in real, authentic, loving and compassion ways.
Please email Jim Decke if you struggle with homosexuality and want some support. Also know he is hosting a support small group for people who are homosexual / have same sex attraction and are interesting in committing to abstaining from homosexual romantic relationships.
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He is:
Author of Beyond the Battle: A man's guide to his identity in Christ in an oversexualized world
Host of the The Flip Side Podcast
Join an online men's small group led by Noah and team at BeyondTheBattle.net
It feels incredibly insensitive to post this after an election in which many LGBT individuals feel targetted and scared that their lived and families are at risk, due largely to messages like this. But then, conversion therapy will likely receive federal funding under this administration,so you may as well line up and get ready to cash in.
Hi T, I hear you, though admittedly it’s very difficult to hear you when you say things like, “so you may as well line up and get ready to cash in.” You are unfairly assuming a lot about me. Jim is an LGBT individual and he’s sharing his story and we are providing a strong support system for those who identify as LGBT and also want to follow the Bible’s commands on sexual relationships. There are many people, heterosexual and homosexual, who have no interest in following the Bible’s commands on sexual relationships. That’s fine, I’m not out to get them. But there are many who do and who need a support system. Jim and I are both against conversion therapy, which we talk about in the sermon at length.
I’ve read a couple of other books by DeYoung, and I see here is another one I will need to pick up.