On Homosexual Marriage

Homosexual Marriage is now legal in Canada. I think this is a very unfortunate thing. I am strongly against homosexual marriage for just one reason, and that reason isn't that homosexuality is wrong. Yes, I do believe that homosexuality is wrong, but that isn't the reason I think that a homosexual union should never be called a marriage. At the bottom I've typed up some [there are lots more] Bible verses which refer to sexual immorality. Sexual immorality, also known as Fornication, is a category which includes various sexual sins, including homosexuality. The majority of these verses are directed to Believers. It would be nice if everyone was a believer, but not all are, and that is a reality of this world. There will always be sin, there will always be sexual sin [fornication], and most likely there will always be homosexuality so long as this world exists.

The reason I feel so strongly against Homosexual marriage is that Marriage isn't a human creation. God created marriage, so therefore, we, as humans, have no right to alter it. It is a covenant, a set of vows before God. The structure and design was created by God and we have no right to change that. It says quite plainly in Genesis, "And for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave [bond] to his wife." This was the inception of marriage. "What God has put together, let no man put apart."

On the topic of homosexual sin, I feel the Bible is completely transparent, as you'll see below. My personal view is that homosexuality is a sin, but that doesn't mean the person is ruined for life. There is always forgiveness. It is no different from any other sin, and equally forgivable. All that is required is for repentance. With true repentance comes a desire not to fall back into familiar sin. Unfortunately, with the stance the secular society is taking towards homosexuality, many people who have fallen into sinful habits are being encouraged to remain in them under the guise of freedom, even by those not similarly stricken. I cannot see how there is freedom within sin, only bondage. All of us are Human. All of us have the same nature. I have never met anyone who has achieved happiness or satisfaction from sin, be it gambling, gluttony, or adultery. I've never met a cheater who obtained happiness from it, have you? Do you know anyone who is mortally obese from gluttony who is happy the way they are? The happiest people I've ever met have always been spiritual, holy people. These people do their best to make their words, "a honey to the soul and bones" of those around them. They are pleasurable to be in the company of. I do not hate people who are bound in lives of sin, and neither is it my place to judge them. That right is reserved for someone else, and it isn't a task I envy.

Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander."

Mark 7:20-23 "He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'"

Acts 15:20 "Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood."

Acts 15:28-29 "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things."

These seem to be basic requirements.

Acts 21:25 "As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."

Romans 13:!3 "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy."

"As in the daytime" If there are things that you are ashamed of, and want hidden away in the dark, they are likely sinful. People aren't ashamed of the good things they do. Everyone should be able to recognize immediately if something is evil.

1 Corinthians 5:9-11 "I have written to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people----- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat."

"Not at all meaning the people of this world" Christians are free to associate with the "worst scum" of mankind. It's quite encouraged. Christ himself spent most of his time with prostitutes and tax collectors. What Paul is warning against is spending time with "anyone who calls himself a brother but..." any Christian who is behaving like a pagan. Any Christian who is using forgiveness as a get out of jail card so that s/he can commit any crime s/he feels like. It is these people who are two-faced that we should not associate with, for numerous reasons. One is that they have obviously already heard the message, and time would be better spent trying to reach people who have never even heard the name, "Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

In this particular verse, Paul states "sexually immoral" as a category and then specifies specifically 3 types of sexual sin.

1 Corinthians 6:13 ""Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"---but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body."

(This is just my interpretation) The Human body enjoys wordly pleasures, "food for the stomach," but when one starts to live completely for worldly pleasures, "stomach for food," one has gone away from spirituality and has engaged in worldly desires. This verse reiterates that the Body is given over to God.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body."

A very well known (and often misquoted) verse which states our body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. This is a key principle when it comes to maintaining health, avoiding chemicals, poisons, drugs, or sexual abuse of ourselves.

1 Corinthians 7:2-4 "But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife."

Take note: MAN should have a wife, and WOMAN should have a husband. The Bible is not known for cutting words short when they're necessary. If it was allowable for a Man to have a Husband, and/or a Woman to have a Wife, those possiblities would also be mentioned. The gender is very plain here.

1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

It's true that homosexuality has been around for a loooong time. It was fairly well known in most ancient civilizations. Then again, so was prostitution, theft, lying, and murder. Just because it occured way back in the past doesn't justify it now any more than theft and murder are justified for existing for so long. In fact, Cain killed his brother Abel, the earliest record of murder, far before any record of homosexuality, so fratricide should be legal, right? Or maybe not.

Galations 5:19-21 "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Colossians 3:5-6 "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to you earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming."

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;"

Homosexuality is a natural thing in that humans have been tempted by it for thousands of years. I suppose it's part of human nature to fail, and to give into temptation. None of that is justification to continue living in sin after it's been identified.

Hebrews 12:15-16 "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son."

In reading the context of this verse, I interpret it to be a command for Christians to be examples through our deeds. The part about the bitter root is to see that no branch of the Christian faith grows out and becomes twisted or perverted, causing many to think they are Christian when really they are not. It is our duty to see that people understand the Truth, and that no one, for any single wordly pleasure, gives up their right to a place in the kingdom of God.

Jude 4 "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."

A straight forward warning against using the forgiveness of Christ as a get-out-of-jail-free card to commit sin.

Jude 7 "In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire."

Sodom and Gomorrah were so corrupt with sexual sin that the surrounding towns were corrupted as well. I'm sure many people are familiar with a sexual perversion that is named after the town of Sodom. This verse clearly indicated that sexual sin isn't just an issue for individuals, but for towns, cities, and countries as well. Not to mention it stands as an example to what will happen to those that continue to live in sin.

Revelation 21:8 "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars---their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death"

Sounds terrible.

Revelation 22:12-15 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood."

Those that live in sin will be barred from heaven, left begging at the gate. I believe that this is one of the verses that the phrase, "pearly gates" stems from, as well as those jokes involved Peter standing at the "Pearly Gates" judging who gets to go in.