Romans 1:26-28,32 (NKJV) For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; …….who, knowing the righteous judgement of God, that those who practise such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practise them.
The Bible starts with a marriage between a man and a woman and ends with the church being the bride of Christ. Therefore, the God ordained marriage is always between a man and a woman. Homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of God and punishable by death in the Old Testament. However, the sin nature in man and the influence of the devil causes man to continue to practise what is unnatural in the sight of God and man.
The debased mind is one that has gone below the kind of life that God intends for mankind. One reason why the law was introduced in the Old Testament was to teach mankind what sin is. A debased mind could be the result of disappointment, disillusionment, anger, rejection, vengeance, and all kinds of lies placed there by the devil. It could be anger and outright rebellion towards God, or anger towards our parents or spouse. In any case, a root problem in the lives of these people has opened the door to the devil to work in their lives. The natural creation testifies of God’s existence, so these people may have knowledge of Him, but they wilfully disregard God, His plan for them and the Word, and God must give them up because He respects the will of man.
Shameful lust is mentioned here because it goes beyond the lust of the eyes and the flesh when one is tempted by the opposite sex, but is an unnatural appetite where all-natural instinct is left behind. It is when people have completely abandoned God and gone into something beyond the natural—it is absolute darkness.
Man is made to be the head of the household, the provider and protector of the family, and to take on spiritual leadership, but when a man reduces himself to become a woman, the leadership in the family is lost. When a gay couple adopts children and forms a family, the sons will not have a clear role model of a father, nor the daughters have a clear role model of a mother. When the family unit, which is the most basic nucleus of society, breaks down, the society suffers.
Christians need to call homosexuality a sin even when the society is forcing us to conform to their standard, and hold onto to the standard that God has put in place as salt and light of the world.
Sermon Series: Natural or Unnatural (Part 2- Homosexuality)
罪就是罪
罗马书1:26-28,32 因此，神让他们放纵邪恶的情欲。因为连他们的女人也把自然的用途换成了违背自然的用途。男人们也是这样，撇下女人自然的用处，在彼此的情欲中燃烧。男人们和男人们犯了可耻的事，在自己身上受了他们错误应得的惩罚。他们既不愿意认识神，神就任凭他们存卑鄙的心，行不合宜的事。……他们既知道神公义的判断、行这样事的人是当死的、就不但自己行、而且喜欢别人行。
圣经以一个男人和一个女人的婚姻开始，以教会成为基督的新娘结束。因此，上帝指定的婚姻总是在一男一女之间。在上帝眼中，同性恋是可憎的，在旧约中，同性恋者将被处以死刑。然而，因着人的罪性和魔鬼的影响，使人继续行神和人眼中看为非自然的事。
贬损了的心智是指那种堕落到上帝为人类所设计的那种生命以下的心智。旧约中纳入律法的其中一个原因是要教导人类什么是罪。一个贬损了的心智可能是失望、幻灭、愤怒、拒绝、复仇和魔鬼放置在那里的各种谎言的结果。它可能是对上帝的愤怒和彻底的反叛，或者是对父母或配偶的愤怒。无论如何，这些人生命中的某个根本问题为魔鬼敞开了门户，让魔鬼得以染指其生命。自然的创造证明了上帝的存在，所以这些人可能知道上帝，但他们故意无视上帝，无视祂对他们的计划，无视圣经，上帝必须放弃他们，因为祂尊重人的意愿。
此处提到的“可耻的”情欲，因为这超越了当受到异性挑逗时所生发的眼目和肉体的情欲，而是一种将所有自然本能抛诸脑后的不自然的欲望。当人完全离弃神，进入超乎自然之外的境界时，就是绝对的黑暗。
男人生来是一家之主，家庭的供养者和保护者，并担当属灵的带领，但当一个男人将自己贬低为一个女人时，他就失去了在家中的领导地位。当一对同性恋夫妇收养孩子并组成家庭时，儿子不会有一个明确的父亲榜样，女儿也不会有一个明确的母亲榜样。当作为社会最基本核心的家庭单位破裂时，社会就会遭殃。
基督徒需要称同性恋为罪，即使社会强迫我们遵守他们的标准，并且持守上帝所设立为世界作盐作光的标准。
讲章系列:自然或非自然(第二部分 同性恋)
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