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• Many people have different definitions of love.
  • Teen love was so shallow… here today gone tomorrow.
  • Marriage & “love languages.” Conflict can occur based upon differing perspectives. You may think you’re expressing love but it’s not always received as such. Couples need to communicate to have similar definitions.
• Love is determined by the designer of love. The Bible says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). So, when our definition of love is out of alignment with God’s definition, then we will always fall short of joy and life.
• Modern secular creed says, “Love is love.”
  • But defining a word by itself is circular. Something cannot be self-defining unless it is unquestionable and self-existent. Yet, only God is unquestionable, eternal, and self-existing. Love is dependent and merely descriptive of the divine. When love becomes foremost as a revered god, then relationships become suffocating. Human beings are not made to carry the weight of being worshiped.

• The belief “love is love” instead of “God is love” is like a blind person trying to understand water by standing in a puddle rather than swimming in the ocean.

The belief “love is love” instead of “God is love” is like a blind person trying to understand water by standing in a puddle rather than swimming in the ocean.

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Confronting Cultural Creeds with Grace & Truth – based on Rebecca McLauglin “The Secular Creed,” which is: Black Lives Matter / Love Is Love / Gay Rights Are Civil Rights / Women’s Rights Are Human Rights / Transgender Women Are Women.[1]

Christians can be tempted to approach these topics with a sledgehammer. Yet, Scripture is the source for the concepts of equality, love, and diversity. Therefore, we don’t have to crush the claims with a sledgehammer but can approach secular creeds with a sharpie to correct the misguided emphasis.

Today’s topic confronts the mantra “love is love” to give greater meaning to love found in the truth that “God is love.”

EXAMINE       Confronting Creeds: God Is Love (1 John 4-5)

• 1 John Written by apostle John,
• Many years after writing his Gospel, he would be an older pastor in Ephesus, evidenced by other 2^nd C. testimony (Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Clement of Rome).^[2] These three brief letters were likely written in short amount of time of each to address doctrinal errors about Jesus’ divinity and relational conflicts, which is indicative of John’s emphasis on loving others. Specifically, John writes a repeated phrase, “by this we know…” (1Jn 2:3; 2:5; 3:19; 3:24; 4:13; 5:2; 5:13, 18-20) to combat superficial faith and provide evidence of what it truly means to follow Jesus. He also warns against false teachers.
• Likewise, today we need faithful pastors who are willing to persevere over many years of pastoral ministry to stand for truth, speak God’s word and the gospel, and to call the church to unity. Further, we need pastors and people who aren’t afraid of wolves in sheep clothing and are able to protect the flock (Ac 20:28-30; Ez 33:1-7; 34:7-16; 1 Pt 5:1-9; etc.).

^4:8  God is love.

^5:1  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
^5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
^5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
^5:4  For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
^5:5  Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Love is defined by our faith in God not our feelings for others.

• We know and understand love because God first loved us.
  • God made us in His image. He loves us!
    • Ps 8 “O Lord’ how majestic is your name in all the earth… What is man that you are mindful of him?”
    • Ps 139 The Lord knows us intimately more than numbering the hairs on our head, more than naming each star in galaxy, and more than supervising the grains of sand.
  • God made Adam & Eve with first marriage as the design. God wanted us to enjoy a deep intimacy of two contrasting, yet complementary beings unite for pleasure, procreation, and ultimately, as a portrait of God’s marriage to His church. Marriage of husband and wife is a signpost to the relationship between Christ and His bride.

• The philosophy of love is love is incomplete.
  • It’s shortsighted. Defining love by itself is shortsighted because, at some point, everyone has limits and boundaries to this definition – or, if not, shouldn’t there be?

• Prostitution celebrated?
  • Inbreeding rationalized?
  • Pedophilia justified (NAMBLA)?
  • Bestiality acceptable?

• It’s short-lived and fleeting by making love an idol.
  • Even Christians can get caught up in misunderstanding God’s will bc their feelings and desires supersede God. They lust for fairy-tale romance, air-brushed images, or simulated pleasure experiences with pornography. They foolishly date and marry unbelievers. They carelessly have premarital sex. They divorce for non-moral/biblical reasons. In this respect, Christians and non-believers are alike, in that we all struggle with attractions that if followed, would lead us into sexual sin. Sexual temptation is always short-lived and unsatisfying bc it is a false god.
  • Jackie Hill Perry in her book Gay Girl, Good God recounts her testimony: “To leave [my girlfriend and] our love, made no sense apart from the divine doing of God. She was both my woman and my idol. An unqualified god without an ounce of deity. She was the eye Jesus said to gouge out and the right hand He commanded to cut off (Matthew 5:29-30). Though it was painful as the extreme act of removing a part of the body, it was better for me to lose [my girlfriend] than to lose my soul.”[3]

Many today are attempting to reconcile homosexuality with Christianity. Certainly, there are voices that attempt to reinterpret Scripture from over 2K (NT) to 10K (OT) years of theological history, as if a select few from the modern Western world has discovered a new truth. The reality is that our generation is not the first to be confronted with the moral values and sexual ethics of Scripture; where many have sadly chosen their own path apart from God.

Genesis 18 Abraham intercedes for Sodom “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city? (v.23-24) Suppose 45… Suppose 40…Suppose 20…Suppose 10?

An entire city is destroyed for ongoing homosexual practice (Note: the sin of Sodom & Gomorrah is mentioned numerous times. See Isaiah 1:9-10, 3:9, 13:19; Jeremiah 23:14, 39:18, 50:40; Lamentations 4:6; Ezekiel 16:46-56; Amos 4:11; Zephaniah 2:9; Matthew 10:15, 11:23-24; Luke 10:12, 17:29; Romans 9:29; 2Peter 2:6; Jude 7; Revelation 11:8).

Genesis 19:4-11 Men of Sodom surround Lot’s house to have sexual relations with Lot’s male visitors.

• Revisionists scholars have proposed that Sodom’s sin was gang rape (if so then God is unjust in his judgment since the action never actually occurred).
• Another proposition is that Sodom’s sin was inhospitality (To know them not sexually but cordially.) Yet, context implies more—see 18:32 that God could not find 10 righteous people in the entire city, and the fact that if Lot was responsible for the sin of inhospitality, then why was his life spared while the others judged? And why was the entire city destroyed for Lot’s sin in which they had no part?

Leviticus 18:22/20:13 “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination….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.”

Romans 1:26-27 “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

1Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral (πόρνος), nor idolaters, not adulterers, nor effeminate men, (μαλακός) nor those who practice homosexuality (ἀρσενοκοίτης), nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

1Timothy 1:9-10 “understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine”

Jude 1:7 “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”

Further, to say that Jesus never judges/condemns homosexuality is a weak argument at best. Jesus implicitly condemns homosexuality in his affirmation of the Genesis creation design (Mt 19:4-6; Mk 10:6-8). Besides, again, Jesus doesn’t explicitly condemn pedophilia, rape, or a number of other issues, yet we know from the principles of His teaching and the totality of Scripture that sin is not to be reconfigured but repented from.

At this point, there may be some present in this room or hearing this recording at a future time, who cry out, “Why are these feelings natural to me?” Or, “Why did God give me these desires if He did not want me to act on them?” OR, “Why does the Church even care or have to address these issues? Why not, don’t ask don’t tell?”

A response

• We must whisper where God is silent but shout where God has spoken. And God has thundered and roared when it comes to sexual sin. 1 of 7 churches in Revelation tolerated sexual promiscuity. Stated clearly, any church that compromises on sexual sin is in conflict not compatibility with Jesus.
  
• The Bible would not necessarily contradict someone believing that homosexuality is an internal preference or if science found a “gay-gene.” All of us have an inherited sin nature, and God has still declared homosexuality as sin and along with the reality that our hearts are not to be trusted because they are foolish, desperately wicked, evil, suppressing truth and innately opposed to God (Proverbs 14:12; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19; Romans 1:19, 3:23, 5:19).

Dr. Sam Williams says of nature vs. nurture

“there may be some biological contributions in some persons would not be surprising and does seem consistent with the research. The recognition that biology may play a role need not be resisted by Christians since God has created us as embodied souls, psychosomatic beings, and all things, including our bodies and brains and genes, have been infected by sin. In addition, that something such as the body or the brain is influential, or even formative, does not mean it is morally or spiritually determinative.  It seems reasonable to accept, and clearly consistent with Scripture, that bodies and brains and genes along with parents and peers and cultures all play influential or formative roles in our lives. But that doesn’t mean they are determinative.”

• Embrace God’s love before you expand love to others. 1John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.” Therefore, whether you are straight or gay, we must understand love is based on God’s definition not our feelings or preferences.

We must whisper where God is silent but shout where God has spoken. And God has thundered and roared when it comes to sexual sin. Any Christian or church that compromises on sexual sin is in conflict, not compatibility, with Jesus.

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Love for God requires vertical orientation to inform horizontal actions.

^5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
^5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
^5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
^5:4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
^5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

John’s letters make it clear that we cannot profess Jesus as Lord with our lips when our life practices something different. Our love for God is to result in ongoing obedience. God’s commands are not burdensome because we know His boundary lines are blessings (Ps 16:6). God’s commands of yes/no always have our ultimate good in mind. And when we are disobedient, sin has a profound effect. The harsh reality for our life is that even though, by faith in God’s grace, Jesus removes the eternal punishment, earthly consequences can remain.

Some blunt facts are that LGBTQ+ lifestyles are more at risk for[4]   

• Lessened physical health issues such as eating disorders, ignoring health treatments, and other risk categories that lead to heart disease, and cancer.
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Substance abuse
• Increased mental health issues such as attention deficit, depression, and suicidality.  

Yet, the difference that the gospel of Jesus makes is what Paul describes as “such were some of you but you have been washed, you are sanctified, you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God… in Christ you are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.” (1 Cor 6:11; 2 Cor 5:17)

And according to 1 John 5:4-5 a Christian is an overcomer (νικάω; conquering champion). Generally, the word has either a legal or military usage.

• Legal: Imagine being on trial for a full life sentence in jail, or even death penalty. And you know you have committed a crime but never imagined the punishment to be so severe. And the opposing attorneys are bribing eyewitnesses and stacking evidence that you know you are doomed. Yet, right before the jury and judge announces a guilty verdict with your punishment, an astute advocate comes to your defense to invalidate the eyewitnesses and refute the evidence. Once your advocate finishes his defense, you are set free. From that day forward you would forever be known to be a νικάω; an overcomer.

• Military: Imagine being outmatched by someone 2-3x your size (like Steve Urkel fighting Mr. T / or Kevin Hart fighting Dwayne The Rock Johnson), or being outnumbered by an army with advanced technology and ample soldiers to your inferior weapons and meager allies. Top-cats never expect to lose to an under-dog because they overlook the sheer determination of the unsophisticated.
  When it comes to Jesus, He had no form or majesty that should attract, yet He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities; and He has proclaimed liberty to the captives – we are overcomers, νικάω.

• Disobedience to God may have short-term gratification but long-term regret. Following Jesus will never disappoint.

APPLY/THINK

So, what should a person do if they have same-sex attraction/orientation?

1. Look to the Savior. No one goes to hell for merely being a homosexual, just like no one goes to heaven for merely being a heterosexual. The core issue of salvation is always about Jesus Christ. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9). We are condemned by God and separated from Jesus and heaven based on rejection of Jesus as Lord. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily, and follow me.” (Lk 9:23) Following Jesus means surrendering your plans for life for God’s purpose, and that includes every area of life, even one’s sexuality.
   
   Sex is not supreme. God is ultimate reality, and until our satisfaction is in Jesus then everything else will succumb to deceptive ideas and disordered desires.[5]

• Look at singleness not as a hardship but as a means to your holiness; for without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14). For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control their own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like unbelievers… For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you.” (1 Thess 4:3-8) So, whether your singleness is for a season or a lifetime, it is a gift and glory to God (1Cor 7:32-35).
  *If marriage reflects Christ’s relationship with the church on earth, singleness reproduces Christ’s relationship with the church in heaven. Singleness is a way of declaring to a world infatuated with romantic intimacy that sex is not ultimate, and that in Christ we experience what/who is.[6]

If marriage reflects Christ’s relationship w/ the church on earth, singleness reproduces Christ’s relationship w/ the church in heaven. Singleness is a way of declaring to a world infatuated w/ romantic intimacy that sex is not ultimate, and that in Christ we experience what is.

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What should the church do if/when they interact with same-sex attracted/oriented individuals?

• Avoid culture. But hiding from immorality outside doesn’t erase the depravity inside.
• Accommodate culture. But obedience to God isn’t negotiable.
• Attack culture. But then church becomes known for what it’s against and not what it’s for in God’s design in creation or deliverance at the cross. Besides, this approach becomes prideful and arrogant, forgetting their own need for mercy and grace.
• Affect culture. This approach seeks to be salt as flavor and preservation in a decaying world; it seeks to be light helping others to see and experience hope amid bleak darkness. Our culture is not the enemy, it’s a mission field.

*You may not agree with all I have shared today but I ask for you to discern one take-away; one application that will aid your walk toward Jesus, not away from Him.

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[1] Rebecca McLaughlin “The Secular Creed: Engaging 5 Contemporary Claims.” You can also access a free e-book link: https://media.thegospelcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/05104344/the-secular-creed-oct21-3.pdf

^[2] Ray Van Neste, “1 John,” in Hebrews–Revelation, ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, vol. XII, ESV Expository Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 414.

[3] Jackie Hill Perry, Gay Girl, Good God, p. 108.

[4] See: https://www.health.com/mind-body/lgbtq-health-disparities, https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/disparities/health-disparities-among-lgbtq-youth.htm,

[5] Latter two phrases from John Mark Comer, Live No Lies.

[6] See thoughts from Jackie Hill Perry, pp. 184–188; and Sam Allberry, TGC Article “How Celibacy Can Fulfill Your Sexuality.”