Homosexuality: The Silence Of Jesus?

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) distributed an extremely helpful resource on the topic of homosexuality and Jesus Christ's so-called "silence" on the subject.

You'll recall that that most advocates of homosexual behavior and "Gay Marriage" often say something like, "If Jesus never mentioned the sin of same-sex behavior, then it must be okay!"

How many Christians do you know who say things like that? I actually know quite a few!

The single page PDF resource written by Rev. Tom Eckstein and just published by the LCMS is a great one to save for future reference.

It was introduced by this...

 

One of the most difficult things about being a Christian today is talking to your friends and family about same-sex attraction while calling it what it is - sin. Willful, unrepentant sinful behavior endangers souls, and we care about those souls. As everyone faces and struggles with the reality of sin, the Church expresses the love of Christ in helping all to live an abundant, fulfilled life that reflects the purity, truth and beauty of God’s holy will. One of the most important things to know in this dialogue is what Jesus has to say about the topic.

As Christians, we know that there is an Authority and that Authority has already spoken on this subject quite clearly and emphatically too.

So, how should we respond to others who ask us questions about what they call our "unloving" and "unpopular" stance on this issue?

Please consider using this Biblical answer from now on...

First of all, Jesus (Who created us and therefore owns us and has the authority to determine "right" and "wrong"), DID deal directly with homosexuality and the "gay marriage" issue, in the Bible's New Testament, in Matthew 19:4-6. 

Matthew 19:4-6 (ESV) 4 He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." 

Christ quoted directly from the Book of Genesis (and its account of the creation of Adam and Eve as the first man and woman -- the first marriage) as literal history, to explain the doctrine of marriage as being one man for one woman. Thus, marriage cannot be a man and a man, or a woman and a woman. Because Genesis is real history (as can be confirmed by observational science, incidentally), Jesus dealt quite directly with homosexuality and the "gay marriage" issue when He explained the doctrine of marriage. Not only this, but in John 1, we read: 

John 1:1-3 (ESV) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Jesus, the Creator, is the Word. The Bible is the written Word. Every word in the Bible is really the Word of the Creator -- Jesus Christ. Therefore, in Leviticus 18:22, Jesus actually deals directly with the homosexual issue, and thus the "gay marriage" issue too. This is also true of Romans 1:26-27 and 1 Timothy 1:9-10. Because Jesus in a real sense wrote all of the Bible, whenever Scripture deals with marriage and/or the homosexual issue, Jesus Himself is directly dealing with these issues.

Now, if that's too "churchy" and "religiously deep" of a response to share with others you know, then perhaps there's a much simpler approach you can take.

See, even in a secular context, the only answer a Christian should ever offer is this...

The Bible is the Word of our Creator, and Genesis is literal history. Its science and history can be trusted. Therefore, we have an absolute authority that determines marriage. God made the the first man and woman -- the first marriage. Thus, marriage can only be a man and a woman because we are accountable to the One who made marriage in the first place. And don't forget, according to the Scripture, one of the primary reasons for marriage is to produce godly offspring. Adam and Eve were told to be fruitful and multiply, but there's no way a "gay marriage" can fulfill this command!

When you stop and think about it, it's very interesting because we can quote passages against homosexuality from Genesis, which is before the Law. We can quote verses from Leviticus, which is Moses' Law. And then we can quote from Romans and other passages in the New Testament, so this is something that runs throughout Scripture.

It might be helpful to take into account what Pastor Fisk recently taught about the "spiritual zombies" you're probably going to be sharing this with.

It's also important to remember what 1 Corinthians 6 says, "Such were some of you." You were homosexuals, you were effeminate, you were adulterers, you were liars, it goes on and on, but you were washed and you were cleansed, and that's what the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ offers.

We're not trying to use the Law to bring damnation on the head of homosexuals and then just leave them in the midst of hopelessness and despair either.

We're trying to bring conviction that only the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God (the Law) can bring so that it will bear the fruit of repentance in their lives and confess to them that their only hope for forgiveness and salvation (the only hope for all of us sinners!) is faith in the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In a Lutheran layman's terms, I'll simply reiterate what Rev. Eckstein wrote that, "As Christians, our primary goal in refuting these kinds of arguments is to help people see the truth of God’s Word about their sin so that they may repent and receive forgiveness and new life through faith in Jesus, the forgiveness and new life that is sure and certain even as we continue to struggle with sinful desires and behaviors."



NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just a regular Christian, Executive Recruiter, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm also a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism a little more than 2 years ago now. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Also, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because we now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse notes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!

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