[0:00] Test, test, there we go. Please turn with me in your Bibles to Romans chapter 1, Romans chapter 1. If you're new visiting, welcome.
[0:11] My name is BK. I have the pleasure of serving here as one of the pastors. You are joining us in a multi-month study of Romans 1.
[0:24] And that one wasn't the joke, but yes. Wait till we get to the multi-year study of Romans chapter 3. But anyway, obviously this is a text we are all familiar with, so we're going to get right into it.
[0:39] There's a lot to say and not a lot of time to say it. So beginning in verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
[0:56] For what can be known about God is plain to them. Because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made.
[1:15] So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. But they came futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened.
[1:28] Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
[1:40] Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever.
[2:01] Amen. Now this section is the section for today's sermon. Verse 26. Verse 26.
[2:37] What Paul is communicating to us in this text is that we are rebels under the wrath of God. Our sins, the sins we have done, the sins or the things we have failed to do, are simply the outward indications of our personal decision to suppress the truth about God.
[3:04] Not only do we actively suppress the truth, and the whole idea behind suppressing the truth is you know there's a truth and you are holding it down like it is a big spring.
[3:18] You're pushing what you know to be true. And not only are you suppressing the truth, but you're failing to worship and honor the God of all creation.
[3:31] And instead, in the words of the Apostle Paul here, exchange the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
[3:50] What he means is we pursue whatever it is that we have decided to put in the place of God. God's wrath is not some type of wrath that is out of control or vindictive or done in spite, but man actually is giving man, or God is giving man over to the wrath that they have chosen.
[4:19] Note in verse 24, God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity, which as we read last week is sexual immorality or any sex that is outside the bounds of holy matrimony.
[4:37] Verse 26, which we will study today, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. And we will see that Paul is speaking specifically about homosexuality.
[4:51] In verse 28, God gave them up to a deep base mind to do what ought not to be done. One pastor on the subject simply writes, God gives man up to a communal immorality.
[5:08] The degeneration of a culture, of a society, as it turns its back on God, puts gods, substitute gods in its place.
[5:20] Gods that cannot provide the things that people long for in them. For we were made by God, for God, to trust God, to love God, to obey God.
[5:34] We were conceived within the context of God's creative power in order that we might enjoy all that God has gracefully, wonderfully provided for us.
[5:51] In man and mankind's infinite wisdom, going all the way back to Adam and Eve, simply say, it's okay, God.
[6:02] God, we know better. If there is one word I can think of to describe our condition before God that is described here in this passage, it is tragic.
[6:18] It is tragic. And I think that we as Christians, when we think about people in a society that is under judgment, it's to understand that it is tragic.
[6:31] It's not something that we are joyful in. It's not something that we hate. It's not something, as we learned last week, that we avoid, but it is simply tragic.
[6:47] Here is God who creates this whole garden for us, who says, here, take it. Enjoy it. It's for you.
[6:59] And we simply say, it's okay. I want it my way. What becomes apparent is that our relationship with the God on high is broken.
[7:17] The God on high who purposely made us for himself. that he purposely made us to know him, to love him, to trust him, to follow him.
[7:33] That with loss of a knowledge of him, which is a denial of him, we struggle to actually know who we are ourselves.
[7:44] You see, this is our fundamental problem. Without God, we do not know who we are. And if we do not know who we are, how can we know how to function and what our purpose is in this great garden that God has created for us?
[8:07] So this morning, we look at the second stage, as I put it, of God's divine abandonment of mankind. Specifically, when God gives mankind over to dishonorable passions.
[8:25] I have the same three goals for this text as I did last week. One, I want us to understand the text. Two, I want us to understand the significance of what God is giving mankind over to.
[8:42] And more importantly, I want us to know and understand how are we to respond in a society that is not just simply under God's judgment.
[8:56] And if you were here last week, you know that God has us here for a reason. Amen? As Jesus Christ himself prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before he went to the cross, he asked that we would not be part of this world, but we are to be in this world.
[9:21] Please note that I am not naive to the consternation and curiosity that some have over the topic of today's sermon. any topic that touches on the subject of sex and even more so human sexuality is full of potholes and perils.
[9:43] As we struggle to actually know ourselves, we as a society have moved sexuality to the forefront of our understanding of who we are.
[9:54] and what this has done by placing sexuality as the forefront of our identity, we see that our sexual preferences as if there is nothing significant about ourselves save for this very thing, that we are known by what we prefer.
[10:15] what this has done in the modern day discussion of this topic is it's made it so extremely personal thus so difficult to discuss so that we are no longer a people following after dishonorable passage, but we say this is who I am.
[10:41] this is a subject that many are confused about and I include many who call themselves Christian in churches today.
[10:54] But please know I consider this a sobering topic. There's been much thought, prayer, and edit over what to say today and how to present Paul's words written to a church in Rome 2,000 years ago which seems to perfectly fit into today.
[11:16] Before I say anything more let us just go to the God on high who created us who gave us this word and asked for his grace. Dear Holy Heavenly Father we ask you for this grace this undeserved merit to both for my words and to our ears that I pray that we would not go down rabbit trails but that we would hear the heart of this message which I believe represents the heart of Christ our creator.
[11:50] Father there is so many lies told not just on this subject but just about any cultural subject of the day. Father I pray more than anything else now we would become a people of truth able to discern what is right and what is mostly right that we would correct falsehood do so not because we have knowledge or that we care to be right but because we know that this affects the eternal destinies of the society of those who live in it.
[12:27] So Father give our ears ears to hear and my mouth to say your words in your most wonderful and gracious name I say amen.
[12:41] Obviously this is a subject that I hope to address with caution candor compassion but more importantly with conviction. It is the conviction that I have is the conviction that the word of God is absolutely true that the word of God is absolutely perfect that the word of God tells us about the will of God who is our creator who is absolutely perfect and nobody knows us better than the creator who created us amen.
[13:20] It is a creator who designed our purpose. It is a creator who designed our sex. It's a creator who gave us sex to enjoy within the bounds of marriage. it is a creator who loves us knows us and it seems so small just to simply say that he cares deeply for us.
[13:42] It is beyond deep. If there is anything I can ask from you about this subject is to hear me out right to the very end before making a judgment.
[13:56] So let's begin by breaking down the text first of all. Verse 26 notice Paul begins by saying for this reason. The reason that Paul that man has been given over to these dishonorable passions is because of man's actions in verse 25.
[14:13] Notice it says they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator. What this means is God did not give them over because of their dishonorable passions but they have the dishonorable passage because they chose to exchange the knowledge of God for a lie.
[14:37] You with me on that? Everything stems from the rejection of God. The judgment of homosexuality is because of the original rejecting of God.
[14:51] And if you get down to it to the very sense and core and we're going to deal with this again, we're going to notice this word nature, natural in the text. For the women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature and the men likewise gave up natural relations.
[15:13] The most unnatural thing that a man or woman can do is to reject God. God that is so clearly seen, so clearly known from things that are to go and create images of animals and us as mortal beings and creeping things and to worship them.
[15:35] We have to come to grips with the thing that is the most unnatural thing. And therefore it's no surprise that man's sexual pursuits become unnatural.
[15:52] The word honor or dishonor that is used, the word honor means to show high respect, glory, to give tribute and to hold uprightly. I have a frog in my throat this morning.
[16:16] The opposite is to disgrace, to disrespect. It is something that is dishonorable as to be shameful. If you remember last week's sermon, we read about the dishonoring of their bodies.
[16:35] The point that Paul makes is that any sex outside the relationship of a husband and wife is immoral. It is dishonorable, it is shameful, it is disgraceful.
[16:46] But the only way that sex, which is seen as respectful, it is glorious, it is upright, is to enjoy it in the bounds of marriage.
[16:59] This goes all the way back to Genesis 2.24 when Paul gives Adam and Eve marriage to cling together, to be one flesh.
[17:10] to do the opposite is to show dishonor, disgrace, and disrespect. But here, Paul just doesn't talk about the actions, he's talking about the passions.
[17:25] Remember, these are passions, they're desires, the lust, and the affections that are dishonorable, disgraceful, and shameful.
[17:35] For the 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.
[17:53] The disgraceful, shameful, and degrading passions lead to actions that are beyond immoral, that are beyond nature. In fact, Paul uses the word contrary to nature.
[18:08] Now, some have attempted to define these terms as being personal in nature. What I mean is that if one is by nature homosexual, it would be a sin for them to act in a heterosexual way because that would be against their nature.
[18:29] Likewise, if one, that they believe that Paul is arguing that someone to be heterosexual homosexual, their nature to pursue homosexual relations would be wrong.
[18:42] So the argument they're trying to say is, if that is someone is homosexual by nature, then it's okay to pursue a homosexual relationship. But if you notice here in the text, it's not talking about someone's personal nature.
[18:58] nature, it's talking about God's natural purpose. This is what God has used here.
[19:09] It is natural, or it's unnatural, it's contrary to how God has created it. The term here is that homosexuality is contrary to the design of man by a God who designed man.
[19:29] All time, every time. We know this. From the intent, by the purpose that we've been created in Genesis 2 and 4, 224, and to go and multiply and enjoy the fruits of children, the parts don't fit.
[19:53] Even secular evolutionary biologists know this. The Greeks knew this. The Romans knew this.
[20:06] What's interesting, as an evolutionary biologist has pointed out, to push this preference within a society, apart from being counter to the word of God, is to bring death upon a society.
[20:24] When the passions are given to dishonor, the rejection of God is so forceful and contrary to nature that Paul, as I said, uses this to contrast it to rejecting God.
[20:44] This is affirmed by Jesus Christ, Christ, and the rest of the apostles throughout the New Testament. This just doesn't stand out in this one passage. This is what the Old Testament taught.
[20:57] This is what the entire New Testament teaches. Note the words that Paul is using here for man and woman. It actually means male and female.
[21:09] And the reason he's saying that, Paul, when he's speaking this, is actually giving a reflection to Genesis chapter one, when we read that God created man is in his own image.
[21:22] And it says male and female, he created them. What it's talking about, it's making an emphasis on the sexuality of the individual male and the individual female.
[21:35] He's not talking about persons, but he's talking about them as sexual beings. beings. Now, this is where the pain sets in.
[21:48] If we do not have a longing for God as we were created for, the longing doesn't go away.
[22:02] If we are to find our true and full fulfillment in God alone, we do not pursue that fulfillment through God, that longing goes elsewhere.
[22:19] What I mean is if you do not find your purpose in God and his purposes, you will seek out your own purposes. And the greatest purpose that man, or the greatest question that man asks is, who am I?
[22:37] So when we reject the natural and accept the unnatural, we still have to answer the question, who am I?
[22:51] But the problem is, we don't call it unnatural. Today, the world calls it alternative. But alternative is the same as unnatural. It's an expression of rebellion against God.
[23:04] God, it is man saying, I will decide who I am, I will decide what I am, I will decide what I am doing, and I will decide who I am doing it with.
[23:20] Now, for those who want to argue that it's quote-unquote biological, or I am made that way, I am attracted to such things, and I hear this many times, you will note that there is nothing in the word of God that lends any truth to these statements.
[23:38] He says, quite clearly, these are unnatural. And notice he begins with the desire, the passions. And when someone has to deal with those passions, we all at some point in our lives, and it doesn't matter with any sin, we have to deal with the passion of it, right?
[23:59] The desire of it, whether it's the desire to steal, the desire to abuse or hurt others, it always begins with that first desire.
[24:15] Just because we have urges, or quote-unquote, excuse me for this expression, turn-ons, does not mean that they are natural or biological or a part of our normal programming.
[24:27] And I understand people who argue and I really do. But there is, in fact, been a large mass deception in our society to get us to understand this way of thinking.
[24:39] And the fact of the matter is I've read journals of psychology and psychiatry and different pastors and commentaries just commenting on this subject.
[24:50] And I don't want to get into all those type of things because we would be here for a week or two. But one of the most interesting stories that I found, and we see it today so clearly, is that moving towards understanding homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle.
[25:13] And we now use it a whole bunch of ways. If you know, there's a woman on Vancouver Island who has relationships with trees. I don't know if you read that article. That was in the news, right?
[25:24] But it began with two professors who laid out a strategy because they were saying, what we've been doing before prior to the 70s is not working.
[25:37] They were homosexual and they're saying, we are not being accepted, we are not being normalized, what can we do? And the first thing that they concluded to do was they need to get a culture to sympathize with them.
[25:51] So they began by making themselves, because the reality is they're people, right? They're not objects, they're not less than human, and unfortunately, people have treated them as such in horrible wicked ways.
[26:12] But they want to get culture to sympathize with them, and they say, please do not be unkind to me. Do not say bad words to me because I have a problem. Right? I'm not doing things naturally, and I struggle with it, sympathize with me.
[26:29] The second part of this strategy is to normalize it. Hey, we want to be married just like you. We love to. We have feelings we want to be with the one we love, and we don't deserve this, and we see this through movies, TV shows, and commercials, which has tended to normalize it.
[26:48] So you have the sympathize phase, the normalized phase, and then you move to the demonize phase, and the demonize phase is actually anybody that says that this is not true, that this is not legitimate, that this is not an obvious alternative, we will demonize them.
[27:09] We will cancel them. We will remove them. We will ostracize them. What's interesting, this is where our culture is in today.
[27:23] And what's interesting is, if you know, there was a movie called Bros, and it's the first big romantic big ticket movie about two men. It failed miserably at the box office.
[27:36] And as you know, if you've been paying attention to the news, not just with homosexuality, but with all the worldly issues of the day, Disney's stock has been plummeting, if you've known, they've been having to get rid of their CEO and bringing back the old guy.
[27:50] They've got to get rid of this because their movies are tanking. And sadly, the world responds when they lose money. Right? But when people didn't go to the movie, this is my point, you were called a bigot.
[28:06] You were called prejudicial for not liking a movie. Since when have we ever been called, maybe just a really bad movie, about a subject that people don't want to watch.
[28:22] And why do I see, am I saying that this strategy is working out in the world today? It's actually working out today with the acceptance of child-adult sex.
[28:36] This is what's going on. The first is sympathize. There's been articles that have been put out by people saying, I have a problem. Please know that I am real. I really care for these kids.
[28:50] And now, we have books that are put into the school system, the SOGI curriculum, which is meant to expose your kids and to normalize them into thinking sexually when they are far too young to even be thinking sexually about these things.
[29:09] And I don't know if you've been paying attention, but there's a pastor who goes around to these school boards. What he does is he reads these books in the school board meetings and they always stop him.
[29:26] And they always claim, what you're reading to us is offensive. Shut down the mic. Don't talk about it. And he says, but why are these books in our children's libraries?
[29:37] Like, this is the strategy that's now been used. This has been happening in Chilliwack, if you've been paying any attention. They get the mics shut off and they get canceled.
[29:50] In fact, in the United States and Virginia, they were putting parents on the terrorist watch list for for objecting to these school boards sexualizing their children.
[30:07] So the reason I'm talking about this is because the strategies that worked with homosexuality are now being worked with other alternatives. So sadly, many people have fallen into the trap of identifying who they are based on their sexual preference, which is based on the thinking, this is who I naturally am.
[30:35] And I'll just take a few words or sentences out of the Journal of Psychology and Clinical Psychiatry, which links many people's preferences usually to when they had their first sexual contact and how important that was in creating their identity.
[30:58] They write that the behaviors and experiences now become automatic and are thus assumed that these feelings are normal to them. I quote, it begins with the universal doubts of oneself in childhood.
[31:13] the doubts never resolving but merging with identity to become a learned way of life that becomes sexualized through their sexual experience.
[31:25] Without gender consideration. And they put in brackets, therefore met most readily by others with the same set of behaviors.
[31:36] What he's saying is, oftentimes, it's been an adult acting upon a child. And that child has grown to think that this is normal.
[31:53] The truth is, like I said, I'm not here to review every peer reviewed medical psychology and psychiatrist journal, but there is a lot of writings on this. Nor am I wanting to provide details to what Paul writes here when he says shameless acts.
[32:12] There's many pastors, I've read many sermons, listened to many sermons, who try to describe the shameless acts almost to put a hatred or put the fear of God into people. I don't really believe that's the right way to go.
[32:28] The reality is, you might feel right now that my words are harsh or judgmental or bigoted or maybe I'm not even going far enough. But what I do know is that the Bible is really clear on this issue.
[32:43] It is unnatural. It is a violation of God's created order. Now, to those who think it's the worst sin, it is not. But it's the clearest evidence of a society's defiance of God.
[32:59] I quote, when a culture finally reaches this place, where now even manhood and womanhood, gender itself is deconstructed and reconstructed according to whatever agenda the individual has, whatever ethical set of norms they've decided to embrace, then the culture's in pretty deep trouble.
[33:22] When you live in a culture where men and women are unclear as to why they were made, how they were made, who made them, and what they're supposed to be doing and allow them to do whatever they choose to do, you're living in dire times.
[33:40] The result of such a culture is a culture that thinks it's more humane to embrace the alternative that will attempt to make, and they will no longer attempt to make no moral distinction of sexual activities.
[33:59] Everything becomes the present preferences. Now note the term, receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. There's a lot of thoughts and writings by different commentators back in the 70s and 80s that thought that they were talking about AIDS and STDs.
[34:20] Paul doesn't talk about that. But what I do know is that when you pursue the things that God told you not to pursue, if you remember in the garden, if you were to take that fruit, you would die.
[34:37] Did Adam and Eve die that day? Yes, they did. They died spiritually. As the pursuit of false gods leads to spiritual death, I believe this is magnified, or not magnified, but it is replicated in the pursuit of homosexuality because it's the cutting off of oneself from history.
[35:06] It's the cutting themselves off of reproduction of family. And a society who pushes this kills their society.
[35:19] I've been a part of four long personal sessions over the issues of homosexuality. The one was with a quote-unquote married couple, and one of the partners had grown up in the church, and he wanted to meet me and talk to me.
[35:36] And I met outside, and I remember the hate and disdain his partner had for me, but this man was a friend of my friends, and we sat down, and we went through all the verses in the Bible because he thought maybe there was something in the Greek or the Hebrew that would give him an escape for the pleasure that he wanted to be with this man.
[35:58] And when you heard his story, this man had showed him love. This was the first man that had ever shown him any sort of love in his life. And just to go through, and you know, he said at the end of our time together, he just simply said that, you know, even though he says, I can't believe that God would say anything that it's bad or contradictory, but I can admit that the only sexual relationship in Scripture that God blesses is a marriage between a man and a wife.
[36:28] And his sad conclusion is that I must live this life being unblessed. Another one was a tragic instance of a young woman in our congregation.
[36:39] She was a, worked with Young Life, and I got the call that her fiancé was arrested. You know, in a parking lot pursuing shameless acts.
[36:53] And we were excited that she was going to get married. She was a six foot three girl, and she always struggled to find someone that was tall like her and would accept her.
[37:04] And he did. He was into basketball like her. And he really wanted to be married, and he really believed that marriage to her would change things, but he still hadn't addressed the dishonorable passions.
[37:16] He could not get those thoughts out of his head. And we as a church said, we cannot bless this marriage. This is not, this needs to be dealt with before.
[37:29] He had to go to jail for a short period of time and a fine. The reason I say these stories, these are true living people that are struggling with these pursuits, but yet knowing that there's something unnatural that they're doing.
[37:55] And every single one of them, including the other two, knew to the core of their being that they were killing themselves by pursuing those relationships, that it was the end.
[38:10] So the most important thing that I want to speak to you about is how do we respond to a culture that this is ingrained, that this is accepted, this is a viable alternative.
[38:26] I'm going to give us some advice, and much of this comes from Alistair Begg. He's recently preached on this, and I appreciate some of the aspects that he's talked about.
[38:41] Most people, pastors, will speak about how bad it is, but nobody talks about how we as a church are to engage in this society. The first thing he recommends for us is that we need a church that will move the world.
[38:58] We need a church that will move the world. And the question you should ask is, what does that mean, move the world? Three things. One, we need a church that's not going to accommodate itself to every, quote-unquote, passing fancy of the day.
[39:14] And if you've listened to Alistair Begg, you know that's his term, passing fancy. Right? We can't accept everything that comes along under the view of love and accept everything.
[39:29] Secondly, we need a church that will faithfully proclaim the gospel as what Paul did in verse 16, right? I am not ashamed of the gospel.
[39:40] Paul, who is saying, here's a wonderful story that I'm not ashamed of. That God who made you, who loves you, despite how messed up we are and what we have done, that this God has made available to you and I the transforming reality of a new life in the gospel, and it's there for everyone who will believe.
[40:04] Amen? There is no one who is beyond the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if we give any indication that we are better, and I'm going to deal with this in a second, and they are worse, you have lost track of your understanding of the gospel and who you are.
[40:22] Why is this gospel the power of salvation? Because the reality is we can't produce our own righteousness. We can't. You can be as religious as you want, but that still doesn't even produce the righteousness that is needed.
[40:34] There's only one person who can give it to you, and his name is Jesus Christ. And he offers it to you as a free gift. And here's the third piece of advice.
[40:49] And I pray, oh God, you believe that this is your church here today, is we do need a church that believes the Bible. We need to be prepared to say that we cannot change or temper the Bible.
[41:04] We cannot simply choose the parts we like and reject the parts we do not like. To do so is what I have called the cafeteria Christian. If you believe that you are free to change the Bible, then you do not believe the Bible.
[41:24] And that's an issue that you have to deal with in your own heart. You may not be struggling with the sin of homosexuality or some of those related sins of, listen, we're all filled of dishonorable passions.
[41:37] You don't have to struggle with homosexuality to know that. There's all sorts of things come through our minds. But if you want to believe that it's okay, then what happens is if you do not believe the Bible, then you're probably ashamed of the gospel.
[41:58] And it will show in your friends and families and the relationships that you have. What I mean by this is you do not share the truth, the real truth that can redeem a soul from hell to heaven.
[42:12] The fact is we're not at liberty to rewrite the Bible to accommodate godless perspectives on not only homosexuality but on abortion, on euthanasia, on transgenderism.
[42:25] We're not. God said it. So for a church to move the world, we must not accommodate to the culture.
[42:37] We need a church and people who are not afraid to proclaim the gospel. And we need a church that believes the Bible. Now the question is now that we know what we need, how do we do this?
[42:52] How do we honor God, obey his word, and treat your neighbors and your friends and your family and members who have decided to go on this path? Well, one, there's two wrong ways to go about it.
[43:06] The first wrong way is to continue to remind them that they're terrible people, that they are wrong and they're doing bad and wrong things.
[43:18] That's not the right way to go about doing it. The other wrong way to do it is just to ignore it, to not say anything, to just let it go.
[43:28] Who cares? Who cares? It's a big world. People have the right to be who they want to be. The fact of the matter is, if you are a Bible-believing Christian, neither of those are a possibility for you.
[43:41] So what happens is, in Christian circles, and I've seen this, is that they are either reviled as the most heinous sin that man could do, or they are affirmed.
[43:59] It's one of those two extremes. But if you're a Bible-believing Christian, neither of those extremes work.
[44:15] The Christian has to say, we will not treat you in either of those ways. I cannot revile you, but I cannot affirm you.
[44:25] And the reason that I cannot revile you is the same reason that I cannot affirm you. Because of the Bible, because of God's love, because of His grace, and because of His goodness.
[44:44] There's all sorts of arguments that are out there. Arguments about science, about gender and sexuality. Arguments about the Greek, the Hebrew. Did God really say that?
[44:57] But the struggle that we have is, the struggle is actually about the authority of the Bible. Did God mean what He said? Is God...
[45:08] Are God's promises trustworthy? And do we take His warnings seriously? So, we have to come to this with attention.
[45:24] On the one hand, it's we proclaim the good news of the gospel. Notice it says, everyone. I am not ashamed of the gospel.
[45:37] It is the power to save everyone. Behind that is Jesus has the power to make everything brand new.
[45:48] When I lived in downtown Toronto, when I was working with the government, our church had a wonderful ministry. We were right downtown. And there's a section that's very prominent in the homosexual community.
[46:03] And these men that came, that ran that ministry, most of them were saved out of that lifestyle. And we would hear, and I'd hear the testimonies. So, when people says that people are natural and they can't be changed, I can tell you that is a lie.
[46:17] I've seen dozens of men saved from that lifestyle and enslavement of their passions. And like I said, even in my counseling sessions, everyone, I would say, would use that word.
[46:30] They're enslaved to an aspect of that life. And it was, help me, I can't get out. The reality is God saves all of us from our burdens and confusions and dishonorable passions.
[46:48] And with the other hand, we do need to refute false teaching. We do need to refute strongholds, which are ideas that have been captured and have like fortified themselves.
[47:02] That is what the word of God is used for. And we are to remember that the world hated Jesus first. And some will hate us.
[47:16] But the fact is, we need to share the gospel. And we need to engage the lies. So, what do we do?
[47:29] My heart's desire is you want to invite them to church. That our church, SBC, is filled with people, whether you realize or not, you were once banned from the kingdom of God.
[47:47] Every single one of us was banned. None of us had free entry into the kingdom of God.
[47:57] Paul writes for us in 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 10. He says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
[48:10] Guess what? At one time or another, we were unrighteous. Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
[48:34] Maybe you're here and you say, whoa, whoa, whoa, BK. I don't want to be in with the big ticket items. I don't want to be banned for that. Well, how about for greed? Have you ever been greedy?
[48:46] You ever knock off at too many of those homes on Halloween, right? Because you wanted more candy. Okay. He says in verse 11, and such were some of you.
[49:06] The text doesn't say that you clean yourselves up, you became more religious, or you decided to stop your sin. Again, the text of 1 Corinthians 6, 9, and 11 simply says you were washed.
[49:25] Washed in what? Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ was given up on our behalf so that we might enjoy all the beauty and goodness that is meant to be found in God.
[49:40] The fact of the matter is, we were all sanctified. We are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God. If you've been to church for any amount of time, you've heard that Jesus Christ died for your sins.
[49:57] But here's the biggest save. He saves you from his wrath. Jesus died to save us from his wrath.
[50:08] So in other words, there is hope for the greedy. There is hope for the immoral. There is hope for the homosexual.
[50:22] There is a hope for the whole rotten lot of us. And the answer is always the same answer. It's only at the cross of Jesus Christ.
[50:33] This is the reason why I took time to go through verse 16 word by word with you.
[50:46] So that you would know the truth of the gospel before we got into the wrath. I want you to know that even with this wrath, we cannot be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[51:01] Amen. I do not find this topic to be particularly appealing to preach. But I know I can do so because I know the amazing news of the grace of God.
[51:20] Maybe today is your day to turn from your little dead idol. That little creepy crawler thing or that piece of wood.
[51:31] Maybe it's something else that you designed. Your image. Your glory. And maybe yourself to this day do not find any satisfaction in life.
[51:44] Regardless of any particularly sexual problem. The biggest problem that you need to be concerned with. Is do you worship the one true and living God.
[51:58] Because if not. The wrath. Is. Coming. Let's pray. Dear father.
[52:11] I feel like I've stumbled over my words. And even some of my thoughts this morning. But. I pray that. Several things are clear. That one.
[52:22] We. Not a single soul. In this building. In this church. Or even in our families. In our friends. In our workplaces. Is beyond the saving arm of Jesus Christ.
[52:34] The blood that washed away our sin. Is capable to wash away every other sin in this world. Shame on us for demonizing.
[52:45] And getting bitter in hatred. Towards those who've. Been enslaved by their passions. Who've been enslaved by their sins.
[52:57] There's many of us here who know enslavement. Some are enslaved to alcohol. Drugs. Pornography.
[53:09] Our. Our. Our place in life. Some are slaves to anxiety. Some are slaves by the need to please everyone.
[53:20] So they. Feel that they can exist. And what comes with. This enslavement is shame. And. Satan whispers.
[53:31] More and more to be shamed. To be shamed. And that. Somehow. That we will buy into the lie. That we are unworthy. But here's the greatest news.
[53:42] It's never based on our worthiness. That our salvation is based on the worthiness of the sacrifice. That was made on the cross. That Jesus Christ.
[53:54] The perfect son of God. Who lived a perfect life. Died so that we might live. That he offers us his perfect life. In exchange for the rags that.
[54:07] Hang in tattered fashion on our body. God if anything I pray that. We would hold forth to your word.
[54:18] To your scripture. Even in the tension of our. Compassion for those are lost. I pray that we would not.
[54:30] Wain from the truth of. Declaring that gospel. But at the same time. Spend time with. The people that we know. To. To dislodge their lies.
[54:42] That they believe. Father we live in a society. That is so. Perfectly orchestrated. This sin.
[54:53] That it's now. Against the law. To preach to them. If that is not. Anything. That is designed by Satan.
[55:05] I don't know what is. Satan wants to maim. He wants to destroy.
[55:17] He wants to kill. Father I pray. Each and every soul. That is here. Would resist. The evil one.
[55:32] Father. If we need to confess. Our sin of hatred. Let us confess it freely. There is anything. That would. Father. I do not want. Any impediment.
[55:44] For any soul. That is so desperately. Lost. In needing to find you. To not to be able. To come. To this church. To find freedom. To find forgiveness.
[55:55] forgiveness. And if we are to exclude. And to treat others. As being more darker. And dirty. Than others. Then shame on us.
[56:08] And may you take this church. From us. With us. But Father. As we. Commit to your word. We commit to your truth. We commit to living.
[56:19] In the tension of. Preaching truth. And destroying lies. May we never. Hate but yet.
[56:29] Never affirm. any person's sin. We humbly ask for your spirit to speak to each and every one of us today. In your name, amen.