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“The
wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against
all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress
the truth by their wickedness...For although they
knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and
their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they
claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged
the glory of the immortal God for images made to look
like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires
of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading
of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the
truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created
things rather than the Creator.... Because of this,
God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women
exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In
the same way the men also abandoned natural relations
with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.
Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received
in themselves the due penalty for their perversion....They
have become filled with every kind of wickedness,
evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy,
murder, strife, deceit and malice.... Although they
know God’s righteous decree that those who do
such things deserve death, they not only continue
to do these very things but also approve of those
who practice them” (Rom. 1:18,21-27,29,32).
The
above verses clearly include homosexuality (rather
pathetically characterized these days as being “gay”)
with the grossest forms of sin, depravity and even
idolatry! There can be no question as to how God views
the sort of conduct that certain “liberated”
elements of our society boldly dismiss as an “alternative
lifestyle”. It is a measure of the increasing
sinfulness of our world that such a prohibition need
even be discussed among believers, when Paul referred
to it as the sort of immorality that should not even
be mentioned among saints (Eph. 5:3).
In
this, as in other matters, however, the impulse alone
is not a sin. Nevertheless, it can, and must, be controlled
and suppressed. With God’s help (and the help
of brothers and sisters) every sin can be forgiven
and overcome. But it must be recognized as a sin,
not an “illness” or an “alternative”.
It has been well said that God never yet forgave an
excuse!
NEXT
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