“He deserves it.”  “If she would stop hurting me, I would stop doing this to her.”  “He hasn’t earned my respect.”  “She makes me so miserable, she has earned this, I don’t care how she feels.”

The apostle Peter closes his section on Godly relationships with this:

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9  Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For

“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16  having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.-1 Peter 3:8-17 (ESV)

Much consideration by many has been made on the verses immediately preceding this (1 Peter 3:1-7) in dealing with marital relationship.  In the section we will be discussing, Peter begins his discussion of suffering followers of Christ will endure as a result of their zeal for righteousness.  This can also be applied to the marriage relationship (and to all relationships, but the focus of this article will be on the spousal relationship).

Marriage is delicate.  The two members are forced to be with each other continuously.  Nerves fray, anger rises.  Forgiveness and grace are pivotal to a healthy relationship.  No person is perfect, and no person deserves grace.  But without unmerited favor, a relationship will self-destruct.  Love will cease, and separation may follow.

In the painful times, in the hardest of times, there is suffering.  Often, both parties suffer because both parties have wronged.  They have hurt one another.  The wounds become sensitive and in a desire to protect oneself, the other is often attacked.  This breeds more of the same.  They downward spiral is difficult to get off of when both are suffering.  Yet this is bad suffering.  This is suffering without the righteousness.

Peter is addressing a people that will suffer in their relationship to everyone in the world due to Christ.  Peter’s audience loves the Lord and they desire for righteousness.  Peter says that they will suffer.  This suffering of the early church was suffering unto death.  And the apostle Paul stated that he believed that their sufferings were incomparable to the glory of that righteousness of Christ which all believers will one day fully enjoy.  Peter says that it is actually good for a person to suffer for the cause of Christ.

The suffering in a troubled marriage is not the same as this, but it can be similar.  People in the United States do not suffer unto death for the cause of Christ.  But there is suffering to be had for Christ.

So how does one suffer in a troubled marriage for Christ?

Peter says to not repay evil for evil.  But he does not say to remain neutral in the situation.  He instructs us to bless when we are wronged.  We are to refrain from speaking evil of others, no matter what they have done to us.  We are not to curse one another, even if we are cursed.

When one member of a troubled marriage adopts the way of grace, forgiving and blessing instead of begrudging and harming, Christ is glorified and that member may suffer for a time.  It feels good to return evil for evil.  Not doing so can be one’s act of killing the flesh.  Doing what Christ calls us to do can bring pain and difficulty for a time.   But this act of grace, blessing instead of cursing, is true love.  This is essential to the health and vitality of a marriage.  It is living as Christ.  For Christ died in the act of blessing in the face of cursing.

So, this is pivotal in the daily small things of a marriage.  Adopting this lifestyle early in marriage strengthens the marriage enormously.  It is the very foundation to a marriage.  And it is never to late.  It will be quite difficult to do this if one’s marriage has not been defined by it.  It will be quite difficult as insults and accusations come and as the other partner is distancing.  There will be more suffering if the relationship is strained.  The one acting in grace will be tempted often to return evil for evil.  And if they do, it gratifies instantly.  But the bitter aftertaste of that never fades.  And blessing in return for evil hurts instantly, but the sweet taste is lasting.

“TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.” -Psalm 34:14

“What is the gospel?” I asked her.

“Jesus died for our sins,”  she responded.

“What does that mean?”

“Uhhh… I’m not sure.”

The gospel is free to propagate here in the United States.  No law prohibits its spread.  Churches are in abundance, preachers buy air time on TV and radio.  Tracts are left in public.  So one would assume that the gospel has been clearly communicated to the majority of the country.  Surely, everyone understands what the gospel is.  Surely, even if they don’t believe, they have knowledge of it.  The gospel isn’t that complicated is it?

Well, as the snippet of a conversation I had with a professed believer shows, people know about Jesus dying for our sins.  But that is about the extent of it.  It is a phrase that has become the catch-phrase of Christianity.

“Jesus died for your sins!” the preacher declares.  “Jesus died for your sins!” the street corner evangelist exults.  “Jesus died for your sins!” the very well dressed televangelist proclaims with a tear in his eye.  “But what does that mean?” asks the wondering.  “How does that help me in this situation?” cries the hurting.  “What difference does that make?” ponders the weary.

For too long, this phrase has been brandished by the eager evangelist without clarification.  This culture knows that the Christian says Jesus died for our sins.  This culture does not know what that means.  They do not know what relevance that has for today.  They do not know what that death has accomplished.  But most importantly, they do not know that Jesus was risen and what that means.

The death of Christ has been seen as the center point of Christianity.  The cross is our symbol to which we look.  A symbol of death and derision has become our banner.  But without the resurrection of Christ, the death would simply be more bad news.  The sting of death would still await all and reign triumphant over all.  If Christ had not been raised, death itself would be sovereign.  We do not worship death.  Death has lost its sting.  Death itself has died.  So why do we assume the gospel is communicated when we tell that Jesus died.  His death is not the good news.  His death is not the gospel.  His death did not save anyone!

The resurrection must be our banner.  The gospel is not that Jesus died for our sins.  That has no meaning and no value outside of the resurrection.  Since he was raised, we will be raised.  His death took the penalty for our sins, but it is His life that gives us life.  We need both.

The gospel speaks hope into every circumstance, every situation.  The gospel needs to be clearly communicated in such a way that it speaks that hope.  It is the gospel that dispels fear, timidity, anxiety, hopelessness, despair, isolation, and every other rotten thing that the curse of sin has brought upon this world.

Tell the world that Jesus died for our sins, but please, don’t stop there.  Tell the world that Jesus lives, and so will his people.

I think in terms of categories.  I enjoy putting concepts in mental boxes, nicely segregated from other concepts that are similar yet not synonymous.  Likewise, I don’t like the huge packs of crayons with many colors.  I need at the most the 12 pack.  That contains all the colors I need without the redundancy of having so many different examples of red.  But, the 48 pack shows that there are gradations.  There is a spectrum of color.  Sure, I can say that the only colors I need are the 12 pack.  Red is red after all.  But there are multiple kinds of red that bleed into the other color categories (I remember wasting a lot of time in elementary school trying to see the difference between red-orange and orange-red).  So, what was once a nicely segregated color assortment, is now a spectrum.  If you look at red, then look at orange, you can see the large difference.  But, if you start at red and start going through the different gradations on the way to orange, it can be hard to see the difference.  But looking back on your progress, the difference can then be seen by means of contrast.

So too, can be the journey of one person from non-Christian to Christian.  Not everyone has a Damascus road experience like the apostle Paul (Acts 9).  With Paul, it is easy to see when to end evangelism and when to begin discipleship.  His change was immediate and extreme.  His experience was like a bright light bulb suddenly being turned on in utter darkness.  For many people, their experience is more like the sun rising, gradual and slow, but with the same effect.

How then can we label people as needing to be evangelized or needing to be discipled?

In order to answer this question we must first ask, what is the difference?

Evangelization: the process of preaching the good news in order that non-believers will believe

Discipleship: the process of teaching Christians how to live moral lives and do things like attend church regularly and tithe

I think that that has been the standard way of looking at the two for far too long.  I suggest this to be a better definition of the two.

Evangelization: the process of proclaiming the gospel, the good news of our salvation through Jesus Christ, so that non-believers will believe and turn to God

Discipleship: the process of proclaiming the gospel, the good news of our salvation through Jesus Christ, so that believers will believe and turn to God

That’s not a typo.  Discipleship is evangelization.  To the non-believer, it is macro oriented.  It focuses on the big picture (but doesn’t ignore the how the gospel affects the micro as well).  Discipleship is more micro oriented.  It focuses on how the gospel has bearing on every aspect of life.

It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that has a hold of our lives.  We are not done with the gospel upon our salvation.  It is on the basis of the gospel that we are saved.  It is on the basis of the gospel that we attend church and sing and pray.  It is on the basis of the gospel that we forgive our neighbor.  It is on the basis of the gospel that we can suffer for the cause of Christ with joy.  We must evangelize by the gospel and we must disciple by the gospel.

So, evangelism never ends, and discipleship began the moment the gospel was first proclaimed.

Genesis 6:1-8:22  (Noah and the Flood)

Noah is the only one left who is found to be righteous.  He is the last remnant of those who worship Yahweh.  God’s righteous anger is kindled against the world of evil.  And so, in judgment, He floods the earth, wiping away all the wicked in one cataclysmic act of destruction. In the midst of this destruction, Noah, his family, and a remnant of the created order are preserved on board an ark which God instructed Noah to build.  Noah is told to make preparations well in advance of the great deluge.  When all seemed well, Noah started preparing for the end of the world.  It was not his own plan but God’s plan which prevented His destruction.  Noah and his sons and his sons’ wives were preserved and life began again on the earth after the flood.

How does this point towards Christ?

Well, first let us ask what it displays of the nature and character of God.

• Destruction of the entire world
  • God is just.  He punishes the wicked.
  • Evil will not go unabated forever.  There comes a day when God destroys the evil doers.
• Preservation of Noah and his family
  • God is just.  He does not punish the righteous alongside the wicked.
  • God is loving and extends the standing of Noah to his sons.
    • Noah alone is called righteous, not his sons.
    • Yet God preserved Noah’s sons as well on the basis of the righteousness of Noah.

Now, let us ask how this text is used elsewhere in Scripture.

• Nahum 1:7-8
  • This text does not explicitly quote the flood narrative, but it calls forth its imagery.
  • The imagery of the flood narrative is used to describe the future judgment and destruction of the enemies of God (Nahum focuses on Ninevah’s destruction).
• Matthew 24:36-44
  • These are the words of Christ.  This is His application of the flood narrative.
  • He was asked about the end of the age, the cataclysmic judgment of God upon the whole earth.
  • His response (the text above) is that it will be just as it was for those in the days of Noah.
    • So the flood narrative is used by Christ to speak of His return and the judgment the world will finally undergo.

So what does the flood narrative have to say to us today that goes beyond a history lesson?

Just as in the days of Noah, God is not content to allow evil to continue.  The wicked will see an abrupt end brought upon their ways.  There will not be leniency given to those who do not fear and follow God.  They will be taken suddenly in judgment.  Meanwhile, the righteous will be preserved, they will remain forever.  (Take special note here how the Matthew passage looks like it is speaking about the supposed rapture.  But if you examine what Jesus is saying, He is saying that it is the wicked who will be taken, not the righteous!)  The judgment comes quickly and takes the world by surprise.  But just as Noah was told by God to prepare, all Christians are called to prepare.

We will not be building an ark by which to escape judgment.  We are placed in the ark, that is Christ, which delivers us from judgment.  In the judgment, God destroys the world, bringing an end to all things.  But the righteous will be preserved by God, delivered through the waters of judgment.  While all the wicked are ended dramatically and finally, the righteous will continue in life on a new earth just as Noah had.  But this new earth will not be corrupted any longer.  It will remain pristine and unblemished, just as the He is, who has prepared it for the righteous to live forever with Him, forever.

Is it B.I.B.L.E- Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth?

Is it a history of the world?

The Scripture is God’s Holy Word.  Yes, but what is its purpose?  Think about that for a bit then read on.

Scripture tells us of Christ.  It is often said that the entire Old Testament points forward to Christ and the entire New Testament points back to Christ.  But why and how?

Scripture gives us the history of God’s redemptive work(s).  Man is bound by sin and death reigns in mankind because of Adam’s sin as recorded in the book of Genesis.  So, we see that there is need of a savior to take man out of this pit of despair.  So why does Scripture not simply say that we need a savior who would come and then give us basic instructions on how to follow God?  Why the book of Judges?  Why the book of Esther?  What do they have to do with Christ?

The writer of Hebrews says in chapter 8 that the things of the Old Testament serve as shadows of the things to come in Christ.  So, the Old Testament gives vague impressions of the things to come in Christ.  Just as a shadow calls to attention that there is something casting that shadow, so too, the things of the Old Testament call to attention the need for Christ.

Since the Scriptures are the history of God’s redemptive work, we can read the Scriptures in that light.  Read the Old Testament and ask, “How does this relate to our redemption in Christ?”  Or, “how does this call us to look towards our ultimate redemption?”

Take for instance, the great picture of salvation in the Old Testament, the Exodus.  The Israelites were enslaved, bound by a cruel taskmaster in a foreign land.  But God raised up a deliverer to take Israel out of the hand of their former masters.  Israel was delivered from Egypt by God’s mighty hand which also judged the Egyptians with plagues and ultimately with destruction in the Red Sea.  Israel was to go into the Promised Land after this exodus, but their stay there was relatively short lived.  It was not permanent as they had hoped.

So how does this relate to our redemption?  We are enslaved to sin (Egypt) in a land that is not our own.  So God sent a savior in order to deliver us from our cruel taskmaster.  This savior delivered (will deliver) His people and will take us into the Promised Land while judging the Enemy and ultimately destroying him.  But this will not be a temporary arrangement.  We will not be kicked out of the Promised Land, for God will keep us there and will live amongst us.

So, the Exodus serves as a picture of the Redemption that was to come in Christ.  The fact that Moses did lead the people of Israel into a lasting kingdom calls forth the reader to anticipate the perfect deliverance.  The deliverance of Moses was good, but not eternal.  There must be an eternal deliverer for true redemption to take place.  The reader is called to look forward to the Christ to come.

Read the Old Testament and ask, how does this passage paint a picture of the Redemption to come in Christ?  And how is this an imperfect picture which calls to mind the need for the fullness to come in Christ?

Remember, our redemption has been purchased, but the consummation where we will fully enjoy the benefits of our relationship with God is yet to come.  Keep your eyes up, and pray for the return of Christ when He will ultimately judge and destroy the enemy!

Also, post in the comments some other passages of Scripture that call us to look to our Redemption in Christ (I know, I already took the easy one).

The curse brought death. The curse brought about an end to permanence. Now, things fade, things deteriorate, things die. Chaos comes out of order. Our lives are cursed. Our daily lives are cursed. Nothing lasts, everything is fleeting.

Before I was truly saved, I was crushed under the weight of the temporary nature of life. Things did not last. Enjoyment did not last. Happiness did not last. I saw little point in doing anything because everything would fade away. I enjoyed going to amusement parks and the beach, yet I hated going at the same time. I knew the fun would fade shortly, being only a brief moment of happiness. Then the drudgery would continue. I wanted my happiness to last, but it simply wouldn’t. It was like breath on a cold day. It can be seen but for a moment, then it vanishes never to return again. My life was breath-like.

The popularized statement of the Teacher (Qoheleth) in Ecclesiastes 1:2 says “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” But what does this mean? Sure, vanity in this sense means futile, but what is the Teacher really saying. Why is everything futile?

The Hebrew word rendered by many English translations as vanity is hebel. The meaning of this word is breath-like. It doesn’t simply mean futile, it means futile due to its lack of permanence. Life is hebel says the Teacher. In fact, the hebel is the same word as Abel’s name. Abel’s life was the personification of hebel! He did what was right and what did he get? He was killed by his unrighteous brother who got to live on. His life was not lasting, it lacked permanence. Abel was the first victim of the curse of the fall. His life was hebel, breath-like.

The Teacher in Ecclesiastes says that all life is ruled by hebel. Nothing lasts, not even the righteous for they meet the same fate as the wicked in death. Life is not worth living under the curse of hebel. I understood this as well as the Teacher of Ecclesiastes did when I was in high school. I knew that nothing lasted. Robert Frost’s Nothing Gold Can Stay froze me with despair. I wanted something lasting, but knew of nothing that did. I desired to die. I knew my life would fade as all else does, I just hated waiting for it to do so. I’d rather it end than to live with the knowledge that it would not last and eventually end. Breath-like, everything is breath-like.

So why is Christianity a religion of joy? Why is it a religion of hope and peace? Why does not the entire church shriek under the growing weight of hebel? Surely the Christian is still subject to hebel. His garden fades, his pets die. He loses loved ones to time and disease. The Christian himself dies just as the pagan.

But to the Christian, hebel was nailed to the cross. Hebel itself is fading. Christ took upon himself our sin as well as our life under hebel. His life on earth was breath-like. But, He returned. He destroyed hebel and lives in permanence. So too will the Christian. Hebel is fading. Though this life may be subject to futility and suffer from transience. The age to come will no longer be subject to it. True, lasting joy and happiness will be as permanent as Christ, as will we.

The book of Esther is famous for not mentioning God.  How can a book fail to mention God but be included in the canon, God’s written Word?  What place does this have in the canon? 

If you have not read Esther recently or think that the movie One Night with the King is an accurate representation of the book, I suggest you read it again.  I tried to watch the movie, but when Haman tried to incite genocide against the Jews by claiming that they were “in league with the Greeks” believing in democracy my stomach turned and I had to turn it off.  Just as a point of clarification, the Jews were not democratic, they were a theocracy prior to the exile.  To assert that they were democratic in belief is merely American-centric belief and detestable to me.

That being said, the book of Esther at first seems to be an isolated event, separated from the rest of Scripture.  Yet, the conflict between the two main characters of the book, Mordecai the Kishite of Benjamin and Haman the Agagite, had been awaiting resolution since the time of Saul.  Although the conflict in Esther seems to be isolated within that book, its root is found in 1 Sam 15.  If you recall, Saul was instructed by God to devote all the Amalekites to destruction, killing all their people and animals.  Yet Saul restrained from killing the king, Agag, keeping also the choice animals.  So the Lord rejected Saul as king of Israel that day and Samuel the prophet had to kill Agag himself.

Haman, we are told, is an Agagite, a descendant of Agag.  Mordecai is a Kishite of Benjamin.  Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, and furthermore, the son of Kish.  So Mordecai is a member of the house of Saul and Haman a member or the house of Agag.  Saul did not do his duty to kill Agag.  There was unfinished business between the houses of Saul and Agag.  Esther contains the resolution to this conflict.  The conflict between Mordecai and Esther are not isolated incidents in this peculiar point in Israel’s history, the source of the conflict lies hundreds of years prior in Saul’s failure.  So, we can say that the house of Saul found a measure of redemption in Mordecai.

But why isn’t God mentioned?

He is not explicitly mentioned in the text, but, implicitly He appears dramatically.  Read through the book yourself and ask, is this mere coincidence?  Was it mere coincidence that Esther was queen?  Was it mere coincidence that the king accepted her plea?  Was it mere coincidence that Mordecai’s saving the king from a plot against him was recorded but forgotten until the ideal time?  In Esther we see what appears to be secular history, but through all of the revealed truth of God found elsewhere in Scripture we can see God within the book of Esther.  For another example of this, read Judges 4.  After you read it ask this question.  Where was God in this battle?  Why did Israel under the leadership of Deborah and Barak have victory without God moving miraculously?  Why is this history so secular sounding?  Then, read Judges 5.  In this chapter, the seemingly secular events of the previous chapter are interpreted by Deborah’s song.  She tells of what God did.  Secular history has been interpreted to show the history from a divine perspective.  The book of Esther asks the reader to do the same and recognize the workings of God within history.

So what?

The seemingly secular events of the world are not quite so.  Wars, famines, plagues, deliverances, vaccinations, cures of diseases, are all secular history that beg for us to look heavenward and see the hand of God in them.  Nothing occurs on this world that has not been divinely appointed.  Esther reminds us of this.

It has been eight years since the United States of America had a new president.  The previous new president came when I was 15 years old.  I didn’t watch his inauguration, I was busy playing video games or some other garbage.  This time, I watched what I could of the inauguration.  I just missed President Obama taking the oath of office (which he humorously had to take twice).  I did not see Rick Warren’s prayer.  But I did see the benediction given by Rev. Joseph E. Lowery.  I was quite alarmed by it.

The Benediction ended in this way. 

And as we leave this mountain top, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together as children, pledging that we won’t get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone.

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around … when yellow will be mellow … when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

It is quite a bit disconcerting when mosques and temples are mentioned as places where we seek God’s will.  But that is not what I am so disconcerted about.

In this benediciton, allusions or quotations from Scripture is given.  Most notably Isaiah 2 and Amos 5 are referenced.  These texts center on the Day of the LORD.  Yet they are here given asking God to do carry out this through the work of President Obama.

Isaiah 2:4

“He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.”

Amos 5:24

“But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

These texts deal with the great and terrible Day of the LORD.  These verses deal with the blessings that come forth from Christ after this age.  Yet the prayer is that these things come forth throughPresident Obama now. Read Isaiah 2 and Amos 5 to get the context of these blessings.  They come in the midst of God’s anger at Israel and the His judging of the wicked.  The Day of the LORD is to be feared by the world.  Instead the world seeks it out through man.

There is an unholy marriage between the Church and the government.  The Liberal Church sees government as a vehicle by which to spread the social gospel.  This is evident in this prayer.  The government becomes the Messiah.

Yet the Conservative Church is not immune either.  Many within its ranks desire for the government to enact laws in accordance to God’s Law.  The wicked would be persecuted and the Day of the LORD would be here.  The government become Messiah in this view as well.

We must seek to maintain Christ as Messiah.  The government can only accomplish that which God allows.  And God will not allow the government to operate in the role of Christ.

So, remain subject to your government.  The authority placed over you is for your good.  If you are joyous over the new President, do not be ashamed, many are and have good reason to be.  Yet, do not place your hope in the government.  Hope can only be found in Christ.  The ills of this world will not be remedied by this administration or any other.  Only at the Resurrection, when the wicked are judged and the righteous inherit eternal life, lived with God, will “justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

In a time of commercialism, when people often feel the need to spend well beyond their reach, we find little reminder of what Christmas truly is. In the fashion of one of my favorite books of all time, Pilgrim’s Progress, I would like to tell the meaning of Christmas.

There is a King. He is not the sort of King who expands His kingdom for the sport of it. It is not a goal to be obtained to the detriment of those under Him. He does not suffer from hubris as the Kings we know in our history books. He does not marshal His subjects merely in order to expand His territorial boundaries at the expense of His subjects. He truly loves them. In fact, His kingship is defined by it. The King is good.

His subjects lived in His wonderful land.  They were invited to have relationship with this King.  The subjects were not made sport of, nor were they derided in order to make the King higher.  When His subjects lacked bread, this King did not say in regal ignorance, “then let them eat cake.”  Yet He did not simply give them bread.  He marshaled His subjects to give bread to others.  They were charged to bring in the abundance to give to those in need.  So deep was this King’s love, that He tasked His people to give to those were not His people.  Foreigners who did not know this King surely would know when they were helped and even served by His subjects.  The King is good.

But all is not well in the King’s domain.  The King had directed His people not to go where they ought not to go.  There was a danger in the land.  Far from the King was a miry swamp called Sin.  The mud in this swamp acted as if concrete, refusing to give up those who entered.  His subjects found themselves in this swamp.  They were unable to get out.  The swamp of Sin was hungry.  It devoured the people with an unquenchable hunger.  So dire was the plight of the King’s subjects, that even the children were born into this swamp.  But the King is good.

The King issued forth proclamations telling anew the dangers of the swamp.  But these proclamations did not have the power to save the people.  Furthermore, the people did not even listen to the proclamations.  They asserted that they could indeed save themselves from the bondage of the swamp of Sin.  They did not listen to their King.  Instead, they boasted that they were not like those outside of the King’s domain.  They could see the foreigners were likewise in this swamp.  They held the nations in contempt.  They refused to believe they were in the same swamp of Sin as the rest of the world.  The King told the people of their need and of their impotence.  There was nothing the people could do.  They no longer wished to help the foreigners.  Instead they scorned them while ignoring their own dreadful situation.  But the King is good.

The King no longer issued decrees informing the people of what to do.  The people were deaf to such decrees.  The King allowed the people to stay in their swamp of Sin.  Each attempt to pull themselves out only pulled them in deeper.  The King looked upon His people and had compassion.  The King is good.

The King left His regal palace, the place to where He called His people.  He set out to the swamp itself.  Clad in the most royal of vestments, the King stood at the edge of the muck.  He saw His people crying out.  He saw His people languishing in the mud they chose to enter, the mud they were born into.  The King in His pristine white garments, purple robe, and shining crown, leaped into the dank swamp.  He entered into the inescapable swamp in order to pull out His people, both from His own land as well as from the foreign nations. 

He is a good King.

Proposition 8 in California has sparked protests across the country.  Homosexual marriage will no longer be recognized in that state and that decision has been sparked the ire of homosexuals and gay rights activists across the country.  Many blame the Church for the results.  Yet, many churches are espousing a totally different view.  Some churches say they are ashamed and saddened by the passing of Proposition 8.  Not all in Christendom agree on the morality of homosexuality.  But what does the Bible say?

What Was the Sin of Sodom?

Genesis 18 and 19 have long been used as a proof text of the abominable nature of homosexuality.  God destroyed two cities because of it after all!  But what does the text actually say?

18:20 the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

It doesn’t specify what the particular sin is.  You may say, “well, it is quite obvious from the context.”  I think that we have been preconditioned to see homosexuality leap out above any other sin.  It is the hot issue of the day.  But of what sin did the Jews see that Sodom was guilty?

Jeremiah 23:14

14But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.

To Jeremiah, Sodom and Gomorrah strengthened the hands of evildoers so that no one turned from evil.

Ezekiel 16:47-49

47 Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. 48 As I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. 49Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.

To Ezekial, Sodom’s guilt lie in her pride and excess yet unwillingness to help those in need.  This can be seen by Lot’s desire to protect the angels of Yahweh as they were sojourners in the land.  Sodom wished to take advantage of the sojourner rather than come to his aid.

Jude 6-7

6And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7just 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.

Jude seems to echo our popular opinion of the sin of Sodom being a sexual sin.  Jude uses Sodom and Gomorrah as a shadow of judgment day, as did Jesus.

It appears that the sin of Sodom was in how they treated the sojourner.  The homosexuality was highlighted in order to truly show the depravity of the inhabitants.  It is the icing on their cake of judgment.  But ultimately, they were judged for how they treated the poor, helpless sojourner.

Is It a Sin?

Romans 1:18-32

18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

 24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

 26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27and 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.

 28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

In verses 18-23, Paul argues that all should know of God due to His General Revelation through Creation.  This is not to say that all should have the ability to come to saving faith, but that all should know better than to fashion idols.  But Paul says they do just that.  This serves as the basis for the following verses.

Verse 24 begins with the word therefore.  It is on the basis of what has been previously said that Paul continues.  He said it is due to the idolatry (sin) of mankind that God gave mankind over to sin.  Verse 26 continues by alluding back to the sin of idolatry with the phrase “for this reason”.  Paul says that because of the idolatry of mankind, he gave man over to homosexuality, calling it “due penalty for their error”.  This is the sin which typifies the ruin that mankind has heaped onto itself.

Verse 28 continues the argument so that it reaches its culmination.  Paul says that God gave them over to a debased mind which filled man with all manner of evil.

So here’s a little flow chart of sorts.

1. God is revealed as Creator through Creation (v18-20)
2. Man worships Creation instead of the Creator (21-23)
3. God gives mankind over to sin as a punishment for their sin (24-32)

Homosexuality is not simply a sin.  It is a sin which strikes against the created order to such a degree, that it is not only used as a tool by which to highlight wickedness, but God actually gives people over to homosexuality as a punishment!

Therefore, homosexuality is not simply a sin, but a punishment for sin.