Week #43 – The Deception of Homosexuality

Genesis 1:26,27; 2:18-24 – Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…"  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them…  

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called `woman,' for she was taken out of man."  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Leviticus 18:22 – Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.

Male and female are not the product of genetic or cultural engineering, but are God-created parts of humanity – made for each other to reflect the image of God in our world.  Together, male and female depict the fullest picture of the image of God in creation.  That’s why we need each other.  Adam wasn’t complete without Eve.  It was not good for man to be alone (all one).  That would not adequatly reflect the nature and image of the Triune God!  God created in Eve the perfect complement for Adam that, when united in heart, mind, body and spirit, would uniquely reflect the image and likeness of the Father, Son and Spirit.  As a result, sexual love between a married man and woman is a life-giving act of mutual giving and receiving that mirrors the Trinity like nothing else does on earth.

Homosexuality falsely declares that differences in male and female don’t really matter.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  All sexual sin is wrong because it violates the image and likeness of God, but homosexuality does more.  It violates the complementary relationship found in the Triune Deity.  It’s a particularly evil lie of Satan because it subverts the very image of the Trinitarian God in creation, revealed in the union of male and female.  That’s why this issue has become such a lightning rod.  Nothing else challenges the image and likeness of the Triune Creator so profoundly and blatantly as homosexuality.  It’s not what we were made for.  Romans 1 reveals that homosexuality is one of the byproducts of exchanging the glory of God for other images.  When that happens, people abandon God’s image and He gives them over to “shameful, unnatural, indecent, perverted and depraved” sexual relationships – men with men and women with women.

We love God in our sex lives by living in the fullness of what He intends for us.  A man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and they will BECOME one flesh.  Over time, through faithful commitment and living, a husband and wife (male & female) will together, more and more reflect the image and likeness of their Creator!  As such, we should live fully as the sexual beings God has created us to be.  He desires and designed that for us as part of the mystery of oneness that reflects His own nature.  But He doesn’t give us an unqualified sexual license.  There are clear commands and admonitions regarding sexual righteousness we need to pay attention to, as we’ve mentioned in previous guides.  These are not given because God is a killjoy, but for just the opposite: He wants our relationships to mirror His image and likeness and to avoid deception.  He created us and then sent His Son so that we might have life more abundantly and fullness of joy!

Thursday:                             

• Meet together with at least 1 or 2 other believers to enter the Throne Room of Grace.
• Join our 6:00pm Thursday night prayer team.         

Friday:             

• Love God with all your heart, with all of your mind, and with all your soul.  Give yourself completely to Him!
• Pray for the Good News families of the week: Steve & Allison Worrall, Rick & Jenn Suhr, Alberto & Kasandra Aneses (Alberto Jr.).

Saturday:       

• Thank God for His moral laws that promote sexual purity and guide us into wholesome oneness and unity.

Sunday:                

• Pray for a revival that sets men and women free to follow the Spirit into sexual and moral purity.
• Join in with our Sunday prayer services to pray for God’s presence and blessing.

 Monday:              

• Ask God to strengthen your refusal to be influenced by the world’s models of sexual relations.
• Attend “In Touch” Prayer meeting at GNCC at 10:30am or join in prayer at that time.

 Tuesday:       

• Pray that men and women may clearly see that sexual relations must not be separated from the intimacy of marriage.

Wednesday:   

• Ask God to help you to wisely righteously stand against the deception of homosexuality that pervades our society. 

Prayer Challenge: Cherish the gift of sexuality as one given so that we might reflect the image and likeness of God!