I am Compelled
I checked my thesaurus to make sure. Yes, the synonyms for compelled are bound, obliged, forced, obligated, duty-bound, required, and constrained. Yes, that describes my attitude exactly.
About what? — About the recent news from New York and California. The New York State Legislature voted to legally authorize homosexual marriages, and in California, Gov. Jerry Brown has signed Senate Bill 48 requiring the teaching of the history of homosexuality in their K-12 public school system. Such overt, blatant, bold actions by public officials compel me to say something public about it.
Let me be clear. I am opposed to homosexuality on the same basis that I am opposed to fornication, adultery, thieves, and drunkards. My opposition is not a phobia or prejudice, but a recognition of what is sinful. Sin is to do something God has said not to do, and the Bible says practicing homosexuality is sinful. That, for me, ends the discussion, for I believe the Bible is God speaking to me — and you! Now, you might disagree with me on what the Bible is, but that is not my purpose here. We can discuss that some other time.
So, given my convictions about the Bible, I must allow it to shape my thoughts and behavior about homosexuality. The Bible's instruction is clear. "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 6:9-10). Just as I oppose the other listed sins, I oppose homosexuality. The fact that God says they are all sins causes me to so believe and conduct my life. And, the way this warning is worded tells me this is something I ought to know and not be deceived by any words that say otherwise.
Look at those listed sinful behaviors carefully. As you study them, it should become clear that these are all things that are not good for us — individually and as a society. They are destructive to all aspects of a happy, constructive, peaceful life. Each of these sins causes a disorder; a sort of violence to God's created natural order of things. Such is easily seen when we think about thieves and extortionists. So does idolatry as it directs our attention away from God to imaginary gods and things. And it is easy to see, if we want to, the natural violence to marriage caused by fornication, adultery, and homosexuality.
Marriage is God's business. He started it and commanded the principles that regulate it. (Why is the civil government involved in it?) He said marriage is to occur between a male and a female. He
not only said it but then so formed the first marriage. It is God who physically formed the male and female to fit together for the purposes of procreation and pleasure. He has also made it physically clear to us that husband/wife sexual faithfulness is what is good, best, and right by making our bodies unable to tolerate promiscuous behavior. Sexual diseases abound; especially AIDS. We ought to see such as God's natural warning against such behavior. The human body is not designed to tolerate it.
A few verses later in I Corinthians, while talking about the natural process of food and the stomach, it says, "Now the body is not for sexual immorality" (I Corinthians 6:13). Unlike the digestive process, the human body is not suited to the sexual sins of fornication, adultery, and homosexuality. That is why he says, "Flee sexual immorality" (I Corinthians 6:18). Get the message!
I do not want to close without reminding you what God also said about these matters in Romans 1:24-28. Read them and be wise. Don't allow people's bogus, misleading words to lead you to any other conclusions.
"Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
"For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (Romans 1:24-28).
