What Does GOD Say About Sexual Relations?
If you want to know what God's position on sexual relations is (or anything else for that matter), it's really quite simple to find out. After all, He's the Source; He designed and created us as male and female, so I'm pretty sure He had in mind how He intended our sexual functions to operate. In the Book of Levitcus in the Old Testament of the Bible, God provides His first set of laws and commands for the Israelites concerning just about every facet of life. In the 18th chapter, He clearly spells out His rules for sexual relations. Here is an excerpt from my NIV Bible containing the list of rules, beginning with Lev 18:1:
Unlawful Sexual Relations
18.1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. 5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.
6 “‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am God.
7 “‘Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
8 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father.
9 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
10 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.
11 “‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
12 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.
13 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.
14 “‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.
15 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.
16 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.
17 “‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.
18 “‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
19 “‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
20 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.
21 “‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
22"' Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable. (Note: The Message uses "abhorrent" instead of "detestable"; otherwise, the wording is virtually the same)
23 “‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion."'
God went on to tell the Israelites through Moses that if they did these things they not only defile themselves, but that they also defiled the land where they lived, and that if they defiled the land where they lived it would "vomit them out." (vs 24-28) Time and again, throughout history, we have seen the scenario played out where great empires and civilizations have been destroyed as they abandoned civil and sexual mores and restraints for an "anything goes" environment. And, by the way, if you really want to see how much He disliked these deviations from normal sexual behavior, go to the 22nd chapter of Leviticus to see what punishments He required for the individuals who committed these acts...Believe me, they ain't pretty!
Now in verse 22, God didn't specifically say the word "homosexual," just as He didn't mention the words "adulterer," "bigamist," "incest," or "bestiality" in the other verses of this section, but I would think that it is pretty obvious from the description of the act what He meant. Along these lines you should also note that God doesn't put labels either on the people (i.e., a homosexual) or on their actions (i.e., adultery); instead, He describes the action He is banning. Do you kinda think that may because He knew people would have a tendency to use semantics to "justify" violations of these laws?
Born again believers may argue that these rules are in the Old Testament and do not apply to us in the New Testament because we are no longer under the Law, and they would be right, technically, since we are no longer under the written Law. However, I don't believe God's position on this matter changed, even though He took away the punishment for breaking these rules through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross: Remember, Hebrews 14:8 says "Jesus Christ (Who is God) is the same yesterday and today and forever." Also recall that in Heb 8:10 the Lord declared that under the new covenant (NT) He would put His laws in the minds and write them on the hearts of His people (believers)...not just completely eliminate them. And then there's 1 Cor 6:9-10, written by Paul through the inspiration and influence of the Holy Spirit (also known as God), which our friends studying The Message would miss because the wording in that text alone has been conveniently changed. That Scripture says this: " Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."(1 Cor 6:9-10, NIV) Thankfully, there is hope for people who do these things in the verses that follow, and I will address that later when I challenge this blogger's interpretation of similar scriptures in the New Testament concerning homosexuality, but those verses definitely speak to God's opinion concerning the behaviors listed.
Here's another note of interest for your consideration: Verses 6-23 of Lev 18 is one of the very few sections of the Bible that Mr. Peterson matched verse for verse in his book, The Message, and almost word for word. Do you think there might have been a reason for that? I do: One has to be very careful about tinkering with stuff God says directly, as He does in this section.
Finally, let me ask you this: If you really believe that God now approves of homosexual behavior, and therefore same sex marriage, does that mean He also now condones the other 16 behaviors He originally banned in chapter 18? Because if it does, we are in for one messed up society, especially with the incestuous and bestiality behaviors; and if it doesn't, how and why does He exempt verse 22 without exempting the rest? Oh, and one other thing: Did you notice that He didn't mention lesbian behavior or self-gratification in this list of commands; or for that matter, what type of activities are considered "sexual relations"? So do you think He just forgot to address those activities, or that He was lending approval to certain activities by His failure to address them? What do you think?
That's all I have for now...Thanks for taking the time to read this response. I think that this is an extremely important issue for our times In my next blog, I will be begin to address specific sections of the subject blog one by one.
