Our Stand on Biblical Sexual Morality, Part 1

Two years ago, I wonder if you remember this sign: "15 days to slow the spread." Vice President Pence held this up every single day for two weeks, 15 days to slow the spread. We did not know at the time, but that began an assault upon the church. We did not see it at that point. We would soon come to see that the church needed to be the church.

And we were told by others that gathering together was not a hill to die on. But we believed it was because the Lord gave us a command in Hebrews chapter 10 verses 24 and 25 that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. In fact, as you see the day drawing near, that is the time of Christ's coming, you need to be engaged more and more in stimulating one another, encouraging one another to love and good deeds. And so we realized that meeting together was essential, not optional.

But there were many people who said, "You know, it just wasn't a hill to die on." And everything about the mandates that were passed down were not that big a deal, and they weren't hills to die on. But we believe that any attempt to diminish the sovereign role and rule of God over his church is a hill to die on. So much so that we at our church and others who opened and gathered together to worship the Lord together realize the importance of gathering together to worship and honor the Lord.

Well, two years almost have passed, and the totalitarian regime has ramped itself up so much that we've lost people in our military, firefighters, nurses, doctors, because of a vaccine mandate that we told you two summers ago, that vaccine mandates were coming. And sure enough, they are here. And that regime that rules in our country today has an objective, and that objective is against the church.

And the church is that last bastion of truth. If the church doesn't stand on the truth, who will? The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3, verse number 15, that the church is the pillar and foundation of the truth. In other words, the church upholds the truth, the truth about who Jesus Christ is, the truth about what Jesus Christ does.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29, verse number 18, that without a vision, or the literal translation, without the revelation of God, the people are unrestrained. The people will perish. That's true. Unless we're able to give them the truth of God's revelation, people will be unrestrained because vision comes from revelation. And to be able to understand the future and to be able to understand what God is doing, it only comes through the knowledge of the truth of God's holy word.

So Solomon would say in Proverbs 23, verse number 23, "Buy truth and never sell it." Buy it. It's costly. Do whatever you have to do to obtain the truth and never sell it. Never compromise on it. Never dilute it. Never back away from it. Always do what is ever necessary to obtain the truth. It's priceless. It's worth protecting. It's worth preserving. It's worth purchasing. It's worth praying for because the truth is everything.

We've been asked today to address a topic that is becoming more and more crucial, not just to this nation, but to our world. In Canada, in the month of November and December, they passed a bill called the C-4 bill. It passed unanimously in the Parliament. There wasn't one dissenting vote. On December the 8th of 2021, it obtained what they called royal assent, making January 8th, just last week, a law - a law that in its preamble states these words: "The bill bans conversion therapy and clearly states that belief in God's design for marriage and sexuality is now seen only as a myth."

God's design for marriage and sexuality, as outlined in Scripture, now is only a myth in Canada, so they say. It bans any attempt to convert someone who is a homosexual, who is a lesbian, who is transgender and pursuing that lifestyle. It is against the law to counsel them, to teach them, to preach to them anything that will change the course and direction of their life. Parents are not allowed to teach their children and counsel their children away from that lifestyle. The penalty is up to five years in prison.

And so our Canadian brothers have asked the church in America to preach on biblical sexual morality on this Sunday, because this is the Sunday that they are gathering together to preach on this topic. And they have asked us that we would band together with them. And John MacArthur at Grace Community Church sent out a letter asking pastors in this country and around the world, literally, because his network is literally worldwide, to preach on this topic on this Sunday.

He also asked that people would sign a document that promotes a biblical view of sexuality and marriage, which we signed. The ironic thing about that is that as of ten days ago, there were only 2,600 people who signed it. But that's not the shocker. The majority of the 2,600 were women, not men. And we know that the feminization of the church is a huge issue, not just in America, but around the world.

And so it's important for us to realize that this trend is moving rapidly to the United States of America. It started slowly in Canada over the last decade or so, with little bills passed here and there, until this year or last year when the bill was finally passed, the C-4 bill. Most of us don't understand that in 2012, California passed a bill, Bill 1172, banning gay conversion therapy. Along with New York, New Jersey, Nevada, and Oregon, California sought to prohibit any correction of an unbiblical view of sexual identity because California has a compelling interest in protecting the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. That was in 2012. It's now 2022. And that's just in a few states in our country. Where will that lead in the upper echelons of our government?

On August 18, 2020, the Democratic Party declared at the National Convention that it would ban harmful conversion therapy practices. The Democratic Party's platform is to ban any kind of conversion therapy. Anything that would take someone from a perverted lifestyle and show them what the scriptures say and move them toward what the Bible actually says on how they should live their lives. That is the Democratic Party's agenda. And they, right now, are in the rulership in our country.

It was the Obama administration that appointed 250 different LGBTQ people in government. And the Biden administration has promised to increase that number exponentially. And they've already begun to do that. Having said that, this is a battle that's growing with intensity with each passing week and month in our country. And we need to respond. We need to be bold. We need to be direct. As the world seeks to dethrone God, destroy the family, demean Christianity, discourage the church, and defeat us from standing on biblical truth, we need to stand strong.

The LGBTQ movement is the most powerful social group in America, and they are moving rapidly with their agenda. Having said that, today I want to teach you about our stand on a biblical sexual morality. We have a statement already. It's on our website. It's called our affirmations and denials, all dealing with marriage and the family. You can go to our website and read that if you'd like to, but it's been there for a number of years. But the point is, we need to take a stand. And that stand says that we will not bow. We will not back away. We will not break down. We will not bend in any way, shape, or form, when it comes to what the Bible says. In fact, we will build strong, we will buckle up, and we will make sure that the truth is boldly proclaimed.

Having said that, I have ten points I want to give you. And I will not cover them all today. So, while we promise to preach on it, it's going to take me at least more than one Sunday, probably three Sundays, but we'll see how far we get today. But we want to begin with our first point.

What is our stand on a biblical sexual morality and why? Our stand is based on ten principles in Scripture. The first is this: it's based on the veracity of Scripture. It's based on the truth of the Bible. This is our stand. For there is no other stand to take other than what the Bible says. So the truth of Scripture defines for us a biblical morality.

The world cannot define a biblical morality. They are incapable of doing that. The government cannot define a biblical morality. They are incapable of doing that. Why? Well, the Bible tells us in the book of Romans, the first chapter, they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer. So God gave them over to a reprobate mind. So we live in a world with people filled with reprobate minds, which is an unthinking mind, an irrational mind. So any attempt by the world to define a biblical sexual morality will always fall short of God's holy standard.

And because the Bible says that the world is filled with unrighteousness, filled with greed and jealousy, they truly are haters of God. So, how can one who is a hater of God define for us a biblical sexual morality? They can't. Only God's word can. We have a human court that says murder is not murder. That the family is not family. That marriage is not marriage. That your birth identity is not your true identity. So if a human court believes that, how on earth can they ever give us a biblical sexual morality? They cannot.

Any attempt to define morality other than how God defines it blasphemes the name of a holy God, His Holy Word, His Holy Spirit, His Holy Church. Our nation in America has taken a stand at the highest level against our God. We know that because 1 John 5:19 says that the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one. We know that 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that Satan is the God of this world, and he's blinded the minds of the unbeliever. We know that the Bible says in John 12:31 that Satan is the ruler of this world. Ephesians chapter 2, verse number 2, he is the prince and power of the air. And 2 Timothy 2:26 says that he has taken captive the unbeliever and held them under his domain.

So, if that's the case, there is no way on this planet that they can ever define for us a biblical sexual morality. Only God can do that. And if the church truly is the pillar and foundation of the truth, then the definition of that only comes through the Word of the living God. And the real battleground is not homosexuality. The real battleground is not gender transition. The real battleground is against God, Christ, His church, His law, His spirit, for truly they are God-haters.

Romans 1:30 says that those given over to a reprobate mind are haters of God. Satan is the ultimate hater of God. Those in his kingdom by nature are haters of God. So those who are haters of God can't define for us what a biblical sexual morality is. Like those in Canada, they will say that everything the Bible says about marriage and sexuality is a myth. It's not true. But we know it is true. And by the way, they know it's true. We know that because Romans 1 tells us that they suppress the truth. It's not that they don't know the truth. They just simply suppress the truth because they don't want to be held accountable to that truth.

So we know, as Paul says in the book of Ephesians, the sixth chapter, that we are to put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that you'll be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm, stand firm, having girded your loins with truth."

It begins with the truth. The armor of God begins with that which is true. To stand against the wiles of the devil means you take a firm stand on that which you know to be true. And God's word is that truth. We live in what people tell us is a postmodern world. Since the late 70s, early 80s, when modernism went off the scene and postmodernism took over, we live in a realm where absolute truth and objective truth no longer exists.

In a postmodern world, or excuse me, in a modern world, they believed that truth did exist, but that it could only be defined scientifically. That was the only reliable way to determine what was true. So they treated human reason as the main arbiter as to what is true. The modern mind discounted the supernatural. And because it discounted the supernatural, and looked only to the scientific and only to the rational, it spawned the likes of Darwinism, which spawned the likes of Marxism, fascism, socialism, and theological liberalism.

But now that we move from a modern world to a postmodern world, we realize that there is no possible way to ever discern objectively what is true. Because everything is based on my experience. In fact, the goal of the postmodern world is to deconstruct every truth claim, to deny every dogma, because there's nothing that's certain in a postmodern world. So, therefore, whatever you think is true is your truth. Whatever I think is true is my truth, because it's based on my own experience.

And yet we know that there's only one truth. And that's God's truth. John 17:17 says, "Sanctify them in truth, for your word is truth." Christ said, "I am the way, and I am the truth." The Bible says in Psalm 19, verse number 7: "The judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether." In other words, when God passes judgment, it's based on his word. And it's always a righteous judgment because his word is always true.

The Bible says in Proverbs 30, verse number 5, that every word of God is pure, clean, true. Isaiah 65:16 says that God is truth. Jeremiah 10:10 says the Lord is the true God. John 3:33 says that God is true. 1 John 5:20, He is the true God. Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18 says that God cannot lie. Psalm 119:160 says that the sum of thy word is truth.

We take our stand based on the veracity of Scripture. Truth is objective. Truth is absolute. And can only be defined by a God who is true. It can't be defined by man who lives in untruth. In fact, it was Jesus who said to Pilate, "You say correctly that I am a king, and for this I have been born, and for this I have come to the world to testify to the truth."

Christ says, "Not only am I the way, the truth, and the life, not only do I speak truth, I have come to testify to the truth." What truth? The truth about heaven. The truth about hell, the truth about the Messiah, the truth about God. The truth about salvation, the truth about life, the truth about death, the truth about marriage, the truth about sexuality. The truth about all the scripture speaks of, I've come to testify to that truth.

Then he says, "Everyone who is of the truth, hears my voice." They obey me. They follow me. And so Pilate said what man has said even today, 2,000 years later, "What is truth?" What is truth? "You have your truth, Jesus. I'll have my truth. How do you know what truth is?" We know it because of what God's word says. He is the God who is true and has given us His Word.

Romans 1 tells us these very clear words: "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." How does the world suppress the truth? By living an unrighteous lifestyle. They just keep pushing it further and further away by condoning and living a lifestyle of unrighteousness, trying to numb the reality of what one day they will face.

It's not that the world doesn't know truth. They do know the truth about God. They do know the truth about eternity because eternity has been set in the heart of man. Solomon tells us in the book of Ecclesiastes. It says very clearly, "Because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them." They're without excuse. God made it very clear that he exists. "For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened."

Do you think that there's one person on the Supreme Court that doesn't believe murder is murder? Do you think that there's one person on the Supreme Court who doesn't believe in a holy God? No, they do. They just suppress the truth. And they refuse to be accountable to that God. They don't want to be accountable to God. Don't think for one moment that those who rule in our land have no idea about who God is and what God demands. Oh, they know. They just keep suppressing the truth, thinking that it will go away.

Their foolish hearts are darkened. Because they knew God and they would not honor God as God. Because they suppressed the truth, God kept giving them over. And He gave them over to a sinful lifestyle, a homosexual kind of lifestyle, where men would exchange the natural affection that they have for women and direct it toward men and vice versa, women instead of their natural affection toward men, would have a perverted direction toward women. God just kept giving them over and over and over until finally he gives them over to a reprobate mind, a mind that cannot think straight. Because it's so filled with unrighteousness, greed, slander, because they're haters of God.

And that's why the Bible says very clearly in Romans chapter 1 that not only do they practice these things, and although they know the ordinances of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death. Do you think that the Supreme Court doesn't know that those who practice the things that are in Romans 1 are worthy of death? They do know that. It says so. They can deny that, but I believe what God says. That's what's important.

They not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. The laws of our land give hearty approval to those who practice a perverted lifestyle. So our stand on a biblical sexual morality is a stand that's based on the veracity of Scripture. There is truth. Truth does exist. It is objective. It is absolute because it comes from the God of the universe who is absolutely true and only speaks truth. And that's our stand. And we won't back away from that. We won't bend on that. We buy truth. We will not sell it. We will not compromise that truth. We know what God's Word says. And therefore, we take a firm stand on the truth of a holy God.

It's important to understand that practical atheism, the rejection of truth, moral relativism prevails in Satan's kingdom. Americans have had a reprieve for a while, but no longer. All that's changing, and it's changing rapidly. Do not put your head in the sand, do not fall asleep, do not think it's not going to happen. It is. All you had to do is watch the last two years. It's very obvious what they want to do with your children and the minds of your children. It's unbelievable. But we will not bow to Caesar. We will be faithful to our God as Mordecai was faithful to his God, as Daniel was faithful to his God, as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were faithful to their God. As Paul was faithful to his God, none of them bowed. None of them would even bend or cringe just a little bit. They would take a firm stand based on the truth that was revealed to them in the word of the living God.

The Bible says these words in the third chapter of John: "This is the judgment that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil." Light has come. Christ is the light. It's come into the world. He has shone brightly for all to see. But it's clear that men loved darkness. And they don't love the light. "For everyone who does evil hates the light," hates God and does not come to the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

You see that? As Romans 1 says, they suppress the truth. Why? Because they don't want to be accountable to the truth. They won't come to the light for fear that their deeds, their evil deeds, will be exposed. They don't want to come to Christ because if they do, everything that they've done in secret will be brought to light. They don't want that. So they continue to suppress the truth with all of their deeds of unrighteousness, thinking that the light will become dimmer and dimmer as time goes on, and they won't have to be accountable to what they know to be true. But they will.

For Christ says, "But he who practices the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." We come to the light because we want to be exposed. We want our sin to be dealt with because we know that only Christ deals with our sin in a way that allows us to be set free from that sin, that we might turn to the true living God.

That is a conversion. You see, the world is engulfed in perversion. They need to have an encounter with revelation so that there will be an enablement for a conversion that they might enjoy salvation. But without them turning from their sin and following God, that will never happen.

So, point number one is this: Our stand is based on, number one, the veracity of the scripture. Number two, it's based on the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God. I'm sure you'll remember these words written in 1940, sung by Jiminy Cricket: "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you."

Now, I'm not sure that Walt Disney meant what is happening today necessarily. But that's exactly the lifestyle of people today. Those who are committed to the transgender movement deny the sovereignty of the living God. They refuse to believe that God in His sovereignty created them the way he designed them to be created. That they were truly, Psalm 139, fearfully and wonderfully made. That God knew them way before they were ever formed in their mother's womb, and God specifically made one male and one female.

So if you come out of the womb as a male, you're a male because in the sovereignty of God that was his design for you. If you come out of the womb as a female, it is because that's in the sovereignty of God what God has designed for you. And to say God made a mistake - "I'm not really a man, I'm a woman" or "I'm not really a woman, I'm a man" - it is to deny the sovereignty of God over your life.

But we affirm the fact that God is sovereign, that God makes no mistakes, that God chooses what you are. And he did that in eternity past. God in His sovereignty determined your sexual identity. He did that. And to disagree with Him is blasphemous. To change your gender is blasphemous. It's saying, "God, you're not perfect. God, you're not true. God, you're not right. God, you're not just. God, you're not holy. God, you're not sovereign." But he is.

Transgenderism attempts to redefine humanity itself, not just human sexuality. Very important. You've heard about the guy from the University of Pennsylvania who is now swimming with the women and breaking all the records because he believes he's a woman. Ironically, two weeks ago, he got beat. Ironically, he got beat by a woman who's transitioning to be a man. That's the world we live in. Think of that. I mean everything about Bruce Jenner and changing his identity to Caitlyn Jenner. Just think about that. He wins the Olympics, the decathlon, as a man, but now he's a woman. So did he win or did she win? Did she compete against men and win? Or did he compete against men and win? You see the confusion there? See, a reprobate mind cannot think straight.

But here's what's great: God is so wonderful and so gracious. Listen to what the Bible says in the book of Deuteronomy, the 23rd chapter, verse number one: "No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord." God says you can't enter the assembly of the Lord. If you want to transition from a man to a woman, okay? And go through a sex change and emasculate yourself, you can never enter the assembly of the Lord. Can't do that. See, that message needs to be preached to people. They need to understand that.

Note this. Deuteronomy 22, verse number 5: "A woman shall not wear a man's clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God." Do you think that transgenderism is something of today? Oh no, it's been around for 4,000 years. It's not new. God makes it very clear that you can never, listen carefully, you can never blur the lines between male and female. For once you blur the lines in any way, letting women dress as men and men dress as women, once you begin to blur those lines, that is an abomination to God. It blasphemes his name because male and female created he them. And he wants men to be distinct from women and women to be distinct from men. And when you begin to blur the lines between the two, it's blasphemous to the living God. So important to understand that.

But listen to the words of Isaiah chapter 56: "Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from his people.' Nor let the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.'" Don't let the one who emasculated himself say he is a dry tree. "For thus says the Lord, to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose what pleases me, and hold fast my covenant, to them I will give in my house, and within my walls a memorial, and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off."

You might choose to transition from a man to a woman and cut off that which distinctly makes you a man. And you will not enter the assembly of the Lord, but if you are willing to repent of your ways, if you're willing to turn to me. If you're willing to follow me, I will give you something that will never be cut off. A name, a memorial name in my kingdom.

You see, that is conversion therapy, for lack of a better word. That's the truth of God's Holy Word. Because we're so committed to the truth of God's Word, knowing what the demands are, knowing what God does to those who will not follow his word, that he gives them over to a reprobate mind, that he turns them over to their sexual desires, and it just increases, increases, and they become haters of God. And they give hearty approval to all those who do the things that they're doing. God always provides a route of escape. God always provides a way of salvation. For the grace of God is bigger than the sins of man. The love of God is greater than man's hatred of God. So we preach the gospel. We stand strong in the truth and tell people how it is they might come to saving faith. They might embrace all that God is.

That's why I love what Paul says when he says this: "Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals." Effeminate is a word that means soft. Soft. Those who want to exchange that which is normal for their maleness, that they might become soft in their lifestyle. God strictly forbids the blurring of the role of man and woman.

"Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

Oh, you were homosexuals, but you were washed. You were effeminate, but you were washed. You were justified. You were sanctified. That's conversion. That is conversion from perversion, which God in His Holy Word provides. That's why we stand strong on the veracity of Scripture. We stand strong on the sovereignty of God. And number three, we'll begin here next week. We stand strong on the sanctity of marriage.

Let me pray with you. Father, we thank you, Lord, for today and the opportunity you give us to speak and preach your word. And pray, Lord, that you go before us, that we might be people who preach the truth. Who reach out to those who are in such a desperate need of salvation that we would love them as you yourself have loved them. And show them what your word says, that they might experience new life in Christ our Lord.

We pray, Father, that you protect your church. Protect your people as they continue to stand strong on your word. Pray for our brothers in Canada who today, when they preach on this, know that there's a chance they could be thrown into prison. We pray for them. That Lord, you'd protect them, preserve them, and use them to proclaim boldly the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. We pray in your name. Amen.