Our Christian culture teaches us that all sin is equal, that no sin is more heinous in the eyes of God than any other sin. Surely, there is a measure of equality when it comes to the consequences for sin. All unconfessed sins are punishable by a just God who chooses to separate himself from those who refuse confession. But even Christ himself did not teach that all sin was equal: John 19:11 "Jesus answered, 'you would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
Who would argue that sexually abusing a child is no worse than feeling envy? Try convincing your wife that sleeping with the neighbor is no worse than speaking sharply to your children. Even our justice system is structured on the fact that some crimes are more heinous than others.
Scripture (Genesis 19, Romans 1, 1 Cor. 6, 1 Tim. 1) teaches that sodomy is a particularly heinous sin. Leviticus 20:13 says that "if a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." Leviticus 18:22 says it is particularly "detestable" for a man to lie with a man. Those who disagree will say we are no longer under the law. God's moral law is transcendent. Jesus quoted Old Testament law when he said "in the beginning the Creator made them male and female," and a man "will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."
Sodomy is especially heinous because it is:
1. A perversion of the created order. When God created man and woman he was very specific about his plan for them. Homosexual relationships are not what he had in mind.
2. A perversion of the procreation command. Homosexual relationships makes it impossible to do what God has commanded us to do, procreate. Homosexual advocates will reply by asking, "Are you saying the only reason for sex is for procreation?" Then they will reply that infertile couples should never have sex or that a couple who marry in their sixties should never have sexual relations because they can never have children.
God is addressing a category when he commands we procreate. Procreation doesn't always occur, but as a category, men were formed to procreate. The activity itself, aside from procreation, is appropriate between a man and a woman because it is sanctioned by God for pleasure as well as procreation.. Read Song of Solomon. Paul seems to indicate that legitimized sexual relations between a husband and wife can help them escape the temptations of sexual immorality. (1 Cor. 7:2) "But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband."
3. A perversion of the promise. Gen. 3:15 is the first messianic promise. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." From that point on Satan was totally obsessed with killing the seed of the woman. Pharaoh killed babies, Herod killed babies. Babies are being killed by the millions in today's culture. What better way to kill the seed than to put men with men and women with women?
Homosexuality is listed among those sins that are particularly heinous. Thankfully, our Savior specialized in forgiving particularly heinous sins.
See cultural apologist Voddie Bauchim for a better and more detailed explanation of the heinous sin of sodomy. www.voddiebauchim.org
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