Contrary to Nature

Thank you for reading this sermon from Christ Fellowship. I hope and pray that this sermon will be a blessing of grace and truth to you. With that said, let me encourage you not to use this sermon as a replacement for your local church. Christ Jesus did not establish his Church simply for us to consume content. Instead, He calls us to be part of a real, covenant family.

For most of human history, and even now in most places around the world, today’s sermon would not be controversial. But in 21st century America, this message is going to be very controversial.  

That’s because 62% of all Americans believe that homosexuality is morally acceptable. More surprisingly, 59% of professing Christians believe that homosexuality is morally acceptable. That’s not a statistically significant difference! 

There’s obviously some confusion over an issue that has changed dramatically in just 30 years. Public acceptance of homosexuality didn’t start shifting until 1990. 

But it has definitely shifted. In the 1990s, only 3% of the population identified as lesbian or homosexual. Today, 23% of adults under 30 identify as LGBT. 

As a result of that growing public acceptance, a lot of churches have stopped talking about it or have become openly supportive of the movement. 

But I’m going to do my best to be clear and direct, because I believe this is extremely important. We need to speak about these issues with humility and grace, but also with courage and clarity. 

Before we start reading the text, I need to give a quick review. This letter was written by the Apostle Paul to the Roman church. He tells them that the Gospel is for everyone who believes – including the types of sinners we are going to talk about today. 

He also says that the Gospel is the power of God. It changes lives. No one is beyond the scope of that power.  

But first, it confronts us with an uncomfortable reality… that we deserve the wrath of God. We suppress the truth about Him. We reject our Creator and devote ourselves to false gods. 

And here is the consequence: 

[24] Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,  

[25] because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 

God gave them up. This is an example of the punishment fitting the crime. You want no God? Ok, God says, I will withdraw and let you have what you want… Lust. Impurity. Dishonoring their bodies. 

[26] For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;  

[27] and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 

All sin is evidence of our rebellion against God, and yet, Paul chooses the specific example of homosexuality to show how far humanity has strayed from their Creator. 

There are two basic interpretations here. 

First is the traditional view, held by the vast majority of Christians and scholars throughout history. The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says that homosexual activity of any kind is godless, shameful, and unnatural. It is not what God intends for us.  

And even most scholars who affirm homosexuality agree; this is what Paul meant. They reject his teaching as ancient and wrong, but they are intellectually honest about what Paul meant. That’s the first view. 

But there is another view that has gained popularity in recent years. Some commentaries suggest that Paul is not talking about homosexuality in general. Instead, he is talking about men having sex with young boys or some form of ancient male prostitution. 

That is extremely unlikely. The entire passage as a whole is anchored in creation. This is Paul’s big example or case study of something that has gone wrong with the whole world. He’s not appealing to an obscure practice that only mattered in ancient Rome. 

There’s also a lot of evidence outside the Bible that homosexuality in general was considered “contrary to nature”. This is not unique to Paul. Plato, Philo, and Josephus all use this same argument. 

Paul mentions mutual desires between consenting adults, so this is not a form of exploitation. He also includes women, not just men, so this isn’t some obscure form of male prostitution. 

And finally, the full testimony of Scripture aligns with the traditional view. Homosexual desires and activities are sinful. 

But let’s ask a different question. How did we get here? How did we get to the place where most people think this is ok? 

Most people would say it goes back to the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s, when Americans started rejecting traditional family values. But it goes back even further.  

19th century existential philosophy and the radical individualism that followed… 

Utilitarianism and the effect it had on American culture… and maybe a hundred other factors.  

But in simple terms, by the 1960s, most people believed they had a right to personal happiness, and that life was all about limiting personal suffering. Let people do whatever makes them feel happy. That became the most important value. 

But that wasn’t anything new. That’s where godless society always ends up. Only two generations after Moses, the Israelites started worshipping false gods. And by the time of the Judges, the Bible says everyone did what was right in their own eyes.  

That’s what suppressing the truth does to us. That’s where we are today. Everyone doing what is right in their own eyes. 

But there’s a serious problem. It’s not working out very well for us. The rejection of traditional family values is wrecking society. Those “old institutions” helped us protect women, children, and especially the poor. Loneliness is way up. Birth rates are way down.  

And the most ironic consequence is that the sexual revolution is killing intimacy. In 1990, 55% of adults said they had sex at least once a week. That number is now only 37%. 

That fact is fascinating when you consider the circumstances. We have numerous forms of birth control, better ways of dealing with sexually transmitted diseases, and easier ways of finding partners. But sex is in decline. 

This isn’t just a gay problem. It’s a human problem. Don’t take my word for it. Do some research.  

And then come back to Romans 1. Is it possible that Paul was right? … that what we’re doing to ourselves is ungodly and unnatural. That this is not how humans were designed to function. 

That one man and one woman in one marriage is better for us… Maybe God knows what He’s talking about? Maybe we are bad at figuring out what will actually bring us long-term happiness? 

[28] And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  

Have it your way… and the consequences start to pile up. 

[29] They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,  

[30] slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,  

[31] foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  

[32] Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. 

Any time you find a list of sins like this in the Bible, it is meant to cast a wide net. Lest you read the verses on homosexuality and think to yourself, that’s not me, so I’m good… Paul says, “Think again.” 

No one makes it to the end of this list without guilt. Not even the children are innocent! Disobedient to parents is on the same list as murder. 

But look closely at the argument. We’re not committing these crimes against God by accident. He says we are doing it willfully. We know what we are doing is wrong, but we do it anyway. And we approve of others doing it. It’s a premeditated rebellion by everyone who’s ever been born. 

I know that’s Paul’s intention, to convict the entire human race, because of what he says in the next verse – chapter 2 verse 1. 

[1] Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 

And so, the second half of Romans 1 is really a rhetorical trap. He focuses our attention on a particular sin that most people find repulsive. He uses that to draw us in, to recognize how far humanity has strayed from God. 

But then he catches us all in the trap. You have no excuse either. You are guilty, too. You deserve to die. You deserve the wrath of God. Every. One. Of. You. 

If you walk away from today’s sermon smug and satisfied that the pastor addressed homosexuality, but completely missing the fact that your sin deserves the same consequences… then you are blind.  

We who practice such things deserve to die. Coveting. Deserves to die. Gossiping. Deserves to die. Boastful. Deserves to die. And yes, sexual sinners deserve to die. 

But God (through Paul) is demonstrating love here, even to sexual sinners. Remember the context… Paul is explaining why we all need the Gospel. 

We won’t understand or accept our need for the righteousness of God in Christ, received by faith, unless we first understand and accept our sin and the consequences of our sin. 

But this is something our culture resists with great energy. Most people would think this sermon is full of hate speech. If you don’t affirm people’s life choices, then you’re a bigot. 

And many professing Christians have accepted the culture’s view on this. 

But I would appeal to you to consider the Gospel. God has proven to us, in the Gospel, that it is possible to deeply love someone without affirming all their life choices. Otherwise, what exactly did Jesus die for? 

He died to demonstrate the great love of God for sinners! Christ died for the ungodly! In other words, God doesn’t approve of any lifestyle apart from Him, sexually deviant or otherwise. And He’s obviously very serious about that if it required the grisly death of His only Son to make things right. 

So yes, homosexuality is sin to be repented of and turned from. Like all sin, it hurts us and it angers God. But if it offends you personally more than your own sin does, then you’re missing the point.  

No one is beyond the power of the Gospel, but no one is beyond the need of it either. 

One last thing… What if you’re here this morning and this is you Paul describes in verses 26-27? What if you’re struggling with some of the desires Paul describes as godless and unnatural?  

I know that in general churches haven’t done a very good job with this topic. Some have fallen in line with the culture, telling you there’s nothing about you that needs to change.  

And some have told you that your sin is too great… that you’re not welcome. 

But I want you to hear that the Gospel is the power of God to everyone who believes.  

I want you to know that faithfulness is possible, and that faithfulness is not the absence of temptation. You may struggle with temptation your entire life.  

And I want you to believe that the church is meant to be your family. You are valuable to us, and we are here for you. Don’t be afraid to talk to me or one of the elders about it. 

That goes for anyone struggling with any of the sins on this list or any type of sexual sin. God’s vision for the family and for His church is something worth fighting for. We can love each other WITHOUT affirming things that are contrary to nature.