Why were those folks dumped-on so badly?<\/p>\n
“Because they were queers!” we might say.<\/p>\n
Yes they were, to use the slang term, “queers.”\u00a0 (Some may prefer the euphemistic “gay” in accordance with the thinking of our “broadminded society which has proclaimed homosexuality an alternative sexual preference.”)\u00a0 And yes, God condemns homosexuals along with fornicators, adulterers, idolaters, male prostitutes, thieves, the greedy, the drunkards, and the swindlers (1 C. 6:9,10; for additional lists of vices, see 1 C. 5:10,11; 10:7,8 Gal. 5:20; Col. 3:5,6; Eph. 5:5; 1 P. 4:3; Rv. 21:8).<\/p>\n
So what is so bad about homosexuality?\u00a0 And what is so bad about these other vices?\u00a0 They are the fruits of selfishness.\u00a0 They are acts which proceed from the self-centered, rebellious nature of man (Gal. 5:18).\u00a0 These “character traits” reflect the innermost being of those who bear them (Mk. 7:20-22).\u00a0 Moreover, they are unregenerate, unsaved, unbelieving, and damned (Rev. 21:8)<\/p>\n
Self-centeredness seeks activity which gratifies the self.\u00a0 So in our society we observe the hedonistic characteristics: sexual promiscuity, drug experiences, extravagant and frequent entertainment.\u00a0 Fun.\u00a0 Fun.\u00a0 Fun . . . . “Life is to enjoy . . . Live it up!”<\/p>\n
Many people work long had days just so they can live it up!\u00a0 They are “lovers of themselves,” “lovers of pleasure,” rather than “lovers of God” (1 Tim 3:1-4).\u00a0 They are self-centered, and not God-centered (See Matt. 6:24).<\/p>\n
Paul divides\u00a0 the vices of man into two categories in Romans 1.\u00a0 The first is sexual sin, or sin against the body (1C. 6:48).\u00a0 Sexual sin is rooted in the failure by man to glorify God as God – idolatry (Rm. 1:21-27).<\/p>\n
The second category is sin against other people.\u00a0 These sins (1: 21-27) also derive from man’s failure to retain the knowledge of God (1:28).<\/p>\n
I would sum up the first category as the sin of idolatry<\/u>.\u00a0 The second would be described by greed<\/u> or covetousness.\u00a0 Now Paul tells us that greed is<\/u> idolatry (Col. 3:5).\u00a0 So on the scale of wickedness, it seems that we have the same reading for both.<\/p>\n
Now let’s return to our original question.\u00a0 If you notice, we never answered it.<\/p>\n
“Why were those folks at Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed?”\u00a0 Was it because they were queers?\u00a0 If so, shouldn’t homosexuality be higher up on the scale of wickedness than greed?<\/p>\n
Let us look a little closer at the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah (which was also the sin of Judah and the cause for the destruction of the temple and the Babylonian captivity, 586 B.C.).\u00a0 Let us hear the words of Ezekiel:<\/p>\n
“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom:\u00a0 She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned; they were haughty and did detestable things before me.\u00a0 Therefore, I did away with them as you have seen.” (Ezek. 16:49-50)<\/p>\n
Greed and sexual sin both have their roots in self-centeredness.\u00a0 Greed and homosexuality are on par.<\/p>\n
God has not placed Christians in His church so they can “live it up.”\u00a0 He has placed Christians in the church and given them spiritual gifts to glorify Himself (1 P. 4:10,11).\u00a0 As slaves of God, we are to do good works which result in God’s glory (Mt. 5:16; Eph. 2:10).\u00a0 We, who have been “overfed” as hearers<\/u>, need to be doers<\/u> (Jas. 1:22).\u00a0 Those who are “unconcerned” need to examine themselves to see if they are really believers (2 Cor. 13:5; 1 Jn. 3:17).<\/p>\n
Ezekiel speaks of the “poor and needy” and the “overfed.”\u00a0 We are certainly well-fed and well-blessed in many ways.\u00a0 Even the brains we use to make a living were given by God (1C. 4:7; Ps. 139:15,16).\u00a0 We are the “haves.”\u00a0 Who are the “have-nots”?\u00a0\u00a0 Who are those whom Jesus lists?\u00a0 (Mt. 25:35-36, 42-43).<\/p>\n
Our Lord is concerned that we find out.<\/p>\n
When we gather together, let us “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Heb. 10:24).<\/p>\n
(*Originally published in the monthly newsletter,\u00a0Gracevine\u00a0<\/em>(October, 1980), by Grace Lutheran Church in Bowie Maryland where Bray was employed on staff as Lay Assistant under Pastor Al Ericksen, c. 1980-1983.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why were those folks dumped-on so badly? “Because they were queers!” we might say. Yes they were, to use the slang term, “queers.”\u00a0 (Some may prefer the euphemistic “gay” in accordance with the thinking of our “broadminded society which has proclaimed homosexuality an alternative sexual preference.”)\u00a0 And yes, God condemns homosexuals along with fornicators, adulterers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,42,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apostasy-cowardice-or-buffoonery","category-bowie-maryland","category-character-or-not"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2633"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2635,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions\/2635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}