My Beloved--Kari Jobe

Would God Really? (Homosexuality in Biblical Context)

Today's topic may be the one that creates the most tension within our culture. The discussion of homosexuality within the Christian spectrum, in particular, has often created hurt feelings, anger, and a lack of brotherhood and fellowship. Today I will address this issue with three concerns in mind: creating parameters for what "homosexuality" means, examining the biblical evidence concerning homosexuality, and finally providing a brief selection of pathways forward for the church in their stance toward homosexuality. I ask that if you read this, you commit to reading it fairly, within the context of this post (the framework for this post), and please respond in a way that shows gentleness and respect. Due to the seriousness of the topic, I will delete any comment that is rude, abusive, or non-productive--you have been warned).

The Scope of Homosexuality

The dictionary definition of homosexuality is "sexual desire or behavior directed towards a person or people of one's own sex." This is important because this will help us to limit this discussion. The issue of homosexuality has come to include a number of issues that miss the heart of the issue for a Christian. Issues of shared medical information, home purchase, and many others like it are important issues, but not central to the debate that has grown within Christianity over the past 40+ years.

The issue at stake for us, as Christians, is simply this: What does the Bible teach about sexual desire and sexual relations between members of the same gender? That is the scope of this blog post. Remember, for the Christian, this is not a matter of our comfort with same-sex sexuality, rather it is a part of our attempt to understand how our lives should fit into the rule of God that he has promised is coming into the world. We seek not our own agenda, but only that we would become obedient and submissive to God's design and plan for our world. With the definition in place, let's look to the Bible!

The Biblical Doctrine of Homosexuality

There are two key words to understand that deal with the issue of homosexuality in the Bible (I will focus on the NT because that is where my language skills and knowledge are primarily rooted). The words are "malakos" (GK μαλακος) and "arsenokoites" (GK αρσενοκοιτες). Let's look at each word, discuss how each is used, and then look at one other important passage of note.

The word malakos literally means "soft" or "soft skinned." It is used primarily to refer to young boys (before their skin was calloused by hard work) that were sometimes kept for sexual relations. This is a practice that most in our culture consider detestable, and is illegal for good reason. We use the term molestation to describe this type of activity. The Bible uses this term referring to this practice once (1 Corinthians 6:9) and it is clear that this activity is not acceptable in God's kingdom. It is important to note that, while condemning this practice, Paul also condemns drunkards, greedy people, and fornicators of all kinds. In other words, this is sin. The interesting thing is that verse 11 points us to the beauty of the gospel, but that will wait until our final section.

The second word, arsenokoites, is found infrequently in Scripture as well. It is literally a compound word that means "one who beds a man." This is a clear reference to homosexuality as we would define it. So what does our holy book say about these men? The same thing it says in the last section of the molester and greedy person. In fact, 1 Corinthians 6:9 is one of the only passages to use this word as well! Homosexuality--sexual relationships with people of the same gender is sin. This is perfectly clear. Once again, however, we must await the end of Paul's thought in verse 11--keep waiting, it is coming!

There is one other key passage that we must remember as we continue this discussion: Romans 1. Romans 1 speaks clearly that, due to men's rejection of God, the world became warped. It became so warped that people think and do wrong without thinking it is wrong. What type of wrongs? This passage mentions those who are envious, disobedient toward parents, faithless, ruthless, gossips, slanderers, and many more. The passage does give the most time discussing sexual sin, and particularly homosexual activity. The passage declares it is sin because it is "unnatural." Biblically speaking, unnatural has to do with how God made the world, not carnal desire. Our desires, which to us are natural phenomena, are all affected by the sin that has warped the world. Once again, the verse tells us that sexual relationships between those of the same gender is sin.

The Rest of the Biblical Doctrine

Sadly, many Christians cease their discussion of homosexuality in Scripture with the points mentioned above--it is sin, sin, sin. Yes, it is sin. So what does that mean for us as Christians trying to live among those engaged in homosexuality? The two passages that have been discussed point to two keys to the Christian responding to homosexuality in a godly fashion.

First, Romans 1 flows directly into chapter 2 (No Duh!) Chapter 1 concludes by talking about how sinful the world has become. Chapter 2 then points to the Christians and says quite strongly: "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that god's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth."

We are not allowed to judge! We have no right to send anyone to hell. We have no right to condemn someone else because we ourselves have been on death row! God judges. He makes the call. Also, this does not mean that we cannot call homosexuality a sin--at that point we are simply speaking the truth of Scripture. However, speaking truth and attacking another person are different things entirely.

Second, we turn to 1 Corinthians 6 again (focus on verse 11 this time). Homosexuality is sin, as well as many other things, and then we hit verse 11, which is so important that I am going to make it bigger:

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Once again, we are brought to a marvelous truth! This passage isn't meant as a weapon to sling in judgment, but a reminder of grace! We were those sinners! We have made those mistakes, and our transformation into something new is not anything short of the miraculous grace of God Almighty! Our hope was in Christ, and those currently still in sin have hope only by the gospel truth of grace!

This is so crucial to realize: The Christian response to a sinful people is not judgment, but the gospel. The GOOD news. We must realize that we have the urgent responsibility of showing the one true hope, not of condemning.

So what do we do?

How do we make it practical? Great question! If, like me, you believe that homosexuality is a sin, and you believe that the only hope for all sinful people is the grace of God through Jesus Christ, then I have four suggestions for you:

1. Make it personal not political. This is hard for us to do, but I think we need to realize that the fight to legislate, either for or against homosexual rights, is missing the point that Jesus makes. We need to seek personal relationships with those practicing homosexuality. It is in the midst of relationships that we can guide them toward God's grace, and allow them to choose for themselves what to do with the gift he has given them.
2. Be careful with our words. Words can't be taken back. Words can hurt and sting. We need to learn to not say things, joking or serious, without carefully thinking about how it will affect our testimony to the world.
3. Pray for our hearts. The truth is, most Christians like myself still struggle with some form of sin or another. We have been saved by Christ, but we are not yet perfectly conformed to God's design for our lives. We need to pray often that we would look more like Christ. After all, how can we point out someone else's struggles if we are doing nothing to work on our own?
4. Readjust our focus. Homosexuality is an important discussion. However, if we really want to see people coming to know Christ, we need to focus on the issues that Christ focused on in his ministry. Perhaps we need to improve marriages and family life within the church, work on serving with Christ's compassion, and creating the type of community that the early church established.

These things are not an exhaustive list, and this blog post is merely a foundation. It is merely a re-examination of the bedrock of our faith, making sure we are actually reading what it says, and not just assuming we know.

What do you think? How can we be true to Scripture completely? How can we speak truth about sin and do so without judging? How do we effectively proclaim good news to those who are lost in sin?

Sunday Thanks: Arms Wide Open

I don't know if it was fear or professionalism that nearly killed me.

It doesn't matter.

For three years and some I have attended this church I love, worked with their youth, and served alongside some of the most wonderful people I could imagine. God has moved in this place, and in me. He has moved me through the youth--their events, but more so their heart and spirit. The service I have joined in has changed me dramatically. My views of poverty, need, love, work, humanity (and many other things) have been altered as I've invested in God's service through this community of faith.

I held myself back. Even with all the greatness of God flowing around this church, I held back in one area. It is an area of passion, an area that fills fire in my bones and can come over me like a the rushing of a waterfall drenching my self with God.

I had become a silent worshipper. Oh, I sang--many in the church do. My body was silent.

You see, from the time I was little, I couldn't sit still. I have always used my whole self to express my heart--voice, arms, body, legs, emotions, tears. Everything. But here, no. I had become stone still.

Fear, conformity, or professionalism--I don't have a clue.

But something in my spirit broke down the chains the past couple weeks. As the music rose, so did I to God in worship--not just a voice, but me. Expressing to Him my joy in my own ackward, uncomfortable, whole self way.

Standing tall, shouting out, tears streaming, and arms wide open.

Other Thanks for this week:

1. The raw reality of life bringing deep questions: One in the life of a youth at LCOC, the other from a great blog post.
2. Finding common ground.
3. Realizing the implication of the resurrection of Jesus.
4. Counting how long I can stay underwater (just like when I was six!)
5. Pool parties with pizza
6. Singing the wrong words to Disney songs
7. The power of God to create a living Word for us.

Is War Just?

If the issue of gender is a touchy subject (see my last post here), then this one is absolutely aggrevating! The issue of war, and whether or not it is just is a difficult question, and one that is wrapped up with all sorts of other issues. I think it is important for us to remember two things before we get started:

First, we must remember the context of this blog post. We have a tendency to put God in our box by asking "Would God really?" Would God really say its ok to kill for your country? Would God really ask you to lay down arms and not defend yourself, your family, or your country? Remember, we are not trying to find out what we think, but simply what does the Bible say. We must examine it faithfully, then allow ourselves to be changed by it.

Second, please remember that I am not writing this to judge our current wars (although that is always a by-product of writing on this topic). I do not write this from a political opinion, nor do I do so because I am anti-American. I love this country. I only write to try to look honestly at what God teaches. Can we agree to leave the current political situation alone for now?

With those two prerequisites, let us begin to examine this difficult issue.

The Nature of God has never changed.

We know from careful study of Scripture that God is always the same--he has not changed who he is. The New Testament is not God 2.0. He is the same and is just in what he desires and what he does. So we cannot conclude that God's stance on war has changed from the Old to the New Testament.

We know that God used war in the Bible to accomplish his will. In fact, the best example of this is found in the New Testament, as we see God warn the people of Israel that Rome was coming to destroy the temple during the generation following Jesus (Matthew 24 and Revelation are full of these warnings). The God of the universe uses war to accomplish his purposes in the world.

But God uses all things to accomplish his plan.

Romans 8:28 teaches us an important lesson: God allowing or even using an event does not make that event just. God works all things together for the good of those who love Him. God can use sinful decisions, barbaric actions, and destructiveness to accomplish his will in the world. This should lead us to the realization that everything done by the Romans, though it would accomplish God's purpose, was not of God. It was not good, even if it worked for good. We have enough common sense to know that war is not good, bloodshed is a sign of something wrong in the world. The cross of Christ was a terrible thing, but it was a terrible thing that God used to accomplish his most extraordinary work of making good out of bad!

Can it be sin when God decrees it?

So we head back to the Old Testament. God's people are commanded by God to kill every man, woman, child, and livestock living in the promised land. Genocide. God commanded genocide. Uncomfortable? So am I. (Now is a good time to remember that God is God, trusting him sometimes means trusting what we don't understand).

If God commanded this, it could not be sin for the Israelites to follow through. God does not command sin, his decrees are just. We must, therefore, realize that there is at least some moments that war are just. However, we must also realize that this was a very particular situation that God specifically, and orally, commanded! This does not give us the right to make war in the name of God! Has he verbally told us to fight, kill, etc?

The nations are given the sword to govern.

We also see, in the Old and New Testament, the truth that God has given the sword to the nations (the governments I believe is the context) to wield for justice sake. This tells us that there are just wars! There can be a war fought to end injustice, there can be justice found in the shedding of blood. I would like to point out, however, that we do not see the sword bringing peace in Scripture. The idea of wars to end war is not a biblically founded concept, and I would argue that it is also illogical.

The nations have the sword, but what about His holy nation?

We now come to the crux of the issue: What about Christians? Can Christians fight? Should Christians fight? I want to consider three aspects that come into play as we talk about the Christian role in war: the nation of Christ, the peacemakers, and the martyrs.

The nation of Christ

Isaiah 2 presents a picture of beautiful hope. The hope is that when the Messiah is established on his throne, the nations will beat their swords into agricultural equipment. In other words, as the nation of Christ grows, and his reign is established, warfare will lose its appeal and need. This is a great picture of hope that often gets pushed into the very end of history.

However, Jesus tells us that all authority on heaven and on earth has already been given to him! His reign is already started! Though his reign will find consummation in the end of this age and the ushering in of the eternal age and kingdom, there should be visible signs of his reign now! His church is that visible kingdom on earth--we are the ones who have abandoned the earthly hopes to hold on to his hope. We are those who have begun beating our swords into something else!

The peacemakers

Matthew 5 tells us that peacemakers are sons of God. We have really done this verse injustice. We remove its power by spending all of our time talking about inner peace. NO! Peacemakers are people who do just that: make peace where none exists! This can be inner peace, but it can also be inner-city peace, peace in the midst of a civil war, or a war between countries. Peace in families, communities, and nations. Is this not why we love Mandela and Tutu? We know that they had the right idea! Christians are called to be peacemakers, because we are called sons of God. This is a bold step away from the "for God and country" approach that has carried over from Medieval Europe.

The martyrs

We now turn to those who have died for their faith in Christ. Tortured, beaten, and in the midst of it offering forgiveness and peace to those around them. When we read their stories, we feel a yearning to connect with them. We know they have found the better way, the way of Christ. Sometimes ushering in Christ's reign means pointing back to the cross.

Laying down of my rights, and my life, to show you Christ (and how he laid down his rights, life!).

Perhaps we do have the right to fight back, but let me finish by asking this:

How do you best display your Lord, through the sword or sacrifice?

Grace and Peace.

Would God Really?

The title of this post is in my opinion the most dangerous question we can ask.

Would God really?

Would God really condemn homosexuality?

Would God really send people to hell?

Would God really create man and woman with different roles?

Would he?

I have a major issue with this type of language. Let me explain the danger of this little phrase.

First, this phrase expresses a secret atheism. I believe that among many modern Christians a moderated atheism has become an acceptable norm. This strand of atheism expresses itself by creating for oneself a form of godliness that fits the cultural norms that we have established for ourselves. In other words, we suggest that if our God doesn't believe exactly as we do, he must not be much of a God. This is the crux of secret atheism. We don't really believe in a God that is beyond our scope, our mind, our capability. We only want the religious experience and the peace it brings. In other words, we desire the peace found in the gospel without the God who brings the gospel.

Second, when we pose the question "Would God really?" we are suffering from cultural elitism. Think about this for a second. The Middle Ages (and much of the religious right) struggle with the question of whether God would really call us to a life of peace. When we assume that God couldn't condemn certain lifestyles, certain supposed victimless crimes, what we really assume is that our current culture understands the ultimate direction required for societal perfection. This is the same elitist mindset that declared the earth was flat. We cannot trust ourselves as the ultimate standard of the universe, of God's creation, or of God's design for human life.

Third, what we are really saying when we say "would God really" is something more like this: This is so far removed from my understanding that I refuse to acknowledge God if he works this way. In other words, we again want to place God in a box we can understand.

If God really created everything (think about that for a minute: everything!), can't we expect him to have a little different viewpoint on the world than we do? Can't we expect that God says things, does things, teaches things, and commands things that just plain don't make sense to us?

This week, I will look at several issues where God says things that go against our cultural senses. I am going to try to be fair with biblical texts, even when they make me squirm (and some issues that come up in the Bible really do make me uncomfortable). I ask you to join me, challenge yourself to take God's word seriously.

Perhaps he will make you uncomfortable. It may scare you. But transformation is always difficult, it always hurts. If we are truly Christian, if we are truly followers of God, than we must allow Him to transform us through His word. Imagine if a caterpillar never became a butterfly because if feared the transformation within the chrysalis. The beauty God intended for it would be missed altogether. Join me, and perhaps we can transform ourselves into something better entirely: Faithful People.

Topics:
Wednesday: Gender Roles
Thursday: Peacefulness
Friday: Unity
Monday: Homosexuality
Tuesday: Eternal Judgment
Wednesday: Redemption

I look forward to some good conversations!

Holiness

It is a great and terrible lie. We want it to be true. We ache with desire for it...

...because if it were true marriage would be all about us.

We have been told: Marriage is about making me happy.

This is the great lie that that can kill marriages. We buy into this for but a moment, and we lose the significance of our marriage. We let this in, and marriage becomes nothing more than a field for self-gratification. Not a union for two, but a fight for one.

The truth is more difficult, but much more glorious. The truth is that marriage can include happiness, and can in fact include a lot of happiness.

Marriage, though, is not about making me happy, but about making me holy.

When we view marriage as a way in which God works to make us holy, a way of molding our lives, we see the glorious truth of marriage.

In marriage, we can understand what being the bride of Christ looks like, we can see our union with Christ better, we can see a glimpse of our life with the King.

If we treat our marriage as a flower bed for holiness...

...we can find joy in tough decisions.
...we can feel confident discussing personal sins.
...avoid disappointment by focusing on the other persons needs.

Marriage is about growing a flower of faith, moving toward God.

May we move away from the idol of happiness...

Feeding More Than Fish

Vacation for the popular preacher just wasn't going to happen. Here he was, escaping the crowds, only to have the crowds find him at his destination. The people were worn and disheveled.

They had quite literally run from their towns to the little beachfront, hoping for a chance to see him, hear him.

He was exhausted. He hadn't rested, not before the boat ride, and not during the boat ride.

Jesus wasn't afforded many breaks.

The crowds were there, looking at their Messiah, though nobody was really sure what that meant. They knew though, there was something different about him.

So they ran, straight to him, no thought of themselves. They packed no spare clothing, no food, no necessities of any kind. He was their necessity.

"He felt compassion for them." This little phrase does not lead us into the feeding of the 5000, at least not immediately. Jesus, it seems, had compassion that went a little beyond ours. Yes, he cared for the physical needs, and he would certainly meet them soon.

A more important matter was at hand..."he felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd."

They had nobody to show them the better way of life. All their life they walked without the necessities, the love, faith, and knowledge of God. All their life they wondered aimlessly because they had no hope, no foundation for why they were alive.

And so he taught them, and fed them, but taught them all the more. He taught them the truth, His truth, God's plan for the world, God's true plan of redemption, and how they were to live as part of it. He taught them to rely on God, and then showed them their reliance as he fed them the miracle bread.

Let us have compassion that meets reaches all the persons needs, not only the most obvious.


This is my first look at a passage in Mark. I will continue to share thoughts on Mark as I study and see the odd and beautiful ways in which Jesus acts. Perhaps we can learn together how we might work and live and be in his kingdom.

Selflessness

A few posts ago, I offered a few options of new post ideas that I may research, think about, and eventually post upon. I listened to those who have made requests, and I will begin two new sets of posts this week. Either tomorrow or Friday I will post about Jesus curious actions and words in the gospel of Mark (NT studies is one of my great loves after all).

Today, however, I want to talk about marriage. Specifically, I want to give you some basic advice for marriage:

Marriage is NOT a compromise.

Give and take is a lie. 50-50 doesn't work. Push and pull is not God's design.

This has been one of the most common pieces of "advice" I have received from the older, more seasoned marriages that surround me. Compromise, meet her halfway, etc.

I see two problems:

First, it doesn't work! Only a few years ago, my wife and I were trying to buy a house (we succeeded!). We had to set up meetings and work out a contractual agreement for the buying of the house between us and the former owners. The idea is simple: find a middle ground that would satisfy both parties. The problem was, we wanted a little more than fifty-fifty. We wanted to know that we had won the negotiations.

When we aim at 50-50, both parties always stop at 40 and fight for the rest.

Second, I don't believe God desires us to set up our marriages as 50-50 business deals. One example:

"and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ, Wives to your own husbands as to the Lord...Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her." -Ephesians 5

There is no room for 50-50 here. This is the hand you go all in. Every chip you have is on the table. Every bit of you is expended, not in the pursuit of yourself, but in the pursuit of your spouse. This is a 100-100 marriage. A God honoring emptying of self in pursuit of another's God-centered joy.

I have never been happier than when I stop thinking about myself. I have never been disappointed when I look to give my wife 100% of what she needs. Her dreams become my desire. Her spiritual life is the garden I help cultivate. Her heart is the treasure I desire to keep.

And let me tell you, you never lose, even when your spouse isn't 100% for you. And when they are for you, all in, both are pushing each other to Paradise.

There is no room for self in marriage.

Lord, empty me in a way that I can best serve my wife. Amen.

The Dawn of Death

Reminder: This is a portion of my testimony. You can read the first part here. Don't forget that this is PG-13 material, and Mom and Dad are still not permitted to read! The rest of you, I hope you are blessed by the truth of my life--even when the truth is awful.


I don't think I ever prayed more fervently than the moments after. My heart sobbed, hands shook, lungs couldn't fill because of the uneasiness of my body. A heaviness lay upon my soul, a heaviness that I had never experienced before, but one that I would feel on me for several years to come.

Sexual release led to a clear head and a broken conscience.


Masturbation opened my eyes to the death dawning in my life.

I know that many question whether masturbation is sin or not. It is. I knew it in my heart that day, after I experienced a moment that was meant for my wife. I experienced it in the wrong setting, for the wrong reason, with the wrong result.

Instead of joy filled, life giving sexual abundance, I find death.

The Wrong Setting: My first (and every) sexual release is meant for the marriage relationship. Instead, I robbed my wife and myself of experiencing this together because I chose to act on desire before the appointed time.

The Wrong Reason: Sex is not about me. Sex is an act of giving, an act of self-giving love. My reason for masturbation was selfishness, not selflessness. Selfishness kills marriages, it kills relationships in general. Wrong motive lead to wrong action at the wrong time.

The Wrong Result: I have been a faithful husband. However, my past choices mean that I am tainted--even in my marriage. I cannot undo what I have done, and it does affect and hurt my marriage. I had to seek forgiveness from my wife before we were wed. Until you have that conversation with the woman of your dreams, you won't ever realize the trench of this sin.

The sin had entered a couple years before, but it was this moment that I realized that I was sinful. Truly sinful.

Living apart from God.

Not saved (at least I felt--only God knows!)

I cried, I begged, I asked God to forgive.

I promised, vowed, swore that I would never--no more.

But this struggle took over my life, and I thought I'd never get it back.

How Small We Make Something Big

If you have spent long in church circles, you have heard this question:

If I died when I was about to ________, would I make it to heaven?

Before I prayed the prayer.

Right before I confessed Jesus as Lord.

Right before I was baptized.

The essence of the question is really this: What is really essential? How much must I really do? What are the requirements?

I see two major problems with this mindset.

First, this is the DEFINITION of works. We are saved by grace, not works. Salvation is a gift. Many of these questions arise in the debate over whether baptism is a work or not, but as soon as we begin looking at ANY of our responses to grace as required activities, we are focused on works and not grace.

Therefore we make prayer a work.

We make confessing Jesus a work.

We make baptismal submission a work.

Second, this question displays a worldview problem. We are consumed with the bottom line. The smallest number, the least possible work with most reward idea.

We minimize God's grace on the cross to a checklist.

When did Jesus say he wanted us to complete the paperwork?

Didn't Jesus come to heal sick people inside and out? Didn't Jesus come to seek and save those wondering lost?

The moment of my salvation was about 2000 years ago, halfway across the world.

Everything, and I mean everything I do now is a response to this grace.

Grace.

The books I immerse myself in reflect my response to grace.

My willing submission to Scriptural teaching reflect my response to grace.

My laughter, anger, dreams, fears, lusts, self-control, schedule, work, family, finances, worship, ideas, art, and hope all become recreated in response to grace.

Grace is big, let's stop treating it small

With Dad

I loved the middle of summer out on the farm growing up. There would always be a week, that perfect week, that the sun would be beating high and hard over the fields, baseball season for us little league superstars was done, and there was work to do. It was time to bail hay.

I know, any of you from the city don't really get this at all. I also know that all of you from the country think I am crazy because I love bailing hay. It is hard work, hours of sweat, cuts up and down your arms, sunburn and tan. It was so much more than that to me. Bailing was time to be a man, it was time to prove that my 12 year old frame could keep up, could prove its worth to those experienced, powerful farmers around me. Hay time was Kool-Aid under a shade tree, steak for dinner, and enjoy the evening sitting out on the porch with dad time. It was time to be with my dad, time to laugh, work, and enjoy him. He was a man, a real man. I remember looking at my wagon of hay, with bails off-center and stacked six high, then looking over at his wagon, stacked eight, maybe even nine high in a perfect square and just wishing, just desiring that I could be like him. I wanted to be like my dad.

And the truth is I still do.

I don't live the Christian life because I was looking for a moral code of conduct to live by. I at one point was a Christian for the protection of God, but that is not what has kept me here, walking this faith road all these days. What keeps me is my Dad. The hot summer days of faith, working in the fields of my soul and the souls around me, doing my best only to see that my job is nothing compared to Dad's. I stay a Christian because God is dad--he teaches me what it means to be a man--working, laughing and playing.

And it is my hope that when this earth is renewed and Jesus reigns and death is no more--my hope is that God and I can sit down under a shade tree and sip Kool-Aid, and enjoy a job well done.