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When God becomes the servant of lust
 
By Paul Tautges
 
 
A popular argument in favor of homosexuality maintains that God is so in love with us, and so concerned about our present happiness, that He could not possibly be opposed to "same-sex love within committed relationships." A recent article in The Sheboygan Press is an example of this mentality.[i] It is hard to imagine the author, Helen Clarke, writing a more glowing story of a lesbian couple in Kiel, Wisconsin, who will be celebrating their union with a wedding in Canada next month because "they're not willing to let the state [of Wisconsin] hold them back from a white wedding." Laying aside the blatant contradiction of terms used here, white (traditionally referring to moral purity), being united with wedding (defined by this article as same-sex); I have chosen instead to address the problem of redefining love to fit our own desires. 
 
Both women in this story, Judy Stock and Leigh Robert, testify to being in love with each other, in so many words. Stock says of Robert, "There was just a connection-at first sight. There was this beautiful soul. I could see who she was." While Robert says of Stock, "Judy is my family…my partner. I've chosen her…I was kind of awed by her." From the language that both women use it is obvious they have strong feelings for each other, but is this true love or unbridled lust?
 
Ms. Robert's defense of this relationship is very telling: "If God is the one to judge, then let us deal with that. How can love ever be wrong? I think God would take up a fight for me on that one. He'd be on my side." Let's examine her statement a little closer.
 

• "If God is the one to judge, then let us deal with that."

First, God is the one to judge. There is no if about it. The Bible makes it clear that each of us will "give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead" (1 Peter 4:5). Since that is true then let us deal with it. Let us let God speak forth His own mind on the matter of homosexuality, which He defines as an "abomination" (Lev. 18:22) and "unnatural" (Rom. 1:26). However, what is all too common in our day is that we are only willing to let God judge our behavior as long as His judgment is in our favor. So instead of adjusting our behavior to conform to God's holy standard we send God to the chiropractor to be adjusted to fit our desires.
 

• "How can love ever by wrong?"

Second, love cannot be wrong if it is in fact true love. True love is love that functions within the boundaries of truth, which, Jesus says, is found in the Bible (Jn. 17:17). According to the Scriptures, true love "does not rejoice in unrighteousness" (1 Cor. 13:6). True love does not celebrate that which is adikia, the opposite of righteousness. Instead the Scriptures make it clear that the wrath of God is against "all ungodliness and unrighteousness" (Rom. 1:18; 2:8). Biblical love is not glad when sin is exalted before our eyes. It does not celebrate the open display of unrighteousness so prevalent in our society. Instead it reads the newspaper with sadness. True love grieves over people who are willingly trapped in ungodly lifestyles because one-day God's wrath will be poured out upon all unredeemed sinners.
 
By defining love as Leigh Robert has, there is no limit to the kind of sexual relationships that can be justified. For example, if my being happy in a human relationship is what defines love, then the same could be said of a happy 50-year old man having a relationship with a 12-year old girl! The truth is that lesbian "love" is not love at all, but the spoiled fruit of human depravity. Unlawful affections do not come from God, but from a mind that is "filled with all unrighteousness" (Rom. 1:29). When "love" is used to describe any and every pleasurable feeling we experience then true love is redefined as that which has no boundaries. That kind of love is wrong.
 

• "I think God would take up a fight for me on that one. He'd be on my side."

Third, God has revealed Himself in the Bible, which clearly teaches that He would not take up a fight for Ms. Robert, but against her. In fact, her conclusion is perhaps the most grievous statement she makes, for God is not on the side of this couple no matter how much she thinks He is. In the end it does not matter what either of these women or I think. What matters is what God has already said in His holy Word. And He has said that He will pour out His wrath on all who will not repent of being ruled by "degrading passions" and who have "exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural" (Rom. 1:26). Romans 1:25-27 reveals the reason that these women have come to their conclusions-both have "exchanged the truth of God for a lie," the lie that lust equals love. And because this lie is believed, God has become the servant of their lust.
 
While Judy Stock bemoans the fact that she and her lover must travel to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Canada to receive the public commendation they believe their relationship deserves, we should give thanks to God that couples like these must still leave Wisconsin to legally validate their lifestyle. The Marriage Amendment that passed our state legislature in 2006 is a remnant of God's gracious protection upon our society. "It made me very sad," Stock said of this recent victory at the voting booth, which she had worked hard to defeat. But what is truly sad is that these two women, and thousands more, are trapped in a world of self-deception and voluntary bondage to sin-and they don't even know it. Worse still is that there is a church in Sheboygan County that considers itself a servant of God while at the same time has no trouble hosting a public ceremony for the lesbian couple once they return from Canada.
 
But there is still hope. Because hope is found in the gospel. Homosexuality is one of many sins that Jesus Christ died to redeem men and women from. In fact, the church in Corinth contained some who were saved out of this sinful lifestyle by the grace of God (1 Cor. 6:11). May God open the eyes of those who are blind so that they may turn to Him for forgiveness and a new life of true love and righteousness found only in Jesus Christ. He is the One who came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32).
 

[i] Helen Clarke, "Lesbian couple to celebrate their union with wedding in Canada," The Sheboygan Press, 18 February 2008, pp. A1, A4.