Welcome to you, all of you, if you are new to us, I know you may have come tonight as a guest, or this is your first time with us at Calvary, or the first time in a while, welcome here, welcome back. And we are looking together at the Word of God, as we always do, but we're looking at a specific topic that we want to spend some time in tonight and next Sunday evening as well, and it is the topic of same-sex truth, same-sex truth. And as I'm going into this, and I can already talk about it, I think the guys are coming, so lift your hand if you need a handout. As I'm going into this, I have a few thoughts about it. And one is that we each approach this topic with kind of a mindset or a mentality or an experience. So you may have thoughts and feelings coming into studying this topic based on your background or the way that you think or experiences you've had or people that you know. So we all come at it kind of from a different direction. And if I could maybe put it into two extremes, one would be acceptance and affirmation. So there is the mindset of accepting same-sex activity, same-sex desires, same-sex attraction, same-sex relationships, and affirming people in them, whether that is yourself or a friend or just people in general. So the mentality is accepting and affirming people who are involved in or have feelings along the line of or practice same-sex. Then the other extreme, let's call it anger and animosity. Okay, we'll stick with the A's here. So we have acceptance and affirmation on one end of the scale, of the views that people come to this topic with. And the other end of the scale, anger and animosity. So some people just hate this. Some people are just mad that it's even an issue. And when it comes up, you know, same sex agenda or the fact that there are people who do this and there's just like this, like this, this anger and animosity that comes out. And I would say that that is true among people who, let's say, are not Christians as well as people who are Christians. And with some, there is even, let's just take it to the extent of saying, with that animosity, really a dislike and a hatred, maybe a scorn, Even a mockery toward people who would have same-sex desires, same-sex attractions, same-sex activities, same-sex lifestyle. And what we want to land on is truth. Truth. And we'll talk more about truth in just a few minutes here. So I don't know what your background or your perspective or your viewpoint is as we come at this topic, whether it's on the end of acceptance and affirmation or somewhere in the middle or animosity and anger toward the idea, the concept, the activity, the people who may be engaged in this. So I'm just putting that out there to kind of get us started. Let me put this out there as well. I'm a preacher and I'm a teacher, but I am also a pastor and I'm also a father. And I want to approach this as a pastor, and even with somewhat of the spirit of a father. I want to talk to you as I would talk to my own family. That's really what a pastor is in some sense. You're my family, and I come at this not as the expert, not as the know-it-all, not as the one who's arrived or does it all perfectly or knows everything about it, but as someone who cares, as someone who loves, as someone who wants the best, and who wants to point all of us to truth. So I want to put that out there, make sure that we know that that's kind of the spirit of this. And I hope that you'll receive it that way. I hope that regardless of your experience, your perspective, your view, your feelings about this, wherever it may be on that scale, That we can approach this as a family and as a family matter. And if you're a guest here, if you're here with somebody and you're new, I hope that you'll sense that that is our spirit here, that we come at this together like a family. And we need to be able to talk about it as a family and have that family spirit. And I hope that you'll receive it that way as coming from me. And sometimes my kids, when I would give a little, kind of a little talk or a little challenge near the church, they call me Papa Pastor. And because I'm coming at something like, sort of like a, in a fatherly way, I hope. And that's how I want to approach this. And I want us to be able to have a family-like discussion. Again, knowing that there are different perspectives, different experiences, different backgrounds, different feelings. And for some of you, you might be thinking, well, don't we all think the same way? Don't we all agree with the Bible about this? Well, for the most part, that may be true. But I also recognize, again, that within the depths of our hearts and in the minds of some of us, there may be questions. There are conflicting feelings, maybe even seeing it one way at one time and one way at another time. Some of us have friends, people that we know who are in this situation. Either they are outside of the realm of what we would call Christianity, they wouldn't say that they're Christians, or maybe they are. Maybe they go to a church, maybe they're a friend of yours, maybe it's your brother or your sister. And so again, just recognizing that this is not just something or someone out there, okay? This is not just something that we read about in the news. It's here, it's in our hearts, it's within our church family, either directly or indirectly. And so again, I just wanna approach this as from the standpoint of a family. Let's look at truth, let's talk about these things. There will be a lot to absorb. I'm going to say a lot, and that's why I've gone back to dividing this into two parts. So we'll talk about some of it here tonight, and we'll get into the rest of it, Lord willing, next Sunday evening. So I'm gonna ask you to work with me. I've given you an outline, but I'm gonna say a lot that's not on there, and there may not even be a room on there for everything that you wanna scribble down, but I'm gonna just encourage you to, you know, if you zone out, Come back, okay? If you fall asleep, wake up, or you know, somebody else wake you up. Set your alarm for every three minutes or something, just to kind of buzz, okay? And wake up if you need to do that. I understand, it's afternoon, and you know, all this stuff. But just work with me if you would, and try to get as much as you can, listen to it later if you need to, discuss it with someone or with me, because again, my heart is to provide something that is helpful for us, and that will guide us to truth. And so, get the, Get the slide up here. We're talking about same-sex truth. Let me start by talking about the need for this. This is not in your notes. Why would we even bring this up or why would we deal with it so extensively? Why would we say, hey, we're going to be talking about this and so please come and have teens come in and everything? I want to give you four reasons. And the first one is, it is an issue in our society and in our community. It is an issue in our society and in our community. You know that the Supreme Court decided this past summer to nationally legalize same-sex marriage. Also this past summer, a guy that was on the cover of Wheaties boxes when I was a kid, Bruce Jenner, as the Olympic gold medal decathlon winner in 1976, decided he was not a man anymore. And so he changed genders. And so he went from being a Wheaties Box athlete. I don't mean this to be humorous. You might take it that way. I'm not making fun. He went from being on the Wheaties Box as an athlete to being a cover model on Vanity Fair Magazine. That's the kind of shift we're talking about here. And so now Bruce is Caitlyn. He has changed himself in his experience with this. That was big news. That was huge. Whenever we marry somebody here at Calvary, the bride and groom go to the county government offices in downtown Greenville, and they bring back a marriage license. And we fill it out here at the office, and I sign it, and the bride and the groom sign it, and take pictures, and it's a very special time, of course, for them. And it used to say bride and groom. Now, when it sits on my desk, it says spouse and spouse. That's the reality, because this is now an accepted and legal practice in our community and in our nation. It is an issue in our society and in our community. The growing attitude is people should be able to do what they want, live and let live, affirm and celebrate same-sex relationships or transgender practice. You may have a friend at school or at work is gay and you get along really well you actually are friends with with this person and you're a Christian and and you want to function at work or at school or in your neighborhood and and you're wondering as a Christian how do I do that how do I do that So that's what I mean when I say it is an issue in our society and in our community. The second reason for this is that it is an issue in Christianity and in the church. It is an issue in Christianity and in the church. One of the most historic churches in Greenville, First Baptist Church of Greenville, not to be confused with First Baptist Church of Simpsonville, okay? First Baptist Church in Greenville announced their official policy regarding LGBT, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. And this is a quote from the Greenville Online News article published August 3rd, 2015. Greenville First Baptist had gone through a process of discussing this issue. And the article says, the process led to a brief but pointed consensus statement. And here's the statement of the church. In all facets of the life and ministry of our church, including but not limited to membership, baptism, ordination, marriage, teaching, and committee organizational leadership, First Baptist Greenville will not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity, unquote. And the article goes on to say that in May, the members of the congregation during a service were invited to stand to affirm this statement. The vast majority stood. The few who didn't stand to affirm the statement were offered the opportunity to stand to agree to remain in fellowship in the church, even though they weren't wholeheartedly in support of the statement. They were asked, invited to stand if they were going to remain in fellowship. And by the end, all were standing. And so now First Baptist performs same-sex marriages. Members, no matter their sexual orientation, can serve in leadership roles, can be ordained as ministers. So this is our community. This is here. This is a historic Baptist church in our community reaching that position. Many churches, in like manner, are taking an official position of being LGBT-affirming. LGBT-affirming. Again, this is an issue in Christianity, religion, and church. The idea is growing that the Bible does not forbid homosexuality and that a person can be a Christian and practice homosexuality. So that's a growing idea, an accepted idea, that the Bible does not forbid it and that a Christian can be a practicing homosexual. Along with this, in churches, some churches are experiencing the impact of gay activism. There are people who want to promote the gay lifestyle and promote acceptance of the gay lifestyle and so will come to a church like ours with that agenda, with that intent. and might show up in a service like our morning service or like this service and be together as a gay couple and make that very obvious. Almost make a scene or even be disruptive in order to get attention and to make a point. So the question is, if it happens or when it happens, what do we do? What do I do standing up here? What do you do sitting there? What does security do? What if they're in the lobby and doing something? And again, making it very obvious. What do you do? How do you treat those people? And we're gonna get into all of that. But this is what I mean when I say it is an issue in the church. Third reason that we're talking about it. It is an issue in families. Maybe someone in your extended family or your immediate family who comes out as gay. How do you respond? How do you treat that person? What are you gonna do at Thanksgiving when the family gets together? and when he or she wants to bring their partner. A teen may be struggling with same sex attraction or gender identity. It may be a secret private struggle or it may be something that comes out and all of a sudden you as parents or you as a sibling are hearing this and you're thinking what do I do? How do I handle this? Again, this is an issue in families. There may be different views among family members, among Christian family members about how to treat gay people as children at school may hear teaching or be pushed into a discussion on this issue and come home and say, hey, here's what we talked about at school today. There are influential, high-profile Christian figures, public figures in Christianity with opinions and who state them and then you end up as family members talking about this and have discussions, maybe even have disagreements about it. So the third reason is it's an issue in families. The fourth reason is that the Bible talks about it. The Bible talks about it. The Bible talks about homosexuality. So we need to understand the truth. We need to know the truth. We need to learn how to live by the truth. There are environmental factors in same-sex desires and attraction and relationships and activity. There are psychological factors. There are experiential factors. Some say there are biological factors, genetic factors. In other words, a person who is gay was born that way. We'll touch on a few of those, but mostly we're going to start with scripture and see what the scripture says about it. Again, I'm a pastor, I'm a pastor. So I'm gonna address this from the scriptures. And again, regardless of how you come in and how you go out when it's all over, I want you to know what the scriptures say and what they mean. So that's what we will be looking at. So I'm gonna invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter one, Romans chapter one. That is where we've been spending some time on Sunday mornings, and really this pair of messages is related to that. And this is, Romans chapter 1, contains the key passage in the Bible on this topic, especially verse 26 and verse 27. We'll be looking at this passage and then we'll be looking at other passages as well. I believe, to the best of my knowledge, we will look together between tonight and next Sunday evening at every passage in the Bible that directly speaks to the issue of homosexuality. Now, I wanna put one more thing out there for us as we go forward. You think of that scale, affirming and accepting, all the way over to, what was the other one? Anger and animosity, okay. I want you to think about this idea. I want this to be in our minds as we explore this and as we study this together. The idea that what we will find in scripture is that the scriptures do not affirm homosexuality. So we are not in a position of being able to affirm homosexuality as a lifestyle. At the same time, what we find in scripture is that God and we should treat people with love. All right, so those two ideas. We cannot affirm a homosexual lifestyle, but we can and should treat people with love. I'm just going to put that out there and scribble that down or memorize that or whatever. Just keep that in your mind because I want us to all kind of chew on that. as we go through this. I want you to know that's the context of this, because even tonight, we're gonna be looking at some kind of hard things, and see if the Bible says some things that are pretty strong about this topic. I want us to keep that in mind, the idea of not affirming a homosexual lifestyle, but treating people with love, all right? So, Romans chapter one, and I'm gonna give you eight statements, and we will probably not get to all of them tonight, and I'll save what we don't get to for next Sunday. The first statement, and these are very simple, there is truth. There is such a thing as truth. Romans chapter 1 verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth. Just let that thought bubble to the surface. in your minds and in this passage the truth, the truth, the truth. He's talking about people who deny the truth and reject the truth but what he's saying is there is such a thing as truth. You see it again in verse 25 where he says people who exchange the truth of God for the lie. So the scriptures tell us that there is such a thing as truth. Truth is fact. Truth is reality. Truth is what is real and what is right. The viewpoint of many in our world today is that there really is not such a thing as objective truth and unchanging truth. Truth is very personal. Truth is very malleable and moldable and flexible and fluid. But what he's talking about here is something that is solid, that is set, that is objective, that is real, and that is fact. And he's saying people either accept it or they reject it. If there is no truth, or if truth is relative, in other words, if it depends on your situation, or your experience, or how you feel, then there is no basis for this discussion. And really, anything goes. And you can do whatever you want. If there is truth, where does it come from? Does it come from the general consensus of society? Does it come from the most information flowing across the internet? Does it come from the loudest voice, the person who speaks the loudest or says the most, the person who can write it the most eloquently or persuasively? Where does truth come from? Does it come from experts? Does it come from scientists? Does it come from teachers? Does it come from the government? Does it come from the Supreme Court? Does truth come from experience? Does it come from your friends? Well, I think this, and they ought to do that. Is that where it comes from? Jesus said this. Will you listen to the words of Jesus? John 17, 17. He said to the heavenly father, his heavenly father, sanctify them by your truth. Four words, your word is truth. Your word is truth. So we start with this presupposition. Scripture contains truth. There is a God. He has spoken. We have his word. It is this Bible. We can understand it, we can understand truth, and we can apply it to our lives, but we do have a choice to make, whether we're going to accept it, submit to it, and conform to it, or whether our feelings or opinions and experiences and desires will drive our thinking and our decisions in our lives. So the choice is, do you believe there's such a thing as truth? That's step one, that's the first statement, there is truth. According to God's word there is, and God's word contains it. Second statement, there is such a thing as right and unright. Now if you are familiar with the language of scripture, you know I've kind of shortened a couple of words here. You see in verse 18, actually if you look back, At verse 17, for in it, speaking of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. So just for the sake of our conversation, I'm shortening the terms, make them a little more manageable for us, a little easier for us to kind of hold on to and keep in our brains. So the point is that there is right and there is unright. And again, the growing view, and we might even say, in many cases, the prevailing view in our society is, no, there's not a right and an unright. There's not a right and a wrong. Well, maybe there's right and wrong for you, or for your situation or based on your experience or in your faith community or in the family that you came from, there's right and unright, there's right and wrong. But an absolute standard of this is always right and this is never right, nah. But we do see this in scripture. God is creator. The righteousness he's talking about of So God is the creator, he is the sovereign, he is the designer, he is the sustainer. It is his character and his will that are the source of what's right and wrong, and he has expressed this through his word. Here's an example. Is there a right way to do marriage? Well, in our nation and in our community, that idea The boundaries around that idea of a right way to do marriage have just been pushed over. You know what I mean? You understand? With the Supreme Court decision of this past summer. Those boundaries have just been knocked down and now what is acceptable or right in the area of marriage has just been completely opened up to pretty much anything. At least to homosexuality. So, is there a right way to do marriage and is there a way that is not right? Who determines that? The Supreme Court? Everybody? Look with me at Genesis chapter two. Remember God is the creator, he is sovereign. He is the designer of life and of all that life contains and includes. And in his creative work, and based on his holy character and his will, He designed marriage. Genesis chapter 2, verses 24 and 25. Genesis 2, 24. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh. I did something a while back when I was reading through this portion of scripture. I put a couple of dates here. A few verses earlier where it says he brought her to the man, I put November of 1984 because that's when the Lord brought faith into my life. And then by verse 24 I wrote July 11th, 1986 because that's when we got married. That's when I left my father and mother and was joined to my wife. So this is how personal this is. But it's more than that. It's more than just my experience or the experience of some of you. Because it doesn't just say this is what Dean Taylor did and faith all of us at the time did, no. God, you see that? God has done this. In fact, turn over to Matthew chapter 19 and you see this in the words of Christ. Matthew chapter 19. As you turn to Matthew 19, keep this in mind. And we'll comment, I'll comment on some of these things along the way. There's something called pro-gay theology, which is a way of interpreting scripture and the places in scripture that talk about homosexuality, a way of interpreting them that favors same sex. So I'll comment on some of these things along the way. And one of the points of pro-gay theology is that Jesus never talked about homosexuality. He never forbid it, never prohibited it, never condemned it, never even mentioned it. And as far as I know, that's true. There's no time, no instance which Jesus specifically addressed the issue of homosexuality. But he did say this. Look at it with me, Matthew chapter 19 starting in verse one. Now it came to pass when Jesus had finished these sayings that he departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan and great multitudes followed him and he healed them there. The Pharisees also came to him testing him and saying to him, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason? And he answered and said to them, have you not read that he who made them at the beginning, remember he's the creator, made them male and female, there are the two genders, And said, for this reason, a man, a male, shall leave his father, mother, and be joined to his wife, which is a female, and the two shall become one flesh. So then, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what? And here's what we say at weddings. They're the words of Christ. God has joined together, let not man separate. So God designed marriage and God defines marriage. Remember, we're talking about right and unright. Is there such a thing as right and wrong when it comes to marriage? Well, according to the book of Genesis and according to Jesus' words here in Matthew 19, Jesus here reiterates God's definition of marriage. It is between two people, a what and a what? A man and a woman, a male and a female. If you read on, you find that they were challenging him as they were challenging him about divorce and remarriage, he did make an allowance for that. I've dealt with that before, won't go into it in detail this afternoon. He did make an allowance for divorce and remarriage in the case of adultery. He did not make an allowance for homosexuality. Pro-gay theology says, well, he never addressed it, and he even made an allowance, he made an exception, so if there's an exception for divorce and remarriage, then there's also an exception for homosexuality. He did not say that. You cannot put words in the mouth of Jesus Christ. So, we see in scripture God's original design for marriage, we see that Jesus confirmed it, and we say this is what is right. Unrighteousness or unright is what does not align with God's character and will. So there is a right and there is an unright in the area of relationships and of marriage. And we see that here. So there's an objective basis of right and wrong. It's not based on opinion, it's not based on feelings, and it's not based on experiences as some would say. Let's go back to, actually keep your hand here, we're coming back to Matthew in just a minute, but back in Romans chapter one, look at verses 24 and 25, and we see a third idea here. It is that same-sex ideas and desires originate in people's sinful hearts. Now again, I know, I don't know a background or a viewpoint that you might come with, And I know probably already this feels like condemnation. This feels like, well, there's not even any allowance for another viewpoint. There's not any accommodation of the fact that a person, a Christian or anybody might have this in their life or struggle with this and it be okay. I understand that, but we're looking at scripture. We're just looking at what the Bible says. So let the scriptures speak to you. Let them tell you what God's thoughts on this are. Let that be what you process through your mind. And if you hear that it's wrong, if you hear what you think of as condemnation, if it's all one-sided, just stop and say, okay, let me be honest with myself. What is the Bible telling me? And keep in mind what I stated at the beginning, that we're talking about the fact that we do not affirm homosexuality as a lifestyle, but there is the side of love, and we will talk about that. So please keep that in mind. We will talk about that, all right? So we come to this third statement. Same-sex ideas and desires originate in people's sinful hearts. Verse 24 it says, therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness and the lusts of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves. You see verse 26, for this reason God gave them up to vile passions and now we get into the verses in this chapter that deal specifically with same sex, for even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise, also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men, committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due." So you see Paul talks about it very specifically here. I've been teaching through this on Sunday mornings and if you've been here for that, you understand the context. If not, I encourage you to listen to those messages. You can get to them online. When he speaks in verse 24 of the lusts of their flesh, he's talking about the desires that arise out of just who you are as a person. But he sharpens the focus in verse 25 when he calls it vile passions. So we're talking about desires and passions. So you just follow, fulfill your desires and follow your passions. That's who you are, that's what you like, that's who you wanna be, that's who you wanna be with. Nobody should stop you. Nobody should criticize you. Nobody should condemn you. But what we see in the scriptures here is that yes, they arise out of our hearts, but our hearts have a dark side. And he calls them vile passions. The word vile means dishonoring. And in the context, it is dishonoring to God and dishonoring to their bodies. He talks about the natural use. How things naturally work. And we define this as normal according to God's design in our Sunday morning messages. Natural means normal according to God's design. Two men cannot have natural sex. Two women cannot have natural sex. So he's talking here about a desire and a practice that is outside of God's design. and it comes out of people's hearts. Now look at Matthew chapter 15. Jesus talked about this as well. In Matthew chapter 15, Jesus was interacting with people who were concerned about external activity, about how people behave themselves, and they were criticizing others for that. Here's what Jesus said in Matthew 15, starting with verse 17. Matthew 15, 17, do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart. And they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, that's a general word for sexual immorality, sexual activity that's outside of God's design. thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man." He's saying it's not about washing your hands, it's about the fact that there's something inside of you that comes out and that is what defiles you. So the point that Jesus is making here is that this is where sinful practices come from. They come from our hearts. He includes sexual practices, the word fornication or immorality, and so then we go back to Romans 1 and we realize that included in that is same-sex activity. So it comes from the heart. The lusts of their flesh and the vile passions result in something that is unnatural, that is not normal according to God's design. Now let me mention a few specific instances where people might have questions about this. And this is pretty specific. And again, I'm talking as Papa Pastor here, okay? These are not comfortable things to talk about. But I believe we need to. I believe we need to. I hope that if you are a young person and this raises questions or, As a parent, this raises issues that you will talk about this with your family, as a family. But this is reality. There may be two young boys and they just decide to try something and have a homosexual experience. Or an older boy or man does something with a younger boy. And that first sexual experience is powerful. Your first sexual experience is powerful. It leaves an imprint on your mind and on your desires and your appetites and your imagination and your sense of pleasure and how you experience pleasure and pleasure that is familiar to you and comfortable to you and it creates an appetite. So that first experience is powerful and it burns into your mind, into your body, and into your desires. So, the result of that might be that along the way, as an older teenager or college age or later in life, there are sexual desires and appetites and passions and interests and attractions that are same-sex in nature. They're same-sex attraction, same-sex desire. So on the one hand, there was an experience that contributed to that. But the desire is still for something that is not right. You might even look back and say, well, I had this experience and that's why I'm this way, and I can't help it, and it's too powerful. But just keep this in mind, there's a desire there for something that is unright, regardless of what happened to you or how wrong it may have been. There's a desire there for something that is not right. This can happen when two girls or two women are close friends and become emotionally attached to each other. And they show affection to each other. And it can turn into a very pleasurable experience. And then it becomes more. There is physical affection. And it turns into a same-sex attachment or a same-sex relationship. And again, it started maybe innocently, just as a friendship, just as a very close, intimate relationship with meaningful conversations. And maybe there are issues with one of them, with a husband or with men. And so there's an attraction toward another woman that they can be very close, very personal, very intimate with. And they find themselves in this same sex situation. Again, I say with love and compassion, but directness, what's happening there is a desire for something that is unright. It is not right. And it originates in a sinful heart. A boy may have an absent dad or an angry dad. A girl may have an abusive dad. Because of that, a boy may become effeminate or the girl might turn to feminine companionship and affection and the same thing happens. Some seem to have a same-sex interest or attraction from a very early age. And again, the prevailing, a strong message in our society is, well, you were born that way. And for some, maybe those first, the first thoughts that a person remembers of sexual interest is same-sex. Were you born that way? What about that? This is a huge topic. This is a huge topic. Tell you what I'm gonna do. I want to share something with you as a resource, and I know on your handout there are several resources listed. This one's called Desires in Conflict. Okay, listen, with any book, any materials, any resource, you know that they're not the Bible, okay? It's written by an individual, written by a person. But there's a lot of good stuff in here, a lot of good stuff. Isn't necessarily absolutely right on every single thing. This is a man that wrote this, but it's very helpful. It's called Desires in Conflict. The author's name is Joe Dallas. There are some other resources there by him. The other one listed there is, it's almost like a textbook. It's very, very thorough, very detailed. That can be very helpful. This one's called Desires in Conflict, Hope for Men. who struggle with sexual identity. Certainly helpful things in there as well for either gender. But I just want to introduce this to you and refer to a couple of things in here. And this is from Appendix One in the book, which is called The Born Gay Question. And here's what Joe Dallas has to say about that. There are important general points to be made regarding the born gay argument. First, inborn and normal are not necessarily the same. He says, even if homosexuality is someday proven to be inborn, inborn does not necessarily mean normal. He says there are all kinds of defects and handicaps that may be inborn, but you would not call them normal. He says, second, inborn tendencies towards certain behaviors do not make those behaviors moral. So because we are born with some kind of inclination or desire, does not make it normal, remember, according to God's design, and does not make it moral, doesn't make it right. Studies have shown a variety of behaviors may have their roots in genetics or biology. He mentions alcoholism, obesity, violent behavior, even infidelity, according to research reported in Time, may be in our genes. Surely we're not going to say that obesity, violence, alcoholism and adultery are legitimate because they were inherited. So it is with homosexuality. Then he says third, we are a fallen race born in sin. We inherited a corrupt nature. So whether or not you can go back and scientifically show or prove that there is a gay gene or something genetic or biological that contributes to this desire or this direction, the truth is we are all born in sin. And there's a part of us that has an inclination toward sin. And it may be towards some specific form of sin or as we've already referred to there may be some contributing factors that that bring that out or circumstances that bring you together with someone all of a sudden there it is. But that does not make it right or normal or moral. It is not God's design. I'm not saying that I know that if there is or is not a gay gene I'm not saying that. The point is that there's a sin nature that affects each of us that we are born with. And that affects how we think and affects our desires. So what we come back to is scripture and is truth. And what we see in scriptural truth is that these desires originate in the sinful human heart. Tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna stop there because I don't think I can get started on number four without going over our time. Let me say this as we end. This is not a real good place to stop, right? It's kind of like, oh man, this is the bad news, all right? I understand that. And especially if this is something very personal for you. Sounds like it's all condemnation. Remember where we're going. We're talking about how we treat one another and how God treats us, and that is with love. and what the implications of that are. There is help, there is hope, there is direction, there is the opportunity for conversation. Again, I encourage you to take that thought of not affirming a homosexual lifestyle, but treating other people with love. And as you think about that through the week, when you think about this, what does that look like for Calvary Baptist Church? If that's how it's supposed to be, not affirming, the activity or the lifestyle or the desires, but treating others with love. What does that look like at Calvary Baptist Church? In other words, what should that look like? How would that be manifest? How would we see that? How would you and I practice that with each other right here or with anybody who might come in these doors or anyone that you may have contact with in your family, in the place where you work, go to school, and in our community? What would that look like? Because that's where we need to go with this. Thanks, you've worked with me well here tonight. Thank you. Thank you for your prayer about this. I think you understand that this is heavy stuff, and I want to say it right. I want to say it well, and I want it to be received as it's intended from my heart of love and according to God's truth. So thanks for being so attentive. Let me pray for us. Father, we look to you tonight and are so thankful that we can talk about these things that may be hard for whatever reason, but we look to you for guidance. And Father, I pray that we might find help and hope from you, from your word, from our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, I am sure that some of us here need to grow, not just to become stronger or more firm in our position about this one way or another, but to truly grow, grow in our attitude, grow in our viewpoint, grow and change in our desires, overcome and be set free from some very difficult experiences, background, mental images, passionate desires. Some need to be forgiven and cleansed and washed and their feet placed on solid ground. Some may need to know the next step. How do I move forward in my own life, in this relationship, with my family, with this friend? Lord, I pray that you would infuse us with your truth and with your grace. Help us to be like Christ, who is full of grace and truth. Help this church to be growing toward the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, who is full of grace and truth. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.