Well, the goal for the class today is to conclude from last week, as we ran out of time, on the topic of gender confusion and homosexuality. And then we'll have, at the end, you've noticed probably some green slips of paper on your table. That's for table discussion later on. in an effort to review everything that we've talked about over the last five months. But last week we looked at gender confusion and homosexuality. If you weren't here and you want to listen to that, I would encourage you to do so. It's on our website and it's also on Sermon Audio. You can find it there as well. But I want to provide kind of a brief overview of that initially today so that then we can conclude with a biblical response. to people struggling with gender confusion and homosexuality. You know, we first discussed last week gender confusion, including transgenderism. And the secular world will separate gender from biological sex, but that is contrary to the view from Scripture. Furthermore, we know from passages in Genesis that God created male and female, that's two genders, right, which are made in His image and for His glory. We looked at a verse last week which is really important, Colossians 1.16, and all things were created through Him and for Him. So everything about us and who we are as male and female and in other ways that God created us and the duties that He gave to us were to do joyfully and in a way to bring honor and glory to Him because we are to live for Him. Then we shifted our attention to homosexuality and we looked at how Satan uses similar trickery as he did in the Garden of Eden. Remember, he approached Adam and Eve and he said, did God really say to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Did he really say that? So how does he do that today? Well, he comes to people and he said, did God really say marriage is between man and woman? Did he really say that? Did God really say that he only created two genders? and that he created male and female. Did he really say that? Well, many are giving in to his tactics today. As we see, almost one million households in this country alone are now homosexual. We also looked at the importance of marital union and how it's a covenantal union between two distinct parties. Who are those distinct parties in the marital relationship? It's male and it's female. So, two distinct, different parties at work in the covenantal union. And it's similar to the covenantal union that we have with God. And so, in that way, God created covenants with man. We see back in the Old Testament that He initiated with man, but also between two distinct and different parties. Who are those two parties? God and man. And so in that way, the marriage relationship is to reflect covenantally and in other ways that relationship between Christ and the church. Well, homosexuality distorts this. Numerous passages speak to the sinfulness of homosexuality, and we looked at those last week. But it's not just the physical sexual activity, homosexual activity that's wrong. We also looked at the desire, and even if the desire does not give way to physical sexual activity, the desire is also wrong. There's well-meaning Christians who have homosexual desires that are seeking by the grace of the Holy Spirit to mortify those desires, praying, Lord, please take this away from me. in a similar way as others that are struggling with anger perhaps or a deceitful tongue or saying, Lord, I know this is wrong. Take this from me. Help me by the power of the Holy Spirit to mortify these desires because I know they're wrong. Well, there's others even in the broad evangelical community that have homosexual desires and don't think anything is wrong with those desires. That's called side B gay Christianity. But we also saw how Jesus makes it very clear, Matthew 5, 27 to 28, that a man commits adultery, not just with the physical act of adultery, but how? by looking with lustful intent. What's that getting at? That's desire, right? And so Jesus himself is saying it's not just the physical act of adultery that's wrong, but it's actually desiring to have another one that is also wrong. We concluded last week by looking at the heart of the matter. In other words, what is the common denominator, if you will, or the common impetus for both gender confusion and homosexuality? And we saw how in various passages that we looked at, it really comes down to idolatry. For the ones that are truly confused about gender, they're saying to God, I don't like that you created me a male. Or, I don't like that you created me a female. Or for those that are struggling with homosexuality, I really don't like the fact that you have limited me, God, into only being able to pursue one of the opposite gender. And so ultimately it comes down to a discontentment with how the Lord has made us. and seeking to undo, if you will, or unravel his normal creative order. And it's really making oneself a mini-God, if we could say it that way. So how do we deal with this biblically? You may know people that are struggling, maybe it's family members, maybe it's friends, You may know people that are genuinely struggling with gender confusion or struggling with homosexual desire. What do we do? How do we help them? Well, let me first of all state that our response should always be rooted in Scripture and should always be Christ-like. In these cases, we should be compassionate, kind, and ultimately point them to Christ, who alone offers them hope for their sin condition. He alone offers us hope, right, for our sin condition. There's much to talk about, and there's a lot of talk these days particularly about loving those that are struggling with gender and homosexual desires. And that is true, that is correct, but because we love, Because we love, we cannot and should not condone or encourage sin. A great passage that speaks directly to this. is found in Romans 12, 9 through 10, let love be genuine, abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good, love one another with brotherly affection, outdo one another in showing honor. So we should indeed love the sinner, but never sacrifice what's good and right and what God says in His holy word. Another important verse to remember in confronting someone in sin, whether it be these particular sins that we're discussing or other sins, we see in Galatians 6.1, Paul writes, brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in the spirit of gentleness. and the spirit of gentleness. In other words, Paul is calling upon those of you who are spiritually mature to help restore and to mend what is broken. A mature believer is not one who is self-righteous or judgmental, but rather one who is truly seeking the spiritual good of the one who is entangled by sin. by serving Him in the best possible way. This certainly involves, first and foremost, helping the one in sin to recognize his trespass, to recognize his sin. How do we do that? Well, how do you recognize your sin? By looking at Scripture. And so, spend time with them in the Word and not only point out the heinousness of their sin, but also the glorious hope of the gospel. that can save them and grow them. For the one that's trapped in sin, let's say this, for the one that is trapped in this confused state of gender identity and maybe homosexual desires, for that person that is trapped in that that's not a Christian, what a great time to talk about sin and the effects of sin. but also to mention that no sin is too great to be forgiven. They should look to Christ who is the author of their salvation. What about for those that may be struggling that are believers? What about them? Share Scripture with them. Encourage them to repent. Looking to Christ not only as the author who has saved them, but as the finisher of their faith. and causing them to encourage them to persevere in their faith, to set aside deeds of the flesh and to grow in holiness. Well, notice the last part of Galatians 6.1 states that this restoration is to be done in a spirit of gentleness. When you think about gentleness, you think about the opposite of harsh, the opposite of condemning, we could say. When I think about gentleness, I think about humility. And so, as we encourage one another, let's be gentle about it. And, you know, it is a characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit we see in Galatians 5, 23. John MacArthur writes, a Christian who is critical and judgmental as he attempts to help a fallen brother does not show the grace of Christ or even help his brother, but instead stumbles himself. Well, let me give a real-life example of a biblical response to homosexuality. The story is about Rosaria Butterfield. How many of y'all have heard of her before? So many of you have. For those of you that haven't, listen to this. She was raised and educated in liberal Catholic settings, and in her late 20s, she was allured by feminist philosophy and the LGBTQ advocacy, and she adopted a lesbian identity. She earned her PhD from Ohio State University and then served in the English Department in Women's Study Program at Syracuse University from 1992 to 2002. But listen to this, her primary academic field was critical theory, specializing in, and I quote, queer theory. Her historical focus was 19th century literature informed by Freud, Marx, and Darwin. She advised the LGBTQ student group where Syracuse University's policy for same-sex couples, she actually wrote that policy for them and she actively lobbied. for LGBTQ aims alongside her lesbian partner. What happened? In 1997, Rosaria was researching what she called the religious right and their, quote, their politics of hatred against people like me. And she wrote an article against promise keepers. Well, this response, there was a response to that article that was written by Ken Smith. who is a reformed Presbyterian minister, who along with his wife, invited Rosaria into their home. During the next two years, she continued to go to their home as part of a community that was meeting on a weekly basis. Here's what Rosaria said for herself. For two years, I was loved and welcomed by a Christian community that I actually mocked, despised, and rejected. I accepted them when it worked for me, and I rejected them all the other times. There's simply no way I would have walked into a church if I hadn't had a genuine friendship with the man behind the pulpit. For two years, I was part of Ken and Floyd Smith's ministry. I met with them once a week at their home. The door was wide open. People were always in and out of the home. People from church and people not from church. Heated, genuine conversation would happen. People would speak honestly. Tears would flow. But it was different because Ken would open the Bible. That's what we're talking about, right? Opening the Bible. He would sing from the psalter and then he would pray. It was so disarming, I couldn't help but go back and then listen. It was in the context of hospitality that Ken brought the church to me because it was impossible for me to get to the church without the bridge of someone's home. So two years later, 1999, after repeatedly reading the Bible and meeting with this group, she gave her life to Jesus Christ. It wasn't long afterwards that she resigned her post at Syracuse University. Fast forward 20 years, she's now married to a reformed Presbyterian minister, lives in North Carolina, and is homeschooling their four adopted children. She's a prolific author and speaker. It's an amazing story. It's a dramatic story, but it's one that we really shouldn't be surprised to hear because the Lord's hand is not too short to save. Isaiah 59.1, behold, the Lord's hand is not too shortened that it cannot save or his ear dull that it cannot hear. You see, He uses us. He brings people to Himself, but He uses you. He uses me. In our feeble hands, if we come before Him in all humility, He will use us to help reach out to the lost. offering compassion and hospitality to them, and certainly gently pointing them to Christ. Christ and His Word, these are our weapons and solution to the hurting sinner, whether they be homosexuality, gender confusion, or another sin. We are the sowers. The field is ripe for harvest. Don't shy away from this. Get in the game. Show Christ to those that are struggling. Remembering that in 1 John 4, 4, he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Well, let us be armed with the word as we confront in a loving and gentle way those that are caught up in this snares of gender confusion and homosexuality. Let's be willing to meet them where they are. In other words, have compassion on them. Some perhaps unknown to us may have grown up in a home with two moms or two dads. It's become normative for them. Some have been struggling for decades. Let's exercise humility. And yet, we boldly and unashamedly share Scripture with them, knowing that God delights in using us to accomplish His purposes while on earth. Is it difficult? Yes. Is it uncomfortable? Yes. If we step out in faith, will the Holy Spirit give you the words to say? Absolutely. Don't go to heaven without exercising a compassionate evangelical response to this biblically decisive issue of the sin of homosexuality. Make no mistake, the Bible's clear. It's straightforward. Don't be silent. for the sake of appearance or even popularity, but for the sake of Christ and for the very good of the soul of your fellow brother or sister, speak out against it. Genuinely love your neighbor all while abhorring evil and holding fast to what is good. I want to transition because we've got about 10 more minutes here. to looking at an overview of biblical manhood and womanhood, something that we started back in early September. Remember, we started back in Genesis because that's where man and woman came from, right? So, we started back in Genesis, God created them, and then we looked at the duties or the responsibilities that He gave to both the man and the woman to live out in a joyful way as unto Him. And then we've got to deal with the fall, right, because the fall changed things. And because of the fall, sin entered the world, but it also means that we now, as men and women, have struggles that were not present before the fall. So there were curses inflicted upon the man and the woman. And then we looked at specifically how to live out godly manhood and womanhood in the context of the home, in the context of the church, and in the context of society. So what I want you to do right now, just around your tables, notice that you have a green slip of paper that has a question on it. So, there are six questions that are scattered about the 12 tables. There's actually two tables for each question. So, you guys here, these front two, for example, both have question one, okay, and then we have question two. So, what I'd like you to do is spend a few minutes discussing that question around your table, and then we'll come back and we'll be willing to share a few answers, if you will. So, take a few minutes and do that. Well, let's conclude in prayer. Hopefully this study has been helpful in encouraging you in the unique design that God has given to you men and to you women in the home and in the church and in society. Let's continue to pray for each other and pray for others that they might see Christ. as we live out those duties in a God-glorifying way. Lord, thank You for Your Word, and we thank You that it does not return void, and You use it, Father, as we've seen today, to draw sinners to Yourself. Your hand is not too short to save, and Your ear is not too dull to hear. But Father, You've called us to be Your children. You've adopted us into Your family. So help us, Lord, as such to live out the specific roles and duties that You've given to us in Your holy infallible Word in a way that will bring glory and honor to Your name. We recognize we are from You and so help us to live as unto You in our lives. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.