Note: The following is part 1 of 5 excerpts from my teaching on Aug. 5, 2012 at Life Church.  To hear or watch the message or download my notes you can visit www.lifechurchindy.com.

I had no idea six months ago when we were planning our upcoming teaching themes at Life Church how timely and prophetic this series would become or what a conflict would arise over fast food chicken.

We must start a discussion instead of hiding behind our fears and bias’ and just throwing rocks we are going have to meet and seek to understand rather than just buying fast food chicken.

The heart of God when his children fighting. As a parent, I am less concerned about the issue and more about the attitude.  Stop the hostility and bring down the emotions and then we can get to the truth.  Many of you on both sides are going to upset because I am not standing up enough for your view.

Society is rapidly changing its views on homosexuality, human rights and the definitions of marriage and what constitutes a family.

We are at a tipping point in American society. 

Many mainline protestant churches have accepted ordaining homosexual priests and pastors and officiating gay marriages.

Many evangelical Christians worry about a line of compromise that seems to be moving faster and farther from Biblical ideals.  What do we teach our children?  How does this affect the morality of our nation into the future.  Again, our theme throughout this series, FEAR.

Fear makes us say and do dumb things.

These are the questions I will address in this teaching.

1. How do we interpret the Bible passages on homosexuality?
2. Is a person born gay?
3. Is this a civil rights issue?
4. Would I perform a gay marriage?
5. Will there be homosexual people in Heaven?

1.  How do we interpret the Bible passages on homosexuality? 

Here are the Biblical passages…

Genesis 19:4-8, the story of Sodom.

Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom —both young and old—surrounded the house.5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

Leviticus 18:22 – the Levitical laws

“‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.

Leviticus 20:13

“‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

Romans 1:26-27

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women  natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

1 Cor. 6:9-10

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Tim. 1:9-10

We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—

Here is a more liberal or gay theological perspective on the above passages…

Levitical law – We ignore some of these today (like eating shellfish, wearing cotton and wool at same time, sleeping with a woman for 7 days after her menstrual cycle), so why do we emphasize only one?

Gen. 19 – Story of Sodom.  Men just wanted to fellowship. (If so, why we he offered daughters as sexual objects).  The other view is God was judging the men of Sodom because this is a case of forced sex or perversion. This same argument is carried over to apply to the New  Testament passages.

In 1 Corinthians 6, Romans 1, and the 1 Timothy passages the words, “men who have sex with men” translate two Greek words that refer to the passive and active participants in homosexual acts.

Perversion or forced sex which was a common occurrence in the pagan world known for temple prostitute and the taking young boys.  This is not a monogamous consensual relationship.

What the homosexual community is saying is, “we are against a forced or coerced sexual experience where one person forces themselves on another.  It is totally different to speak about a committed monogamous relationship between two consenting adults who are in love.”

How we interpret these passages has much bearing on how we view gay marriage.

My position is usually to read the Bible in it’s context and take it at face value.  When I see God’s design for marriage between a man and a woman it is difficult for me for me reinterpret all of the passages to force a new belief.  By understanding though how others interpret the Bible I can better understand their view.