"Male and Female He Created Them"

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:27-28 ESV)

Without Genesis 1, we would lose all that we are: two genders—male and female, the concept of family, the ability to be stewards of the world God made for us, the understanding of God, and the concepts of right and wrong, good and evil.

Often, to correct the misunderstanding of gender and same sex attraction, people go to Deuteronomy, the passages referring to these things were written for the Israelites, as my brother Jerry says, you're reading someone else's mail. The Ten Commandments of God apply to us, but the 613 “Laws of Moses” do not.

I was told of a conversation on Sunday where someone said regarding homosexuality that “It is not a decision, it is who they are.” If someone believes this, they have not only lost their way, but they are also incredibly arrogant. Genesis 1 tells us that man and woman are to be together as mates, to procreate and have children. And if one does not or cannot have children God has also decided their walk is alone like we adopted by God are to adopt children. When one acts otherwise, they are rebelling against God’s natural order, which is laid out in Genesis 1, and their rebellion is sinful.

God created male and female. That is the natural order of humans. To imply there are others, or that one is created in the wrong gender, is to literally say, “God got it wrong when He created me.” Isaiah wrote, “Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’” .

God knew who you were to be, what you would do, and how you would return to him.

God gave us limited free will, and through our free will, we often make poor choices.

Sometimes we realize they are wrong, but we have gone so far that we are embarrassed to admit it. I know what that feels like, do you? Temptations are placed in front of us because the enemy knows it is a weakness, sex, alcohol, drugs, and same sex attractions. These things are temptations, and we must see them in that light.

An argument we frequently hear is “You cannot help who you love.” God is love, and God gave us the ability to love so love cannot be wrong. However, love that leads to sin is wrong. If a man or a woman is married, perhaps they have children or they may not, and they come to you and say, “I have fallen in love with someone else,” hopefully, you would tell them it is wrong. That love will lead to sin and a violation of God’s covenant of marriage. I did not understand that, and I know many people live with regrets over such actions. If I am submitting to a same sex attraction, it is no different. You are disobeying God and His complete design of the natural order.

No one in any of these positions should be shunned. If they are in such a relationship with us, they should be counseled in love. We should pray for them for God’s intervention. We should also be an example through our devotion to God that He is love, and so are we, but we cannot condone their sin. “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35)

Grace and Peace.