Redeemer Church Mauritius
I am speaking this morning on gender, sexuality and marriage. And I am speaking on this topic because it comes up in the verses we are studying in our series on Genesis, so the bible has something to say about this issue. I am speaking on this topic because it is a source of great tension - personal tension where some individuals are wrestling with their own identity, relational tension where people have conflicting views and don’t know how to handle that difference. I’m speaking on this topic because some Christians feel unequipped to have conversations and may even have some questions about what the bible teaches.
We are going to explore how it was in the beginning and then look at some questions that people have and whether we can answer those questions from the scriptures.
Genesis 1:27 NIV
Genesis 2:21-24 NIV
1. How was it at the beginning?
God created male and female and marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
2. What did Jesus say?
Matthew 19:3–6 (NIV)
Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Jesus affirmed how things were in the beginning.
3. Doesn’t the NT abolish the difference between male and female?
Galatians 3:28 (NIV)
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Paul is not saying that these distinctions don’t exist – rather that one isn’t better than the other.
4. Would the bible say the same thing if it was written today?
We are not the inventors of sexual liberty – this lifestyle has been around during bible times too.
5. What if I am born different?
We are all born with a bias towards sin – in that way we are all born different.
6. How does the church treat people who think differently on this issue?
We are guided by the principle of love without compromising on our convictions of truth.
Ask Yourself:
Can people see both your unconditional love and your uncompromising truth?