This might seem to some to be a perfect example of fundamental offish backwoods Christian bigotry— its not! It is rather a clarifying word as to what the new “gay-Christian” groups are guilty of. They are not simply guilty of opting for an alternative lifestyle, they are not simply guilty of stepping outside of ecclesiastical bounds, breaking and shattering homes, marriages or undermining “human flourishing”; the issue is doctrinal. It is one of orthodoxy versus heterodoxy and ultimately rank heresy. In other words, we are concerned with the interpretation of Scripture and its subsequent sub-biblical theology. In April, Robert Gagnon debated the question Does Scripture Forbid Same-sex Relationships with Jayne Ozanne on Premiere Christian Radio, Unbelievable with Justin Brierley. This debate is a prime example of how homosexuals take Scripture not only out of context but complete against the context. For example, Jayne Ozanne sees in Gen. 1.26-27 as God referring to mankind needing another person and not necessarily “male and female.” But this is precisely what Scripture says. It is male and female that are called, “the image of God”:
Genesis 1:26–27 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis clearly teaches male-female union in the covenant of marriage. The homosexuals arguing for same-sex relationships deny that. Sodom and Gomorrah are judged for among other things, total sexual anarchy including and supremely revealed by same-sex relations; but again that point is replaced with modern liberal, and often debunked arguments. The uniform presentation in Scripture of marriage is exclusively male-female complementarity (Mal. 2.14) as well as divorce consisting of the termination of male-female marriage (Mt. 19.1-9). Heresy happens when the clear teaching of Scripture is rejected or inverted. For example, the apostle Paul says that a women should not teach or have authority over a man (1 Tim. 2.11ff.). Egalitarians not only reject Paul’s words, through whatever exegetical gymnastics (often in the name of culture) are utilized, but they in fact invert the words without warrant. There is also epistemological concerns that were raised in the Gagnon-Ozanne debate. Jayne Ozanne was so quick to point out the danger of theological certainty as leading Dr. Gagnon to a “message of death.” And of course, like the serpent in the garden, Jayne had a message of “love and inclusion.” But as I have pointed out repeatedly, liberalism is cannibalistic in its epistemic commitments since Ozanne’s own understanding of “love and inclusion” are likewise impossible and self-consuming once revelation is forfeited. To undermine Sola Scriptura is to undermine one’s own stated worldview regardless of how loosely one seeks to tether their theological claims to Scripture. Homosexuals claiming to be both “gay” and Christian are nothing more than homosexual heretics. Like all heretics, they must twist the Scriptures to their own destruction in order to make their erroneous claims tenable. Is it any wonder that Jayne Ozanne asked the listening audience to “listen to their hearts.” Of course she would never want them to listen to Scripture since Scripture sets forth an invariant standard of truth, ethics and spirituality that is incompatible with Ms. Ozanne’s claims. The new “gay-Christian” movement is growing with sympathizers and total apostate capitulators emerging with increasing frequency. The church is to recognize that this growth is nothing less than the metastasizing of theological heresy. Say what we will about alternative lifestyles, human flourishing, and sexual orientations; this is a gospel issue and like all false gospels the new same-sex-heresy and its heretics incur the anathema of God (Gal. 1.6-9).
Sola Scriptura
Emilio Ramos is the preaching pastor of Heritage Grace Community Church. Pastor Emilio is committed to the expository and exegetical teaching of the Word of God. Emilio is also the author of Convert, From Adam to Christ and the founder of redgracemedia.com- a media ministry devoted to the glory of God’s redemptive grace through Jesus Christ. He and his wife Trisha live in Dallas, TX.
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Lisa
May 30, 2015 at 5:17 amWell said! I cannot for the life of me understand how these decisions are reached when Scripture is sooooo clear!!!! May God lift the blinding from their eyes and give them the Truth of His Gospel.