The Bible is God's inspired word (2 Timothy 3:16), literally meaning God-breathed, coming directly from God to men, moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). The very words of Scripture are inspired, as Paul reveals by arguing such to show Christ as the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham (Galatians 3:16). God's commands, then, are clear, meant to be understood, that we would obey them. Paul wrote by inspiration that God "will render to every man according to his works: to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation" (Romans 2:6-8).
Earlier Paul showed how God had made Himself evident to the world, but how so many in the world reject Him (Romans 1:18-22). It is nothing new then for some to try to rationalize their own desires as being in accord with the will of God. Saul did the same thing centuries ago when he was told to go and utterly destroy the Amalekites. "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not" (1 Samuel 15:3). "But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly" (15:9). Even when confronted by Samuel, the prophet of God, Saul said, "I have performed the commandment of Jehovah" (15:13). It seems incredible he did not destroy everything, but said he obeyed God, when God clearly said to obey Him meant to destroy everything. Only when Samuel confronted him with rebellion and God's rejection of him as king did Saul finally admit he had sinned (15:22-24). His problem wasn't understanding what God had said, but in putting his sinful desires above the will of God.
Isn't this the root problem with those who want to twist and ignore what Scripture teaches? For example, to argue the Bible's teaching on homosexuality doesn't apply today because Scripture only addresses abusive, not loving, relationships in this regard is to ignore what Scripture clearly teaches. The New Testament passages (Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Timothy 1:8-11) that deal with it do not discriminate between loving or abusive relationships. The practice of homosexuality itself is condemned without exception. Others say Jesus approved it, since the gospels do not record Him using the term in a disapproving way. Yet, when He described fornication as the exception to the marriage of one man and woman (Matthew 19:4-9), the term fornication describes all sexual immorality, including homosexuality. Elsewhere, Jesus condemned fornication as an evil thing that defiles a person (Mark 7:20-23). Are these passages unclear, or is it the human heart, burdened with sin, that seeks to bring Scripture in alignment with sinful desires, rather than allowing God's word to mold us in God's righteousness?
Proverbs tells us, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12). Peter warned of those who would wrest, or distort, Scripture to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). Only when the word of God can fall into good and honest hearts can it transform lives (Romans 12:2) and bear good fruit (Matthew 13:23). May we seek to approach Scripture from good and honest hearts, and allow it to accomplish God's goal within us.
Robert Johnson, Longview, TX
