HOMOSEXUALITY, SLAVERY, AND SMOKESCREENS

We recently ran across an interesting video on You Tube.  The caption reads, “Kevin Rudd shuts down homophobe in the headlights on Q&A.”  The video can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saTqdnPRePc

In the video, Kevin Rudd (Prime Minister in Australia), in a Question & Answer session, responds to a local pastor’s question on “marriage equality.”  Apparently, Rudd’s views had recently changed on the topic of homosexuality.  He is now sympathetic toward gays and their lifestyle.  The pastor asked Rudd, “If you call yourself a Christian, why don’t you believe the words of Jesus in the Bible?”  A very good question.  But Rudd’s response to the pastor was, “The Bible also says that slavery is a natural condition,” to which the crowd erupted in applause.  And again, implying that if we are going to believe the Bible, that “we should have all fought for the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War!” 

The Attack

He could have said to the pastor, “No, you simply misunderstand the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality, and it is this…”  But he decided to directly attack the Bible, instead.  Although Rudd claims to be a Christian, he, along with the crowd, was apparently implying that you can’t trust everything the Bible says.  Therefore, this “weakness” somehow means that the Bible’s clear condemnation of homosexuality is actually wrong.  It is now seen as a fully acceptable lifestyle.  Rudd stated that he had come to this conclusion after “many, many months and years of reflection,” and he claimed to have decided this with an “informed” and “good, Christian” conscience.

The Slavery Issue

But concerning the slavery comment, he apparently didn’t “reflect” very long on any study of what the Bible actually has to say about slavery - otherwise, he would have known that Old Testament slavery of innocent people was a voluntary system, and nothing like the bigoted, hateful and brutal slavery of the pre-Civil War type in America, which was motivated by racism. 

 

Biblical slavery was not like this.  It was voluntary unless you were a criminal of some sort.  First, for example, if you were a foreigner conquered by Israel (because of your nation’s sins), then you could be forced into slavery.  Or, secondly, if you committed a crime, like theft, and could not repay what you stole, then you were sold (and forced) into slavery until the debt was paid. 

 

But again, these were either hardened sinners, or criminals who broke the law.  They were not “innocent victims” of slavery.  No one should deny them their penalty.  Even today, anyone going to prison will, in a sense, be a slave of the state.  This may seem harsh, but in many cultures in those days, the penalty for certain crimes was often slavery or even death.  But even these criminals who were forced into slavery by Israel were relatively well-treated compared to the surrounding pagan nations. 

 

A Choice

And then there was voluntary slavery, used by those who had trouble paying off their debts because of money mismanagement, hard times, bankruptcy, famine, etc.  So, rather than die of starvation, they would voluntarily attach themselves to a wealthy slave owner, who would often pay off the person’s debt, and then provide food and shelter in exchange for work.  This was merciful and it was beneficial to both slave owner and slave. 

 

Biblical slavery was important because back then, there was no governmental welfare system like we have today here in America.  There were no bankruptcy laws like ours to help people get out of debt.  There were no government give-aways to fall back on.  Unlike our welfare system today, that system encouraged responsibility and a strong work ethic.

 

Yes, it was an imperfect system, but the concept of slavery was already in place in that whole ancient culture, so God created laws for regulating this imperfect system, so that it wouldn’t get out of hand.  In our easily offended society, it is hard to understand the cold reality of some of the ancient laws.  We are so overly “domesticated” and pampered that we think that any punishment is cruel.  But that’s the way the ancient people worked.  It was so ingrained in them that God had to gradually fade out this culture of slavery.

See these links on biblical slavery:

https://www.compellingtruth.org/slavery-Old-Testament.html

http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=1587

http://christianthinktank.com/qnoslave.html

God’s “Mistakes”?

But Rudd’s answer to the pastor concerning slavery is typical of LGBT sympathizers.  It seems that Rudd was implying that God made a mistake by allowing any kind of slavery, and then made another mistake in calling homosexuality a sin and an abomination (Leviticus 18:22).  The LGBT crowd wants to continue in their sin.  But they (and their sympathizers) don’t want it to be called sin.  They are anxious to prove the Bible wrong.  They want their sin to be accepted at all costs and they are willing to twist the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:16) and call that which is evil, good – and call that which is good, evil (Isaiah 5:20).

All or Nothing

But if you’re going to change God’s Word, why stop there?  Why stop with the sin of homosexuality?  Maybe God made other “mistakes,” as well - maybe the sins of lying, theft, hating your neighbor, murder, kidnapping, beastiality, and others are ALSO not really sins!  Maybe the Ten Commandments are really all wrong!  Why believe some of His Word, but not all of it (2 Timothy 3:16-17)?  Where do you draw the line?  You see, once you open that door and start questioning or changing God’s laws, then things start spinning out of control.

True Love for Gays

In his defense of gays, Rudd also said that focusing on what the Bible says about homosexuality is “missing the centrality of the gospel.”  He said, “The human condition and social conditions change,” (as though time changes God’s Word – Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18).  And he also emphasized that the fundamental principal of the New Testament is “universal love,” i.e., (“loving your fellow man”).  Yes it is, but allowing someone to openly continue in sin is NOT “loving your neighbor” at all! (James 5:19-20)  True Christians are concerned about their fellow man’s eternal destiny.  But Rudd is denying the clear warnings of the Bible.

Born That Way?

Rudd also asked that if gays are born that way, how could we condemn them?  Another good question.  And he’s right.  But the flip side of that question is that God would NOT call homosexuality an abomination IF a person is born that way.  Yet, it is clearly revealed as sinful in the Bible.  So, two choices remain:  Either, people are born gay, and yet God condemns their sin when they really had no choice – or, no one is born gay, and homosexuality is a learned behavior, and is indeed an abomination exactly as He said in both the Old Testament and in the New. 

The Smokescreen

People often use the same tactic that Kevin Rudd used:  They want to excuse their (or someone else’s) sin, so they use a diversion, a smokescreen, to try to catch Christians off guard.  They will point to some little-known (and little understood) Old Testament dietary or ceremonial law that might forbid the eating of shellfish - or the wearing of two different kinds of fabrics at one time - or the planting of two different crops together - or they’ll point to laws calling for the death of someone who works on the Sabbath, etc., etc.  And they will say, “See, we don’t follow these any more.”  But these were part of the ceremonial laws that were strictly for Israel, and they were only intended for a certain period in time.  These ceremonial laws were simply types and shadows (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 8:5-6; 10:1) and the reason we don’t follow them today is because they were all fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  But there were also moral laws in the Old Testament that carried over into the New Testament, like the Ten Commandments and many others, including the prohibitions against homosexuality (Matthew 19:4-6; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; Jude 7).

Conclusion

So, pointing to these types of Old Testament laws to justify your sin is simply making excuses for your unbelief.  Many people will purposely use these obsolete laws or these inflammatory “hot-button” topics (like slavery) to stir up anger and confusion, and to divert attention away from the truth of the Bible.  But this generates more “heat” than “light,” i.e., more controversy than understanding, and it is only an attempt to downplay the Bible’s reliability.

Perhaps the “Honorable” Kevin Rudd would say that he does believe in the whole Bible, but that the prohibition of homosexuality is simply some kind of symbol or allegory.  Well, if you want to go that route, then maybe the resurrection of the dead, or the Christian life, or Jesus, Himself, is also just an allegory!  We could carry this concept to absurd conclusions.  The question is this:  Does man decide what is sin, or does God Almighty? 

 

But there IS no allegorizing of the ban on homosexuality.  There IS no explaining it away, no sensible alternate interpretation.  And there IS no mistake on God’s part.  The Bible is God’s Word to mankind and it plainly says that homosexuality is sin.

Jesus, Himself, made it absolutely clear that, from the beginning, God’s plan and intent for marriage is one man for one woman:

 

And He answered and said, “Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’?  Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)

What God has joined together in holy matrimony is a man and a woman.  Will anyone dare to purposely violate the intent and purpose of God’s plan?

People may ask, “Why do you Christians focus so much on homosexuality?  Aren’t there other types of sin in the world about which you should be concerned?”  Absolutely.  But the adulterer and the thief and the kidnapper, etc., all seem to know that their deeds are sinful.  That’s why they HIDE them!  At least they’ll admit what they do is wrong.  But many, if not most, LGBT people today will tell you up front that they don’t care who knows of their lifestyle… they just insist that it is not sinful.  They either reject God’s Word altogether, or they twist it to accommodate their sins.  This is the proverbial “shaking your fist in God’s face.”  Surely, judgment is coming.