The Golden Rule and Sexual Brokenness

**Today's post was written by Ryan Sarpalius. He is a Human Performance Manager for the largest utility in California. He graduated from The Master's College in Santa Clarita, CA and currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has a wife, Candace, and three children, Owen (age 6), Ella (age 5), and Jack (age 7 mo.). Ryan writes for the blog Witherless.**

Last week President Obama finally came out and decided he was for same-sex marriage. It was not exactly surprising, but it has stirred the waters again within the Church regarding homosexuality, marriage, justice and Jesus.

Here’s what Obama said to ABC News:

"[My wife and I] are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it's also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated."

I’m not here to pick apart what Obama has said (enough great articles have been written on the implication of his assertions), but instead my aim is to use it as a launching point to something very crucial about the way Christians ought to view sexual brokenness.

The Golden Rule

The “Golden Rule” is what a lot of well-meaning Christians (and non-Christians) do their best to follow in their every day lives. It’s posted in kindergarten classrooms, invoked by moral citizens and quoted by powerful people like the President of the United States.

So what is the Golden Rule? It comes from Matthew 7:12 where Jesus says:

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

We must be careful not to downplay what Jesus is saying here. He is after the principle that we ought to be caring toward others and treat them with dignity and respect. We ought to fight for justice for everyone and for that which promotes human flourishing. We ought to show love to one another in treating them in a way we ourselves would like to be treated.

But is the Golden Rule really helpful when it comes to the discussion of homosexuality, “gay-marriage” and social justice?

Life For The Few

If these words were the only Jesus said, the world would have no problem with Him. And in fact, many people view this as the summary of all that Jesus taught. And, as we know, many moral people who fight for justice and equality love Jesus.

But you can love Jesus and refuse to call Him Lord, accepting everything He said.

We don’t have to go far to see Jesus’ polarizing words as He begins to become a little more exclusive. Verses 13 and 14 of Matthew 7 read,

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

The unpacking of what Jesus is saying here would take more space than this article will allow, but the point is that the more you read of Jesus’ words, the more we see it’s not so simple as “treat others the way you would want to be treated.”

We have to take Jesus in His entirety if we are going to do Him justice.

Sexual Brokenness

I’ve written before about why homosexuality (including homosexual desires, temptation, etc.) is a brokenness resulting from sin. But the truth is, we’re all sexually broken, aren’t we? Left to ourselves, we would all pursue our own fleshly desires. The majority of us are broken in a heterosexual way, but many of us in other “unnatural” ways.

It’s interesting that Obama says, “…not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule.” Without knowing it, I think Obama actually stated the real hope for the world of sexual brokenness in the first part of his statement, not the second.

Christ sacrificed himself on our behalf. This (with its proper context) is the good news of the Gospel! It’s not that we can have a utopian society of equality if everyone will just treat each other with respect. While treating each other with respect is beneficial and God honoring, it’s not what will fix our brokenness. It’s not what will give us life.

The Truth Will Set You Free

In another often quoted verse (even by non-Christians), Jesus said, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” It’s from John 8:31-32:

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

Freedom from sexual brokenness comes in the truth that Jesus is the way to life in that He has died in our place to take the penalty (of God’s wrath) that we all deserve and that He can grant eternal life that begins at the moment of salvation.

Freedom from sexual brokenness comes from the promise that He will be with us to the end of the age (Mt. 28:20) and has given us His Spirit (Ep. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:7) to live in us and encourage our souls.

Freedom from sexual brokenness comes from a submission to Jesus as Lord and the hope that we have of peace with Him in everlasting life (Rom. 5; Jn. 3:16).

Equal Rights

We need to see the connection between the good news of the Gospel and the way we treat others. If we can, by God’s grace, consistently remind ourselves and one another of the astounding love Jesus has for us (as demonstrated in His loving sacrifice on our behalf), we can begin to see everyone in the same two categories as we ourselves must be in; these two categories are separated from God in our sin or at peace with God in Christ’s righteousness.

The more we saturate our lives and our hearts and our minds in the Gospel of Jesus, the more this loving good news will seep out of us. Like a sponge that is full, we must be ready to wring out God’s loving grace to those around us when we’re squeezed by the pressure of this fallen world.

We are all equally in sin apart from Jesus. All of us. The homosexual. The heterosexual. The married. The single. Male. Female. Rich. Poor. And we are all equally offered this message of redemption in Christ Jesus.

Conclusion

Some Christians are rightly frustrated by Obama’s comments. And some are encouraged by them because they have, what I believe, to be a very good and loving heart that desires to honor Christ by showing love to those around us living a homosexual lifestyle.

Regardless of where you land, the aim should be to love like Jesus. And to love like Jesus, we must know Jesus. We must understand that He is God and that His message of redemption runs much deeper than just the Golden Rule.

As Christians we have more to offer the sexually broken than just respect and equal civil rights. We have the offer of everlasting life.

From the Pulpit to the Pew (A Guest Post)

**Today's post was written by Ryan Sarpalius. He is a Human Performance Manager for the largest utility in California. He graduated from The Master's College in Santa Clarita, CA and currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has a wife, Candace and three children, Owen (age 6), Ella (age 5) and Jack (age 7 mo.). Ryan writes for the blog Witherless.**

I’m not a pastor. I’m not an Academic or a Professional Counselor. I’m an average guy, saved by grace, trying to be the best Husband, Father and Employee that I can. It might seem strange, then that I am writing about the importance of preaching. It is a little bit strange. But while Pastors and Seminary Professors place a high value on sound preaching and teaching, those of us who listen have slowly come to value it less and less.

This is a big problem.

The Importance of Preaching

Preaching is important because it is a profoundly divine component of biblical worship that moves and shakes God’s people to glorify God’s name.

If we who are not pastors are to benefit from the very glorious purpose and design of preaching, we must understand that “to the extent that the preacher faithfully explains and applies the Scriptures, we are hearing the very words of God through the voice of a man. The preaching of the Word of God IS THE WORD OF GOD.” (Art Azurdia; The Master’s Seminary Chapel; Jan 18, 2007)

Many readers may have had the privilege to spend years under a faithful, hard-working, godly pastor who faithfully preaches God’s Word, holding it in high-esteem and working diligently to apply the meaning to their hearers. Other readers might not even know what a “pulpit” or a “pew” is. Perhaps I should have called this “From the Music Stand to the Comfy Stackable Chair.”

The bottom line is there are pastors who view preaching with high-regard and there are pastors who do not.

I’ve found myself sitting under the teaching of both. As I have observed preaching and the affect it has on the lives of my family and I, I have to come to realize that sound biblical preaching DOES matter.

It matters a great deal.

Several factors have contributed to the decline in biblical preaching. You can read more about my thoughts on that here: http://witherless.com/blog/text/13448724

Aspects of Biblical Preaching

Polluted preaching can sometimes be difficult to discern. So it is important we seek to understand what biblical preaching looks like. The shepherding of our souls and the worship of our Creator are at stake.

Here are 3 things to look for when searching out good preaching:

Cross Centered

Sitting under preaching that consistently leaves out the message of the cross will slowly starve your soul.

Paul says to the Corinthian Church, “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:1-2)

Many churches and pastors give lip-service to “the Gospel” but fail to adequately preach God’s good news of grace to their hearers from every text of Scripture. While the message of the cross is not necessarily explicit in every text, we know that the entirety of Scripture is intending to teach us about Who God is, who we are and the wonderful message of saving love throughout redemptive history. THAT is what nourishes our soul.

You may ask, “Doesn’t that just mean every sermon will be exactly the same every time?” This leads to the next aspect of biblical preaching; Expository.      

Expository

Jeff Ray in his book, Expository Preaching says, “In preaching, exposition is the detailed interpretation, logical amplification, and practical application of a passage of Scripture.”

Jeff D. Ray, Expository Preaching (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1940)

When seeking out healthy, biblical preaching, it is important to find teaching that exposes the meaning of the text as it was originally written and then be told how that meaning applies to God’s people today. It is typically verse-by-verse preaching through one book of the Bible at a time, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be.

One of the dangers in today’s pulpits is “textual” preaching that appears to be expositional, but really is not. That is to say the preaching starts in a text, which may follow the text from the week before, but then the message shoots off into something else entirely. For example, I’ve heard a pastor start in Colossians 3:18, “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord” and immediately go to Genesis 3 (and remain there) to talk about why God created men and women equal. While it is gloriously true both men and women are equal in God’s sight, that’s really not the meaning of Colossians 3:18.

The text of Scripture chosen by the preacher should not be a launching pad into personal thoughts and unrelated ideas, but should link the hearers to the context of God’s Word and help us understand what God meant when He said it.

The advantage of expository preaching for those of us in the seats is that even if your pastor/teacher is unable to adequately apply the text to you, you’re able to truly “see” the meaning of the text and allow the Spirit to apply its meaning to your life.

God Glorifying

It seems this should go without saying, but I fear that in many pulpits today man, not God, has become the center of preaching. There is such a hyper-focus on being relevant, keeping listeners engaged and applying the truth of the Word that many preachers are failing to keep the worship of God at the center of their preaching.

In California we have an unbelievably awesome sandwich shop called, Mr. Pickles. You can spot one a mile away because you can see a teenager dressed-up in a giant pickle suit dancing feverishly and sometimes spinning a sign. I know that when I see that dancing pickle, I can pull over and order a Turkey & Avocado on Dutch Crunch with garlic-pesto sauce.

In much the same way, we can identify biblical preaching by the way in which it seeks to bring honor to God and His Word. Is the preaching you’re listening to using a text to give you “10 Steps To A Better You,” or is it unpacking the dynamic truth of the Word of God and stirring up your affections for our Savior?

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy the following famous words about faithful preaching. As we listen in, we can see our responsibility of turning toward the truth and avoiding teachers who suit our own passions:

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

(2 Timothy 4:1-5 ESV)

It is true that God can speak to his people in spite of poor preaching. But we ought to work hard to place ourselves under the preaching and teaching of a faithful minister who holds God’s Word in high esteem and loves to see the good news of the Gospel seeping out of every verse he preaches.

It is God’s Word through the message preached that flows from the pulpit to the pew (or comfy stackable chair).