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God Defines What's Natural
Recently, I watched a debate on Youtube about the New Testament teaching on homosexuality. A lesbian “pastor” was asked about Romans 1:26-27: “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another…” Her response? “Well, that passage is talking about those for whom homosexuality is unnatural. For those born homosexual, it’s natural for them so it doesn’t violate this passage. In fact, it would be unnatural for a homosexual to be with someone of the opposite gender.”
This is illogical for two reasons. First, there’s no science that supports the theory that people are born gay. It’s simply not an inborn trait like skin color. Second, let’s say for the sake of argument homosexuals were born that way. Would that make it natural? What if I were born with 11 toes? Would doctors say that’s “natural” simply because I was born that way? If I were born with defective lungs that can’t breathe properly, would doctors call that “natural” simply because I was born with those lungs? Of course not. 11 toes and defective lungs are, by definition, unnatural. Why? Because they go against the normal way people are born. The Greek word “natural” in Romans 1 means “the natural order of things.” If a small percentage are born with 11 toes and lungs that don’t function, they are, by definition, contrary to the natural, normal order. A 2017 Gallup poll showed that 4.5% of adult Americans identified as LGBT. If 95.5% of people are heterosexual, it means the 4.5% is contrary to the natural order of things and is therefore unnatural.
Please, let me be clear. My point is not to insult homosexuals. When God says homosexuality is unnatural in Romans 1:26, He’s not calling them monsters for whom there is no hope. Jesus died to save homosexuals, He loves their souls and I love their souls. Here’s the point: the real problem is that we have denied the Creator who designed the natural order in the world, which leads to denying that there is a natural order in the world, which allows us to redefine what’s natural for ourselves. That’s exactly what happened in Romans 1! “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 1:25). The truth is, what’s natural isn’t even defined by birth percentages, though it’s certainly supported by those statistics. It’s defined by God’s created order in Genesis. In the beginning, God set the sun, moon, and stars in their place to govern the natural seasons, He set all creatures in their natural habitats, and He created woman to naturally fit with a man in marriage physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When we deny the Creator, we deny order and embrace disorder and call what’s unnatural natural. May it never be! God defines what’s natural; we don’t.
