Comparing Homosexual Unions with Remarriage

Homosexual marriage is wrong for reasons other than being outside the marriage covenant. God’s plan for marriage is for one man – one woman, for life – barring the aforementioned exceptions of abandonment by an unbeliever, or adultery. These were mentioned in scripture by Jesus and Paul, and we do disagree over interpretation, but they WERE said and they DO exist. You cannot explain them away.

Homosexual marriage is just as much outside the will of God as is adultery. For me, it’s hard to understand how many in today’s church believe that what Jesus called adultery (having unlawful relations with another’s spouse) is entering into a covenant marriage. How is that any different than a homosexual getting married, believing they are blessed in God’s eyes? Neither homosexual marriage nor adultery constitute a marriage covenant. A piece of paper does not make it so. Just because WE say we’re joined in marriage and it’s lawful in God’s sight, does not mean it’s true. In fact, unless we can find it in God’s Word that His approval is upon such a relationship, I think we ought to stick with His last words on the topic.

I read the article you pointed (name deleted) to. I find it “typical” of the remarriage articles out there that always bring in homosexual unions when discussing heterosexual adultery and remarriage. I don’t know why they do that other than to sway the reader in their reading of the entire article.

Interesting that you got out of that article what you did. He, the pastor, WANTS to see homosexuals embraced in the church—while they continue their homosexual relationships. He speaks on the history of the church’s belief on divorce/remarriage. I found it interesting that he compared remarriage to homosexuality—–not as a person who is against remarriage, but as someone who has seen it accepted when it previously was REJECTED and agrees with accepting remarrieds serving in churches. He says Pastors used to not marry divorced persons. Now they overwhelmingly do. They didn’t marry divorced persons because they USE to see it as adultery and they didn’t want to be guilty before God………..He goes on to say “what changed?”……………Culture changed. Because divorce and remarriage has grown, now marrying divorced people has become acceptable……..he is hoping that because of this turn of tide, that someday soon people will also begin to accept homosexual couples into their congregations and allow them to serve God and man in these “blessed” unions.

What this article did for me was CLEARLY show how sin desensitizes and then causes cloudiness/blindness to the truth. The truth that marrying a divorced person is adultery is clearly seen in scripture, yet many “SEE” the scriptures, yet they look outward to find the truth (look at situations and people). The scriptures are very CLEAR on the sin of homosexuality, yet more and more in the “church” are starting to accept active lifestyles that contradict the Word of God because now they know the PEOPLE and like them—again, external is ruling over the Word of God.

Try again… Marriage is between a man and a woman (according to the Bible) so the homosexual analogy is not correct…..

Adultery was just as stoneable an offense as homosexuality was in the OT. Are you saying that adultery now is Ok with the Lord and that He even “joins” it as a lawful marriage?

The Bible says: “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.

Can a practicing homosexual confess and remain in their illicit relationship? Can an unmarried couple remain in fornication if they “confess” their sin? Can a couple who are related to each other that have gotten married stay married and continue to commit incest? Where do we draw the line on illicit relationships (as defined by God)………

Even the blind can see that you’re throwing the same kind of question that the Pharisees were in Matt 19. There’s no where in Scripture old or new Testament where it’s suggested implied, and FOR THIS reason: (taking in consideration his audience and the heart of the questioner HE did not addressed that question) ever appropriate for 2 people of the same sex to form any kind of God-honoring family union. come on now…!

Ok, so you say that the Lord does not honor same sex relationships as being a God honoring family union………….yet you seem to be saying that a union that the Lord has called adultery IS a God-honoring family union? Since both types of relationships in the OT brought about the death sentence, why is it you think one type ok to continue, but not the other?

I don’t think it’s the same. Homosexuality by it’s very nature is not a real marriage period but this is not based on previous marriages but rather the same-sex aspect. In regards to folks simply living together, what we tell them is to get married or move out. Preferably the former. Marriage is what brings honor to the relationship of those living together.

Asking a homosexual couple that is legally married (according to the laws of the land) with children to break up is EXACTLY like asking a couple to stop their relationship who are living in what the Lord calls adultery, but the law calls them “married”. All the same emotional sufferings are there—for the adults and the children involved. All the same tangible worries are there. One relationship is called homosexuality—-a perversion of the marriage covenant…………the other is called adultery—-a perversion of the marriage covenant created by God. In the first instance, “strange flesh” is being joined—-that the Lord does not join. In the second, someone else’s spouse is being taken. Again, there is no evidence in the scriptures where God joins what He calls sin.

If homosexuality is going to be used as a comparision to remarriage after divorce as adultery, then, why when God allowed divorce as a concession for the hard heartedness of His people, didn’t he also do so for homosexuality? It seems even God may have graded one sin as greater than the other, wouldn’t you think?

Yes, I’ve heard some say that homosexuality is worse than adultery to the Lord. However, in the OT Law BOTH were stoneable offenses, so I believe God thought both sins were detrimental to His people.

Homosexual relationships cannot be marriages – sorry, God classifies this relationship as an abomination by itself. You cannot continue to use homosexual relationships as this example.

I agree that homosexual relationships cannot be marriages—in God’s sight. However, I will continue to keep using that example as well as incestual relationships and such because ALL sexually prohibited relationships are sinful to the Lord. What He calls adultery is just as sinful and a perversion to what He created as homosexuality is…………….as has been noted before: homosexuality as well as adultery were BOTH stonable offenses. If it was God Himself who called for such a judgment/punishment to be meted to the guilty, I believe He STILL views them both as sinful——-though now there is GRACE to repent and change one’s choices in life—–if one is willing to accept the Grace offered to them.

I will repeat on this one. This is not a discussion regarding same sex unions. Homosexual “marriages” are not even addressed in Scripture. There is no issue concerning marriage or divorce between homosexuals because homosexuality is condemned in Scripture period. Same sex marriages are a civil issue until they come to the church.

You’re ignoring my question. You said,” (divorcing if the second marriage was born of sin). There is not one place in Scripture where that is commanded and yet this is what people are saying God says”. If divorce is not mentioned in scripture concerning adulterous unions, and divorce concerning homosexual marriage is also not mentioned in scripture, then BOTH sexual unions, you are saying ,can be STAYED in—-yes?

There can be no valid same sex marriages in the eyes of the Lord since there is no such thing as an intimate relationship like this between the same sex.

There absolutely IS intimate relations with same sex unions, just like there absolutely IS intimate relations with ADULTEROUS unions. Yet, you say one is ok, one is not ok. The OT law condemned BOTH types of relationships. Do you now believe Jesus oks adultery, but not homosexuality?

But what we do see in Deut 24 is an instance of a woman being divorced and once remarried, is banned from returning to the ex husband. That is written and that is why I can deal with it in this thread. I think you should really avoid the whole homosexual argument because it has nothing to do with this thread at all.

You don’t want to deal with the homosexual issue because there ARE correlations between the two types of illicit relationships. BOTH destroy the one man/one woman for life family that God created—–that is why God called for the stoning of those who would pervert the creation intent for marriage. Thankfully, through Jesus, we can now forsake our sinful unions and LIVE. As for Deut. 24, can you show me where the woman who marries another man is charged with adultery as is the case in the NT teachings of Jesus and Paul? Not apples to apples. Jesus clearly shows a HUGE change from OT practice to NT practices. The interesting thing is that we see that in Hosea 2, Gomer speaks of returning to her FIRST husband…………….We also see that God is speaking against Deut. 24, in Jer. 3:1…….”they say…………….but I say to you, return unto me”

As I said this is not a thread asking about the validity of same-sex unions in the eyes of the Lord so I do not have to deal with it even if you believe there are correlations. There is a thread dealing with that somewhere I’m sure. I choose to stick with divorce and remarriage as I see in the Scriptures.

You were the one speaking about an unlawful union and the disposition of it (adulterous unions and you feeling that since scripture doesn’t tell exactly what to do in that ONE particular sinful union, then one must assume that the Lord thinks it ok to stay in it). I’m merely using another sinful union to show that your reasoning is flawed. Scripture tells us to flee immorality and to forsake sin. The Lord has called remarriages, adultery——sin. Nowhere in scripture do we see this sinful relationship being called lawful in the Lord’s sight. Nowhere in scripture do we see that confession turns an illicit relationship into something lawful.

If you believe there is a correlation between a homosexual union and a marriage between a man and woman, then I don’t know what to tell you.

The correlation is between homosexuality and what the Lord calls adultery. It seems to me that you won’t call a relationship what the Lord calls it…………you call it something else. The truth is that the Lord says in His word that one CAN’T be bound to a new spouse if their covenant spouse is still alive—-that is why joining with another is called adultery—–by the Lord.

There is no place in Scripture where we find a case of married homosexuals where they are given guidelines on the proper way to divorce so that all is fair and civil. It’s not dealt with in Scripture for a reason and that’s the same reason I feel no need to deal with it here.

Response Is there detailed scripture for ANY kind of divorce proceeding in the NT(fair and civil, as you say), since you believe divorce is OK in some instances of heterosexual covenant marriages? If not, then why do you believe divorce is ok in those type marriages, since scripture does not spell out how to do a fair and civil divorce?

Homosexuals and fornicators are not in a covenant marriage so one can not compare them to a husband and wife. Husbands and wives can also be forgiven if they have committed the sin of adultery just as the homosexuals and the fornicators can be forgiven. No one here can tell me what sins the blood of Jesus does not cover in true repentance? Apparently some of you here feel adultery is a unforgivable sin even when one has repented so you are making the blood of Jesus useless! Jesus came to save sinners in the world.

Yes, Jesus does forgive the husband or wife who commits adultery………..when they forsake their adultery—-which is the fruit of TRUE repentance. If we want to see “false” repentance we have a picture of that in Mal. 2. The Lord rejected his offerings………and called the first wife, the wife of the covenant. Also, Jesus does not say people who remarry are in a covenant marriage, He says they are committing adultery by joining together. It can only be adultery because He views the ones in the first marriage as still bound to each other.