The labels, “gay”, and “lesbian” connected to “Christian” should concern us greatly in the same way that the labels “Christian adulterer” or “Christian pedophile” should, they are the same sinful and forbidden by God. While the latter grouping might offend upon the reading, sadly, the former grouping is making much headway in Biblical denominations like my own.
The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:22)
The Lord God made very clear what He intended and did not intend in the early chapters of the book of Genesis. He made two human beings, a man and a woman. He did not make three men and three women and tell them to pair off however they might based on their attraction, He left only one option.
God’s Intention in Creating Male-Female Attraction
When God made our first parents, the Bible tells us that He created them naked and left them so (Genesis 2:25). We are told further that God then commanded our parents to make babies and lots of them (Genesis 1:28). No elaboration is needed here, a naked man and a naked woman, God was saying something.
God commanded the creation of more people because each person is an image bearer (Genesis 1:26). Therefore, procreation results in glorification, God’s image is seen, furthered and glorified in man. God’s intention was to multiply His image and so, attraction enters stage left. Sewn into God’s purpose and command for humans to “be fruitful and multiply” was and is attraction.
While we have no idea how Adam or Eve looked, we can be certain that they were attracted to each other, otherwise, they would not have wanted to make a lot of babies. Both were handcrafted to the eyes, intellect, and desires of the other. Smells, muscles, curves, hair, and eyes along with all the other things that make men, men and women, women were designed by God to attract the other with the purpose of a covenant and children who would also be image bearers and so on.
So, simply stated, God created attraction between men and women, it is from Him and His blessing is upon it. The furtherance of the human race and God’s glory are connected to the male-female attraction.
God Made Men to Be Attracted to Women and Vice-Versa
Scripture from beginning to end through doctrine and narrative holds before us this God-ordained attraction between males and females. The Song of Solomon brims with expressions of this attraction. The man in his attraction for the women for the entirety of chapter 4 and the woman in response to the man for the greater part of chapter 5. Note just a few of the observations made by one of the other:
The man of the woman:
- You have dove’s eyes (4:1)
- Your lips are a strand of scarlet (4:3)
- Your lips drip as the honeycomb (4:11)
The woman of the man:
- His cheeks are like a bed of spices (5:13)
- His legs are pillars of marble (5:15)
- He is altogether lovely (5:16)
I am a married man and understand entirely that my wife will find other men attractive. I understand it because God has woven it within her. In the same way, I would be a liar if I said that I do not find other women attractive, of course I do and am supposed to. While acknowledging that such an attraction can become sinful, the attraction itself is not sinful it is from God.
Revoice and Same-Sex Attraction
Let’s now bring all this talk about attraction to the issue of “same-sex attraction”. Many readers will be familiar with the Revoice Conference and the debate surrounding it. The stated mission of the Revoice Conference is:
To support and encourage gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other same-sex attracted Christians—as well as those who love them—so that all in the Church might be empowered to live in gospel unity while observing the historic Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality.
And this from Revoice’s Vision Statement:
Revoice exists because we want to see gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other same-sex-attracted people who adhere to historic, Christian teaching about marriage and sexual expression flourish in their local faith communities…
Many things should concern us about these statements. Perhaps first is the link of some sexual demographic before the word, “Christians”: “Gay Christians”, “Lesbian Christians”. Why Revoice insists on using these sexually immoral labels when Scripture commands us that immorality is not even to be “named” amongst the saints (Ephesians 5:3) baffles and concerns me.