This morning we find ourselves in Mark's gospel once again in Mark chapter 10. We will be looking at the first 12 verses under the heading "God's Original Design for Humanity." This is a very instructive, very practical, very encouraging passage. And I might also add, as you will see, it's a very timely passage given the culture in which we live. Let me read the passage to you, Mark chapter 10, beginning in verse one. "Getting up He went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them. Some Pharisees came up to Jesus testing Him and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. And He answered and said to them, 'What did Moses command you?' They said, 'Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.' But Jesus said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made the male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore, God has joined together, let no man separate.' In the house, the disciples began questioning Him about this again. And He said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she herself divorces her husband, and marries another man, she is committing adultery.'"

Let me begin by framing this text, in the context of where we all live. Surely we all understand what the Scriptures teach regarding our sinful nature, that we all have one. In fact, Scripture makes it clear that all that we do and all the we are is fundamentally offensive to Holy God, therefore, we are in desperate need of forgiveness and reconciliation, and a new nature. We are rebels by nature, we rebel against God's character that's reflected in his law. Even as believers we struggle with this. And our rebellion is especially manifested in the realm of God's magnificent design for male and female relationships. We were created in His image, to put his glory on display. But because of our sin, we tend to have other ideas as to how we need to function as men and women. For example, God's design for marriage is that it be an institution that illustrates and reflects the relationship God has with his people. But the world in which we live says that marriage is really an unnecessary societal institution, resulting in a deplorable infringement upon freedom and an unlawful burden of inequality. So we need to get rid of marriage. God says that sexual intercourse has to be restricted within the bounds of the marriage covenant, but our culture says no, sexual intercourse is fine anytime, anywhere, with anyone. In fact, unlimited sexual activity is now considered an entitlement. This, by the way, is what fuels the abortion debate. God says that marriage should be permanent for life, but our culture says no, no, no, no, you can divorce for any reason. God says marriage should be between one man And one woman. But our culture says no, no, it can include many partners, even same sex partners. God says that marriage is God's design for procreation. But our culture says, no. Marriage is no longer the only socially acceptable outlet for sexual activity, or for the rearing of children. In fact, women and men are entitled to have as many children as they want, and in any context. Worse yet, our culture would say that there is more than one gender, that there are multiple genders that have nothing to do with biology but have everything to do with one's subjective identification. And their social, background and environment. And of course, as a result of all of this, we see the systematic destruction of the family, the bedrock of society. And this is resulting in social and economic chaos, untold human misery, violence and even suicide. In fact, the testimonies of young adults who have undergone puberty blockers and hormone replacement and, and chemical and surgical castration, are absolutely heart wrenching. Thinking that somehow they can transition to the opposite side. These people are filled with physical and emotional pain, many of them now or are furious at those that allowed this to happen. You're seeing more and more lawsuits. And I might say, as a pastor, I'm very concerned for each of you, within the sphere of my influence, some of you may be struggling with these issues. Some of you young people, in fact, I know that some of you are, because I've heard about it. Some of you are confused, you're deceived. Some of you are burdened. And I trust that the passage that we look at here this morning, and the application of it will bring clarity as well as conviction and encouragement. Because, dear friends, when we do things, God's way there is enormous blessing. Repeatedly in Scripture, we read the phrase, "do not be deceived." And the amazing thing about self-deception is that we don't see that we're being deceived, right? But Satan deceives people by distorting His Word, especially concerning God's plan and purpose, for humanity. So the passage before us, will give us great insight into God's plan. His design, his purpose for marriage, as well as for human sexuality. And my goal is to help you understand this because I want you to enjoy the fullness of God's goodness and grace in your life.

Now, the context here in Mark chapter 10, verses one through 12 and the parallel passage that we will see in Matthew 19, the Pharisees are laying a trap for Jesus as they did quite often. They're trying to discredit him in the eyes of the public, because they hated him with an utmost hatred. And it's fascinating as we read Jesus’ response to them, that there is a response that absolutely transcends issues, merely pertaining to divorce and remarriage, which frankly, requires a much broader study of Scripture that speak to those issues, but he goes beyond just a narrow focus of whether divorce and remarriage are lawful. Instead, he focuses on God's will for humanity in his creation. That's why we read for example, in verse six, "But from the beginning of creation", I mean he goes all the way back to the very beginning. "From the beginning of creation, God made them male and female." And as we will see, what God is doing is pointing them to the one flesh covenantal pre-fall union between Adam and Eve, a God ordained union between one man and one woman. A marital union that was utterly bereft of sin, and functioned perfectly as God had designed it, until the fall.

The implications of Jesus' answer reaches far beyond just a narrow focus of marriage but reaches into the very heart of God's will for every image bearer that he has created. It even helps us understand the male and female gender is binary. It is not non-binary and fluid as our culture would have us believe, as the transgender activists argue. There is a God designed biological basis for sex and for gender. One's maleness and once femaleness is not a socially constructed, self-determined reality. It's not at all what we see in Scripture. God never made a female man or a male woman. From the beginning of God of creation, God made them male and female. Indeed, the male, female binary is something God affirms as being very good, as he did with all of his creation. So Jesus' answer has enormous implications, even beyond the issues of marriage and divorce, but also pertaining to God's designed for human sexuality and gender. And when his will is violated, when it is ignored, when it is distorted, when it is mocked, the result is chaos, and misery and judgment will be inevitable.

I've given you a very complicated outline, it's just two points. We're going to see the baited question number one and the beautiful answer, number two. Very, very simple. So let's look at the text. Now let me remind you that Jesus’ ministry in Galilee is now over. He along with his disciples, are headed for Judea and so we read in verse one, Getting up He went from there to the region of Judea, and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again and according to His custom, He once more began to teach them." Now it was in the context of this crowd, that the Pharisees come along, trying to trick him. And so we come first to the baited question. Notice verse two, "Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife." Now, the Pharisees knew full well God's position on divorce. For example, in Malachi chapter two in the Old Testament, verse 16, we read "'For I hate divorce,' says the Lord, the God of Israel." And by the way, we should hate it as well. Moreover, the Pharisees were aware of Jesus' previous rebuke concerning this whole idea of divorce for any reason, which they held to a position that the Pharisees were ultimately pushing. Because they knew what was recorded in Matthew five, verse 31, "'It was said whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you, that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.'"

Now more on the cultural context of that statement in a moment. So their line of questioning was to ensnare and embarrass Jesus. They knew that he would have to answer in one of two ways, which would be at odds with the two prominent rabbis of that day and their disciples. They also knew that perhaps his views would even compete with what Moses had to say. And so they bait him now to contradict the Old Testament. Also, you want to bear in mind that Jesus is now in the region of Perea. That's the land of Herod Antipas. Remember, he was the one that had John the Baptist beheaded because he confronted Herod about his unlawful marriage with his brother Phillip's wife, Herodias. So they knew that they had a question here, they could get Jesus in a lot of hot water. Now, the text in question that the Pharisees were thinking of found in Deuteronomy 24, let me just read verse one, "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes, because he has found some indecency in her and he writes her certificate of divorce of divorce, and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house." Now, the key phrase here is "some indecency". What does that mean in the Hebrew? Well, it can mean something polluted, it can mean something shameful, or indecent. In fact, if you study the Hebrew lexicons, you will see a wide range of definitions, the exact meaning is a bit elusive. We see the phrase used, for example, in the purity ordinances, where it refers to some kind of inappropriate sexual behavior. The term "ervah", is commonly depicted as nakedness or genitals, particularly of a woman, for example, in Lamentations one in verse eight. Jerusalem is personified as an unclean woman who has exposed her nakedness. And there we see the Hebrew phrase. Now, here's what was going on, one school of thought was presented by Rabbi Shammai and his followers and they believe that you translate the phrase "some indecency", as "unchastity, or adultery", very narrow. But Rabbi Hillel and his disciples had a much broader understanding. And that was anchored in the statement that "she finds no favor in his eyes". And so they believe that the phrase refer to something the husband found offensive, or distasteful in his wife, even beyond adultery. So as a result, they had a philosophy that basically said, you can divorce for any reason at all, if you no longer found her attractive; she burned your food, if she exposed her ankles to some man even accidentally, criticized his mother, you name it. You can write her a certificate of divorce. Now here's what's going on. If Jesus took the narrow interpretation, that it means only for unchastity and adultery, the Pharisees knew that that would offend all of the followers of Hillel, making them all out to be adulterers and adulteresses. Moreover, they would say that he was inconsistent because after all, he consorted with tax collectors and prostitutes. Remember, the ones that were interested in the Gospel? The ones that were convicted of their sin. But if he took the more liberal view, then the disciples of Shammai would accuse him of moral laxity. And certainly all of the women would hate him.

So you have the baited question, and now you have Secondly, the beautiful answer. By the way, as we look at this, it's almost laughable to think that these clowns are actually trying to trick the creator of the universe. That is never a wise thing to do. So verse three, Jesus "answered and said to them, 'What did Moses command you?'" I find it interesting that Jesus completely ignores the rabbinic positions, he doesn't even touch any of that. And frankly, he stuns them with his unanticipated and I might even add, sarcastic response by pointing them to the ultimate authority, which would be the Old Testament scriptures in this context.

Matthew gives us a little further insight into what happened. Matthew chapter 19, beginning of verse three, "Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking Him, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?' And He answered and said, 'Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female.'" By the way, in the Hebrew, it's in the emphatic position, emphasizing one man and one female. Verse five, "and He said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife." "Joined" could even be translated, "glued", or "cemented" or "bonded" to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. "'So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.'" And of course, in our text, Mark records the same thing a little bit differently. Mark 10, verse six, "'But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.'" So in other words, what Jesus is saying to them is, how could any rational, unbiased person believe that it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife, for any reason, any cause at all, considering God's design for marriage that is demonstrated in the relationship of the first union, between Adam and Eve? The two became one flesh. This is what happens when we marry, the two become one flesh. There is an indissoluble union that occurs before Almighty God and indissoluble oneness. Where a man and a woman are joined together in a permanent union by God himself, with children being the perfect expression of the supernatural symbiosis. "'What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.'" And if you think about it, Jesus is reasoning now out of the Pentateuch, and that was really hard for these guys to swallow because they were supposed to be the experts on all of this. His position was not rooted in their rabbinical teachings, not rooted in tradition, not even in the Law of Moses, but rather, he goes right back to the creative order that was ordained by God Himself. And folks, the implication of this is absolutely staggering.

Now back to Mark, chapter 10, verse three, he answered and said to them, "'What did Moses command you?' They said, 'Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.'" Which, by the way, is only a little smidgen of what's really in that whole passage, a very selective biased answer. He just said, Hey, write her a certificate of divorce, and send her away. That's Moses said. Really? If you examine what Moses said, In Deuteronomy, one through verse four, we see that it is a passage that emphasizes how an illegitimate divorce, where a husband puts his wife out, for whatever reason, and she marries another, that breeds adultery. But it does not command or commend or condone divorce. That's not what the text is about. As in all Old Testament passages, there's no specific permission for divorce given. It only states that if a man legally divorces his wife for something other than adultery, and then she marries another man, if that man dies or divorces her, she would not be allowed to return to her first husband. Why? Because she was defiled in the remarriage because there was no legitimate grounds for divorce, That's what the text is talking about. But the Pharisees response, as I say, was very selective, it was very biased in their favor.

So verse three, "'What did Moses command you?'... 'Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.'" So in other words, all they're focusing on is the legal paperwork for sending her away, not on the adulterous implications of divorcing her for something other than adultery. So again, the Mosaic law had nothing to do with his idea of permitting a divorce, for any reason whatsoever, as long as the legal documents were filled out. I might add, however, that a certificate of divorce was very important. Especially in ancient Israel. Eugene Merrill says this, quote, "Divorce proceedings consisted of his writing with respect to his wife, a certificate of divorce. In Hebrew, literally a writing of cutting off, placing it in her hand as a public symbolic witness to the disillusion of the relationship and sending her," quote, "from his house." That is from the family circle and all that that entails. She had thus been cut off and driven away from home and family. A punishment laden with indescribable shame and incalculable economic and social loss in the ancient Israelite world."

So, a certificate of divorce was legal proof that this woman no longer belong to this man, the man no longer had a claim on her, otherwise, a woman in a patriarchal society such as that, would have no hope of survival, being unattached to a husband for protection and provision and so forth. And think about it what man would want a woman who, whose husband still had a claim on her, and therefore she still had a duty to Him. So again, the Pharisees emphasized this issue of a certificate of divorce for any reason they wanted, based upon the phrase, "some indecency", rather than acknowledging that the text merely regulated the reality of divorce that God hates, without condoning or condemning it.

So we come to verse four. "They said, 'Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.' But Jesus said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment.'" In other words, what we see is that divorce was a concession that God made because of man's hard-hearted pursuit of sexual immorality. It was not something that that God ordained. In fact, in Matthew 19, verse eight, Jesus "said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning, it has not been this way.'" The point is this while there was no specific permission for divorce, in the Mosaic law, because of his grace, God permitted that which he hated. And I might also add because of His grace, we see that he allowed those that committed adultery to avoid the death penalty many times. Israel history is filled with those that God spared for that; David and Bathsheba is one example, Hosea and Gomer. Interestingly enough, we read in Ezra chapter 10, that God even commanded the Jewish exiles, returning to their land under Ezra's leadership, to divorce their pagan wives on the grounds of spiritual adultery. Probably physical adultery was a part of that; part of their pagan practices involved gross immorality. And certainly God hates divorce, but he hates idolatry even more. In fact, John MacArthur says this quote, "Though God hates divorce, there are times when it is the lesser of the evils and would prevent and would prevent a future and even greater spiritual catastrophe." So indeed, God hates divorce, but he graciously permits it under certain circumstances.

We will also see that this can happen when the marital bond is broken by an unbelieving spouse who no longer wants to be in a covenantal relationship with her. First Corinthians 7:15. More on that later. So again, Jesus says in Matthew 19, in verse eight, "'Because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it was it has not been this way.'" And then Jesus goes on in Matthew to suggest a condition where divorce would be permitted. He gives an example here in verse nine, "'And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.'" In other words, an illegitimate divorce followed by remarriage constitutes adultery. The term immorality "porneia" in the original language, we get pornography from that, here translated, "adultery," is a very broad term, encompassing just any form of illicit sexual activity, adultery being one of them. So if a person is living in persistent, unrepentant adultery; homosexuality, lesbianism, transvestism, voyeurism, which would include habitual obsession with pornography, or any other form of sexual immorality, then there is biblical grounds for divorce. Later in our text in Mark 10, Mark records the same statement, notice verse 10. "In the house, the disciples began questioning Him about this again. And He said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and remarries, another woman commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.'" Again, an illegitimate divorce followed by remarriage just constitutes adultery, they're still married in God's eyes. And I might also add that this was a not-so-subtle indictment against the Pharisees where many of them had divorced many wives for virtually any reason. This was part of the culture. As I stated earlier in First Corinthians 7:15, if I can digress for a moment, I believe Paul offers another exception that's illustrative of the kind of behavior that violates the covenant of marriage in verse 15. First Corinthians seven we read, "Yet if the unbelieving one leaves," the term in the original language of "leave" means to separate, it's in the present tense, indicating a continuing process; in the process of separating, of dissolving the marriage. Then there's a command that says, "let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace." And here we have a gracious provision, I believe for spouses that are languishing in a prison, not a marriage, where an unbelieving spouse wants nothing to do with a loving covenantal marriage relationship with his spouse, there is no covenantal faithfulness, there is no love. There is no peace, just bondage, and war and abuse and hatred. It results in desertion, disillusion of the marriage, and God grants a concession or a provision releasing the believing spouse from that bondage. They are not forced to stay, rather the command is to let him go or let her go. God has called us to peace. By the way, this is this is much more than just an unbeliever filing divorce papers, which was utterly foreign in the Greco Roman world. This speaks of an unbelieving spouse that has so violated the covenantal relationship that a desertion has taken place and abandonment of separation.

Now, I want to remind you that Christ's teaching, if we look throughout Scripture, Christ's teaching on adultery, and divorce, as well as Paul's instructions, on the desertion, and divorce, always reflect God's covenantal design for marriage. Biblically, the marriage covenant has essentially six purposes, I just want to give them to you without a lot of comment. The six purposes are these, first of all for procreation, secondly, for pleasure, thirdly, for provision or you might even add protection. Fourthly, partnership, which is both physical and spiritual, that should result in the mutual edification of a husband and wife, pursuing the will of the Lord. And then number five, purity, in that it protects against fornication and adultery. And finally, it's a picture of Christ's sacrificial covenant of love for his bridal church. The covenant of marriage is designed to accomplish these purposes. And I would humbly ask you, to those of you that are married, maybe even those of you that are thinking about getting married, are these prominent in your thinking, are these dominant in your heart? But when a spouse violates those covenantal purposes, through unrepentant adultery, or desertion, which is essentially the irreparable violations of covenantal faithfulness and love, God graciously offers the provision of divorce but that's not what the Pharisees wanted to hear. For these reasons God is merciful.

I might also add as a footnote whenever there are biblical grounds for divorce. In other words, whenever a legitimate divorce is permitted, I believe remarriage is assumed. Not everyone agrees with that. Just a couple of points, to that end. Romans seven verse three permission is given for a widow or a widower to remarry because they are no longer quote, "joined" or bound to their deceased partner, and by implication, the same is true in First Corinthians 7:15, the innocent spouse is no longer bound, no longer under the bondage of that marital union. First Timothy five, we see Paul addressing widows, those that have suffered loss or quote "left alone." And that term includes younger women who have lost their husbands, which would include losing their husbands through death, through desertion, through divorce, through imprisonment. And he encourages them to remarry. And basically, because of two reasons, number one, because of their, quote, "sensual desires", and number two, due to their immaturity to avoid being idle and going around from house to house gossiping and acting like busy bodies, talking about things not proper to mention. And so I would humbly argue that the Bible permits divorce, but not remarriage in such cases, or to say that Bible permits divorce but not remarriage, in such cases poses enormous problems. I mean, think about it, what are these women supposed to do? If they are forbidden to pursue their God ordained roles as wives and mothers? Are they to assume that they all have the gift of celibacy? Obviously, not. Paul tells these young women to remarry rather than become eligible for church benevolence, I mean, how could the church possibly care for all of these people? So again, whenever there are biblical grounds for divorce, whenever there is a legitimate divorce, when that's permitted, remarriage is assumed.

Now, let's go back to Mark 10. Some further insights, beginning of verse six, "'From the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.'" Now, what I want you to notice here is that in this passage, Mark connects Genesis 1:17, with Genesis 2:24. I'll try not to get too technical, but what I want you to see is that this linkage is profound. And it reveals six very important characteristics of marriage, and also has implications into this whole LGBTQ w x, y, z, H, I, J, K, whatever stuff, that we read out there today. First of all, by connecting these passages, we see that marriage number one, has to be between one man and one woman again, Genesis 1:27, "God created man, in his own men image and the image of God, He created him, male and female, He created them." And so here God reveals his glorious purpose in creating the man and the woman. From the beginning of creation, he has a specific design, and that design is marriage. And then in Genesis 2:24, we have the paradigm. "For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." So marriage very clearly is between one man and one woman. That was God's original design, and he has not changed it.

Secondly, marriage has to be complementary. Males and females were created different. I think we all can see that. We all understand that. But we were also created in ways that are complimentary. Sexual differentiation is a part of God's design for marriage. To put it in the cultural context of our day, gender binary is rooted in the order of creation. That makes sense. It is not fluid. God's created order where he makes man in his image and woman in His image, helps us understand human sexuality. One writer said this quote "Men have external genitalia women, internal. Women can bear children if reproductively healthy. Men cannot. Men can sire children, women cannot. Men give give either an X or Y gene in procreation. Women can only give an X. The way we are designed, which is by God's design should inform our purpose and function. Without the complimentary design and function of male and female, the human race would cease to exist, as we would no longer procreate." End quote, Oh, that makes perfect sense to me. And we see this in the creation mandate. Going back to Genesis one, if we look at the next verse, verse 28, we read that God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." So again, sexual differentiation is part of God's designed for marriage. And this rules out same sex marriage that God calls an abomination. So, as we look at this linkage between Genesis 1:17, and Genesis 2:24, we see that marriage has to be between one man and one woman, it has to be complimentary.

Thirdly, it has to be restricted. In other words, it's to be exclusive, it has to be limited. It has to be between a man and a woman who become one flesh. There's a sexual union between a husband and a wife. In other words, what happens in marriage is an intimate, sacred bond is formed. And this bond requires a determined devotion for both the husband and the wife, to safeguard that union between them. We must guard our hearts to that end. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, "I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." So, marriage is to be restricted between the two that have become one flesh.

Number four, it has to be permanent. And we see this again in this linkage. It's a lifelong union between one man and one woman. This is why Jesus states in Mark 10, verse nine, "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." And this brings us to point number five, it has to be sacred. By combining these passage, Jesus also proves the sacred nature of the marriage covenant, a permanent agreement that is made by both the husband and the wife, along with God Himself, affirmed in the very presence of God, for it is God, who joins them together. So it's a sacred union. Beloved, please understand marriage is not as our culture would have us believe, an unnecessary societal institution, resulting in a deplorable infringement upon freedom and an unlawful burden of inequality. I mean, that's what Satan would have you believe, that is not what God has revealed to us. And we must be faithful to His word. Marriage is the measure. It is the standard, it is the North Star, if you will, for sexual morality. Marriage is to be a heterosexual union, monogamous, lifelong union. It is the foundation of the family. And the family is the pillar of upon which society is built and maintained. And when all of that crumbles, you have what you see today in our culture, and it's going to get worse.

And finally, number six, marriage is illustrative. Meaning marriage pictures Christ's sacrificial love for His church. This is such a beautiful thing. In Ephesians, five verse 25, we read "Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved that church and gave Himself up for her." In verse 28, we read "So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself for no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and she'll be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great. But I am speaking with reference to Christ, and the church." Those of you that are married, may I humbly ask you, does your marriage illustrate to a watching world, Christ's covenantal love for his bridal church? Can people see that and the way you relate to one another? When we become one flesh, by God's grace, we begin to grow together. In Christ, we experience the emotional joys of oneness, the physical joys of oneness. Better yet, our relationship reflects the oneness and the mutual submission and love of the triune Godhead, which is an astounding reality. And, therefore, when we combine all of these characteristics of Christian marriage that we see inherit in this passage, we are left with no other choice than to reject the LGBTQ agenda, which is a mockery of God's glory revealed in his created order. It is a distortion of his image that is to be manifested in his image bearers. It is a violation of his design and His purpose for human sexuality and marriage and it undermines his proclamation of the gospel. And that's what Satan is all about. As Christians, we must never contradict God's design.

I'm reminded of what Paul said to Timothy in First Timothy one and verse eight, "But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious for the ungodly, and centers for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, and immoral men and homosexuals, and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted." So again, friends, this is why we must totally reject homosexuality, same sex, marriage. All of those things are a distortion of God's original design and purpose in creation. In fact, as we look at it, marriage provides the perfect context for godly masculinity and femininity to be manifested. Any other kind of union, God calls an abomination because it is a base inversion of his created order and a violation of his moral order. Furthermore, God's created order, along with his creation mandate, is why we would reject transgenderism, people who perceive their gender identity to be contrary to their biological sex. This is a hot button issue in our culture today. Again, Genesis 1:26, God said, Let Us make." "Us" by the way, the Triune God, "Let Us make man in Our own image according to Our likeness." And then we read, "God created man in His own image and the image of God He created him male and female, He created them." This refutes the idea that there are more than two genders. Here we see that gender is determined by God. And by the way, we call that biology. It's not determined by one's self identification, by one's feelings. Genomic chromosomes come in two forms "x x" or "x y". At least that's what I was taught in biology many years ago, I do remember that. God is therefore the one who determines a person's sex or gender in God's created order. It inextricably connects biological sex with gender identity, which are necessary for men and women to fulfill their God given roles and when you disregard these realities, the result is insanity; non-binary or gender fluid fantasies. I noticed on one LGBTQ website it's called sexualdiversity.org. They have 107 gender identities. And they will tell you that gender identity, it has nothing to do with your biological sex, your genitalia, it has everything to do with your feelings, and how you describe yourself and present yourself. And of course, if you read the names of these things, it's just, it's just bizarre. Beloved, I would say, as lovingly but as on the authority of the Word of God, transgenderism is pure fiction. It is fiction. It is a satanic deception that appeals to self-deceived people. Often young people, who sadly have been marginalized, many of them are hurting, they're disturbed, and they're in desperate need of our love and the Gospel. There's a big controversy today on misgendering people. The LGBT Q advocates insist that we refer to those who identify as transgender by their chosen name and pronouns, instead of their given name and pronouns that match their biological sex. And I was reading in one article, the Christian Post that some 44% of millennials believe that quote "referring to someone by the wrong gender pronoun, 'he/him, she/he'r should be a criminal offense" per poll by Redfield and Wilton strategies on behalf of Newsweek. So, in other words, unless you embrace their delusion, you're committing a crime. But dear friends, I would submit to you based on the authority of the Word of God, we cannot do this. God did not create them this way. First Timothy four beginning of verse four, "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer." Dear friends, please do not use the ridiculous pronouns and thereby endorse and embrace their delusions. In fact, Paul says in Ephesians, five and verse 11, and following "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful to even speak of these things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything becomes visible is light." Ephesians 4:15 tells us we're to "speak the truth in love".

So may I close by challenging any of you who struggle with homosexual desires or gender dysphoria, which is really mental distress, because you perceive your gender as somehow out of sync with your biological sex, please, please don't embrace the fictional identity that the culture offers you and go contrary to God's revealed design and his purpose in creation. Don't exchange the truth of God for a lie. Please come and see me come and see others that we have in the church. We will help you, we will bring you to Christ. And there you will find true identity, true joy and true blessing. And if you're struggling with marital issues, with marriage, divorce, family issues, please come talk with us. I would plead with you. If you're struggling with these things, get on your knees with your spouse before God, hold hands and pour out your heart to him and prayer and beg him for help and he will answer. Moreover, search the Scriptures and see how God addresses your unique situation. And then humble yourself to what God has said. And watch what he will do. And if you're confused on that, come see me, come see the other elders, come see other people we have in the church. The answers are in Christ and in His word, not in the lies of the devil. And may we all celebrate the fact that God has made us in his image, male and female, to fulfill His glorious purposes.

And I just want to close with a profound word of encouragement that comes out of Revelation 19 verses six through nine is speaks of a future day when Christ's marriage to his bridal church which we were a part of, will be consummated, at the marriage supper of the Lamb, and we will enjoy him forever. And here's what the Spirit of God has revealed. "Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him. For the marriage of the lamb is common. His bride has made herself ready.' It was given to her to clothe herself and find linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he said to me, 'These are true words of God.'" Let's pray together. Father, we are so thankful for every expression of your grace, for the clarity of your word on these issues that are so relevant to each of us. Thank you for your faithfulness, your love, your compassion. And I pray that you will bless us all to the praise of your glory, that we might enjoy the fullness of all that is ours in Christ Jesus. And for those that are struggling, those that are confused, I pray that you will bring clarity, that you will bring conviction as well as comfort. So we commit all of this to you. In Jesus name and for his sake. Amen.