Session 7 -- Not Welcome!
Icebreaker – Share about a time you wanted to join a club or group but were not admitted because of something physical – like your age, your gender, your race, your background.
Hook
At one point, there were signs throughout towns and hamlets all over the deep South, blazoning the words “White Only”. These were signs warming African-American people in those towns that “those type of people” were not welcome in those restaurants, those hotels, and those restrooms. And if any black man or woman walked toward that door, they would find it slammed in their face.
Today we are going to be looking at a text that many have used as a “No Entrance” sign to gays & lesbians, arguing it says “Straights Only” and is a sign barring the entrance into heaven to keep practicing gays, lesbians, and trans-sexuals out. We are going to ask as we look at this text, is this in fact what God is saying, or is it what people’s own prejudice is reading into it? I want to suggest that, when understood in its proper context, these words aren’t a sign shutting out anyone, gay or straight, willing to give up exploitive and promiscuous lifestyles, and embrace God’s grace through faith in Christ.
Book
Have someone read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Ask, what have you heard people say this text means?
Explain that most Christians who use this verse to condemn homosexuals have a translation that reads “homosexuals” or “homosexual offenders”. They say, see, the Bible says those types don’t get into heaven! See!
Look
There a three things I want to have us focus on about 1 Corinthians 6. First, we have what I call the “no gays” sign’s dirty little secret, then we have why the sign was put there to begin with, and third, we have the good news about the door to heaven.
First, the sign’s dirty little secret.
The dirty little secret is that the supposed “No Gays” sign of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 wasn’t written in English in the 20th century. That may sound like nothing shocking -- but it is. The reason it is a shock to many people is this -- most people get their idea that those verses condemn homosexuality not from what the Bible originally said when it was written in Greek but from translations, and at times translations of translations.
The Greek words that are translated as “homosexual” or “homosexual offender” in some Bibles are malakoi and arsekonoites and the dirty litte secret is that nobody agrees on what those words means.
To demonstrate this, I put together a sheet listing a number of ways this passage is translated. (Pass out sheet with various translations) If you could, would each of you read one of the translations of this passage and let’s all notice the differences in how malakoi and arsekonoites are translated in these different Bibles. As you all read this, bear in mind that the bold words in the passage are the translations of the two words I am talking about.
Allow the passages to be read and then ask, Does anyone notice anything about these different passages?
Point out that they don’t agree on what these two words mean.
First the New Revised Standard version translates them “male prostitutes” and “sodomites”, a term referring to those who commit the sin of Sodom (which we found out a few weeks ago was rape). Then, the NIV translates malakoi as “male prostitutes” and arsekonoites as “homosexual offenders”. KJV translates the words as effeminate and abusers of themselves with mankind. The oldest translation here, the Wycliffe, talks about two kinds of lechery, or promiscuous sex, not acts in any committed, loving relationship. I could go on, but you get the point -- these verses show that there isn’t a real agreement about what this passage is saying in these two words.
Let‘s look for a second at all the different ways these words can be understood.
Pass out “Malakoi and Arsekonoites” handout and ask people to read through it, explaining it tells what these words mean.
Explain that these two handouts show us that scholars who know Greek better than any preacher you know aren’t certain what malakoi and arsekonoites might mean. In fact, they aren’t even sure whether or not Paul is talking about sex itself. Malakoi can mean “softy”, someone with no moral backbone or fiber -- that is what “effeminate” meant when the King James was written. And Arsekonoites is some sort of euphemism. Literally the word means male-bedder, sort of like saying man-izer. But the fact most Christians would say being a womanizer (or woman-bedder, if you will: a man who sleeps around with lots of women either without settling down or behind his wife’s back) isn’t taken to mean a man sleeping with a woman is always wrong, just that it is wrong to cheat on your spouse or to lead women on, into one-night stands, and affairs that go nowhere.
So, what is the dirty little secret about 1 Corinthians 6?
(allow a response)
Exactly, the dirty little secret is that no one is sure what this “sign is saying”. The best scholars can’t agree on whether or not this is saying “No Gays Allowed” or “No Weak-Willed People Allowed” or “No Rapists Allowed”.
Imagine for a minute you were a juror determining whether to let a certain man stay our kingdom, the United States, or whether to exile him to Iraq and a “dirty little secret” like this was let out in the court-room. Let’s say he was on trial for killing the president -- and then, in the middle of the court proceedings you found out that the witnesses couldn’t agree on whether it was the President that died or some other person, about whether or not the man had killed anybody or whether or not he had just accidentally knocked someone over in the street. Then some witnesses start saying that they aren’t sure if this man was ever at the scene of the crime and they thought it was maybe a woman instead who did whatever happened. If a “dirty secret” like this came out, would you convict the man to exile?
Allow responses.
Well, that’s point about the dirty little secret about “Straight Only”. Do you think it is fair for Christians to say “God condemns gays” when the best Greek scholars can’t agree about whether or not this verse says anything about homosexuality? Allow responses.
Now since I do think this verse is saying something and something important about sex, I want to spend a minute looking at my next point, which is why God put this sign down anyway. In other words, I want us to look at the context for these verses, because I think they suggest what God is meaning in this “sign” about who is allowed through the gates into his Kingdom and who isn‘t, even if it is not totally clear.
To do that I want to have us look at “the story behind the story” and read on to see why Paul condemns whatever he is talking about in this list of sins.
Have somebody read through 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
12“Everything is permissible for me”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”–but I will not be mastered by anything. 13“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”–but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”[] 17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
In a word, what is this section talking about?
(Allow responses)
Prostitution, or to put it into two words: frequenting prostitutes. In fact, the words translated “sexual immorality” or “fornication” are from the word porneia in Greek, the word used for a female prostitue that a male customer would frequent.
Basically Paul makes an argument -- you know that what brings you pleasure and fulfill your hunger is a good thing in the right context. But meeting your sexual needs by visiting a prostitute gets it wrong. Don’t you know what God said about sex in the beginning? He said that sex was supposed to bind two people together, for life. When you ask God into your heart, you take him with you everywhere. Now, which do you think God wants: you to be dragging him out to cheap one-night stands with prostitutes or to walk alongside you while you live out your sexuality in a relationship of commitment for life? After all, even if you enjoy it, God made you for more and intended your sex-drive for better.
Here Paul talks specifically about straight men who fulfill their need for sexual intimacy by frequenting prostitutes. This was an accepted part of the culture of the city Paul’s church was in, Corinth. Do you remember the fertility religions we talked about, that had prostitutes who’d lead people in orgies in worship of false gods? Well, there were numerous enormous ones in this city. So, compared to them, a garden variety prostitute was nothing.
Scholars don’t agree on whether these were garden variety prostitutes or the temple prostitutes. But, in either case, the Christians in Corinth were new Christians and used to an “anything goes” attitude to sex and Paul is letting them know that for a Christian, the gift of sex isn’t to be squandered on one night stands and frequenting prostitutes.
I think, based on this context, that the best translation of Paul’s words would be “Do not be deceived: Neither female prostitutes nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor those who frequent them nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Whatever the case, the context for sex is described to be in a committed relationship of love and trust. As we spoke about before, in that context sex is the centerpiece of a relationship that God uses to shape us to become the most like Him we can become. The trials and joys of committed relationships of love force us to face our flaws and strengths and become more Christlike and a healthy marriage or union (or whatever your term!) is for those called to it the place they can grow to their fullest potential.
In the chapter following this, Paul lets people know that, for those unable to live without sex in a happy and fulfilling way, God wants them to find one partner they are committed to, with whom a healthy sex life will be a big part of their relationship.
So, why is it that I am suggesting that God gave us these words? Allow discussion
Explain:
To show us that prostitution and frequenting prostitutes, and, by extension, letting sex become one-night stands, is a perversion of the gift of sex, whether in gay, bisexual, or straight relationships. To show us sexuality is designed to be a centerpiece of a committed relationship of love, commitment, and trust.
Finally,I want to point out good news. You could take what I just said as being that I was saying God’s purpose in these words is to just to replace “Straight“ with “Those That Ain’t Prostitutes or Their Clients” on some big exclusion sign on the door to Heaven. That is the furthest from the truth.
Have someone re-read verse 11.
What does this say?
(Allow discussion)
Explain that this verse shows us that, whatever Arsekonoites and malakoi, they aren’t shut out of heaven.
If I’m right, and these words mean jiggaloes and their clients, this doesn’t mean that heaven is shut off to them. Paul says to his church, As were some of you -- you’ve been down that road so you better not judge anyone, but you were washed… You see Jesus died to open the door that any of us whose lives have gone down the wrong road can hear God’s voice saying “I love you, turn from this dead-end road full of pain and emptiness, and let me lead you home”. Those Corinthian Christians had heard Jesus’ voice in Paul’s friendship and teaching and had given up their work as thieves or jiggaloes or frequenters of prostitutes or corrupt politicians. They had accepted God’s love and let him wipe their slate clean. So God no longer saw their sins, but God saw them as his or her beloved children who’d lost their way and come home.
So, if you realize that, you can see that this text isn’t a sign of exclusion saying anyone is not welcome, but a giant welcome mat, saying Whatever path you have been down, if you will take my hand, I your God will take you home. I will accept you as my child, my beloved, my friend. I can be Your true mother and father, your true sister or brother, your true loving partner, and your closest companion, and I can lead you to life. All the ways you have hurt others -- all the hurts done to you -- can be healed and forgiven through my cross and my Spirit.