Gen 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Gen 2:20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

Gen 2:21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

Gen 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Matt 19: 3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” 4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Mat 19: 8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

Mat 19: 11 But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

In the FCBC Senior Pastor Nina Khong "thoughts for this week" entitled "We are made male and female" on 16 Mar 13, Pastor Nina took the reply by Jesus in Mat 19:4 to the Pharisees that we are created male and female and then linked it back to the creation and man and woman, and the joining of flesh as marriage in Genesis 2 in her attempt to castigate gay marriage as sin against the natural order of God.

The entire context of Mat 19 was talking about the sins of the Pharisees with regards to adultery and divorce. The Pharisees didn't dispute that they created male and female, and that was not the emphasis of Jesus.

Marriage was not mentioned specifically in Gen 2, for in the original context of Gen 2, was about the creation story of man and woman. It was relating how the joining of flesh between man and woman in sex was consistent by the fact that women actually came out of men. Therefore, once there is sex, two shall become one, intertwined and there is no more separation. ie no divorce.

The interpretation of Mat 19, and Act 2, was not emphasising that marriage is to be between a man and a woman, nor was it about marriage. It was talking about sex, and the power of it to join our lives and beings together. As women came out of men, when the two are joined back, we can't call for a separation because it will harm the women.

The pharisees were having many wives and once used as a sex object and passed their "due date" was conveniently disposed of through the divorse proceedings leaving the women destitute and in the streets where her only work was to be a prostitute to survive.

The "prevailing trend" implied by Pastor Nina of FBCB that contradicts the Word of God has nothing to do with gay marriages but about divorce and abortion. When two flesh join together in sex, the result is having an offspring. If we reject the joining together, we have to abort the baby and kill the child.

Ironically, despite our holy angst against any basic gay rights, we don't see the church rising up in arms to insist that divorce, and abortions be banned or the women's charter be annuled! The world rightely sees us as hypocrites.

In Singapore, divorce and abortions are legal even when it is against Mat 19 and Acts 2, and yet the church just like the Pharisees of old gives excuses for having divorse. In Mat 19, the Pharisees justified their divorse by saying that Moses permitted it.

However, Jesus linked divorce back to the 10 commandments, the sin of adultery.

 Exo 20: 14 “You shall not commit adultery."

Therefore the sin in Mat 19, and Acts 2, was commiting adultery as a sinful act against the law in the 7th commandment. The sin here was not about gay marriage or about homosexuality! or about contradicting the creation of male or female.

Jesus extended the law, and defined the spirit of the law on adultery in Mat 19 to include divorce, ie all the Pharisees were sinners.

Jesus' reply not only condemned the Pharisees but shocked the disciples who replied in Mat 19:10, "10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” ie in order not to commit the sin of adultery, it would be better not to get married in the first place.

Jesus' reply in Mat 19:11 was then it is really not possible for a man not to have a yearning to have sex with a woman, hence to be a marriage relationship, unless the person is gay, or "born eunuchs". The Jews did not use the term "homosexuality", but gays were considered as "Born Eunuchs" ie not having a desire for the opposite sex from birth.

Pastor Nina Khong of FCBC had to twist and mis-interpret the bible out of context to come against same sex marriage, because when we interpret the bible in context, the law points back to own lives.

Is there sin of sexual immorality resulting in having a child out of wedlock in our own families that we come out so strongly against gays.

Is there any sin of divorce/adultery (against the 7th commandment) in the church?   Are there any abortions ? Any there any children born out of wedlock?  

When we condemn others in the high court of God's judgement seat from the pulpit which represents the preaching Word of God, and using false witness to cover up our own sins, we are guilty of at least three other commandments.

We are condeming the innocent gay person to death - spiritual death by shutting the gates of heaven to them, bodily death by our words of condemnation leading them to commit suicides, virtual death - lives lost in the closet that we put gays in. Hence, we have committed murder.

We are stealing their basic rights of existence and their right to relationships, and we are using the bible to bear a false witness that homosexuality by itself is somehow a biblical sin.

Exo 20: 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

 Just as the Pharisees were so good at condenming others for the slightest of sins, and then put on the capital judgement of death penalty by stoning the prostitutes to death, by condeming the Pharisees as adulterers, Jesus was proclaiming the penalty of death unto them.   

We are much worst than the Pharisees, for the prostitutes who were likely to be the ex-wives divorced and thrown into the streets were technically guilty of violating the 7th commandment despite the mitigating circumstances. Gays however have nothing to do with the divorce, adultery and abortions as a result of the straight marriages and affairs.

Hence, when we lower the basis of judgement using Gen 2, and Mat 19 against gays, we are much worst sinners. The Pharisees were afraid to look inwards into their own sins and to repent but they were law and sin orientated.

As christians, we are called to be grace and mercy orientated and giving glory to God for forving our own sins by the blood of the lamb at the Cross.

When we look to the Cross instead of the alleged sins of others, there is power and cleasing that we will receive for the blood of the lamb will clease and wash us from our sins.

"What can wash away my sin
Nothing but the blood of Jesus"

It's time for the chuch to repent before it's too late and right the injustices denied for God is merciful and righteous and slow in anger.

Grace be to you.

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OUR THOUGHTS THIS WEEK
WE ARE MADE MALE AND FEMALE

Dear FCBC, 

I want to remind each of us that we are all uniquely created by God. In the beginning, God created Adam and pronounced him good. Following that, God declared that it was not good for man to be alone and subsequently created Eve from Adam's rib. This was the divine order that God instituted for mankind since creation, and it has prevailed from biblical times till today. As Jesus replied the Pharisees in Matthew 19:4 (NKJV), "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'". 

Dear family and friends, we are living in challenging times when marriage – a holy institution that was first created and established by God's divine order, is being questioned and disputed at its core. Genesis 2:24 (NIV) states: "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." Today, there are many who are trying to negate what was created, and substituting it with other unwholesome and unnatural relationships. 

Let us wake up and resist any prevailing trend that contradicts God's word. It is time to be the man or woman God has created us to be! Speak up now and stand up for righteousness! -

Senior Pastor Nina Khong