By Don Case

 

Alternative lifestyles are discussed a lot today because homosexuality, living together before marriage, and general sexual promiscuity have become the way of life for so many.  Some have said that God will accept any relationship, but the Bible paints a very different picture.  God clearly labels sin as sin. 

 

Accepting homosexuality is a popular thing in our culture.  Our concern should not be with being among the popular, but with salvation and obedience to God's Word.  Just because the homosexual lifestyle has now become socially acceptable does not mean it is not sin, shameful and an abomination to God. (See Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:26-27) 

 

Living together before marriage and premarital relations are also now considered "acceptable lifestyles."  Today, premarital relations are the norm rather than the exception. God did not intend for couples to have relations before marriage. He did not create the experience to be something cheaply enjoyed outside the bonds of a marital commitment.

 

Promiscuity involves having several partners.  We know from God's Word that he intended us to have one partner, one spouse.  Otherwise, it is immorality or adultery.  1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality: that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God."

 

Some people today question whether God's Word on these subjects still applies to us today, or if it was simply meant for the people of biblical times and cultures.  God has instructed us to obey all of his commands and not to add or subtract from any of them (Deuteronomy 12:32).  We are told that the Word of the Lord stands forever (1 Peter 1:25).  These instructions apply just as much today as they did centuries ago.

 

You cannot be close to God if you are engaged in any type of immoral behavior.  If you are truly close to God, you won't be engaged in such behaviors.