self-exultation of every kind and self-determination of every kind and self-determination in your sexuality or in your hatred or in your lust for power or greed,

self-exultation and self-determination can never hold the planets of the lusts of the heart in their proper orbit.

One thing can hold the planets of passion in their orbit and that is the glory of God.

So how does the glory of God restore order to our disordered sexual passions?

That's the critical question John Piper answers from Romans 1, 28 to 32 in this episode of Light and Truth.

This sermon was originally preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church on October 18th, 1998.

Father, I pray for your help now

as we together apply our minds to this portion of your holy word, that we would

humble ourselves before it and that we would bow down and worship the God revealed in it and

that we would take upon ourselves the light burden and the easy yoke of following Jesus here.

I pray, Father, for a gift of prophetic insight for myself so that I speak words that would be appointed for the people that are in this room.

And I ask, Father, that you would protect me and us from error and that you would fill us with love and that you would fill us with truth and that you would fill us with courage and boldness and righteousness and that you would work a

reordering of our sexual lives wherever that's needed to the glory of your

son.

Thank you so much for your promise to never leave us or forsake us, but to help us. I pray in his name Jesus.

Amen.

And I confess that my main aim here is not to persuade you that homosexuality is wrong. It is wrong to do homosexual acts, but you can

believe that and not be a Christian. So what does it profit if you know

everything in the world that's wrong and lose your soul. My aim is a lot higher than that. My aim is to alter the way you see reality and to put God and his glory back at the center of reality.

The universe of your soul and the universe of society

and the universe as a whole was made to have the glory of God as its center.

With all of the planets of our passions orbiting in their proper place held there by the gravity of the glory of God.

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