Charlie is a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Life Connection Group Teacher at Graceland Baptist Church.
The issue of homosexuality looms
large in our culture. We are all
affected by this issue, and will be increasingly so. As Christians, we must accept the challenge
of knowing how to respond biblically.
In dealing with the issue of
homosexuality there is a “ditch on both sides of the road,” so to speak. In other words, people have often erred on
one side, and then as a knee jerk reaction, a different group has
over-compensated and erred on the other side.
One error (ditch) is unbiblical disengagement. This is most prevalent among my age group (30+) and older, and/or those from a socially conservative background. While homosexuality is one of the oldest sins in recorded history, in modern western society, it has long been repressed by societal norms (in eastern cultures, it is still repressed). It is only in recent decades that this sin has begun to be so openly expressed in the West.
For many of us who grew up in that
milieu, we have “cognitive dissonance,” (we hold two things to be true that
can’t go together). On the one hand we believe that all people are sinners and
need Jesus, and in another category of our mind we still deal with the
undercurrent of how we were brought up to think of homosexuals.
What is the result? The result is that we Christians have done a shamefully poor job of evangelizing homosexuals. Look at 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11a:
Or
do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually
immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor
thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will
inherit the kingdom of God. And such
were some of you.
Notice that Paul was talking to a church at Corinth. If you looked around that church, you would have seen people that used to walk in all sorts of sins, including homosexuality.
If you were to tour the churches of America, you would find many former
adulterers, thieves and drunks, but of whom would you not find many? Homosexuals.
Until we can look around our churches and say of homosexuality…”and such
were some of you,” then we have much work to do in evangelizing the homosexual
community.
The second error (the other side of
the ditch) is a dismissive view of the true sinfulness and consequences
of homosexuality.
Some will argue that the sin of homosexuality is on par with any other sin,
such as lying and cheating. This is true
in one sense, and false in another. It
is true in the sense that any sin is enough to separate us from God. The wages of any sin is spiritual death. However, all sins are not equal in their
consequences or in the degree to which they are a perversion of God’s created
order.
1)
Recognize that
homosexuals did not arbitrarily choose to have the attractions they do
The reaction of some to homosexuals is, “Well, just quit doing that.” However, this misunderstands the very real and deep-seeded orientation that comes naturally to those with same-sex attraction. People who are addicted to drugs would often like to “just quit doing that,” but that is not a realistic way to address these types of issues.
2) Recognize
that we are all sexual
sinners
Christians should never look down
their noses at homosexuals as if they were not sexual sinners themselves. Homosexuality is one way that sexual sin is
manifested, but we have all manifested it in some form. Jesus took to task those who wrongly thought
they had not broken sexual laws. In
Matthew 5:27-28, he says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not
commit adultery.’ But I say to you
that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already
committed adultery with her in his heart.”
When we approach a homosexual, we do so as a fellow sexual sinner who is also in need of a great Savior. The foot of the cross is level ground. We show them that just as God has forgiven us of our sexual sins, so he can forgive them as well.
3) Recognize
that sanctification is a hard, life-long process, but is accomplished through
the power of the Holy Spirit
There is no magic pill for
sin. It is a rare occasion that a new
believer suddenly loses all their former fleshly urges relating to their vices upon
becoming born again. The former drunk will
usually still feel the urge to take the easy way out of problems. The former porn addict will usually still
feel the cravings of the lust of the eyes.
The former thief will usually still feel the itch that he knows can be
scratched by his old ways. In the same
way, a former homosexual may have to continue fighting against his sexual urges
by taking every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).
The difference between we
Christians now, and our former selves, is that we no longer have to sin. We formerly sinned because we freely chose in
our sinful nature to do what came natural.
But having been brought to spiritual life and given a new nature, we now
have the ability to walk in the Spirit and not gratify the desires of the flesh
(Gal. 5:16). Those who truly belong to
Christ (including those struggling with same sex attraction) are part of the
golden chain of redemption found in Romans 8:29-30:
“For those
whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers. And those whom he predestined
he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom
he justified he also glorified.”
There are no dropouts. And no one in this group will be able to say
they were not a sexual sinner. While the
earthly future for believers may be difficult, it is not a struggle to be something
we are not, but a Spirit-empowered march towards being what we already are. All Christians, by virtue of their new nature
and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, are able to resist the sins to which
they were once enslaved and offer their body up to God as a living sacrifice
(Rom. 12:1).
