A few months ago, a young man walked up to me with my cross and asked, "Would it be a bad thing if I'm gay?" This had been the first time I had been asked about this subject on the street and I needed to handle it with extreme care.
I told this young man that I could only tell him what the Bible said about homosexuality. He asked if it said it was bad and he would burn in hell. I told him that it was true that if he looked in 1 Corinthians 6:9 that it does say no homosexual will inherit the kingdom of heaven (The ESV says kingdom of God, but they are interchangeable).
At this point, I was quick to point out the Bible also says that no fornicators, murders, or even liars would enter, either. The young man rightly pointed out that is everyone in the world. Paul points that out in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The command to repent is just as universal: "No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3).
The fact is we are all born with a sin nature- the types of sin just differs based on the person. While some may have the sin of homosexuality to repent of, others may have the sin of sexual immorality (sex before marriage, adultery) or looking with lust (Matthews 5:27-28). The homosexual and the sexually immoral will find their selves in the same hell (as will liars, thieves and other unrepentant sinners).
All this said, I do not believe being homosexuality is in your genes. While one may have feelings toward the same sex, that does not make them natural. Recently, in Cleveland, there was the story about Anthony Sowell, who alleged murdered several women and buried their bodies on his property. No one would say this is natural. Neither are homosexual thoughts.
You may say to me these are two completely different things- murder and homosexuality, but the Apostle Paul talks about them in the same sentence in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. If this is the way Paul, who Jesus Himself commission to carry His name among the gentiles (Acts 9:15), it is the same way I will deal with it.
Just like any other sin, you must acknowledge your guilt before, apologize for it, and repent (turn from your sin and toward God) before God will take away your sinful nature. It is at this point that God will give you a new heart with new desires (Ezekiel 36:26). This is what God requires of you for salvation (John 3:3).
You may be saying that your feelings are too strong and they have to be natural. That isn't so. Salvation is a supernatural act of God and He will give you a new heart with new desires. I have experienced this myself- things I used to love I now have come to despise.
It will be the same for you- but God wants you to take the first step. I know it will be difficult at first and those desires will still be there, but each time you turn away from them, those desires decrease.
Someone asked me what I would do if I had a son that was gay. I tell him exactly what I said in this article and to the young man I met on the street- that he must repent of his homosexuality. I would also make it clear that God views us all as sinners, not just the homosexual, and we are all in danger of his wrath unless we repent. Anyone who tells you otherwise isn't telling you the truth.
In closing, I believe remaining homosexual is a choice one makes. It is a choice one makes not to repent of that sin (or any other sin). You may say you aren't strong enough to overcome the feelings- you aren't. You need the supernatural power of God- that way He gets all the credit. Just take the first step.
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Hi Mark, Wow..it's amazing how the Holy Spirit works. Not to long ago..actually just this week I believe. I was just thinking about Homosexuals..I haven't prayed much on this, but the scriptures you pointed out made me think about being gay..This is only my hypothesis , but if we born sin-fallen, could it be possible that we were born gay yet have a choice to change from that? For the longest time I couldn't understand how people would say I was born this way. Just as much as someone who was born a hetersexual, this is just a natural thing. I believe somewhere in scriptures it states..they exchanged their natural for unnatural and God gave them over to a depraved mind. (Romans 1:26) Here in scriptures it says that God gave them over. So if this is God holding us, then He himself has the power to give us over to anything. Everything that we do that is good is from God above..God then is holding us with HIs grace to be natural and not to be unnatural. I guess it's the complexties of God. I appreciate your ministry and may God bless us all!! Our church on Saturdays has a street ministry right in our church parking lot with a booth called "Prayer Station".
ReplyDeleteYes, we are all born with a sinful nature, and I believe we each have our own sins we need to repent of. Although I do not have homosexual attractions, I will tell you that I did/do struggle with lust for the opposite sex. It has gotten easier over time to look away, but the desire is still there. The plain fact is that it is sin in both cases and God commands us to repent.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is God who gives us over to our desires, but I know as a human being that I have the ability to make the decision to do right or wrong. You can't stand behind that verse as justification for living in your homosexuality (or any other sin).
I will leave you with this
1 Corinthians 6:9-10: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous1 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."
Then comes verse 11: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
So let me get this right, you "can't stand behind that verse as justification" for why it is right, but you can stand behind some versus for why being a homosexual is wrong? That seems a little odd. Well I leave you with this "Deuteronomy 14:9-10
ReplyDeleteThese ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you."
Leviticus 11:9-12 "Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you."
It is an abomination to eat shell fish! I hope you repent and make the choice to change your ways if you take part in this nasty habit. Now I know you will probably just say this post is stupid, but it just goes to show how one can pick and choose anything he wants from the bible. However, ultimately all that matters is that you are a good person.
@Anonymous: You don't understand the Bible. The Old Covenant (which you are referencing) was for the people of the Old Covenant. It was for those people at that time. We are now in the New Covenant, under grace.
ReplyDeleteThe ceremonial laws of Judaism don't apply today, but the moral laws do. Jesus reaffirms 9 of the 10 commandments in the New Testament and Paul and others talk about other moral laws in the Epistles.
Jesus declared all foods clean in Mark, chapter 7: "And he said to them, 'Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?' (Thus he declared all foods clean.)" (Mark 7:18-19 ESV)
So let me ask you- would you consider yourself to be a “good person?” Most people will say yes without hesitation, even to say they are a “very good person.” Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments? Would you say you’ve kept them? Let’s see how you stack up using God’s rules:
Have you ever told a lie, even a small, white lie? That makes you a liar.
Have you ever stolen something, no matter what value? Ever taken anything from work, downloaded an MP3, copied a CD? That makes you a thief.
Have you ever had hate or anger in your heart? Jesus says in Matthew 5:22 God views this the same as murder.
Have you ever lusted (sexual desire) after another? Jesus says in Matthew 5:28 God views this as committing adultery in your heart.
Based on those standards above, you are a lying thief, and a murderer and adulterer at heart, and you have to face God on judgment day. If God judges you based on those standards, would you be guilty or innocent? Everyone would be guilty. If you say innocent because you do more good than bad, consider James 2:10 which says if you have broken one commandment, you have broken them all. It’s like hanging on to a chain with 10 links and one breaks. It only took one break for you to fall.
If God judges you based on His standard you would be guilty. So would I.
So, would you go to Heaven or Hell? You should say Hell. I am just as guilty as everyone else and would have been destined for Hell. If you say Heaven because you think God won’t judge you because He is a god of love, you are breaking the second commandment- you shall not make a graven image- a god to suit yourself. A god not of wood or metal made with your hands, but in your mind. An example would be a god that is contrary to what the Bible teaches or worshiping money. You may say you do more good then bad. Consider how many people someone needs to kill to be convicted of murder. Just one.
You may say, “I go to confession.” We are called to confess our sins (1 John 1:9), but confession alone won’t save you. The Bible says in Proverbs 28:13, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” Consider this: a husband cheats on his wife and confesses to her he has committed adultery. The husband says he is sorry, but the next weekend he goes out and cheats again with a different woman. He again confesses to his wife what he has done. Unless the husband stops cheating and turns away from his cheating ways (repents), his confession is worthless and his wife will leave him. In the same sense, we have to do more than just confess our sins- we need to repent and stop our sinful habits.