Homosexuality
Homosexuality is an issue many
people within the church don't want to touch. It is something that divides
denominations and Christians. There are denominations that have homosexual
pastors and there are those who strongly condemn such actions.
This article will look at exactly
what God has to say about this and his reaction to this as well. The Bible
begins with the book of Genesis and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible
describes the inhabitants of these cities as horribly wicked and that their
reached God and he sent angels to destroy the cities. The men of Sodom came from
all over town to have sex with the two men (the angels) Lot had as guests.
It is clear that these men were
above and beyond what even blatant homosexuals are today. I've heard of no
stories of men trying to break down the doors to sleep with another man.
However, the sin that is occurring here is homosexuality. If it wasn't a sin it
wouldn't matter if a little or a lot of it was going on, God wouldn't have any
reason to destroy the cities. And it is clear from scripture that he does indeed
destroy the cities, I've heard no arguments against that.
An argument given for
homosexuality is that it is a disease; a swelling of a gland that causes it.
From my understanding there has been found a swelling of a gland in homosexuals.
However, this has only occurred after a person has become a homosexual, no one
has predicted that someone would be a homosexual because they have a swollen
gland.
More evidence against this goes
back to Sodom and Gomorrah and uses simple logic. God destroyed these cities.
These cities were full of homosexuals as evidenced from scripture. Why would God
destroy two cities full of men that had a disease?
God lists judgment for
homosexuals several other places in the Bible as well. But why would God judge
people that were unfortunate enough to have a disease? I can't really think of a
good reason, if someone would have one I'd like to hear it. (Don't consider that
an attack, it's a legitimate question, I like to examine all sides of an issue
first.)
The other big issue in this
debate deals with love, and here's where it gets touchy. Christ said to love
your enemies. He said to love your neighbor as yourself. Do we love homosexuals
if we condemn what they do and say it is wrong? Is it love to say that these men
(and women in some churches) shouldn't serve as pastors and heads of a
congregation? YES!
To explain, allow me to make an
illustration. You have a child, maybe three years old that is old enough to be
walking around and get into things. You're in the kitchen one day with something
cooking on the stove and the child comes in and walks over to the stove. Do you
snatch the child away, preventing them from touching a hot burner, or do you let
the child, who has the freedom to choose what they want, touch the hot stove,
assuming that they won't do it again? Which would a loving parent do? Obviously
the loving parent would snatch the child away preventing hurt and pain.
Like touching a hot stove, there
is pain - a penalty - involved with homosexuality. Romans 1:27 says, "In the
same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed
with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other
men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their
perversion."
I don't know what the due penalty
truly is, it could be speaking of judgment after death, or it could be simply
speaking of the medical fact that homosexuals have shorter life spans than
heterosexuals. We do homosexuals a favor by trying to steer them away from a
lifestyle that is going to be penalized by God. That IS love!
So what do we do with the
passages concerning love; are they moot? Hardly, but they need to be looked at
in a different light. The apostle Paul wrote Romans after Christ's life and
after his teaching about love. And it appears clear to me that Paul looks down
on homosexuality and thinks it is a sin. After all, he calls it indecent,
unnatural, and perverted. It doesn't sound like the words of love Christ used,
so was Paul wrong in saying this? I think not!!!
So where does this leave us, with
a concept of love in light of Paul's statements? Do we love the sinner, yet hate
the sin? Do we ban all homosexuals from our churches, saying that they are not
welcome until they change their life? No this would be foolish and preposterous.
Romans 5:8 says, "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Homosexuals are sinners the same as we all are. Did we have to be perfect before
we came to Christ? Certainly not! Paul describes himself as the worst of sinners
later on in his life, and I'm finding it to be true of myself as well. I'm not
foolish enough to declare that I'm anywhere near perfect now, after years of
being a Christian. So how could I condemn any homosexuals within the church?
There is a line that has to be
drawn. Progress has to be made in dealing with this sin. Just like a recovering
drug addict, this sin doesn't go away the moment a person becomes a Christian.
However, there has to be a willingness to change and a repentant heart. If a
person is unwilling to recognize homosexuality as a sin, or is unwilling to
repent, then I say in my own judgment that they are not right with God and
probably shouldn't be a representative of a church I'm in.
I know that sounds harsh, I'm not
God and can't say exactly where the line is drawn. But God did give me
discernment to realize that sometimes things must be done for the benefit of the
church body if it affects the spiritual condition of all or many. Paul made a
similar choice in I Tim 1:19-20. I won't claim to anything like Paul but I
believe that similar choices need to be made at times.
Where does this leave us all. In
my mind homosexuality is a sin. It is no more, or no less a sin than any other
sin anyone in the church has committed or will commit. "What shall we say
then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to
sin; how can we live in it any longer?" Romans 6:1-2, gives me my answer to
this. We must not continue in our sins, striving everyday to stay out of sin.
This is not an easy battle. It is
not something to be conquered overnight. It is a problem like lust, alcoholism,
or drugs. It is something that a person may likely struggle with their entire
life. If you know someone who struggles with this, they need your help. Pray for
them.
This is a sin as I hope I've made
clear. But it can be overcome. It isn't easy but we have God on our side. And as
Paul says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do everything through him who gives
me strength." It can be overcome, just look to God for help.
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