Preface
Hot topic. To say the least…as the picture above boldly represents.
Please read this article in its entirety. If you do not, I fear you may come away with misinformed conclusions about my view of the topic.
I would ask that all readers due their best to look at the truth in a logical and unbiased manner.
I welcome comments, questions, and criticism if done so in a respectful manner as I have tried my best to respectfully share my beliefs.
I know many persons may disagree with me and I believe that we can still enjoy a friendship based on mutual respect, even while having opposing beliefs.
I hope you find this article informative and edifying.
To the Homosexual Reader:
First off, I want to sincerely apologize to you.
The Christian church, in general, has done an extremely poor job of representing Christ to you. I willingly admit that many Christians are oppressively judgmental and I am writing this article in part to state that this is not the teachings of Christ and hopefully correct the error of many of my Christian brothers and sisters. Christians should be treating the homosexual community with love and kindness just as Christ taught that Christians should treat all people no matter race, past, financial status, beliefs, or sexual orientation.
That said, I make no apology for having a different system of beliefs, different values, and a different lifestyle.
As you read this article you will most likely come across statements that you can perceive as offensive.
I would ask you to treat me with the same mutual respect that the homosexual community demands of society. We may disagree with each others lifestyle, but I would welcome a friendship with any homosexual person, or any person with different beliefs, based on mutual respect and kindness. I hope by writing this article that homosexuals will gain a better understanding of what Christians believe and what the bible teaches about homosexuality.
To the Christian Reader:
There is error in the Church.
There is misunderstanding, there is judgement, there is abandonment of the truth, there is lack of love, I would even say that there is borderline oppression.
I find most Christians fall into two categories of error:
We ignore the truth the bible says about homosexuality.
or
We treat homosexuals with contempt.
These are the two main problems I will address in this article.
The Biblical Truth About Homosexuality.
Romans 1:18-32 ESV
“18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”
I am going to use this text to expound upon in relation to the bibles clarity about homosexuality as a sin, and why homosexuality is wrong. There are multiple other places in the bible that relate to homosexuality, but this passage is very clear and describes why God disproves of homosexuality. I am not going to go into the Greek translation or my interpretation of the original text due to lack of ability on my part, although I have read multiple articles debating both sides of the translation as well as historical setting so I believe I am decently well informed.
Homosexuality is a sin.
There is no way around it. It may be unpopular and overall uncomfortable to say, but that is the biblical truth. The text above clearly states the homosexual passions and actions were the result of God allowing humanity to succumb to depravity due to their own idolatry.
Christian, you can not escape the truth that the bible clearly states that homosexuality is wrong.
To those of you who claim to be Christians without believing in the bible I will simply say this: don’t call yourself a Christian.
I will not delve into this subject too deeply, but if you don’t believe in the the bible which Christ Himself taught from and our whole faith is founded upon, then I don’t think you should call yourself a Christ follower.
I don’t believe it is enough to merely state that homosexuality is wrong, but there needs to be clarity as to why it is wrong, both for the benefit of Christians and homosexuals. It is simply a poor explanation so say “cause God says so”.
As with any issues, we have to go back to how God originally created things which is found in the book of Genesis.
Genesis 1:27-28a ESV
27 “So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it”.
God originally created two separate types of sexuality: male and female. He designed them to be different, and yet to compliment each other in order to form a union by which humanity would govern God’s creation.
In Romans 1 it clearly states that homosexuality was a result of God allowing humanity to sink farther into depravity.
The reason why homosexuality is wrong is because it is contrary too God’s original and perfect creation.
God designed men and women to join together in a union called marriage, ordained by God, and with the purpose of multiplying, governing creation, and glorifying God.
Heterosexual marriage is the only possible way to procreate.
Heterosexual marriage is designed to represent the relationship of Christ and the Church, whom He calls His bride.
Men and women joined in heterosexual marriage bear the full image of God.
This is the Creator God’s original intent and perfect design. It is by submitting to His will that we can enter into true life and joy found in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
How should Christians treat homosexuals?
This is the second issue to address in regards to Christianity and Homosexuality.
To start, we need to address one of the biggest misunderstandings that Christians are deceived with: homosexuality is a “bigger” sin.
This is simply not true. All sexual sin is against God’s will whether it be adultery, lust, pornography, immodesty, fornication, or homosexuality and there is no variance in the depravity of each.
I have sinned against god in more than one area of sexual sin and therefore I am just as much a sinner and have perverted God’s creation as much as any homosexual person. In fact, some of these sins were committed when I was a believer, therefore you might say I am worse.
Yet often times Christians are judgmental of homosexuals.
You foolish hypocritical Christian! I rebuke you in the name of Christ!
How dare we as the Church look at the homosexual community with disgust and contempt?
What man among you has not looked upon a women with lust? Christ Himself says in your heart you are guilty of adultery.
What women among you has not dressed in such a way as to present her body to gain a mans attention? You too are guilty of sexual sin.
And yet I see so many Christians who look down upon, who judge, who treat with contempt homosexuals.
John 8:7 ESV
“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone.”
Have you ever considered what sin may have been committed against a person to drive them to such a heart broken state of depravity that they would change there sexual orientation in an attempt to fill the gaping whole in their heart that can only be filled by Jesus.
Where is your compassion!?
You may accuse me of too harsh of a rebuke, but it was the pharisees who Jesus rebuked firmly because of their prideful judgement and condemnation of sinners who needed compassion.
To clarify, I am not saying to ignore homosexuality as sin.
But you cannot put judgement and condemnation on a person who does not even claim to believe in Christ, rather love, grace, compassion, and truth are the means by which we should strive to win their hearts.
Christian, if you want to make a difference in the homosexual community I have the answer.
Don’t vote against marriage equality, don’t go to fundamentalist rallies, don’t judge their lifestyle.
Befriend them.
Take them out for a cup of coffee. Invite your lesbian neighbors over for dinner. Get to know the person so that in love, you can share the truth with them of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
This is a huge area that Christians, myself included, need to make an effort too better represent Christ in.
Christian Political Involvement on Marriage Equality.
Jesus spoke very little of political involvement.
In fact, one of the misunderstandings of the Jews at that time was that the messiah would be a political leader.
As Christians, it is not our job to influence the culture primarily through politics or government. In fact, it is somewhat oppressive to try to force our belief system onto others through the government.
Would you have adultery or greed be illegal? Of course not…then why same sex marriage?
That said, I am not planning on attending any same sex marriage rallies any time soon, but I would not seek to limit a homosexual couples ability to legally be married.
To clarify, I also do believe that there are times when Christians should fight for justice using the legal system. A good example of this is abortion. The difference is that abortion is the act of someone murdering innocent life which is an injustice one person commits against another. To seek legal action against abortion is to defend the weak. Homosexuality is the choice of an individual and does not act against another in general.
To the Christian Who Struggles With Homosexual Temptations.
Temptation is not a sin.
Jesus lived a perfect life and the scriptures say that He was tempted.
You need not feel guilt because of homosexual temptations, it is allowing your heart or mind to be filled with lust or acting on those temptations that becomes sin.
Christ can free you from the bondage of homosexuality. If you have been saved by the blood of Jesus, then your sexual orientation is not the foremost part of your character, but rather the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
Some people are freed from various temptations the day they are converted, others struggle for years.
I would encourage you to remember that your identity is found in Christ and not your struggles with sin.
Living in that mindset will allow you to glorify God and use your testimony to lead others to Christ.
Conclusion
I know this is a long article, thank you for your patience. I hope that this has been informative and edifying to both the Christian and homosexual reader.
Again, I gladly welcome comments, question, and criticism if done so in a respectful manner. Are there areas I didn’t address? Is there a topic that needs further explanation? I would be very appreciative of the feedback.
the.HOPE.of.a.PESSIMIST 