Homosexuality and Christianity......

One of the hot potatoes of our American culture is the new secular embrace of homosexuality. As homosexual lifestyles are defended in the government, the media, and the mainstream news, Christianity is being labeled as judgmental, out of step and biased by those same secular media. The result is a massive gap and a polarity that grows wider with each passing revelation of another homosexual "coming out".

You might be amazed to learn that according to The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law (a sexual orientation law and public policy think tank) 4.1% of Americans are estimated to be gay - that's about 12 million who say they are gay, bisexual, lesbian or transgender.

That means that roughly 4.1% of of American households are run by homosexual couples. These statistics are a far cry from what the secular media seems to report. Nonetheless, in our world today there are so many questions about homosexuality and how it relates to Christianity. So it is important to know and be able to have a rational and reasonable discussion about what we believe based on the Bible. On what the Bible does and doesn't say about homosexuality.

One of the common themes of the pro-gay lifestyle is that homosexuality is "normal", so it should not be considered wrong. Yet in this simple sentence the statistics we mentioned early prove that homosexuality is not normal - it's not the norm of society. The definition of "normal" is the standard, the pattern, the typical state. And in fact the "norm" for 97.5% of Americans is not the homosexual lifestyle.

Another defense for pro-gays is that they are truly in love with someone of the same sex. That they can't help their feelings, that they are born this way. Since homosexuals cannot re-produce, it is highly unlikely that some gene is responsible for the "feelings" of same sex attraction. No scientific study has pinpointed a homosexual gene - it seems to be more of a question of nurturing rather than nature. Which brings us to the "feeling" part - the "emotional" part of the equation and the battle. According to the Bible it's our "abnormal" feelings that lead us into misjudgments and yes, even sin.

The Bible doesn't speak much about homosexuality but when it does, it condemns it as sin. Here is what it does say:

Lev. 18:22 "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination."

Lev 20:13 "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act, they shall surely be put to death, their blood guiltiness is upon them"

Some say this is the "Old Testament" and "of wrath", but the New Testament also condemns it:

1 Cor. 6:9-10 "do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate shall inherit the kingdom of God"

Rom. 1:26-28 "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are nor convenient."

Yes, homosexuality is clearly condemned in the Bible - both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. It undermined the reason and basis of God's created order - Adam - a man, and Eve - a woman, not a man and a man or a woman and a woman, were created to "multiply and fill the earth" (Gen 1:28). Homosexuality cannot carry out that command. it also undermines the basic family structure and is dangerous to any society.

The Book of Romans tells us that those who accept themselves as homosexuals (who come out) become hardened by their sin - so they defend it and in so doing condemn themselves (Rom 1:32). The politically correct view is there is nothing wrong with 2 people just loving each other. Who are "we" Christians to judge them? But who are "they" to say what is morally right and wrong? Do "they" have an objective standard if morals that all people should follow? No, "they" don't. They appeal to things like "society" and "common sense" and "basic rights" and "feelings". But societies have been wrong many times before (Nazi Germany for example).

No doubt some who are reading this know someone who is or who they believe is homosexual. Some readers may in fact ask for this blog notice to be stopped from coming to them because they think I'm homophobic. I assure you, I am not. The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in every area of sin that we could be tempted in (Heb. 2:18). He could never be the homosexual's savior if he hadn't been tempted as they. Know though, Jesus never sinned even though He was tempted as we are. So how do we respond to those we love, to friends and family who either claim to be homosexual or have leanings toward the same sex?

Let me remind you that Jesus never bashed a sinner, He never condemned the adulterous woman at the well. His harshest words were saved for the religious who had moved away from serving God in spirit and truth.

The homosexual is not our enemy - he is/she is us - before we had knowledge and conviction of our sins.

We must not be offended by him or her - but must dialogue and in God's love show them that there is a standard in scripture, there is a "norm", there is a pattern laid down by God for men and women and that our "feelings" many times lead us astray. And above all, we must be there when and if they seek God with all their strength, all their mind, and all their heart.

In His Service,

Pastor Mark Correll