Translate

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Is Homosexuality Really Wrong?

                There are those who like to say that there is no place in the bible that says homosexuality is wrong. They say people are born as homosexuals and it's not their choice. But it is. In their own sin, without the Holy Spirit to convict them, they cannot see what is really wrong.The world often likes to change God’s words and meanings, and even remove parts of the bible, to conform to their own worldly desires to sin. However, the bible clearly states in multiple verses that homosexuality is a sin.

“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.”

-Leviticus 18:22

“If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman,
both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death;
their blood will be on their own heads.”

-Leviticus 20:13

“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers
nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

-1 Corinthians 6:9-10

"For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the  woman and burned in their desire toward one another, 
men with men committing indecent acts and
receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."

-Romans 1:26-28

                Homosexuality is clearly wrong and goes against the creation of God. But then again, God is so far out of our country. He created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve or Alexis and Eve. There is no other way that we would have been able to reproduce and be the world that we are today. Homosexuality has a severe judgment administered by God Himself. This judgment is simple:  they are given over to their passions.  That means that their hearts are allowed to be hardened by their sins (Romans 1:24).  As a result, they can no longer see the error of what they are doing, and then they go and promote it and condemn others who don't participate in their sin.  So, without an awareness of their sinfulness, there will be no repentance and trusting in Jesus.  Without Jesus, they will have no forgiveness.  Without forgiveness, there is no salvation. Without salvation, there is only damnation in eternal hell.

                We are not supposed to judge or condemn these men and women who give in to their temptations. No sin is greater than another. Lying is no better than homosexuality. All sin leads to death. Therefore, we are not to condemn or hate the person, we can only hate the sin that they are committing.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

-Luke 6:37

                We were all born sinners so we cannot condemn a homosexual any more than we would have been condemned, even if we were just a liar or a thief. They have the same chance at being saved as we did. God did not say he was sending Jesus to die for everyone but homosexuals or murderers. No, he sent Him for all to be redeemed.

“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed,
you were sanctified, you were justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the
Spirit of God.”

-1 Corinthians 6:11

                Homosexuality is a sin, and like any other sin it needs to be dealt with in the only way possible.  It needs to be laid at the cross and repented of. They need to be prayed for and they need to accept the conviction from the Holy Spirit. And, like all sinners, the person needs to be forgiven.  That can be found in Jesus.  He is the Lord, the Savior, and the risen King. If you want to love another man, love Jesus -- not in a homosexual attitudinal sense, but in one of respect and trust.  After all, Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1,14) and he died to save sinners.  We are all sinners and we are called to be the brides of Jesus.

                We should pray for the salvation of the homosexual, the same as we would for any other person in sin.  It is not an issue of arrogance or judgment.  It is a loving thing to do.  We don't want anyone to be lost due to their sin. Jesus came to save all people and we should not hide him from anyone.  The homosexual is still made in the image of God -- even though he is in grave sin.  Therefore, we should show homosexuals the same dignity, humility, and grace as anyone else with whom we come in contact. Show God’s love and his mercy so that he or she may be driven to accept Christ as their savior and give up their sin.  Don't injure them.  Don't hate them. You’ll only cause them to not want to be a follower of Christ. Plant a seed for them! However, this does not mean that you are to approve of their sin.  Don't compromise your witness for a socially acceptable opinion that is void of godliness and biblical truth.  Instead, stand firm in the word that God has revealed and patiently love him/her biblically, and pray for their salvation.

                After that, it is their choice. It is like the parable of the sower (Matthew 13: 1-23). When anyone hears the message about the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown. That’s the seed that was planted on the path. The seed that was planted on the rocks is the one who receives the message with joy. However, he lasts only a short while until persecution or suffering comes. The seed that fell among the thorns is the one who hears the word but the worries of life and wealth make it unfruitful. The seed that fell on the good soil is the one who receives the word and understands it and continues to live his life by the word.

17 comments:

  1. There are people that say the Leviticus law is out dated, and doesn't apply to Christians.

    I got into an argument on my cousin's facebook one day, she supports same sex marriage, doesn't find anything wrong with homosexuality. She's one of those people that say "love is love" and she claims she's a Christian. But I don't see how she can believe the Bible so well if she feels that way and sees nothing wrong with premarital sex (the two things I know she supports, we live in different states so I haven't kept in touch with her over the years to know more).

    I have a friend that dubbed himself as a take out Christian, he picked and chose what he believed in, before an incident that changed his life a few years ago. I see my cousin (and quite possibly a lot of my cousins) this way.

    When I got into that argument on her page, I pointed out that men and women were designed with very specific plumbing. If same sex relationships were the norm, we'd be different. She tried to argue that a lot of people are born either with both sexes or something, tried to make it sound like it was about half the population or something, when the reality is more like 1% of people are born like that.

    People just don't want to accept the truth and live their lives differently.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We need to pray for our young people. They are being taught more than reading and writing in school. For the one who might be struggling in this area of life -- society now doesn't really offer them any hope that they can live differently. "Be yourself", "don't listen to anyone who says you can live differently", "once gay always gay", "living that way is the only way you will be happy" are things they are being told. It's so different from what we are offering in Christ. It is an important point too, to love the sinner not the sin. It's also important to realize that it is not because of the sin that they are not saved - It's because they haven't repented, accepted Jesus and the price He paid for their sin.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, what a heavy post. God created the union of marriage for His purpose. Man thinks he can change it on a whim.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes! We need to make sure we love the sinner and remember that Jesus died for them and us just the same...for we are all sinners. Hate the sin, not the sinner.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amen! Was just thinking along these lines today. I have been bombarded with a lot of 'pro gay' talk lately and am really sick of being labeled hateful. I would never wish ill to anyone, but cannot condone sin whatever that sin may be. Again, Amen!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well put! I'm so pleased you wrote this all out - it blessed me and will bless many others who are searching for God's heart regarding this issue today. May He continue to bless you with a heart steady in the truth!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I used to tell my kids: "I may hate your sin (behaviour) but I will always love you!" Enough said!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I will not doubt that they were born this way, for we are all born as sinners. This is a demon that has attacked them all their lives and tempted them so of course they will grow into adulthood like this if they have not been taught the difference between right and wrong or that there is a God and Jesus died for their sins. We are supposed to be one nation under God but we no longer are. The school curriculum has been changed to teach evolution, homosexuality, and that women were once the rulers of the Earth. It's no surprise that since we have gay politicians in Congress that school curriculums would teach this since the government controls what the schools teach. We need to be cautious on who we vote for. We can't focus on republican or democrat; we need to focus on who's going to bring God back into the country. Being a disciple of God myself since the age of 18, it's given me plenty of time to read Revelation over and over and what I'm seeing going on in the world today and right here in our country is what is written in Revelation. These are the birth pains of the end. All we can do is love each other and pray for the lost souls but remember that not everyone will be saved for Revelation tells us so. It's like the Shepard who left the 1 sheep to save the 99 others. We cannot hate the sinner but must hate the sin and plant seeds as the sowers the Lord expects us to be so he may reap his crop. Like a farmer's field not all crop will make it. Amen to all the comments and thank you Rebecca for bringing this topic up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good point Patrick about them being born that way - as sinners. We had an issue here in the local high school where they decided that the school health clinic should be able to distribute birth control and even the plan b emergency contraceptive. The local report wrote an article against it and in the article he added that the school shouldn't sponsor "gay & lesbian support groups" - or groups based on sexual behavior. It got such a strong reaction from the school - they wrote a letter and over 100 teachers at the high school signed it in opposition to this reporters position. At said support groups they give out literature called "be yourself" and others which basically tell them they they shouldn't try to live any other way. It went as far as to list all sorts or ministries to stay away from like focus on the family or others that try to tell you to change.

      Delete
  9. I meant he left the 99 to save the 1.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The argument isn't homosexuality as a chosen lifestyle vs. an unchangeable state of being; it is the acceptance of the bible as the absolute truth or not. A Christian accepts the bible as the absolute truth where as a non-Christian would refer to it as "just a book". This is where the divide begins, in the acceptance or rejection the bible. Please refer to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in terms of accuracy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Salvation is not forcing themselves... it is freedom and peace, the "peace which surpasses all understanding".

    ReplyDelete
  12. We must be certain not to take words out of context. The exact Bible verse to which I am referring is Philippians 4:7, which states: "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

    ReplyDelete
  13. As people grow closer to the Lord and delve further into the Bible, it is the Holy Spirit who aids in their growth and understanding of the Bible. It is not "my" interpretation or "my" belief.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Superiority sounds prideful. There is no pride involved at all. The Word of God is the truth. I do not have to prove anything. You can argue semantics until the cows come home, but it doesn't make Jesus any less real, nor my relationship with Him. It is something you can not perceive until you experience it for yourself. I pray that you will. He loves you. So do we. He is right there, reaching out to encompass you with His love.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am not here to argue. But all I am going to say is this. Isaiah 45:21 states: Come and present your case in court;
    let the defendants consult one another.
    Who predicted long ago what would happen?
    Was it not I, the Lord, the God who saves his people?
    There is no other god.

    The bible foretold all events and it spoke of events that are just now happening. How would they have done this if it wasn't from God? Nothing can stop God's will. The bible said that in the ending times there will be false prophets, wars/rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, christians will be hated....look around you. All of this is happening. It states people will love themselves and money, they will be boastful, abusive, proud, disobedient, ungrateful, unholy, unforgiving, unloving, they will be slanders, treacherous, conceited, and they will have no self-control. Look at the people around you. It talks about them! And they wrote this hundreds of years ago!

    But like I said, I don't want to argue or cause hate and animosity. I even stated in my post that all sin is equal and we love the sinner, not the sin. God loves you. Jesus loves you. We love you. Answer the convictions you receive. I will not force you to go to Christ, that's your own choice. Even Jesus didn't force people to believe. So now I will end with God bless you!

    ReplyDelete