This is a very complex issue and deserves discussion. I’m going to break down the argument into 3 main areas; what is sin, what is homosexuality, and what does it mean to be a Christian.
This is a growing debate within the body of Christ and I wish to add my voice to the dialogue that is being discussed within churches across the world. I hesitated in writing this article as I know I’ll catch fire on both sides, but it needs to be talked about.
In short, yes, you can be gay AND be a Christian, BUT it’s not in the manner of what you think AND is a state where a Christian who still lives a gay lifestyle should move away from as soon as possible.
We’re going to break this down into three areas, laying the foundation for each one so you can better understand my view – which is based on scripture and scripture alone. These areas are:
- What is sin?
- What is homosexuality?
- What does it mean to be a Christian?
What is sin?
In the simplest terms taken from the Bible, sin is the breaking of the law and rebellion against God. All of us are born into rebellion and into sin. Sin keeps up apart from God, an outcast from His Family. We can’t work our way out of sin, as our works don’t amount to anything in God’s Eyes. Even if we break a “little” line of the law of God, we’ve broken them all. Because of this, we need Jesus, otherwise, we are doomed.
What is homosexuality?
This is where the water gets pretty murky as the true definition of being gay/homosexual has been clouded for many decades. Also, the idea that “being gay” is some kind of “special sin” that has a special hatred in God’s Eyes is totally un-Biblical. Homosexuality falls under sexual sin – a sin for which God sees as breaking His Law, as I have explained in the previous section.
Homosexuality is not an identity, it is a sexual act
“This is how God made me” is a common error among those that practice homosexual acts/thinking about homosexual acts use as their defense. As stated above, we are all born into sin and rebellion against God, which means that all of us – before we come to Jesus Christ to be saved – are quite capable of engaging and enjoying homosexual acts, which go against the original intent of the gift of sex.
Sexual sin is the same as other sins but affects you and not others.
Homosexuality, pornography, adultery, fornication, are all lumped together as being sexual sins. Within this category, homosexuality does not rank as a higher sin in the eyes of God, as they are all the same – detestable, as with all sin. Sexual sin is different in the fact that it doesn’t affect others, such as murder, stealing, lying, etc, but affects the body. All sexual sin is an attack on the temple of God, basically launching an all-out assault on the New Man that lies within, defiling His Temple (your body).
The only answer to this sin, all sexual sins, and all sins is Jesus Christ and being the “New Man.”
What does it mean to be a Christian?
When we come to Jesus to be saved, we are not only being saved from eternal separation/destruction, but we are given a new identity as sons of God.
But we still have baggage, some sins that we still have to deal with in our new life as a Christian.
We deal with sins, and reoccurring sins in the same manner, which includes homosexuality – we learn who we are and willingly walk in the spirit and not walk carnally. Homosexuality, like other sins, needs to be “purged from our programming,” since this is not found when walking in the spirit, but found when we live carnally.
Every Christian runs his/her own race, striving to look/act/be like Christ, and this should include the Christians who struggle with homosexuality, as this particular sexual sin is a lifestyle that needs to be abandoned, just like adultery, pornography, stealing, using foul language, drinking, eating too much, etc.
Final thoughts:
Every Christian comes into this new life with baggage, with programming that is still leftover from the old life. A man/woman who truly takes up Jesus as their Lord and Savior should work on shedding the chains of sin that has plagued their former life. To say that homosexuality is somehow a different type of sexual sin – that Christians who are struggling with this, even after conversion, is not a Christian, should also say that any Christian who deals with weight issues, Christians who have divorced, not handling money well, gets angry, smokes, drinks to excess, and other “common sins” is not a Christian. Sexual sin, in all its forms, is a very hard thing to overcome – but it can be overcome by understanding who we are in Christ, taking up the New Man, putting on the armor of God, and not being conformed to what the world says, but what God says in the Bible.
It is not sin that keeps us out of Heaven or puts us into Hell, it’s not being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
For any Christian who says to themselves “I’m a gay Christian,” drop the gay identity, which is false, and see homosexuality as how the Bible has laid it out. You are now a child of God through Jesus Christ, and you are loved. No longer are you a criminal in the eyes of Jehova, you are redeemed, and God wants you victorious over this sin and all the others. Just remember the Words of Jesus Christ when He said, “The thief (Satan/demons) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” ~John 10:10 NKJV.
Sources:
- “sin is the breaking of the law and rebellion against God“…1 John 3:4, Deuteronomy 9:7, Joshua1:18
- “All of us are born into rebellion and into sin“…Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:10, 23
- ” Sin keeps up apart from God“…Ephesians 2:5, John 8:21, 24
- “our works don’t amount to anything in God’s Eyes“…Isaiah 41:24, Isaiah 64:6
- “Even if we break a “little” line of the law of God, we’ve broken them all“…James 2:10, Romans 6:23
- “Because of this, we need Jesus“…John 3:16, 14:6, Hebrews 10:19-22
- “Homosexuality falls under sexual sin“…Leviticus 18:22, Genesis 19:4-5, Jude 1:7
- “which go against the original intent of the gift of sex“…Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5
- “All sexual sin is an attack on the temple of God“…1 Corinthians 6:18-20
- “an all-out assault on the New Man that lies within, defiling His Temple“…Galatians 2:20
- “When we come to Jesus to be saved“…Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-10
- “we are given a new identity as sons of God“…2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:6
- “we learn who we are“…Colossians 3:10, Romans 12:2
- “and willingly walk in the spirit“…Galatians 5:16, 25, Romans 8:5
- “and not walk carnally“…Romans 8:7, Galatians 5:16-17
- “purged from our programming“…Romans 12:2,
- “walking in the spirit“…Galatians 5:22-25, Philippians 4:8
- “when we live carnally“…Galatians 5:19-21, 1 John 2:15
- “Every Christian runs his/her own race“..1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1
- “striving to look/act/be like Christ“…Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 4:24
