So many have struggled with homosexual desires that today there's a growing confusion as to whether or not its wrong, and whether a person can really be free from it all.
Where do we look for answers?
There are a lot of "experts" who seem to come up with a new "answer" every
day, but in order to get the unchanging truth, we need to look into the
Manufacturer's Manual - the Bible.
God has made each one of us in a special way, "custom designed" really.
In fact, He holds the only patent on the human race.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. - Gen. 1:27
So if anyone knows how we're supposed to work the best ... He does! And
to show us the right way to live, He has given us the Bible - the most printed
and read book in the world.
To keep us from destroying ourselves and each other, God set up certain
laws. It's because He really cares about us that He did this. God isn't
some kind of kill-joy trying to prevent anyone from having any fun, rather,
His laws are to enable us to get the maximum out of life. His rules aren't
a bunch of arbitrary "does and don'ts" either. They all make total sense.
God wants us to be filled with real happiness, and through the Bible He
shows us the way to life, and the way to death.
Just about everyone recognizes the fact that murder is wrong. We don't think
it's wrong because there's a law against it, rather, we made laws because
it was wrong. If you said, "Hey, I don't like this law of gravity. It's
too confining. I want to be free..." and proceeded to step out of a 10th.
floor window-you'd end up destroying yourself (and maybe someone else too!).
The law of gravity only recognizes reality. In the same way, the laws and
principles that God has given us in the Bible only show us the way things
really are.
Did God
make some homosexual?
God makes it clear that He never intended men and women to be homosexual,
and He also makes it clear that those who practice these things cannot be
at peace with Him or even at peace with themselves. Homosexuality is not
an alternative lifestyle, rather it is sin. He told us a long time ago...
Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that
is detestable. [Lev. 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. [Lev. 20:13]
Because of God's great love towards us, He has given us these warnings
for our own good and they must be obeyed even as we must obey the laws of
the land or be punished.
God has clearly spoken against the sin of homosexuality because it is contrary
to His design for human reproduction and to protect people from disease.
Man refuses God's Word because it's not what he wants to hear and as a result
tragically reaps the consequences.
I find it amazing how children understand God better than most intellectuals
and scholars do. One child recently asked "If men are married to men, how
can they make babies?" It seems as though homosexuals forget that they are
here alive as a result of sex between a man and a woman!
Jesus said that He came to bring us life. Remember, He's the One who designed
you. He promises us that if we walk with Him, following His good directions
and commands, we'll have real happiness and there will be peace in our hearts.
But He also promises that if we think we know better, and push away from
Him to follow our selfishness, the exact opposite will happen to us. The
tremendous spread of disease among homosexuals and
immoral straights would not exist if we listened to the instructions
of God, which are for our own protection, good and happiness.
Reimaging God in our image
The view is being advanced that God should concur with whatever we decide
makes us feel good. The Gay religious leaders imply this, without exception,
in their articles, interviews and pleadings. This is their concept of God;
that He is really our servant, and He should condone and concur with whatever
way of life we decide makes us feel good. God, in their view, functions
as a YES-MAN. Instead of telling us what is best and right, we figure that
out to suit our own desires, then He is expected to accept us.
President Obama has become the first American president to openly embrace
legalizing homosexual and lesbian marriage after a handful of states have
legalized same-sex marriage.
America as a whole is decidedly ignorant of even the most basic truths of
the Scriptures. Tom Hanks' comments at the 1994 Academy Awards are a perfect
example. On the verge of tears, he paid tribute to those homosexuals who
have died of AIDS, declaring them to be now "angels in heaven," affirming
their position of security in the arms of a loving and beneficent God. When
active, practicing homosexuals die, do they indeed go into the hands of
a loving God who will transform them into angels? I'm afraid Mr. Hanks is
getting his theology more from the TV series Highway To Heaven, rather than
from the inspired Scriptures.
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 Cor. 6:9-10]
The Christian Response
to Homosexuals
The same Scriptures that condemn homosexuality also tell us to be careful
in how we respond to those who are in violation of these ordinances. Yes,
the OT does proscribe death by stoning for homosexuals (as it does for many
other violations), however Christ followers are under a new covenant that
is more compassionate and forgiving. The consequences of violating God's
law do not necessarily change... what changes is WHO is responsible for
carrying out the final justice.
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. - Matthew 7:1-2
Yes, homosexual behavior is a sin according to scripture; however it is not in some higher and therefore exclusive category above every other sin of which we have all been guilty.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? - Luke 6:41
Those who practice a homosexual lifestyle will reap their own just rewards, they do not require our judgement.
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. - Romans 1:27
Jesus was more compassionate toward the woman caught in the very act of intercourse - a capital offense in those days - than He was the hypocrites in the church. This is our model and our mandate.
Even though we may never attempt to hurt or ridicule the individual homosexual, we should be in sharp disagreement with the more radical elements of the movement. We must separate the individual living the homosexual lifestyle from the political movement associated with the so-called homosexual agenda, as these aspects are not necessarily one and the same. Scripture clearly commands God’s people to love the individual and resist the ideology represented by the political agenda that seeks to abolish God’s truth in human relationships and the moral order. The effort to redefine the family, redefine marriage, quality for adoption, and the promotion of the homosexual lifestyle in the schools, etc., are objectives with which we disagree. And we should fervently oppose them when the issues are raised. That does not make us hatemongers.
