The title probably caught you off guard. It completely contradicts what many of us have been led to believe. I know that growing up, I always thought that the Bible said that gay people go to hell for being gay. It didn’t seem fair to me… because experiencing attraction toward the same gender myself, I knew that it wasn’t a choice. And I didn’t understand why something that wasn’t a choice was grounds for me to be punished endlessly in Hell. I believe this is why a lot of gay people dismiss Christianity from the get-go…. because it just doesn’t seem logical to them that a loving God would condemn them for feelings they couldn’t control.
If you’re gay, and reading this, I want you to know that God will not sentence you to an eternity of anguish because you have gay feelings. The Bible does not support that concept and I apologize to you if you’ve heard differently. Many people tend to just parrot things that they’ve heard from the generation preceding them, without any real evidence from Scripture to support such claims.
But…. to the defense of many well-meaning Christians, there is a reason that people say “gay people go to hell for being gay.” Most of the time, when they say or think of the word “gay”, they don’t mean someone who just experiences same sex attraction. What they mean is someone who pursues and acts out on their same sex attractions. That is how they define “gay”. Which brings me to my next point…..
God will not condemn gay people for having gay feelings…God will condemn gay people for rejecting His Lordship, and making themselves the lord and god of their own life…. just like He will condemn straight people for rejecting His Lordship and making themselves lord and god of their own life. Homosexual feelings are a result of how sin (noun form) has broken our world, bodies, hearts and minds. We aren’t what we should be, because of the presence of sin in the world. This world, and each of us, do not operate how God intended [sinless] humanity to operate— and we do not operate how we should because of the transgression of Adam and Eve. Unfortunately, we have inherited the fallenness/brokenness/curse that they earned themselves after they disobeyed God. We bear the mark of their transgression, whether we like it or not. We all (gay, straight, whatever) deal with the consequences of our first parent’s actions. But the effect of their sin is not what God condemns us for… it’s our own willful rebellion against Him that He condemns us for. Rather than coming to Him with our weaknesses and struggles to ask for mercy and help, we go our own ways…. telling ourselves, even if subconsciously, that we belong to ourselves and no one—not even God—will tell us what to do. The sin of all sins, which God will not forgive and ultimately condemns in Hell, is the rejection of His Lordship.
So if you accept God’s Lordship, and come to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you are eternally clean, forgiven, loved…. and there is no condemnation for you. You will not be condemned for having sinful feelings or for even doing sinful things if you trust in the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross as payment for your sinful debt owed to God.
Now…. that all sounds great. And no one would hate me for posting this blog if I ended it right there. But that’s not the whole gospel.
Anyone, gay or straight, will be saved if they have a saving relationship with Christ. But— where many stop short in the proclamation of this good news is right before telling the good news of the radical effects that a saving relationship with Jesus Christ has on a person’s life. When you enter into a right standing relationship with God, it’s because God has brought you into a right standing relationship with Him by sending His Spirit to draw you to Him. And not only has the Spirit brought one to Christ, and revealed His beauty to them so that they trust in Him for salvation, but the Spirit remains in the saved person and begins a transformative process in the person’s heart called sanctification. From that point forward… the person is not their own, but is literally the purchased property of Jesus Christ….whom He purchased with His own Blood. The Spirit transforms the persons life— day by day, making them more and more into the likeness of their Lord…. and ridding them more and more of the corruption that the presence of sin has caused in their hearts. No, they will never become perfect, sinless and without fault… not until Jesus returns and they receive their new bodies. But they will be different.
They will be new.
The Bible lays out for us plainly what is sinful… and homosexuality is included under that category. Homosexual behavior is sin. It is outside of God’s design for how He created the world to function and is clearly forbidden multiple times in Scripture (you may say you don’t believe the Bible is without fault.. I’ll get to that in a minute). The Blood of Jesus not only cleanses us from sin, but also frees us from the dominion of sin… this includes the dominion of homosexuality. Now I’m not saying in anyway that the gay feelings disappear… one will most likely still have the feelings and struggle (such as I do), but the Holy Spirit helps them in their weakness and enables them to turn away from the sinful enticement and to choose to follow Christ… moment by moment, day by day. Repentance from sin is a lifelong embarkment, going hand in hand with genuine/saving faith.
Now, one might say that they believe in Jesus, but they don’t believe homosexuality is sinful. By their own admission, they don’t believe the Bible…. and if you don’t believe the Bible to be God’s revealed truth (in totality), neither can you have the Jesus of the Bible for salvation. The only Jesus that offers salvation is the Jesus of the Scriptures…. the one who came for sinners, died for their sin, and freed them from the power of sin (to fulfill the Scriptures, like He says multiple times in His time on earth. Jesus witnessed to the authority of the Bible more than anyone else). He commands His redeemed people to walk in a manner after Him… turning away from sin. Any other version of Jesus is fraudulent.
As someone who strives to surrender my sexuality under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, I assure you, it is a sacrifice. But it’s a small sacrifice, in light of what I receive from Christ in exchange—-wholeness, peace, gladness, identity, hope, courage….and the list goes on. That may sound cliche to you— it used to sound cliche to me too— until I experienced the reality of it. Jesus completes every aspect of who I am in ways that my preferred sexual pleasure or a homosexual relationship ever could. Jesus completes me in ways nothing else and no one else could. And there are multitudes out there who would (and do) say the same.
Wooohooo! Yes!
I believe the confusion of a double standard, comes often times when we forget that our new nature is in conflict with our old nature, they will battle till we are resurrected. Matt is right “As Believers” we need to stop being mocking birds, and more like the Bereans. Acts 17:10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. I wrote this on good Friday hope you don’t mind me posting it here.
The Good News, “Getting back to the basics, If someone you loved was headed off a cliff would you tell them?? “It would be more unloving if I did not tell you the truth, I am more concerned with your redemption, Our rights come and go, They are fruitless against the backdrop of Eternity.. Many of you in my friends list are indeed gay and lesbian. Marriage is a institution created by God himself. I am mostly writing this because im tired of the very nature of God being attacked, and of the unlearned Christians who don’t realize they have taken a compromising approach to a very difficult task, nobody wants to loose a friend. I am writing this for all unbelievers. Let me first say “God’s love for you will never change” nor will mine. Its intentions, compassion and disciplines are an essence of our Christian journey. You are not an abomination. God does not hate the sinner, he hates the sin..It is a form of rebellion, As is ALL UNREPENTANT sin. We need to understand that sin makes God grieve, Bottom line “it separates us from him”.. God created the humans body to naturally procreate, we are born into a fallin world. .Today many of us will celebrate Good Friday, Christ suffering is Good News for all who want redemption. Sin was finished “NAILED” on the cross… God in the human form of Jesus has made a way for us to INHERIT heaven as our home, Accepting his selfless SINLESS sacrifice and HIS redeeming shed blood WASHES our sin AWAY!!, He so wants to give us that inheritance. He loves his family and wants them WHOLE again. WE ALL HAVE TO CHOOSE THAT DESTINY!! As a simple ‘yet sad”example, imagine heaven is your home! Would you let someone stay in your home if you knew they would encourage your children to rebel against you? Of course not!!! Sin simply means to “miss the mark”. WE ALL have missed the “TARGET” that target is ~ Jesus “The Christ standards”~ because we can not achieve this in the flesh, doesn’t change the standard, that is why God took off the robes of glory and put on the humility of the flesh, to pay the dept he did not owe, and forgive the dept we COULD NEVER PAY, Giving us the gift to Take off the filth of the flesh and PUT ON the righteousness of Jesus. God’s gift of salvation is for all mankind, A show of his Grace and Mercy, Will you accept his gift? Get to know him? he will sort out the details..Im sure I did not say all this right, but MY HOPES is that you realize how important you are to God.
People who say the Bible is the “revealed Word of God” also believe that heterosexual remarriage is permissible (or not). They believe that torturing one’s nation’s enemies is acceptable (or not). They believe that masturbation is not sinful (or is). They believe that buying and selling human beings for profit is morally neutral (or is not). They believe that using contraception in marriage is sinful (or not).
So are people “free to disagree” on these moral issues or not? If not, who’s right? If you can’t say WITH ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY who’s correct, why must then come to agreement with YOUR conclusions about the Bible “really says” about homosexuality in all circumstances?
James, I would encourage you to study the Book of Galatians. Paul deals with Jewish Christians who are telling Gentile Christians they must follow Jewish laws PLUS be a follower of Christ in order to receive salvation. Paul addresses how this is not God’s revealed plan. It is not about legalism (moral issues/works for salvation) but rather it is about Christ and Him crucified. Matt’s article does an excellent job elaborating on this.
So to answer your question(s), people are free disagree, but in the end, all that matters is surrendering your life to Christ, allowing the life you live in the flesh to be a life trusting in Him who loved you and gave Himself up for you. (see Galatians 2:20)
you do not even know the book of Revelation is Revelation not Revelations lol
It doesn’t matter what the people say on these issues even if they try and leverage the Bible as the authority for their statement. The Bible speaks to all of this on it’s own accord and what matters is what it has to say — not people who speak on it’s behalf. People will always use the Bible as a banner for — and against – anything. So with absolute authority who is correct, it’s God the author of this book called the Bible which is the manuscript to life. Every question you have can be answered there.
God did not write the bible
Of course He did. Thats what it says. What reason do I have to believe it’s not true? Can you reference me something to substantiate your assertion?
God told his prophets to write the BIBLE, technechly, he did write it.
So if I understand this correctly, God, penned the Bible, first hand? It is my understanding that it is comprised of interpretations of “conversations with God”.
I find it very silly that there is even a need to argue over who the author of the bible is! As Matt says, God revealed his secrets and messages unto the prophets, apostles, disciples who penned the bible down under his guidance.
When any of us writes a letter to someone… do we give credit to “Bic” or “Pilot” or “Sharpie”? The pen did the writing, but if not for the inspiration and the hand of the author guiding the pen it wouldn’t have been able to write.
One evidence that I see that proves God’s authorship is that for over 1600 years, 40 or so authors, 3 different languages the core message of the Bible remains the same…both in the Old and New Testament.
In today’s world you would be hard pressed to get 40 individuals throughout the past 1600 years to write their feelings… their interpretations of the world around them and have so much unity in all of the manuscripts. Think of it… go back to 400s up until today and give the people you select a topic and research what those people wrote about it. Relatively no unity is possible.
The issue with the bible and the people who interpret the bible is the assumption by Christians (and maybe others) that because the believe the bible is infallible, the seems to also mean that the readers of the bible are just as infallible. Well, we all know (or should know) that his is untrue. Due to our humanity, we are all fallible and capable of error. Needless (or needful) to say, even if the bible is considered infallible, its reader and interpreters of it are not infallible. Therefore, the question seemingly remains: What is the bible saying? Of course, I think being aware of the culture, context, and the original definitions of the terms used in a text are vital. Another thing to consider is other people’s sources. I read books regarding the bible’s history that another person might not have read. As a result, my conclusions may differ from another person because of what I know and the other person does not know. And, vice versa. I used to be like Matt in the sens of discovering I was gay, wanting to do the right thing in God’s eyes, and searching for what the right thing was. Answers do come when you keep seeking. It takes longer for others. And, still, one person’s conclusion may still differ than the next person’s conclusion, as mine has as compared to Matt’s.
The things u named r sin! It’s just that people have changed them to ease the guilt they feel! Hell will burn just as hot for any person that changes the Word and when I say the Word I mean the KJV!
Again the Spirit says, ” For a time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine: but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”( II Timothy 4: 3 & 4)
But in (II Timothy 2: 24 & 25) we are told, ” And the servant of The Lord must not strive: but be gentle unto all men (of course, all people), apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves;”
“Now, one might say that they believe in Jesus, but they don’t believe homosexuality is sinful. By their own admission, they don’t believe the Bible…. and if you don’t believe the Bible to be God’s revealed truth (in totality), neither can you have the Jesus of the Bible for salvation.”
This is the basic crux of your entire argument and blog post. There are thousands of good men of God who would completely disagree with this basic assumption. Even men of God who definitely believe that the Bible is without fault disagree with your assumption.
Even today, we can’t seem to agree what the founding fathers meant in the Constitution of the United States. Aren’t we that much more unsure of the Bible’s intention since it was writting many times earlier?
James you raised valid points and I would tend to agree with you, but only if I were Protestant.
You sorely tempt me Davide – but I will resist.
thanks sarel
James, I would not, if I were you, line up with what that ancient serpent, the Father of Lies, the devil, Satan, told our first human mother and father in the garden – “Hath God really ssssaid?”
Hmm, God bless you, Milton!!
You know, in bible study just today, we studied a bit of escatology in Second Thessalonians Chapter 2. Notice the verse where it says the lawless one will come to deceive under the guise of a godsend. (Please, forgive my utter inability to connote this “one” with a certain “leader of the free world.”) And true, we in Christ know too well, popular culture very effortlessly overrides godly principles, in terms of public acceptance (and that alone).
Alas, Christ folk! The End Time is begun!
jewish historical documents, and historians world wide, not just biblical people, support the evidence of the Bible’s authenticity many times over. Often unbelievers who set out to discredit the Bible’s authenticity end up bowing down to the Lord of Lords because they have sought out that which is TRUTH.
I’ll have to disagree with you. The writer of this article is completely right. The Jesus of scripture is the real Jesus, not the constructed one of imagination. Only the real Jesus truly saves. You start to cherry pick from scripture, you begin to cut the character of Jesus into pieces. That’s not saying there can’t be disagreements on scripture. We can be wrong on “some” things and still be right with God – just not while going “eeny meeny minnie moe” with scriptures.
God bless
@ Matt,
Holy schnikes this was a long post. But thank you for writing it for us. I do enjoy post such as these-keeps us on our toes!!!
Questions:
If a ‘gay’ person is ‘saved’ (past-time event) how can they condemn themselves to ‘Hell’ (regardless of behavior)?
Can it be possible to look at salvation in a broader-and more biblical context? Can it be possible that the free gift of salvation can just as freely be forfeited?
Just because we may choose to no longer hold fast to what was freely given to us does not mean that we were never capable of earning what was given in the first place. Could this be true?
If one is saved are they somehow protected through the grace of God, from ever committing serious evil?
Can a ‘born-again’ Christian who is ‘saved’ commit serious acts of evil including homosexual behavior? If they can are they saved? If one is truly saved then sin is irrelevant, is it not? Or is the Christian who is ‘saved’ incapable of committing serious sin?
But how can we commit serious sin against God and our neighbor (such as homosexual behavior) and love God at the same time, especially if we are unrepentant?
Yet claim we are saved? How is that possible?
Obviously, we can debate if homosexual sex acts is serious sin, venial sin, or no sin at all. Common sense tells me those who actively engage in homosexual behavior and thinking nothing in doing so, could care less what Scripture says or any Christian church…crocodile tears.
Matt please understand I am not trying to start a argument or am I criticizing your theology I am only throwing some things out there to consider..and perhaps even help me better understand your point-of-view. Because clearly I am missing something here…
In closing “Gay people don’t go to Hell for being gay” as far as I know only the Westboro Baptist folks say otherwise. And absolutely no one listens to them.
Okay thanks
DM
“Can a ‘born-again’ Christian who is ‘saved’ commit serious acts of evil including homosexual behavior?”
Interesting choice of words. I find it amusing that the act of physical intamacy between my partner and I could somehow be labeled SERIOUS ACTS OF EVIL. : )
@james…
Same-sex buggery is a sin through and through, much like worshiping idols or cursing the name of the LORD.
Davide, remember King David? A man after God’s own heart? (In that he sought after God, not that God had David’s flaws) Who committed adultery, plotted to cover up Bathsheba’s pregnancy and then had her husband Uriah murdered on the battlefield? God forgave his sins and did not take His Holy Spirit away from him, but neither he nor the nation of Israel escaped the consequences scot-free, as the sword never left his house from that day on.
And what about Peter, who denied Christ three times? The only difference between his denial of Jesus and Judas’ betrayal of Jesus is that Peter showed godly sorrow unto repentance and restoration, while Judas showed worldly sorrow (despair) unto death. A world of difference between serious sin of a saved person and serious sin of an unsaved person.
And Paul writes that our salvation is assured if we are truly saved, though our works will either gain or lose our reward.
1 Corinthians 3:13-15 “each man’s work will become evident; for the day (of judgment) will show it because it is revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it (foundation laid by Jesus Christ) remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
Some who appeared to lose their salvation never really had it, but were convincing tares among the wheat.
1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they are not all of us.”
Continuing willfully in serious sin is an indication that one has not been truly saved, rather than having been saved and then lost one’s salvation. Many passages could be quoted on that, and I leave all to Google “salvation assurance”!
well said Milton. and often when Jesus intervened, healed, especially obvious one the woman about to be stoned in adultery is, ‘Go in peace your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more’. the believer in time needs to lay down his life, will, and desires in true surrender to Jesus. Otherwise this is a false salvation. The Holy Spirit cannot stay in a vessel who turns away from conscience, His prompting, grieving the Spirit.There does need to be a change in behaviour. Homosexuality is a sin like all others and we must moderate and turn away from sin, if we truly surrender ourselves to Jesus at the Cross.
Didn’t realize how old this article was. Did anyone ever answer your questions?
To answer one of the simpler questions, generally speaking, those that do not care what God says are not saved. I used the term “generally” because there is exception. It is possible for one to be TRULY saved, and at a point later in life, rebels going into a period of “not caring.” But even in that period, God goes after His own children to correct their paths. (This basically means “once saved, always saved.)
This does hint a deeper question. Does God prevent His children from committing serious crimes? (While homosexual sin is a serious crime, I’m thinking more along the lines of full-on massacres.) I believe, for the Truly Saved, God indeed steps in before the damage becomes too severe. But I try never to take my “belief” as doctrine. I’m not aware of where in scripture a definitive ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to this question resides – doesn’t mean it’s not there. I just currently don’t know.
A momentary lapse into sexual sin, even homosexual in nature, isn’t an immediate death sentence for those truly saved, though the consequences of such sins may be allowed to play out even after repentance.
The questions you ask concerning sinning and being saved are spoken of in the book of Romans. I think things really become pertinent to your line of questioning starting in Chapter 6, though I would highly suggest reading the entire book of Romans.
Very well said. Thanks
Wow. Thanks for that word. You have a gift of putting words together to clearly explain one of the most difficult topics in the world. Do you realize that very few people in the world today can do what you just did? You are one of kind, made for such a time as this. The Lord loves you so much that he gave you this purpose. Do you realize that millions of people have spent their lives longing for a unique and important purpose like the one the Lord gave you?
Be glad forever because what He gave you he does not give to many.
@Tim
Dude, seriously, tone down the platitudes to Matt. Praising a man and slandering a man are two sides of a double edged sword.
If Matt happens to speak well on something it is either the result of God’s Grace or the result of his parent’s genes: In either case, none of it is due to the man’s own efforts.
[Luv ya Matt!]
if they do not change their way of living, they DO GO TO HELL!!!
the bible reads that!!!!
but underr being saved by Jesus, they wouldnt want to continue in sin. they would TRY to do better. but if they are truly saved they woould go to heaven.. beacuse god holds us in his hand n no man may pull us out.. this i read in His Holy Word.. so i believe it.. and if t, they hey are saved and do wrong, they are human
sorry for the mistakes, but they are human and God gives us the knowledege and choice. but i believe if we do wrong we are still saved. n if we repent of our back-slidden ways. god throws our sin as far as east is from west.
Matt well said! There are many misconceptions about the bible and a very popular one is that we are what we feel either resulting in accepting the feelings as our true self or condemning ourselves for not being to completely eradicate our sinful feelings. If we have repented of being a rebel against God in our hearts and trusted Christ and his work on the cross with real faith not just mere emotions than we are a new creation in Christ born of the Spirit as a child of God and now co-heirs with Christ. Paul and Peter both made it clear that our old nature and its desires are still lingering in our human body wanting to dominate us again. We will stumble as we learn by the Spirit to walk in our new identity but we have the hope that Christ in us by the Spirit has the power to help us overcome them. Colossians 3:1-5 states we are to focus on Christ and our real existence in him and consider dead our fleshly nature, to view it as a corpse and “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires.”
James, you seem very certain about uncertainty. Obviously there is a lot that we do not know but Christ made clear his expectations for us in the gospels and the apostles described in great detail our hope in Christ’s work on the cross and how to practically walk it out. There are no other books in ancient human history that have been so carefully documented by so many eyewitness not just one as is with all other religious movements and there are so many original copies made very close to the actual events available in the thousands to confirm the reliability of the gospel message. We can get lost in rabbit about details that have no relevance to the fact that the gospel is very clear in the scriptures
Davide, God loves us so greatly that he gave us Christ as the sacrificial lamb to take our sins and our faith in him alone s our mediator is the hope of both salvation and sanctification. He is able to began the work in us and to finish it. There is a lot debate about losing our salvation and there are verses that deal with either the certainty of salvation and the dangers of losing it if we willfully continue sinning. The real question for me is more about if I really believe that He has a better plan for me or do I still believe that sin is better and that God will overlook my deliberate decision to revert back to a lifestyle of sin with no intent to change. Hebrews 10:26 states “Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. but the 35th verse states “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.”
Trying to understand the plan of God’s grace with our limited human minds is not possible beyond what he has given us in the scriptures as Paul states the following in Romans 11:33
“Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to give him advice?[l]
And who has given him so much
that he needs to pay it back?
For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.
loved your loving reply Albert. woo hooo stay strong in the God of our Salvation!!
Good job, Matt. You explained it very well.
Jesus was pretty clear that religious hypocrites go to hell, and he confirms the Old Testament prophets (such as Jonah) when he demonstrates that God delights in “clemency” for those whom the religious hypocrites condemn as “sinners”. So perhaps “sinners” are in less danger of eternal judgment than religious folks are. According to the Jesus I’m reading about in the Bible, practicing homosexuals are less likely to go to hell than you are, Matt. Be careful how you interpret and preach — especially when you are only one voice on one side of an honest debate among sincere followers of Jesus.
What defines a hypocrite? The word “hypokritḗs” was used by Christ and is defined as a two-faced person; a “hypocrite,” whose profession does not match their practice – i.e. someone who “says one thing but does another.” This was obtained from the helps word studies. It is facade of a person whose mindset and actions are different than the pretense that they are putting on. The Pharisees were against Christ in their thinking and actions leading to his death but they put on a pretense that they love God and his ways. Matt is simply dealing with a misconception that our feelings determine the true self which is the new gospel being broadcasted by liberal theologians and popular media. God cares very much about our actions but he especially wants our hearts which is the control center of our being and the inner motivation of everything we do.
John says the following about our actions in 1 John 3:7 “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”
Christ said the following about our actions in Matthew 7:17-18 “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.” He in the same chapter warns us with the following in verses 21-23 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.”
Paul said the following about our actions in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
As with all other clobber passages, there is sufficient scholarly debate regarding the interpretation and meaning of the sin list in 1 Corinthians to render the passage useless in condemning all homosexual practice without risking adding a new meaning that was never actually there. For religious folks to insist they are certain of the meaning there and of God’s general condemnation of all homosexual acts, only “raises God’s eyebrow” as He observes that hypocritical and unjust judgement of some men upon others.
This is a reply to John G Christensen –
Regarding the certainty of “the interpretation and meaning of the sin list in 1 Corinthians”, as well as the other “clobber passages” (none of which Jesus contradicted, by the way, and affirmed marriage as one man to one woman) one would do well (though you will certainly reject it) to read Robert Gagnon’s extensive work on them, especially Paul’s writings. http://www.robgagnon.net
The passages DO mean what the consensus on them has been from apostolic times until relatively recently. Those having itching ears who will not endure sound doctrine will seek out teachers who tell them sweet-sounding lies.
The sin of the Religious Institution in Jesus’ day was pride, and stubborness. It was still sin, they were just blinded to it. It seems to me that our Gay friends kind of act the same way in many circles, no? They refused to listen to the points Jesus made to them way back when, in fact in their rage they sought to kill him so they would not be disrupted by such noise pollution. Jesus died for the Pharisee as much as he did Judas, me, or my gay friend. It is how we allow him to wash us, and the holy spirit to lead us, that will show us sin.
@james, you might be right. Maybe i should have said mortal and grave sin?!
Nicely put, Matt. The title of your post sums it up nicely. It is sad that more people (and churches) do not understand that concept.
amen!
I’m posting this link …. not to condemn religion…. but to condemn the kind of religion of many who frequent this board. Yes, the video spells out exactly what I grew up with…. also in its plain and simple way shows the absurdity of this kind of religious dogma. It is this dogma which tells Matt that there is something wrong with his innate sexuality… and he must “suffer” in order to receive God’s love.
^^^ the broader point is that I’ve learned that taking a hard line literal reading of Scripture to be dangerous and contridictory. The video outlines many of the major themes spelled out if one reads the Bible LITERALLY. God gave us a brain so that we can find him both from Scripture and from our own due diligence. Find God your way….. don’t let pastors or historical teachings dictate who and what God is all about.
I just wanted to input something. I’m a teenage girl and I’m a Christian and I also happen to identify as bisexual. I am not attracted to people by their gender, I look at their personality and their heart and their mind and soul. Initial attraction would obviously be appearance, but in the long run what interests me in a person is about what’s on the inside.
As far as this argument goes, I would just like to question something. How can something so harmless be a sin? All of the other sins that God addresses in the Bible are very clearly destructive. That’s why not a lot of people really question any of the other ones. If we said murder or lying was a sin, (most) people wouldn’t object to that in the slightest.
How can something be a sin simply because “God made it a different way”? Nothing else is like this. Homosexuality isn’t hurting anyone (and I mean acting on it as well). I, obviously, understand that God is God, and we don’t necessarily have to understand everything that he does. But doesn’t it really just seem unjust for something that, you said yourself, isn’t a choice, to be thrown into this category of completely disgusting vulgarity, just because it’s “unnatural”?
The same can be asked about worshiping Saint Mary .
The Lord God JEHOVAH decreed such things to be a sin. That is all we need to know.
Regarding ShoesThrower:
Will someone please take a garden statue of “St. Mary” from a neighbor’s yard and knock this guy over the head with it please!!! His peculiar obsession with her is wildly dizzying and makes me nuaseas.
(Thank you in advance)
Liz, in our own flawed, fallen perception, many of our urges seem harmless to ourselves and to others. But from Adam and Eve’s rebellion and fall onwards, our very nature has been corrupted to rebel against God’s will. God did make everything good, in the beginning, before our sin and disobedience and fall, but those have corrupted our nature and the physical world as well (Genesis 3, Romans 8:20-22) Following our own will and perceptions not submitted to God and regenerated by the Holy Spirit is not harmless either to ourselves or others. Proverbs 14:12, 16:25 “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”
Actually all the other sins God addresses in the Bible besides homosexuality (and all sexual sins, Greek porneia) are perhaps more destructive to others, but sexual sins are most destructive to the one committing them. 1 Corinthians 6:18 “Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.” (“Immorality” being porneia, all sexual sin including adultery, fornication, incest, homosexual sex)
It is possible, despite what this sex-crazed and twisted world says, to love someone of one’s own sex or the opposite sex deeply for “their personality and their heart and their mind and soul” without that love being expressed sexually. I would suggest that is most possible, or maybe only possible, for a heart and mind turned over completely to Jesus in trust of His goodness, grace and mercy to transform us into His image and spirit. Liz, I urge you to do just that, and you will know a joy unspeakable now and forever!
Very Simple & clear Gospel……Well done Matt. Great piece, Nails the real issues. Not Gay/straight but accepting & obedient, rejecting/rebellious. Like you I’m not perfect…but I know where to find forgiveness & grace…..even after 47yrs as a believer.
Matt, I feel like the central topic being covered in your bolg is one of “temptation”. Is that the right idea? If so then my comment is that there is no difference in a “straight” man looking on a woman to lust after her, than a “gay” man looking at another man to lust after him. Also we are told in the scripture that we are servants to whom we give control of our members (our body, mind and spirit). If we don’t follow God’s teachings then we are servants of the devil, and on the other hand, if we follow the commandments of God then He is our master.
I
I often here people say, ” I love the Lord!” and yet they are not saved. That is impossible! Jesus said, “If you love Me keep My commandments.”, since it is impossible for God to lie then by their own actions they prove they don’t love Him.
When I meet someone new and if we talk for any length of time I will tell them that I’m a Christian and I’m gay. Why you might ask. Because I want them to know all about me and that if God can change someone like me then there is hope for them. They may not like me after I say that I’m gay but I don’t act on those feelings and that I know it is a sin, however, whenever they see me from then on and see the way I live my life (the fruit I bear) then maybe they can see how wonderful, powerful, and full of mercy is my God. Which I pray opens a way for the Lord to deal with their hearts and lead them to salvation and into an incredible relationship with the Lord God Almighty.
What about women now?are u going to get married?have a relationship with a woman?what’s going to happen?
Does it really matter if he marries or not? I mean, it’s not like it’s a requirement. Although some gay guys are attracted to the opposite sex so why not? Hmm.
I am delighted to have been introduced to this blog by a special friend who lives in Johannesburg. We can argue all sorts of doctrine and theology until the cows come home – it is really very simple – once you accept the saving work done on the Cross by the Lord Jesus Christ – the regenerative process that the Holy Spirit commences at the time of your conversion will enable you to understand what following Jesus Christ as your Personal Lord and Saviour is all about.
I am an experienced Christian – by that I mean that I accepted Christ as my Saviour at the age of twelve years – I am now 48. I have gone through deep waters since then with much testing and times of amazing victory. I want to encourage allo those of you reading this post that God understands exactly where you are at – to be quite simplistic – He does not “care” about the Scripture verses used to bash homosexuals; God’s desire is that NONE should perish and that ALL should come to a saving knowledge and experience of what was done on the Cross. Our God is an amazing force and He understandsexactly where you are right this moment emotionally and spiritually. Don’t get hung up on theological arguments and the egos of some Ministers and Pastors – allow Jesus to do the regenerative work within your life and you will be victorious. Hallelujah AMEN
Well said, timely.
Blessings!
Very well written! May God use this to enlighten many.God Bless you and help you in your journey – to Him be all Glory and Praise!!
Matt, I really admire your courage in continuing to speak the gospel and not some twisted version or half-truth just to be able to say that “you brought people to Christ.” I love how you emphasize that it’s God’s doing when people come to Him, not their own. I really respect you as a man of God and brother in Christ. You’re pretty awesome. I hope that I can have the same conviction that you have about what you speak. The things you write are about homosexuality and SSA, but really it can all be applied to all sin everywhere. Sin isn’t an action, it’s our human nature, and I love your posts because they hammer on that over and over and over while still maintaining a focus on the sin that you have so much personal experience with. I haven’t had the same struggles as you, but you still manage to encourage me. Thank you.
Reblogged this on Me, My Thoughts, My Life. and commented:
This is a pretty amazing young man, and he has a lot of great things to say. I respect him what he does. I know that the things he writes about are controversial, but even if you disagree, please take the time to read through some of his posts. It might make a difference for you. It could make an eternal difference.
“I continue in my…ministry to uphold the truth that homosexual behavior is sin, and the fact that I struggle with this temptation does not give me license to practice the behavior.” – Tom Brock”
Great article! Matt, God bless you so much!
Greetings from Chile.
First paragraph: Attempt to identify with the reader. Fairly routine. Only point of interest is this claim. “I believe this is why a lot of gay people dismiss Christianity from the get-go.” I can’t say for sure whether or not the atmosphere of persecution and vilification that gays receive at the hands of the Abrahamic religions is, or isn’t, the most common reason for them to turn away from the faith. I will say that it’s hardly the only reason. A religion that is false is false no matter what it thinks about gay people.
Second paragraph: tries to lead into the later nuttiness with initial softballing. Spoilers, god won’t punish you for liking dudes, just for being okay with liking dudes. A good gay Christian feels bad about being Christian because the Bible tells him to, and fights himself for his entire life, because the Bible tells him to.
Third paragraph: see above.
Fourth paragraph: A return to the classic. God created and allowed Adam and Eve to sin, therefore all people for the rest of time must suffer. God allows a random number of people around the world to be born gay because of original sin, which he is responsible for, and it’s their job to resist the way he made them, because he wants you to. Nonsensical.
Fifth and sixth: Apparently all this stuff about God messing with people by cursing them with sin was actually the sweet part of the deal, because we’ve got some actual bad news coming up. I can’t wait!
Sevens and eighth: Okay, so it turns out that when you decide to be Christian, you’re transformed by magic into a new person. However, your transformation does not cause any definitive changes, and you’ll be just as gay as before. You will feel a ghost inside you that makes it easier to feel about your sexuality, though. Damn, that makes it all better!
Nineth: This is where things go bananas. Apparently, if you believe in the general idea of Jesus, but not the anti-gays parts (or the parts about not wearing certain kinds of cloth, or the parts about periods being pure evil) then you are automatically disqualified from Heaven, because the Bible says that Jesus said the Bible is true, all of it. I don’t know whether I need to go on at this point. But really. If I don’t believe the Bible is entirely true, wouldn’t I naturally not believe the parts of the Bible where Jesus talks about how the Bible is true? Moore seems to be pointing out something so blatantly obvious that any thinking human being would just say “well, duh” and explain that he’s missing the obvious. Which he is.
Ten: Threatening an unbeliever with punishment from a deity that the unbeliever (get this!) doesn’t believe is real kind of gloriously misses the point. I do, indeed, think that I’m in charge of my life. Telling me that Santa Claus will give me coal if I don’t hate myself for being gay will not work as a threat. Santa Claus is not real.
Final: More standard, canned rhetoric. You make claims about your religion that every other believer makes about their religion, including the part about how special and awesome your religion is. Hurrah.
I don’t intend this response to be anti-Christianity, but just anti-poor argument. This stuff is terrible and poisonous, and I hold Christians to a higher standard. You’re not going to win converts like this.
Hi..
recently i found out i am hiv positive and hpv carrier and even lumps on my rectum. I dont know what is that. I have been pray and pray and pray to get for my healing. I dont know the healing already takes place in my body or not.
One day, a pastor told me that I should repent my homosexual lifestyle. I knew homosexual is a sin. If you want me to leave homosexual is easy when I am SINGLE. But now I am attached.
I got a loving bf which we never had any sex before.!!
That day when I know I should repent, I gave up my bf and break with him. I am a way too hurted not because I have to leave homosexual lifestyle but because of HIM. I love GOD.. and I at the same time I love my bf too.
Whenever my bf message me, my heart go back to him.
What should I do? Please give me guidance.. I’m feel lost and struggling.
Keith — You can see and hear from your boyfriend, so love him. You cannot see or hear from God, so love your boyfriend to prove your love for God. Keep it simple, and avoid advice that complicates your real relationships. That pastor will take some money, but he is not really going to help you through the tough times ahead; hopefully you and your boyfiend will do that for each other. God will smile on that.
johngchristensen: please supply scripture basis for this advice. I’d like to hear where you are getting your information. God never “smiles” upon sin. (Acts 17:30 “God overlooked the times when people didn’t know any better. But now he commands everyone everywhere to turn to him and change the way they think and act.)
Homosexuality is not a sin. God does not smile on men who dogmatically promote bigotted interpretations of few and minor passages in the Bible. God made homosexuals and inspires them to love one another. Those who insist otherwise are sadly hung up on minor non-essentials while missing greater essential Biblical truth. It’s an age-old pattern among the “right”: professing themselves to be wise, they make fools of themselves — and sadly lead others into darkness, as well. On the other hand, God’s truth is clear and simple, even for gays: “Love one another.”
Keith, The advice is sound about needing to build a heart of repentance, however the struggle will continue because of the influence that Satan has over us in this life. Your healing will come through repentance and making amends with God but not always in the form of physical healing. Sometimes we follow paths which harm ourselves or others because of the decisions we make (sins we allow in our lives) which is, in part, the price we pay for having gone down that path. All is not lost because God knows exactly how we are struggling and sent His son to blot out all of our sin in which we firmly have decided to put away. However, we do have to refrain from participation as much as humanly possible which means that we avoid the very appearance of sin and the particular sin which has taken us down. (1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.) Separate yourself from your bf and, even though you’ll be sad, you’ll also find a more lasting peace when you’ve given yourself time and distance and, also, time to get closer to God.
Find a church that loves you, loves your boyfriend, and suggests you be married and monogamous with each other. If God made you, and he made you gay, then love God back by being the best people you and your spouse can be.
Dear Keith
May I suggest that you seek to find the difference between the four different words that the Bible use for love – Eros Love, Storge Love, Phileo Love and Agape Love? It helped me.
johngchristensen: ..and I quote: “Homosexuality is not a sin. God does not smile on men who dogmatically promote bigotted interpretations of few and minor passages in the Bible.”
Your statement is in direct conflict of scripture which is clearly negative toward same sex activity of any kind. Keep in mind that no scripture is “minor” and there are no wasted “few” words in holy writ. (2 Timothy 3:16,17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”) If it were up to you and I to decide what is right and wrong in God’s eyes, it would be a different argument, however it’s not. We HAVE to rely on the writings from God to know what God will and will not accept. There is no place for bigoted interpretations and I do agree with you on that, however because one tends to agree with what is plainly taught and direct from God doesn’t automatically produce bigotry.
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I would love a copy of god doesn’t send people to hell for being gay…
How about Romans 2:13?
Okay. I found this article very interesting and such, but I’m still confused. So, yes. I am “gay,” meaning I have sexual feelings for my same gender; and I also act upon them, and don’t feel as if I should stop. I feel that I would rather live my life happy, married or joined with another man, rather than a woman. I go to church, and LOVE going. My parents are very religious and didn’t take my coming out lightly. “FAGS go to hell” or “God hates fags” is what I heard quite often. I just want to know from someone, smarter than me- if gays go to hell. I know it technically isn’t for you to determine, bu I would still like an “opinionated” answer. Thanks😊
That is why people go to Hell.
You’re right – it is not my place to tell you who would or would not go to heaven as I am a sinner saved by the grace of God. but I can let you know what the word of God says.
Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
God calls the sinner to repentance – to turn away from their sin and turn towards God. Now I don’t claim to be smarter than you, And I don’t claim to be more righteous than you.
I can tell you that Christ’s death on the cross paid for your sins and mine. And the only thing we need to do is to turn from your sin towards God and he will save you. But to continue knowingly in sin is to say, “Jesus – I love you, but here’s another sin that you needed to pay for that I knowingly committed because I love my sin more than I love you.” Homosexuality is a sin. So is drunkenness, adultery, lying, hatred and the list goes on. It all sends you to hell and only Christ can make you clean in God’s eyes. Only repentance and faith in what Jesus did on the cross can save anyone from hell. Hell is the destination of everyone who does not repent and have faith in what Christ did for them on the cross. See if we claim the forgiveness of sins Christ bore for us on the cross – it would be a mockery to do so and know that you are going to continue in that sin tonight or maybe even this very second. So God calls us to repent. To turn away from our sins and turn towards Him (God). If you ever come to the point you love Christ more than your sin (and I’m talking to everyone homosexual or not) you can absolutely be saved and go to heaven when you die, I hope this made sense to you.
I’ve read the Old testament 4 times, and the New Testament 37 times. God made you a beautiful gay man. He also seems to prefer we be in monogamous relationships. Why not find a good church that loves you and a partner and marry?
Matt, what you have written is practically a compilation of the slogans which are quite common at church. Yes, you start with a “shocking” title but it’s just a trick to draw others’ attention, because then you don’t say anything new. You may think that’s a good thing because you’re “speaking up truth which is unchangeable”. But don’t delude yourself: you’re simply repeating slogans, like one would recite laws.
There’s no real life behind your words. I’m not saying this because I already know your recent story, no. You were already entangled in that problem before — you spoke/wrote good words, but didn’t actually know how to LIVE what you were preaching. It’s likely that you still don’t.
If you’re going to stick to the same manner of self-preaching, you will sooner or later have only two choices: either to end up as a monk (which means going far from the Word of God as you received it, you know that), or to succumb to persuasions of those who want to see you straight and happily married (if so, are you ready to lie to God and yourself all the rest of your life just to please the church majority?).
IMO, the trap you’ve caught yourself into is in your definition of homosexuality. You seem to preach that homosexuality is only in feelings (thoughts) and actions. But it appears you deny that homosexuality is already in you even before feelings. And it’s not just “our sinful nature”, because therefore you’d have to admit that heterosexuality is our sinful nature too.
Instead, you try to play with words and kid yourself by writing that you surrender your “sexuality” — why not tell the truth and write “surrender my HOMOsexuality”? The meaning of your words would’ve been the same, but you do notice that you HAVE to choose words carefully, don’t you?, to keep the church majority on your side! Why do that if you’re honest before God? Maybe because you’re not completely honest and deep inside you are afraid that the church majority express their support to you only as long as you say what they want to hear? As long as you don’t use the word “homosexual” about your sexuality (sexual orientation) and as long as you manage to maintain their hope that one day you’ll change into straight….
Do I need to explain where hypocrisy is in there?
Oh dear! I can only pray your eyes be open to God’s own truth. I just wish you knew Who it is you undermine. I mean REALLY know.
God’s gospel ain’t no rhetoric! It’s history. And no, flamboyance does not mean truth. If you’re expecting Christian conviction to work like an Obama speech, then o boy! brother, think again. Even Jesus himself didn’t manage a standing ovation in His time. (See my “Freewill” comment below.)
Try not to confuse the propaganda (for want of a better term), Jesus Chrsit isn’t a tyrant. Accept Him or not, you decide your own fate.
And yes, I mean eternity.
Reblogged this on Matt Moore and commented:
Originally posted this blog last September…. after going through and revising it a little bit, I thought I’d share it again (since many of you who follow my blog now were not last september). It’s a good reminder for me, and also maybe for others who want to reach their gay friends/family with the gospel.
My dear you mean that we can have a relatioship with God only and not with Jesus. His blood is why people have to sin because it has the power. God is energy and love. Loving God you grown and loving Jesus you make a sin. It is natural only to love to live and to live to tell (as Madonna says too). Great.
Everyone will accept Jesus’ lordship. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
Exactly, everyone WILL. Even Satan! But that time has not yet come. Right now, everyone can “enjoy” their beloved Freewill. Sadly, we often (and most of humanity always) fail to see that in this too, like economic teaches, nothing is truly free. Jesus’ death, His bloodshed and His ressurection PAID for our freedom. Paid for our FREEWILL. It may not mean much (regretfully), but it is indeed God’s divine gift, this Freewill.
So, you see, “will” is such a big word.
Matt- Don’t be discouraged by some of the negative comments I’ve seen on here. You’ve done a beautiful job on this article. It’s a great exposition of the gospel to homosexuals, and I’m sure it’s a comfort to Christians struggling with same sex attraction. You’ve done a very good thing here. I’ll definitely be sharing with my readers.
How long I have waited to hear this coming from someone who has homosexual thoughts or feelings but does not act on them because salvation through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, the obedience and the grace of a loving Heavenly Father is more important to them than to fulfill the desires of the flesh. We all struggle with some form of sin or another and we are told in the holy scriptures we must crucify our flesh and to walk in holiness. Thank you for finally saying what I knew in my heart to be true.
im proud of you for your courage …be blessed
Reblogged this on Tobi with an eye and commented:
O my, is this a much needed blog post! God has many, many, MANY plans in store, I believe, through this post. My hope is that you’ll let it fulfill its purpose as you let the Spirit open your eyes.
i really dont no about that,do i have tobe straight tobe accepted into heaven,or do i just have to stop being gay and not have a realationship with anyone,so i can go to heaven,this has been drumed into my head scence i was young,i no i love God and his in my heart,BUT is my sin being GAY/LESBIAN
Luke 13:2-5 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Repent means to turn from your sin and turn to God. Homosexuality is a sin in a sea of sins that mankind has come to accept. God calls all to repent and place their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins and yours. But you can’t come to Jesus while you are knowingly sinning. Homosexuals are no worse sinners that anyone else, but please don’t tell anyone who actively sins that they can come to Christ while continuing to sin and thereby making a mockery of the very blood that purchased them. You won’t find that anywhere in scripture – in fact – as you can see above – scripture says the very opposite. You want to be saved, repent. That goes for the straight adulterer, thief, murderer, as well as the homosexual.There is no distinction sin is sin – and ALL must come to repentance.
totally Mark! agree. Jesus came to save the lost….we are the lost but we know it and have surrendered. There is a whole world out there proud like the pharisees of the ancient days. We will, as the remnant, always keep the the truth vital and speak the real truth. keep strong. God bless
Thank you Matt for your brave story shared. It is the statement that I can agree with for how I see this area under God’s grace. I have read many articles, but this one is the one that resonates with my belief in Jesus and how believers tempted in all forms of sin would try to behave, as believers. God bless you
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Thank you for your post matt. I enjoy reading all your posts. GBU
AMEN Matt. You hit the mark. truth is sharper than any sword. God bless you.
Matt, I know God is smiling at you.
I like a lot of what Mr. Moore has to say here. I love it when somebody speaks the truth of Scripture right where they struggle the most. Sir, you are to be commended for your honesty and openness.
However, I have to object to your next-to-last paragraph. You basically make an impossible argument: that one’s knowledge and understanding of all of Scripture must be perfect in order to obtain salvation. However, that contradicts the very Gospel message itself, that we need a Savior because we CANNOT be perfect. We ALL believe something fallacious about Jesus and about God, and for some people, sadly, their understanding of homosexual behavior is wrong. However, this does not make them “not saved”! Our understanding improves and changes with time, but we shall never fully know God until we are in His presence for eternity.
I beg to differ from the writer of this article. God vehemently condemns Homosexuality and infact destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for the very same reason! But with that being said, he still died on the cross even for the Homosexuals and loves them like he loves anyone else. Homosexuals are individuals just like the rest of us but they are captivated by or rather deceived by the devil into thinking they are born to have feelings for the same-sex. They are not born that way but are blinded by the enemy into thinking that way. One touch of the holy Spirit fire and they will never be the same! We ABSOLUTELY DO need the touch of JESUS but that does not mean acceptance of Homosexuality(and exchanging it for —-wholeness, peace, gladness, identity, hope, courage…) Homosexuality(stubborn deception of the enemy) is got to be dealt with in the spiritual realm and not in the flesh as per the discussion here! Once an individual has been completely delivered of this deception, wholeness, peace, gladness etc will follow.
I urge believers struggling with this to seek help from a powerful man of God or go down on your knees and persist in prayer until deliverance is complete!
I can guarantee you that even if you feel you have exchanged homosexual tendencies for the qualities of God, unless you are completely delivered of this dirty trick of the enemy you are bound to fall prey to its temptation.SO PLEASE TAKE ACTION AGAINST IT!
I am not gay, but I am a sinner. I have broken EVERY commandment, most outright, but ALL in my heart where the bible says all sins are born. I KNOW I NEED A SAVIOR. No, I am not bragging, only identifying with those who feel they are outside of God’s grace. We are all outside of God’s grace until we come near to Him for mercy & forgiveness.
There are a lot of great posts here, but I too stand with Matt, who stands with the scriptures. Sin is sin. No matter what form it takes, it’s essence is: MY Will Be Done. That’s the fruit that Adam & Eve ate, stepping out of God’s Will. That is Sin. God said “Do NOT”, and the devil says, did God really say this? really?? and the punch line?
… that’s because He knows you will become like Him…
And why wouldn’t we want to be like God, and make up our own rules?!
Nowadays, we don’t even need the devil to tempt us. Because it is now our very nature, our own hearts are whispering in our own ears, did God really say that was a sin?
Don’t fool yourself into thinking either one sin is greater or lesser in God’s sight, or that freedom in Christ means you can go your own way. There is only one way to be saved, and that is through repentance: the continual turning from my will, toward God’s will for my life.
And what is God’s will for my (your) life you ask? That I seek Him. In the seeking, He promises that I will come to know Him, and by His Spirit, to know Him is to love Him! Just like any other love relationship in our lives, He is constantly adding to the person that I am. Trusting Him, I am trying daily to be pleasing to Him- which is obedience. I am not perfect, in fact, I am frequently at war with my old nature. But because He is faithful, He is always at work, through all circumstances, to transform my will into His will – slowly but consistently looking less like myself or the world around me, and more like Jesus…
And why would that be of more importance than pleasing myself?
Well, it wouldn’t be, without the Spirit, and that’s the point.
I am the chief of sinners. I don’t say it because I live there. In fact, by trusting God’s promises, I choose not to live there. I say it because I know I need a Savior, and His Name is Jesus Christ.
God’s answer to sin is Himself.
AMEN.
Romans 8 will clear all this up for you…..