The Church Needs to Change its Attitude Toward Gay People!

Is homosexuality a sin? Does God hate gays? Why do different Churches have conflicting views on gay marriage? Didn’t God make some people gay?

These and questions like them swirl around the topic of homosexuality. I will attempt to tackle this issue from a biblical and christian perspective in this post.

IS BEING GAY A SIN?

How does the Bible define sin? A sin is anything a human being does, that is contrary to God’s design, will and purpose. This includes thoughts, words, and actions.

Biblically, God’s stated place for sex is between a man and a woman within marriage. Sexual activity carried out in any other way is sinful.

Therefore, the following sexual activities are sinful in God’s eyes. Pre-marital sex is sin. Rape is sin. Pedophilia is sin. Bestiality is sin. Group sex is sin. Adultery is sin. Incest is sin. Prostitution is sin. Homosexuality is sin. In Short, ALL sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage is SIN in God’s eyes.

So committing homosexual acts is a sin. But what about being gay? If a person is attracted to members of the same sex is it wrong? Are they sin? No. Sin is an act not a person. Being attracted to children, or animals, or your neighbour’s wife are not sin. Acting on those impulses leads to sin.

A HUGE MISUNDERSTANDING

Many today, both from within and outside the Church, are living with a misunderstanding of God’s view of humankind. God calls every human being a sinner. We have inherited Adam’s fallen nature. Without God’s help we will all commit a variety of sins. We sin because we are sinners.

None of us gets to lessen our sin by saying “it’s not what I do, it’s who I am.” No one can cheat on their spouse and justify it because they were born an adulterer and have always had a ‘natural’ desire to stray from their marriage wows. A serial killer does not have an excuse because he ‘naturally’ enjoys killing.

Many people (including Christians) no longer understand another (related) basic Biblical teaching. This teaching is that God DID NOT make any of us the way we are. God made us perfect, originally. Our sin nature makes us what we are, now.

The Bible tells us every human being sins in different ways. These desires are inborn and manifest differently for different people. One person is born drawn to gossip but abhors stealing. Another is born attracted to the same sex, but abhors hypocrisy. The human condition is complicated. Expressions of sin come from our (now sinful) nature when we act on ungodly desires. None of us is any better than anyone else. All human beings are sinners. All of us need to be rescued from our sin.

THE WRONG LABEL

Several decades ago the gay rights movement capitalised on this misunderstanding of human nature. Gay activist leaders began to educate the wider community to see ‘gay people’ as ‘being born that way.’

The reasoning was that no one would wake up one day and just decide to be gay. Why would they when it created stigma and rejection? So homosexual behaviours could not be sinful. Instead, they were natural (and therefore moral) actions that some people did simply because that’s who they were. Over time society was conditioned to see gay people as being synonymous with the sin of homosexuality. Thus homosexuality was not a sin, rather, it was a state of being. “Being Gay” was no different to “being Asian” or “being a female.” Gay people were their supposed ‘sin.’ The result was that homosexuality – the acts homosexual people do – could no longer be sin. It sounds reasonable, but the logic is flawed.

Would this logic hold for any other sin. Let’s try it. I am an adulterer, therefore my cheating is normal and something to be tolerated if not celebrated. No, it doesn’t work. I might ‘be a thief’, but I must keep my stealing in check. I am not my sin or my desires. I am a human being first and I commit various sins because of that. Every human being is more than the sum total of their appetites and desires. Morality is seperate to nature. It is above it. Morality comes from outside humanity. It comes from God. Since morality is seperate to human nature and set by God, it cannot be wished away or explained away. It can only be accepted or rejected.

CAVING IN TO CULTURE…SHAME ON THE CHURCH

Now that some in the Church have accepted homosexuality as a state of being, rather than sin, terrible things have happened.

Firstly, we have doubted God’s Word. We have accused our God of being out of touch with the modern world and failing to understand reality. WE (the Church) have seen fit to twist the Bible to conform to man’s thinking. Now we are in opposition to the God we say we love and serve.

Secondly, we have made a category of people God does not recognise. This category is the ‘Gay Person’ and by extension, the ‘Gay Christian.’ No other group in the Church has to suffer a category. Do we have the ‘Rapist Christian?’ Do we have the ‘Murderer Christian?’ Do we welcome ‘Incest Christians’ to come and join our church, when they are looking for a place to fellowship? We do not. We avoid labels so that Christians will not have to identify with the sin of their former lives.

By accepting the ‘Gay person’ and creating the ‘Gay Christian’, we have robbed homosexual people from enjoying the wonderful salvation God has for them. Shame on us Church. How dare we. Does God love same sex attracted people less than the rest of us? No indeed. Jesus died to set the captive free, from the penalty of sin and the power of the flesh. Everyone who is born again is a new creature in Christ. And all new creations in Christ will struggle with some “natural” inborn desire that the Lord does not approve of. Yet, by God’s grace, we will overcome.

Thirdly, (some within the Church) have decided to bless in the name of Christ, something God cannot bless. Allowing “same sex marriage” in the Church and blessing same sex unions, is sending a damning message to people Christ died to save. Not to mention offending a Holy God! If the Church says same sex marriage is good, it communicates that same sex activities are not sinful. This is against the clear unambiguous teaching of Scripture. It is a recipe to rob people of a relationship with God, if the Bible is true.

GOD LOVES GAY PEOPLE

God loves the whole world. God loves every human being. God desires to have a relationship with every person on the planet. But God did not make any of us as we are now. Every human being is a sinner in need of grace. No one person or group is any better or worse than anyone else. Outside of Christ we are all God’s enemies and unacceptable to Him. In Christ we are loved and accepted as we are. However, as C. S. Lewis once commented, God loves us as He finds us, but He loves us too much to leave us as He finds us.

ARE SAME SEX ATTRACTED PEOPLE WELCOME IN CHURCH?

Absolutely. God longs to see the Church filled with sinners of every type. He died and rose again to save us all.

When they come to Christ will same sex attracted people struggle with lustful thoughts? Yes, but no more than straight attracted people do. Will straight attracted people be encouraged to engage in sexual activity outside of the bounds set in scripture? No more than same sex attracted people. Will ‘child attracted people’ (pedophiles) be set free from their sinful sexual desires the moment they turn to Jesus? SOMETIMES. Just as ‘straight people’ are – SOMETIMES. And, yes, just as same sex attracted people are – SOMETIMES.

WHAT THE CHURCH IS NOT SAYING

Society has chosen to normalise same sex relationships. The Church cannot. That does not mean the Church is saying homosexuals are ‘bad’ people. Or that gays make ‘bad’ parents. Or gay people cannot be valued members of society who make great contributions. We now live in a post Christian, pluralistic society. In the modern western world sexual morality has changed. The Church knows this and accepts it as a fact. Christians believe everyone is free to ‘do want they want’ and take the consequences for their actions. That is life. Society has made new morals and ethics. Christians do not accept them as being glorify to God. Now as Christians we face a dilemma not seen in the western world for centuries. so how do we address this dilemma, in the public Square?

The answer is simple, but not easy. What the Church SHOULD be saying is so called ‘homosexual people’ SHOULD NOT be cohabiting, ‘marrying’ and adopting children; IF they want to lead a life that is pleasing to the God of Christianity.

THE CHURCH HAS A PROBLEM OF OUR OWN MAKING

The Church has kept silent for so long for fear of being labeled weird or out of touch that most people forget Christianity is a religion. Due to our silence, now when we speak up people are surprised we have such views. Yet it is inescapable, Christians do have religious beliefs. These beliefs are based on the Bible. Our beliefs are not always in lock step with society at large. Yet, in a free society, we have the freedom to have and express them.

The Church’s past silence due to apathy or lack of boldness or cowardice, has left those around us ignorant of much of what we believe. Take some of our less known (by the world) beliefs that would see us ridiculed. Believing that living together and not being married is a sin. Believing that binge drinking is a sin. Believing that consulting fortune tellers is a sin. Do we think unmarried cohabiting people are terrible parents? No. Do we think people who get drunk every second weekend are somehow bad people who are a danger to society? No. Would such people not be welcome on a Sunday? Of course not. They would be most welcome.

So then, do we want people’s right to live as they see fit taken from them? We do not! At the same time, do we think every lifestyle choice and option is pleasing to the God of the Bible? As Christians WE DO NOT. Or at least, we should not. Our God given role in this world is to tell others about our God and His values and let them, by His grace, “take it or leave it.”

OUR JOB IN THE CHURCH

Honouring God will entail many changes. Becoming a Christian brings change. It is costly to follow Christ. We must deny ourselves to follow Him. WHEN anyone turns from their old life to the new life Jesus offers, they will change. The change is brought about by God’s Spirit from the inside out. The result is that lifestyles will change. So those wanting to live as Christians and participate in the life of the redeemed family of God will have to exhibit behaviour that lines up with God’s Word. This fact is not an easy pill to swallow, nor will it be understood by unregenerate people. Yet it is still fact. Where our morals and ethics clash with those around us it will lead to name calling and accusations. It will make us unpopular at times. Yet we must hold firm, without be arrogant or rude.

Our job as Christians is not to judge or condemn those outside of Christ. Our calling is to share the good news of God’s grace and forgiveness with anyone who will listen. Our purpose is to love God and to treat everybody else as we would want to be treated. However, as the apostle Paul makes clear (in First Corinthians chapter 5) our responsibility also includes being faithful to scripture and judging our own who fail to live up to scripture.

In summing up, when it comes to the topic of homosexuality, Christians must inform everyone as to God’s view on the subject. We must accept that some people with disagree with us. This does not mean they will somehow be lesser fellow citizens. And, when it comes to those who would follow Christ we must insist that they reject a homosexual life style as the would any other behaviour that does not please God.