Homosexuality and the Gospel

Homosexuality is a hot topic these days (almost as hot as the bailout.....see the post below this one for that discussion). Homosexuality has gone from being a taboo that was not discussed (the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy) just a few short years ago, to being considered socially acceptable by much of the population. Anyone who would dare say that homosexuality is somehow wrong or immoral is immediately labeled a bigot. In some areas, simply saying those words constitutes a hate crime - which begs the question, "what happened to 'free speech?'"

With this cultural shift occurring so quickly, it has left the Church (the universal Church - all believers, everywhere) scrambling with how to react. Churches have reacted with a wide range of responses. We have seen everything from some deciding homosexuality is acceptable to singling it out as "the Sin" - that it is somehow worse than any other sin.

Believe it or not, both of these extremes have come from the exact same bible passage - Romans 1:26-27:

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 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

The first extreme in Christianity comes from Paul's word, "natural." Those who hold to this view say that it is "natural" for someone to be homosexual, therefore for them to practice heterosexuality would be "unnatural" and a sin. However, this is a misunderstanding of the way Paul uses the word, "natural." In the way he uses it, the term means basically, "the way God designed things." In order to see the way God designed things, we must go back to Genesis chapter 2 when God created male and female to be together. This is God's design. Homosexuality is the result of a fallen world - things are not the way they are supposed to be. The "natural" order of things is for one man to be joined to one woman for a lifetime.

The other extreme comes from the assumption that since Paul gives so much space to the topic of homosexuality in Romans 1 when compared to the other sins listed there, that homosexuality must somehow be worse than the rest. This is a misunderstanding of Sin. Sin is sin, plain and simple. White lies, murder, stealing, and homosexuality are all equal under that heading. For sure, some sins have greater consequences in life than others. However, all Sin has the same consequence - separation from God Almighty for eternity. All sin is evil, and all sin will lead us away from God. Homosexuality is a sin; it is not The Sin.

To those who would say that I need to wake up and come into the twenty-first century, I have this argument. I believe in the unchanging Truth of God's Word - His Word does not change like cultures do. As cultures adapt, our methods change; this is true. But our message does not change: God hates Sin. Sin separates us from God. But there is wonderfully good news: God sent His Son to take away Sin and to bring us back into fellowship with Him.

The Gospel is not bigotry. The Gospel is the wonderful message of how our God loves us so much that he took drastic measures to bring us back into relationship with Him. God hates Sin, but He loves the sinner with all of His being. We, as His people, are called to hate sin the way He hates it, but to love sinners the way He loves them. May He teach us to do that.