Saturday, March 23, 2013

STOP CALLING HOMOSEXUALITY A SIN

"Stop Calling Homosexuality a Sin"

I guess this is shocking coming from me, a Christian who holds to the historical orthodox views of scripture. However two profound conversations have changed my views, not to the historical teachings of the bible, I still very much affirm them, but to the Christian approach on loving and caring for the homosexual community, and the persons therein. I want to share those two moments with you and then explain how I have decided to respond in my life as a witness of the Gospel, to those who find themselves outside the fold of God, especially the LGBT community.

Honestly I don't think its fair to even say that I've "changed" my views, but more accurately I think the church needs to change theirs. Let me be clear I am a part of the church, and I love God's church. So I ask you to hold on with me and think prayerfully about these two stories, search your own heart and ask the creator "How do I live towards the homosexual community that reflects most, God's desire to love them that they may repent?" A big heavy question. I warn that there is a bit of reading a head so for those with short attention spans I will say from the start that my statement "Stop calling homosexuality a sin", has some parameters around it and by the end of this post changes slightly, don't call me a heretic just yet.

The first of these two moments was a blog posted shared by Justin Taylor on his blog over at The Gospel Coalition entitled ''An Open Letter to the Church from a Lesbian". To save you some effort I'll repost the content of that post here...

To the churches concerning homosexuals and lesbians:
Many of you believe that we do not exist within your walls, your schools, your neighborhoods. You believe that we are few and easily recognized. I tell you we are many. We are your teachers, doctors, accountants, high school athletes. We are all colors, shapes, sizes. We are single, married, mothers, fathers. We are your sons, your daughters, your nieces, your nephews, your grandchildren.

We are in your Sunday School classes, pews, choirs, and pulpits. You choose not to see us out of ignorance or because it might upset your congregation. We ARE your congregation. We enter your doors weekly seeking guidance and some glimmer of hope that we can change. Like you, we have invited Jesus into our hearts. Like you, we want to be all that Christ wants us to be. Like you, we pray daily for guidance. Like you, we often fail.

When the word “homosexual” is mentioned in the church, we hold our breaths and sit in fear. Most often this word is followed with condemnation, laughter, hatred, or jokes. Rarely do we hear any words of hope. At least we recognize our sin. Does the church as a whole see theirs? Do you see the sin of pride, that you are better than or more acceptable to Jesus than we are?

Have you been Christ-like in your relationships with us? Would you meet us at the well, or restaurant, for a cup of water, or coffee? Would you touch us even if we showed signs of leprosy, or aids? Would you call us down from our trees, as Christ did Zacchaeus, and invite yourself to be our guest? Would you allow us to sit at your table and break bread? Can you love us unconditionally and support us as Christ works in our lives, as He works in yours, to help us all to overcome?

To those of you who would change the church to accept the gay community and its lifestyle: you give us no hope at all. To those of us who know God’s word and will not dilute it to fit our desires, we ask you to read John’s letter to the church in Pergamum. “I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore!” You are willing to compromise the word of God to be politically correct. We are not deceived. If we accept your willingness to compromise, then we must also compromise.

We must therefore accept your lying, your adultery, your lust, your idolatry, your addictions, YOUR sins. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
We do not ask for your acceptance of our sins any more than we accept yours. We simply ask for the same support, love, guidance, and most of all hope that is given to the rest of your congregation. We are your brothers and sisters in Christ. We are not what we shall be, but thank God, we are not what we were. Let us work together to see that we all arrive safely home.
A Sister in Christ

For me, my inner skeptic takes over, I want to know the real deal behind this letter. Is it authentic? Does it reflect the hope of other members of this community? That is, are there other homosexuals that feel this way? I think the letter is profound and full of truth, it does show an understanding of the Gospel and the message of the bible, and I think the application is sound. (I'll share a few of my favorite tidbits later.) What makes this letter even more profound is the second conversation I had following it.

I am not going to pretend that I have tons of homosexual friends, therefore I am a great accepting tolerant Christian, I don't, but I do have two that I genuinely consider friends. I would have no problem sharing a meal or my home with them, I would even share what I love the most with them, the Gospel. One of these two homosexual men is actually a guy I grew up in church with, and fortunately is also my best means to verify the feelings and emotions in this article. Here is our facebook convo...

  • Samuel ChaseHey JM, I didnt want to post this on your wall and cause any sort of weirdness... but I came across this letter apparently written to a church by a gay woman. A while ago we talked across facebook, and I said that I am always trying to be more compassionate because I think Jesus was always compassionate. So I though it would be sensitive of me to send you the link in a private message and just simply ask your thoughts so that I can be more understanding and caring to all people. I thought the letter was pretty thought provoking. I really appreciate your time and your insights.http://thegospelcoalition.org/mobile/article/justintaylor/an-open-letter-to-the-church-from-a-lesbian
    10:17pmJMNot ignoring you I'm out right now, ill read and respond tomorrow10:17pmSamuel Mary Chasethanks bud, no hurry, again I really appreciate it!10:18pmJMAnytime!
    • Friday
    1:36pmJMVery interesting article. From my experience with the gay world, most people won't go to church because they either feel like they would be attacked as soon as they walk in the doors or that they know what the bible says so why bother. For me, I still go to church. I've been gay for as long as I can remember, it's like someone telling you that you can't be straight, that it's a sin. To me it's something I can't help. But I still believe in god and I'm still the same person I have always been. I didn't wake up one day and just decide to be gay, trust me, and most of my gay friends agree, we would all much rather be straight lol. As for the church, I think they need to not be "accepting" per say, but needs to have more grace and compassion. If loving another person truly is a sin, than like the letter says, the church needs to realize that everyone sins. That's just my view point lol
    • Today
    9:20amSamuel ChaseThanks so much for your input JM! I think you're right on my friend, there is plenty of room for grace and compassion, unfortunately Christians for some dumb reason have a hard time showing it. I think good conversations like this go a long way to changing that.



      Here is his specific response to the article again for you consideration...

      "Very interesting article. From my experience with the gay world, most people won't go to church because they either feel like they would be attacked as soon as they walk in the doors or that they know what the bible says so why bother. For me, I still go to church. I've been gay for as long as I can remember, it's like someone telling you that you can't be straight, that it's a sin. To me it's something I can't help. But I still believe in god and I'm still the same person I have always been. I didn't wake up one day and just decide to be gay, trust me, and most of my gay friends agree, we would all much rather be straight lol. As for the church, I think they need to not be "accepting" per say, but needs to have more grace and compassion. If loving another person truly is a sin, than like the letter says, the church needs to realize that everyone sins. That's just my view point lol"
       Now for the tidbits, or my attempt to tie these strings of thought together.

      Both responses do not want acceptance, the first letter openly denounces "acceptance", and my friend's facebook response says that it is not necessarily, or as he puts it "per say" what is needed. What both the letter and the response say is that grace, compassion, and the "open letter" would also add hope as being the most needed. The great thing about this is that the bible prescribes these three things to the brokenness of all sinners, the prideful Christians like me, and the homosexuals like my friend. Both sins are just as damnable as the other, both sins, and all sins for that matter, need the Grace of Jesus Christ, both sinners need him to look upon us with compassion, and for any and all between this is our only true hope. That's right, I just dropped some gospel on you.

      The problem is not acceptance, although that is the word most would use, what they want is to be loved and given hope, that is what I want most for myself, and I think love and hope is what brings us into acceptance This is hard for us to do, one because of our own sinfulness, and two its just hard to grasp. Its is the same as the very nature of Christendom itself, it is both completely "inclusive", everyone is invited, and completely "exclusive", but not all will come, at the same time. I believe this, Jesus saves both the homosexual and the bigot alike and delivers them from their sin, and further more they are both accepted by the Father based on the acceptance of Jesus, who is fully accepted.

      I hope you do not hear me saying that homosexuality is not a sin, or that all people will go to heaven, I do not believe this. I do believe that any homosexual that places their hope fully and truly in Jesus Christ will be given the reward of sons from the Father. That statement will lose some of my Christian friends that are unable to read through the lines and see what I am saying.

      Let me start to end with an example from the bible. 

      (Joh 8:2)  Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.
      (Joh 8:3)  The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst
      (Joh 8:4)  they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.
      (Joh 8:5)  Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?"
      (Joh 8:6)  This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
      (Joh 8:7)  And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."
      (Joh 8:8)  And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.
      (Joh 8:9)  But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
      (Joh 8:10)  Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
      (Joh 8:11)  She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."
      Jesus had every right to cast the stone, he has never sinned and he is the giver of life and it is his right to take it. Instead, he holds back his right to stone, and sees this woman's need NOT for further condemnation, but for rescue. What if we, as Christians stopped showing our condemnation but instead offered the grace, hope and compassion that Christ has shown us. Stop arguing over whether or not they "choose this lifestyle" or if they are "born that way", and instead identify with our LGBT brothers and sisters in the same thing that is true for both of us, we need grace! In other words, what if we confessed and repented of our sins openly that others might see humility instead of bigotry? Stop using persecution as your excuse to why people don't understand or call you a bigot, you may just actually be a jerk.

      Surely this issue is surround by much emotion and passion, but the cross is surrounded by even greater emotion and passion. What I see expressed in both of these conversations is that my gay friend and the lesbian who wrote the letter are very aware of their need for grace, so maybe instead of emphasizing their distance from grace to where they feel further from it, why don't we compassionately tell them of our hope that they would draw near themselves? Remember, you cant save anyone, you cant make someone love Jesus, but you can love them yourself.

      So why should I "STOP CALLING HOMOSEXUALITY A SIN"? Alright  time to come clean, let me confess, the title is meant to hopefully draw you into this conversation. So let me offer some concessions. I am not saying the we should stop calling certain actions sin, or sinful, if asked directly we should always answer biblically.  I am saying this "STOP CALLING HOMOSEXUALS (the people involved) SINNERS"! See what I did there. This is not "Hate the sin and love the sinner", I'm actually not a big fan of that idea. This IS remember that you too ARE a sinner, but Christ has called you "Son", and just maybe the homosexuals that we keep calling sinners will one day be called "Son" as well. I believe that heaping more condemnation on a sinner is the least effective way to help them know and trust Jesus, and if it is ever successful they came to Jesus by guilt and not by grace.

      I dont need to tell my friend that he is a sinner, or the woman who wrote the letter, I DO, however, need to assure them that their only hope is the same as my only hope, Jesus. Notice that both responses to the issue suggest that the Church lead in confession and repentance of it's sin first. I think they are absolutely right. We are all sinners, I am the worst sinner that I know, and I humbly ask that anyone, regardless of you sexual preference, follow me in repentance, as I try my best to follow Christ. If you are nervous, I understand, it is hard, but Jesus is absolutely splendid, and I cant wait for you to meet him!

      I am afraid my stance on this issues is probably not harsh enough for either the left or the right. To sum up my position for those of you who are wondering even though it is not the main thrust of this article...

      "I support wholeheartedly any attempt to find meaning value purpose and hope, I may however, disagree on the means that you use to achieve it, and the things that you believe will ultimately give it to you. If Gay Marriage is permitted, my opinions to the matter aside, I will continue to love for and care for and show the greater grace and compassion, that has been shown to me by Christ, to all my homosexual friends. Doing this would have probably prevented much of the fuss that Christianity finds itself in. On marriage I would say this to anyone, hetero or homosexual. Marriage is not held together by love alone, it is important yes, but merely a part of a much larger machine, more than feelings and even desires that lead to love are desperately needed. Secondly all humans desire a few essential things. Meaning, Value, Purpose and Hope.

      It has been my experience that marriage does not give any of these things, but exposes my even greater need for them. That is marriage, if understood rightly, pushes us to something beyond itself. What it pushes us too is ultimately up for debate, and I believe this is the real issue. I have found, that in all my vain pursuits, Christ has given to me more meaning, value, purpose and hope than any thing else. Again, the real issue is this. "What can truly add to our heart and soul the ultimate satisfaction that they so desperately crave?" In other words; "What can give us our deepest desires?" Love is not sufficient, marriage is not sufficient, however, Christ is sufficient. Whether you hear me or not, or completely misunderstand what I am saying, I encourage you to do whatever you think will make you the most happy. Do what will give you ULTIMATE meaning, value, purpose and hope. This is where true joy is found. If you find it, please let me know, although if I were you I would not settle for anything less than perfection."

      For the Christian Readers...

      "Be careful not to label disagreements over agendas, political issues, personal beliefs and silly things like status updates as persecution. As serious as they may be, this is not persecution. Ask the guy with nails in his hand if this is what he meant by persecution."

      There, now that I have offended everyone let me end. The Holy Spirit convicts and draws people away from their sin, it just simply is not our job or even in our ability. It is our job to be truthful to the teachings of scripture, to be marked by compassion, overflowing with grace, and ever telling of the greatest hope the world has ever known for its rescue, Jesus. Let me end with the latest message my friend just sent me today.

      • Samuel Mary Chase

        Thanks so much for your input JM! I think you're right on my friend, there is plenty of room for grace and compassion, unfortunately Christians for some dumb reason have a hard time showing it. I think good conversations like this go a long way to changing that.
        • JM

          I agree, good conversations really do go a long way!

        God is Holy, We (especially Christians) are sinful and Christ is sufficient.
        Grace&Peace


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