Why is it important that Christians not allow their legitimate concern for people with homosexual orientations to cause them to set aside biblical authority on the sinfulness of homosexual behavior?
Because homosexuality has become an identity issue for many people, powerful political and cultural pressures are being brought to bear on Christian denominations to view homosexuality as a natural, normal, and legitimate form of sexual expression.
There are many reasons to have empathy for those who are in the grip of sexual attraction to people of the same sex. Such people are likely to have experienced an unusual amount of developmental trauma including some combination of the following factors:
Yet while we should have empathy and compassion for anyone who has developed a homosexual orientation, the Bible makes it clear that homosexual behavior is a form of sexual sin (See the ATQ article, What Is the Sin of Homosexuality?), and that we cannot allow our empathy for people tempted to sexual sin to displace our awareness of its dangers both to them and to others. The Bible places sexual sins in a unique category because they are sins against the body.
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ Himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ But he who unites himself to the Lord is one with Him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:15-20).
Because they are sins against the body, sexual sins utilize the body’s powerful instinctive drives to create degrading forms of addictive behavior that wreak havoc both for the sinner and everyone within his/her sphere of influence.
The Bible exalts human sexuality within marriage. It uses the image of husband and wife to portray the intimacy that exists between Christ and the church (2 Corinthians 11:2; a href=”https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5:21-33″>Ephesians 5:21-33; Revelation 19:7), which is why Paul describes sexual sin with special concern. By means of sexual sin, the human will becomes the instrument by which the body’s reproductive instincts are misdirected to destructive ends, and, in turn, the body’s wholesome physical drives become complicit in enslaving the human will. The personal and social repercussions of sexual sin are extreme.
Like other sexual sins, homosexual behavior isn’t innate or unavoidable. (See the ATQ article, What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuals Who Were Born That Way?) It is essential that Christians hold each other accountable within their community to protect young people whose traumatic backgrounds and existing same-sex attractions might make them vulnerable to being drawn into this addictive and destructive kind of sin.
YGA [Young Gay America] Magazine sold out of its first issue in several North American cities. There was extreme support, by all sides, for YGA Magazine; schools, parent groups, libraries, governmental associations, everyone seemed to want it. It tapped right into the zeitgeist of “accepting and promoting” homosexuality, and I was considered a leader. I was asked to speak on the prestigious JFK Jr. Forum at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 2005.
It was after viewing my words on a videotape of that “performance” that I began to seriously doubt what I was doing with my life and influence.
Knowing no one who I could approach with my questions and my doubts, I turned to God; I’d developed a growing relationship with God, thanks to a debilitating bout with intestinal cramps caused by the upset stomach-inducing behaviors I’d been engaged in.
Soon, I began to understand things I’d never known could possibly be real, such as the fact that I was leading a movement of sin and corruption—which is not to sound as though my discovery was based on dogma, because decidedly it was not.
I came to the conclusions on my own.
It became clear to me, as I really thought about it—and really prayed about it—that homosexuality prevents us from finding our true self within. We cannot see the truth when we’re blinded by homosexuality.
We believe, under the influence of homosexuality, that lust is not just acceptable, but a virtue. But there is no homosexual “desire” that is apart from lust.
In denial of this fact, I’d fought to erase such truth at all costs, and participated in the various popular ways of taking responsibility out of human hands for challenging the temptations of lust and other behaviors. I was sure—thanks to culture and world leaders—that I was doing the right thing.
Driven to look for truth, because nothing felt right, I looked within. Jesus Christ repeatedly advises us not to trust anybody other than Him. I did what He said, knowing that the Kingdom of God does reside in the heart and mind of every man.
What I discovered—what I learned—about homosexuality was amazing. How I’d first “discovered” homosexual desires back in high school was by noticing that I looked at other guys. How I healed, when it became decidedly clear that I should—or risk hurting more people—is that I paid attention to myself.
Every time I was tempted to lust, I noticed it, caught it, dealt with it. I called it what it was, and then just let it disappear on its own. A huge and vital difference exists between superficial admiration—of yourself, or others—and integral admiration. In loving ourselves fully, we no longer need anything from the “outside” world of lustful desire, recognition from others, or physical satisfaction. Our drives become intrinsic to our very essence, unbridled by neurotic distractions. (From the article, “How a ‘Gay Rights’ Leader Became Straight,” by Michael Glatze). Back To Article
