Question: Is experiencing same-sex attraction itself sinful?

Question: Is experiencing same-sex attraction itself sinful? Do Christians who experience same-sex attraction need to repent of their orientation, or only of homosexual action and lust?

First, this is not a question limited to issues of sexuality in general, or sexual acts and sexual orientation in particular. This question relates to the larger theological question of temptation and behavior. Every child growing into maturity recognizes the distinction between the temptation and the act. 

Every criminal law system also understands the difference between the temptation and the act. Rather than imprisoning people for every criminal temptation, the law distinguishes between the temptation of a criminal act and the performance of a criminal act.

Every parent understands that same distinction when raising children and when they look in the mirror. Therefore, Christians must distinguish between temptation and the performance of sin. Still, there is indeed something sinful about being tempted to rob a bank. Obviously, it is less sinful than robbing a bank. And its consequence

and the effects are certainly quite different. We would be right to say, "Even if you have the temptation, don't perform the act," but we would be wrong to say, "The temptation is not an issue of sinful consequence."

We tend to assume that an uninvited temptation is something for which we are not accountable. But no one knows himself well enough to fully understand where our temptations come from orto what degree we have given ourselves over to that interest. Christians, therefore, must pray that we not be tempted, just as Jesus instructed his disciples to do in the Lord's Prayer. Finally, we come to the issue of defining sexual orientation. 

Sexual orientation is a pattern of temptation. Again, we must stress this is not the only pattern of sexual sin. Heterosexual sinners are tempted to lust toward someone of the opposite sex. Married persons are tempted to lust for someone who is not their spouse. A person who has a pattern of same-sex attraction is tempted in a similar manner. 

Same-sex orientation, however, cannot be channeled into a legitimate sexual outlet, whereas a heterosexual orientation can be channeled into the faithful, monogamous institution of marriage. 

For this reason, same-sex orientation presents a greater struggle. Must a Christian who struggles with same-sex attraction repent of the mere feeling of attraction, even if he does not act on that feeling or lust in his heart? Because same-sex attraction is a disordered attraction, some degree of repentance certainly needs to happen. 

Consider this analogous scenario. Imagine a teenage boy who has become a Christian is assigned to read a particular book in school. He is not responsible for choosing the book; the teacher, after all, assigned it to him. Something of a sexual nature is presented in the book, and he finds himself aroused and interested. He does not, however, give himself to lust. He simply moves past the explicit passage. Later, the explicit passage comes back to his mind. Once again, he refuses the temptation to lust. 

Nevertheless, he will almost surely feel some sense of guilt for letting thoughts resurface in the first place. Every time these thoughts come to his mind, the boy is making a moral decision, even as he wards off lustful thoughts with repentance and by grace. Most Christians recognize sinful things that are unintentional and not premeditated regularly enter our minds. Nevertheless, these thoughts arrive, and so these thoughts produce some moral accountability, even though we seek to push them out of our fantasies and imaginations. This common experience among all Christians-indeed among all humanity reveals that sin is more deeply rooted in our hearts than we ourselves know. This is one of the reasons repentance regularly marks the Christian life. 

People struggling with same-sex attraction must understand that they are in the same position as any other sinner. We all need to live lives of constant repentance, recognizing that the entire Christian life is one of constant temptation to sin and simultaneous call to obey Christ. This, of course, does not minimize the particularly difficult challenges those who struggle with a same-sex attraction face. But these men and women should not be separated from the rest of the body of Christ into a different category of sin and sanctification. 

For this reason, Christians need to be candid with one another and not assume that only a few people in the congregation struggle with sin. Every person in the congregation struggles with sin.