GAY TRUTH

Now that we Christians have had two weeks to cool our jets a bit, we can reposition and recalibrate ourselves. Events like those transpiring last Friday provide opportune times of reminder for God’s people of our mission. When some of the more powerful human courts in the world express their fallenness, and the grandstands of culture erupt in praise, Christians are handed an occasion to be reminded of what we’re doing here on earth. Humanity is still fallen. Jesus is still risen. Christians are still commissioned. Being bestowed with every spiritual blessing from heaven means we have a responsibility to be a blessing on earth. One helpful place to go for biblical instruction on the matter is the Apostle Paul ’s exhortation to the Colossian church. These believers lived in a culture which clashed with the biblical worldview. Things like homosexuality and unfriendly political stances were the norm. So, how did God , through the pen of the Apostle, shepherd his people to respond? “W

English: folio 150 recto of the codex, with the beginning of the 1. Epistle to the Corrinthians (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers 10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching." (1 Tim. 1:9-10, NASB). Mr. Vines says, "In the final passage, 1 Timothy 1:10, the first word--“abusers of themselves with mankind”--reappears in a list of people Paul says the law was written against. Here, the translation is “them that defile themselves with mankind.” The translation issues and debates here are the same as those from 1 Corinthians . Again, the strongest inference that can be drawn from other uses of this term is that it referred to economic exploitation through sexual coercion--po

King James Version of the Bible (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Mr. Vines says, "In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul warns against those who will not inherit the kingdom of God . And then he lists 10 different types of people who will not inherit the kingdom. Because the dispute here is about translation, I’ll start with the King James Version of this passage, which was published more than 400 years ago and so predates this modern controversy. It reads: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  Our key words for the discussion here are the words translated as “effeminate” and “abusers of themselves with mankind.”  . . .  This changed halfway through the last century, when some Bible translators began connecting these terms

Stained glass window of the sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in the former Mosque (Cathedral) of Cordoba, Spain (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Such Were Some of You” (A Documentary) was inspired by the passage in 1st Corinthians 6:11 that declares that in Jesus’ day there was a population who had been so transformed by their relationship with Him that they were no longer “same-sex attracted” or at the very least, actively homosexual.  They had found such a measure of healing from the brokenness and strongholds associated with what we now call homosexuality that they no longer considered themselves homosexual, nor did they act in that way. “Such Were Some of You” features interviews with a “cloud of present-day witnesses” who testify to the same life-transforming power of Jesus Christ .  They describe the development of their same-sex attractions , what the gay lifestyle was like, what their conversion process was like, and the various ways that Jesus has brought healing to their

Homosexuality  is not the only sin mentioned in  1 Corinthians  6:9–10. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the  kingdom of God ? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor  adulterers , nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor  drunkards , nor  revilers , nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. It’s not the only sin mentioned, but it is different from all the rest, at least right now. At this moment in history, contrary to the other  sins  listed here, homosexuality is celebrated by our larger society with pioneering excitement. It’s seen as a good thing, as the new hallmark of progress. To be sure, the masses increasingly make no bones about sin in general. Innumerable people are idolaters, not to mention those who are sexually immoral, or who commit adultery, or who steal and are greedy and get wasted and revile neighbors and swindle others. It happens all the time. And  each  of these unrepe

In Romans 1:18–32 Paul writes of the wrath of God that has been revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. The reason for His wrath is that people have perverted the revelation of God. This perversion substituted the glory of the true God with gods made in images of people and birds and animals and crawling creatures, which people themselves made. As a result, God passed sentence on the world. Three times Paul says that God gave people over to various lusts and perversions, which include homosexuality and lesbianism (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error” (Rom. 1:26–27). Notice the words Paul uses to describe lesbianism and homosexua

“There is nothing wrong with living a gay lifestyle. In fact, if you repress who you are, you will never live a happy, fulfilled life. Be true to yourself!” This is the overwhelming message of society regarding homosexuality. Mark Yarhouse  refers to this as “the gay script,” the blueprint for how homosexuals are to live. “Embrace who you are,” a swelling number shout, “and you will find happiness!” I disagree, but I must confess that there is a part of me that finds this script appealing. As long as I can remember, I have experienced exclusive same-sex attraction ( SSA ). Despite counseling and countless prayers, God has not seen fit to change my orientation. So, if I am honest with myself, I would like the freedom to act on what seems to be basic and natural desires for intimacy, companionship, and love. After all, many of my straight friends find fulfillment and joy in finding a mate — why shouldn’t I? More Than Prohibitions Many Christians answer this question by appealing to t

There is no way around it. Dealing with same-sex attraction is messy. There are many issues that, at least on the surface, do not seem clear. Take this question, for example: Is same-sex attraction ( SSA ) itself sinful , and if so, how should we deal with it? Here is my humble attempt at an answer. Taking Our Cues from the Bible First, note briefly three biblical observations: 1. The Bible explicitly says that impenitent homosexual acts, not homosexual desires, keep a person from inheriting the kingdom of God . “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” ( 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ). 2. The Bible does not seem to explicitly mention same-sex attraction. It is possible that the “dishonorable passions” in Romans 1:26 could be dealing with SSA, but it’s unclear whether this is a reference to simply experiencing an