GAY TRUTH

I've been asked to comment on the controversy provoked by a recent interview in the Atlantic with Alan Chambers , the president of Exodus International —an evangelical ministry founded to help Christians and non-Christians find freedom from the guilt and power of a same-sex lifestyle. Christians may debate public policy, but in this interview, Chambers raises issues that are very clearly addressed in Scripture. Especially when we are dealing with human lives, daring to draw our counsel from God , we need to affirm the simplicity of biblical teaching on the subject while rejecting an over-simplifying of the issues involved. The problem (sin and death) as well as the solution (redemption in Christ through the gospel) are simple, but hardly simplistic. In terms of sin, Scripture is quite clear about the condition ( original sin —guilt, bondage, corruption leading to death) and the acts that arise from it. There are versions of the pro-gay and anti-gay agenda that assume a simp

Dispute of Jesus and the Pharisees over tribute money (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Homosexuality is an incredibly difficult subject for two opposing sides to discuss. It is one of the few biblical sins by which people deeply identify themselves. Whereas someone addicted to alcohol may admit they are "an alcoholic," the term is generally descriptive, not the primary identifier of the core of a person.  The belief of many that their sexuality defines them makes a biblical declaration of the sinfulness of homosexuality an attack on the individual, instead of the act and attitude. The topic is also difficult to broach because of the enemy's effective campaign to convince otherwise Bible-believing people that homosexuality is a particularly heinous, unforgiveable sin and those who partake are hated by God above all else. This is a lie, but an insidious, widely-held lie. With these difficulties humbly recognized, the issue still must be addressed. First a short word

English: Saint paul arrested (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The first mention of not inheriting the kingdom of God is found in Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth . “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" ( 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ). By saying the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God, Paul is stating that the wicked are not children of God, nor are they heirs of eternal life ( Romans 8:17 ). This does not mean that anybody who has ever committed one of these sins will be denied entrance to heaven. What differentiates a Christian’s life from that of a non-Christian is the struggle against sin and the ability to overcome it. A true Christian will always repent, will always eventually return to God, and will always

Matthew Vines  has become a new voice in the homosexual Christian community with a message that promoted homosexual Christianity . In his address, Vine asserted that all the biblical passages dealing with homosexual behavior have been wrongly interpreted and do not prohibit "loving and monogamous homosexual relationships". Vines' argument about the biblical passages that address homosexuality has been heard many times before from people like John Boswell and others. Nonetheless, it is good for Christians to revisit those sections of Scripture and see how Vines' assertions stand up to biblical exegesis. We'll examine two passages in Paul's epistles that deal with homosexuality. Paul's Letters to the Corinthians and Timothy Two of the verses in the New Testament that mention homosexuality are found in Paul's first letters to the Corinthians and Timothy: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God ? Do not be

There are many in today’s culture that do not recognize the Bible as any kind of moral authority, especially on the matter of homosexuality. It should come as no surprise that atheists and skeptics hold this position; for example, the late Christopher Hitchens once remarked, “What do I care what some Bronze Age text says about homosexuality?” As noted apologist William Lane Craig has observed, “One of the best ways to defend the legitimacy of the homosexual lifestyle is to become an atheist.” There are, however, a number of practicing homosexuals and activists who are not atheists and argue that the Bible legitimizes general homosexual behavior . Their core argument is that the Bible has been misunderstood and misinterpreted where homosexuality is concerned.  Let’s be honest: if they’re right, and God’s Word really does not condemn homosexual behavior, then a whole lot of angst and effort that’s occurring in churches and society could disappear in a flash. But the $64,000 question

In Rom. 1 Paul condemns homosexual acts, lesbian as well as male, in the same breath as idolatry (vv. 23–27), but his theological canvas is broader than that of Leviticus. Instead of treating homosexual behaviour as an expression of idolatrous worship, he traces both to the bad ‘exchange’ fallen man has made in departing from his Creator’s intention (vv. 25f.). Seen from this angle, every homosexual act is unnatural, because it cuts across the individual’s natural sexual orientation and infringes OT law and it flies in the face of God’s creation scheme for human sexual expression. Paul makes two more references to homosexual practice in other Epistles. Both occur in lists of banned activities and strike the same condemnatory note. In 1 Cor. 6:9f. practising homosexuals are included among the unrighteous who will not inherit the kingdom of God (but with the redemptive note added, ‘such were some of you’); and in 1 Tim. 1:9f. they feature in a list of ‘the lawless and disobedient’. The

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) A couple of months ago, I began responding to a couple of popular arguments for why some believe that homosexuality is reconcilable with Christianity . My hope was (and still is) that I might be able to serve those who are mistaken in this regard by helping them to see that faith in Jesus and His Word cannot be reconciled with attempts to legitimize homosexuality. I had addressed the semi-sarcastic objection that we as Christians are inconsistent in condemning homosexuality on the basis of the Levitical