What is your opinion on homosexuality?
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| Yeah, i bring a trident to all my debates |
Immediately you see tensions rise, fists ball up, and shanks being pulled from back pockets. It is almost impossible to find any group of people who agree on this subject. Even many of my closest friends have different opinions than I do.
As a pastor I am sure you can all guess what my stance on the subject is, and if I had to guess I would say 50% of you disagree with me. Yes I think homosexuality is wrong, but before you hit the back button or click over to your Facebook page to share with everyone how hateful I am, you should know that I am in no way bashing or hating homosexuals, quite the opposite really.
I have noticed lately that as debates and disagreements rise the hatred between the two sides rises with them. Neither side of the isle is excused from this. Rather than fan the flames and cause hatred to grow I would like to offer a loving opinion on the subject, one that I believe the bible supports, and one that I think all Christians should learn from.
I do not hate gay people, I do not dislike them, and I would love to see gay people attend my church. As a student of the bible I know that a righteous person has never walked through the doors of my church. We are all liars, we are all thieves, we are all immoral, and homosexuality falls into the category of immoral (Romans 1:26-27). I believe that homosexuals are in the same boat as the rest of the world, we all sin, we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). So in all honesty, I am not sure why this is such a big deal in the first place, why doesn't Westboro Baptist go and picket the funerals of lawyers since they tend to be such big bad liars (sorry lawyers, your just the easiest to pick on). If I hated sinners I would have to hate myself first because I am the worst sinner I know (1 Timothy 1:15).
At this point I would have to imagine that the opposing side here is asking, "what right do you have to say that homosexuality is a sin, why do you get to decide who some one should love and who they shouldn't". In reply to this question I say this, I do not have that right, I do not get to decide. God does. He says that homosexuality is bad so I am just agreeing with Him. So let me ask you a question, again I do not want this to come across in a hateful manner but I think it will prove my point.
What would you think of a middle aged man who says that he is naturally attracted to pre-pubescent girls, he says he was born that way, and it is natural for him. If you are like most of the population you would say that he is disgusting and that he can not do that because its wrong. If we apply the thinking of the homosexual movement we would say that he should be allowed to love whoever he wants to love. I am sure you can see where I am going with this, its a very slippery slope.
Sin is sin, it does not matter what form it comes in. Our society has told us that some is worse than others, but the bible makes it clear, we all sin, and God hates it all. The only way that we can avoid the wrath that God has stored up for sinners is to allow the atoning work of Jesus to cover that sin. Whether your sin is lying or homosexuality, God wants to see you repent, turn to Jesus, and live the life that He has called you to live.
So bring on the negative comments below, tell me how wrong I am, but know this; I'm just telling you what the bible says, so your issue is not with me, but with God, so let Him know how you feel.
Dear Lord,
I pray that your message of love will begin to permeate this nation,
I pray that we will see that we are all in the same boat,
Sinners, in need of love and grace.
I pray that you will do a great work in the lives of your people,
helping us to spread love and peace, not hate and war.
I pray that the message above would cause us to think,
To think about who we are, and who you are, and realize how much we need you.
We love you God, and we pray this in Jesus name,
Amen
Very well said Josh.
ReplyDeleteI guess that's one way to look at it. Christ of course seemed to be disgusted by those who missed the gist of his message. He issued a verbal beat down on those who made issue of such things of little importance.
ReplyDeleteThe Pharisees of Christ's time were rebuked by him when he said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."
What is the weightier matter is Christ's doctrine? It's clearly spelled out: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and the second, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Isn't funny that Christ never mentioned a word about homosexuality in his entire ministry? I'd say that His response to you on this issue would be: "Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."
We find many scriptures throughout the bible that prescribe death by stoning for a number of sins.
Turning back to the words of Christ regarding the two great commandments, "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
You have to ask yourself if bringing up such a minor issue is worthy of Christ's doctrine. He said, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
If you claim to be a true follower of Christ, why would you make the burden on a man or woman who is born gay so heavy by suggesting their lifestyle is sinful as a pedophile's. This is not making their yoke easy and is not inviting.
So basically what you are saying is that it is better to allow someone to live, and possibly die, in sin than to correct them and run the chance of offending them. I would prefer to preach the gospel the way Jesus, John, Paul, and others did; by showing them their unholiness so that they may repent and turn to Jesus. I don't want anyone to think that I am picking only on the sin of homosexuality, this message could just as easily be applied to any sin.
ReplyDelete