Can someone be gay and a Christian?

*Introduce family

*Update of Pastor of Discipleship

Introduction

— Again, there are specific situations behind many of these questions and if you still have questions following the message please go to the website or to the app and click on “Asking for Myself.”

Today we will address a topic that is

As we approach this topic, I want to be sure we do so with an Ephesians 4 mindset:

Ephesians 4:12–16 (ESV)

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (this is the goal of our discipleship) 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (this is why we are doing this series)15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (so we might become more loving)

Love without truth is empty.

Truth without love is rarely received.

1 John 3:1–11 (ESV)

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

John is dealing with false teachers. What were they saying?

1. Christ had a spiritual life but not a physical life

1 John 4:1–3 (ESV)

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

This teaching flew in the face of what is clearly written in Scripture.

You would either need to subvert the authority of Scripture and claim another authority for explaining Christ’s nature or you would need to convert the text of Scripture to say something other than what a careful study produces.

Part of the reason why some wrestle with this question today is because of religious teachers and leaders today who would affirm the LGBTQ lifestyle do the same thing - they either subvert the authority of Scripture or convert the text to say something other than what a careful study would show.

2. There is little connection between the Christian’s physical life and her spiritual life.

1 John 3:7 (ESV)

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

A true Christian does not willfully continue to sin.

These statements can also describe someone who is not a Christian:

If a true Christian does not willfully continue then one who continues willfully in sin gives strong evidence they are not a believer.

As one pastor put it: “Doing confirms the being”

Doing does not make the being — it confirms the being.

1 John 2:29 (ESV)

29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning,

This does not mean that a true Christian will not struggle with sin at times in their life,

1 John 1:8 (ESV)

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

but it will be a struggle - it will be viewed as foreign to the Christian’s life and not part of it.

1 John 2:1 (ESV)

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Applying this understanding to our question: Our question is easily answered if, in fact, the practice of homosexuality is not a sin.

Digression: the issue of homosexuality and sin

Who defines sin? God.

Leviticus 18:22 (ESV)

22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Lev. 20:13

Leviticus 20:13 (ESV)

13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

Yeah, but that is OT law

1 Timothy 1:9–10 (ESV)

9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

Romans 1:24–28 (ESV)

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Notice that these are not just directed at the sin of homosexuality, but at sinners, of which the practice of homosexuality is a part.

Paul is referencing “contrary to nature” and those who go against their Creator

Last week - sin = defining life our way.

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

Genesis 1:26–28 (ESV)

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

People have exchanged God’s design for their desires.

Don’t be deceived, brothers and sisters. God’s Word is still true, still authoritative, and still the revelation of God’s design for our lives.

We don’t have time to get into many of the common arguments be affirming biblical scholars as to why God’s Word doesn’t actually say what we think it says or why we don’t need to take it as our final authority:

— OT Law doesn’t apply to Christians today

— Genesis creation account was contextual to other ANE creation accounts and not meant to be prescriptive for relationships today

— The real sin at Sodom and Gomorrah was something other than homosexual lust — such as flagrant inhospitality.

— The male homosexuality described in Romans 1 and 1 Timothy 1 and 1 Cor 6 are speaking about a specific type of abusive male homosexuality and not referring to monogamous homosexual relationships

— The 1st Century Greco-Roman world did not have a concept of loving, monogamous homosexual relationships and so NT references are not condemning these relationships as such.

— the statement in Romans 1 of women acting “contrary to nature” and thus in sin is actually referring to gay women acting as though they were straight and so against their homosexual nature.

All of these require a denial of the full authority of Scripture or a dance around the clear understanding of what Scripture teaches both explicitly and conceptually.

Scripture clearly condemns the practice of homosexuality as sin.

Scripture is also clear that the temptation toward homosexuality is NOT a sin.

Matthew 4:1 (ESV)

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Hebrews 4:15 (ESV)

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

James 1:14–15 (ESV)

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

It is not the temptation that is a sin, it is the acceptance of the temptation and the fostering of the temptation with our desire until it becomes sin either through lustful thoughts or physical action.

This would indicate that it is possible for one to have same-sex attraction (orientation) yet not be sinning.

Just like it is possible to have an elicit heterosexual attraction and not sin.

**All of this is a result of sin, but only when we allow it to grow past temptation does it result in sin.

This begs the question for all of us — what area of your life do you need to root out sin and squelch temptation?

A true Christian does not willfully continue to sin.

This is because. . .

A true Christian is neither a gay Christian nor a straight Christian — They are a Christian first.

One of the lies surrounding the LGBTQ issue is the one that states that the practice of homosexuality is natural because some people are born gay.

So, the discussion the morality of homosexual behavior is quickly tied to one’s identity and individual rights.

(I drink because I’m a drunk - don’t tell me not to drink - you are attacking who I am as a drunk)

A prominent religious advocate for LGBTQ acceptance in the church: “I have learned to accept and even celebrate my sexual orientation as another of God’s good gifts.”

What is one of the first benefits of a true Christian according to John?

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

It’s a change in identity

As a new creation, we no longer identify by our sins or by those things we thought should define us and bring us satisfaction; instead, we are defined by our life in Christ.

A true Christian is free from the power and effects of sin.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 (ESV)

9 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, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Healing is possible for those struggling with homosexuality.

First there is forgiveness through Jesus who destroys the power of sin, and then there is healing through Jesus as he has destroyed the effects of sin.

If we believe Jesus can heal a person of cancer, alcoholism, injury, or depression, we must believe Jesus can heal from a same-sex orientation.

Test - what is your attitude when you hear someone is struggling with heart failure?

Maybe it was their choices in life that created an unhealthy lifestyle leading to heart disease. Would you still weep for them?

What is you attitude toward someone struggling with same-sex desires?

Have you ever thought how hard it would be to

A true Christian loves the homosexual — and everyone else.

10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

Notice the strong emphasis on love as an indicator of a true Christian - just as much as purity.

1 John 4:8 (ESV)

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

“If you are a nonaffirming Christian — who believes that practicing gay and lesbian people are living in sin and that homosexual relations are among the most sinful things a person could engage in — then, if you truly desire to follow Jesus, you should have more LGBTQ friends and not less.”

— Preston Sprinkle, People to Be Loved

He goes on to say, “It is not too much truth but too little love that’s driving gay and straight people away from the bride of Christ.”

This is where the church (general) has oftentimes failed.

What does this mean for us?

While we should use the privilege of our voice and vote to help guide our society toward the good life God has designed, we should NEVER demean, attack, or verbally abuse anyone affirming or identifying with the LGBTQ community.

We must strive to be a sexually pure people within the church before we advocate for sexual purity outside the church (see last’s week’s message)

We should weep with the LGBTQ community and not war against them when someone is attacked or bullied because of their sexual orientation

We should sit with, listen to, and have spiritual conversations with those in the LGBTQ community

We should display a graceful conviction for God’s design and offer to walk with those in the LGBTQ community who are seeking freedom from sin and sin’s effects.

Our Life Groups and church must be a safe place for people to share their struggles - no matter what they are.

We should welcome them into our church and invite them into our homes with the same intentionality we have for anyone who needs the gospel

We must stand with a bold conviction for God’s design for marriage and relationships, while gracefully sitting with those who struggle in this area, and be willing to walk the difficult road with our gay or lesbian neighbor as they (and we) surrender our desires to Jesus to be Jesus (Christian) first.

Conclusion

A prayer for those affected by the sin of homosexuality.