Originally written on March 12, 2014
One topic that is constantly in the headlines is gay marriage, and it seems the cases that get the most airtime are when Christian groups stand up for Biblical values rather than the world's. In this post, I'm going to give my thoughts on the matter, and how I believe Jesus would handle the situation were He physically walking the earth today.
First and foremost, I believe, 100%, in the Bible's traditional standards for marriage, and later you'll know why. I believe society, trying to change the way God has instituted the first covenant in history, is playing with fire. I believe that the Bible calls homosexuality an abomination, and that it also condemns transvestitism and being effeminate. However, I don't believe that Christians should go on crusades against homosexuality, and later in this post, I will elaborate on what I mean by that.
Alright, so we know of groups using Christ's name, yet they go against everything He has told us to do, and spread hatred. I won't name names, but they're out there. They'll sit and tell people that God hates gays (but they will use a more.. rude term), or that anyone who associates with gay people is just as bad. Anyone who knows me personally, likely knows that one of my biggest frustrations relative to the faith is how some of the church acts as if they've somehow obtained Christ's throne and job of judging others. This case is no different. Yes, homosexuality disgusts me, but so does every sin- as they should.
Why is it that the world focuses so much on homosexuality, when God views every sin as equal, and will judge every sin equally? My thoughts are that it's due to the fact that unlike other sins (lying, thievery, adultery, etc), homosexuality includes a public group that acts in similar ways to political groups and religions- they have a public face in the media, taking God's promise to never flood the earth again, and twisting it around. I think that people are taking the idea of hating sin itself, and taking it one step too far and hating the sinner in the case of the LGBT community. When it crosses into hating the sin AND the sinner, that's when we get into trouble.
Jesus tells us that whoever hates another person has committed murder in his heart, similar to the way that looking with lust equates to adultery. Here's a question that we should ask ourselves, not just in this case, but in every action we commit: would we do what we do, if Christ was physically visible, standing or sitting next to us? Would we imagine He is giving His blessing, or would we be ashamed if we could see Him while we do what we do? I would hate the thought that He would see me hating someone so much as to put debate before the Gospel. I am guilty of this at times.
I've never been married (I'm only 18), and I can't really see myself married, yet I still view marriage, in its pure and Godly form, as being incredible. It's a miracle, really, because marriage without God will not succeed. I was thinking about what marriage really is in the eyes of God (when you understand marriage between humans, you grow to understand how much our relationship with Jesus is parallel to marriage), and it occurred to me that this whole gay marriage debate.. our own words aren't going to cut it for them. They've already trained their ears and eyes to ignore anything that talks about how homosexuality is a sin. So we need a new approach to lead people in the LGBT community to Jesus.
I started writing some thoughts on how gay marriage, because it messes with what God intended, loses literally every single blessing that marriage brings forth. A man who's gay cannot be the loving protector and provider for his wife, and a woman who's gay cannot be her husband's crown (Proverbs 31:10-31). A gay marriage cannot produce children. A gay marriage cannot make two people one in sight of the Lord, and therefore a gay marriage cannot enjoy that bond. So what blessings do you have to gain through a gay 'marriage'? Nothing that lasts for eternity, that's certain.
Homosexuality has always met opposition by society, and it always will. Why? Because each one of us is given a conscience to know what is right and wrong. Even a society polluted by Satan's lies still will have a conscience to know what's right and wrong. Even people who are gay know, deep down, that they're wrong, they just can't seem to free themselves from the trap Satan has sprung on them. I've read testimonies from ex-gays who found freedom over time through Christ, so we know that homosexuals are NOT a lost cause.
Put yourself in the shoes of someone struggling with homosexuality. You're hated for being gay, you know deep down that you need to be freed from the life you're living, but you just simply don't know how to break free. Would you want to learn, down the road at the judgement seat of Christ, that someone had knowledge of how you could be freed, yet refused to share it with you because they thought you were a lost cause? Is that really how Christ would act? Might I remind us all that we were once on the road to destruction as well? Yet someone took the time to share their love with us, and tell us about the One who died in our place so that we may live with Him.
So, of course being gay will not produce the blessings that a pure, legitimate marriage will. Of course, being gay is a sin according to the Bible. Of course, we are to hate sin. None of those give us an excuse to just ignore sharing the Gospel with these people, nor do any of those give us leave to pour out hatred against an individual under the guise of 'hating the sin, loving the sinner'. No doubt there were homosexuals in Jesus' time, and He likely encountered them. He encountered the worst of sinners during His time on earth- and as He was enduring the most brutal execution method in history, as He passed from this earth to save us, He took a convicted MURDERER with Him that day.
There is no greater hate than to ignore sharing the Gospel with someone when you clearly have the means to do so. Withholding the Gospel from someone may make the difference of where they spend their eternity, so let's not leave anyone out. Let's be the royal ambassadors we're meant to be and try to bring ALL people into the Kingdom.
First and foremost, I believe, 100%, in the Bible's traditional standards for marriage, and later you'll know why. I believe society, trying to change the way God has instituted the first covenant in history, is playing with fire. I believe that the Bible calls homosexuality an abomination, and that it also condemns transvestitism and being effeminate. However, I don't believe that Christians should go on crusades against homosexuality, and later in this post, I will elaborate on what I mean by that.
Alright, so we know of groups using Christ's name, yet they go against everything He has told us to do, and spread hatred. I won't name names, but they're out there. They'll sit and tell people that God hates gays (but they will use a more.. rude term), or that anyone who associates with gay people is just as bad. Anyone who knows me personally, likely knows that one of my biggest frustrations relative to the faith is how some of the church acts as if they've somehow obtained Christ's throne and job of judging others. This case is no different. Yes, homosexuality disgusts me, but so does every sin- as they should.
Why is it that the world focuses so much on homosexuality, when God views every sin as equal, and will judge every sin equally? My thoughts are that it's due to the fact that unlike other sins (lying, thievery, adultery, etc), homosexuality includes a public group that acts in similar ways to political groups and religions- they have a public face in the media, taking God's promise to never flood the earth again, and twisting it around. I think that people are taking the idea of hating sin itself, and taking it one step too far and hating the sinner in the case of the LGBT community. When it crosses into hating the sin AND the sinner, that's when we get into trouble.
Jesus tells us that whoever hates another person has committed murder in his heart, similar to the way that looking with lust equates to adultery. Here's a question that we should ask ourselves, not just in this case, but in every action we commit: would we do what we do, if Christ was physically visible, standing or sitting next to us? Would we imagine He is giving His blessing, or would we be ashamed if we could see Him while we do what we do? I would hate the thought that He would see me hating someone so much as to put debate before the Gospel. I am guilty of this at times.
I've never been married (I'm only 18), and I can't really see myself married, yet I still view marriage, in its pure and Godly form, as being incredible. It's a miracle, really, because marriage without God will not succeed. I was thinking about what marriage really is in the eyes of God (when you understand marriage between humans, you grow to understand how much our relationship with Jesus is parallel to marriage), and it occurred to me that this whole gay marriage debate.. our own words aren't going to cut it for them. They've already trained their ears and eyes to ignore anything that talks about how homosexuality is a sin. So we need a new approach to lead people in the LGBT community to Jesus.
I started writing some thoughts on how gay marriage, because it messes with what God intended, loses literally every single blessing that marriage brings forth. A man who's gay cannot be the loving protector and provider for his wife, and a woman who's gay cannot be her husband's crown (Proverbs 31:10-31). A gay marriage cannot produce children. A gay marriage cannot make two people one in sight of the Lord, and therefore a gay marriage cannot enjoy that bond. So what blessings do you have to gain through a gay 'marriage'? Nothing that lasts for eternity, that's certain.
Homosexuality has always met opposition by society, and it always will. Why? Because each one of us is given a conscience to know what is right and wrong. Even a society polluted by Satan's lies still will have a conscience to know what's right and wrong. Even people who are gay know, deep down, that they're wrong, they just can't seem to free themselves from the trap Satan has sprung on them. I've read testimonies from ex-gays who found freedom over time through Christ, so we know that homosexuals are NOT a lost cause.
Put yourself in the shoes of someone struggling with homosexuality. You're hated for being gay, you know deep down that you need to be freed from the life you're living, but you just simply don't know how to break free. Would you want to learn, down the road at the judgement seat of Christ, that someone had knowledge of how you could be freed, yet refused to share it with you because they thought you were a lost cause? Is that really how Christ would act? Might I remind us all that we were once on the road to destruction as well? Yet someone took the time to share their love with us, and tell us about the One who died in our place so that we may live with Him.
So, of course being gay will not produce the blessings that a pure, legitimate marriage will. Of course, being gay is a sin according to the Bible. Of course, we are to hate sin. None of those give us an excuse to just ignore sharing the Gospel with these people, nor do any of those give us leave to pour out hatred against an individual under the guise of 'hating the sin, loving the sinner'. No doubt there were homosexuals in Jesus' time, and He likely encountered them. He encountered the worst of sinners during His time on earth- and as He was enduring the most brutal execution method in history, as He passed from this earth to save us, He took a convicted MURDERER with Him that day.
There is no greater hate than to ignore sharing the Gospel with someone when you clearly have the means to do so. Withholding the Gospel from someone may make the difference of where they spend their eternity, so let's not leave anyone out. Let's be the royal ambassadors we're meant to be and try to bring ALL people into the Kingdom.
