"Homosexual Christians"

I'm not feeling particularly good about some of my posts this month. It's been difficult. I've said some things publicly that I prefer to say privately and to those who are willing to hear them. Know your audience, right? However, within the first few days of June, God put it on my heart to say those difficult things and even to care deeply if they hurt folks; but care in so much as it provokes me to pray, not modify or retract the truth. I've not tried to debate the issue of sin. Those who deny homosexuality is sin, I'm sure, have heard and countered every argument, every verse, every rationale; they will not submit to truth, and I will not provide the fight they are so eagerly seeking. I'm not sitting high and mighty in my tower of heterosexuality, passing judgment on all of the people who "were made this way;" I'm bowing in obedience to the Word of God and telling them No, you weren't. 

There is something I've noticed --and please don't get me wrong, Christians are not perfect, even the ones who lead heterosexual lives; they have yelled, they have said and done terrible things in the name of "righteousness" (I counter, that it's self-righteousness, not Christ's righteousness)-- but I have watched interviews, listened to "gay pastors" attempt to elucidate their position, spoken to and watched the behavior of "gay Christians," and more often than not, I see arrogance, rebellion, and a caustic type of self-justification. I guess, today's focus is more keenly on those who say they are Christians, seeking first the kingdom of God, but their sin of same sex relations is preeminent, more valuable and less disposable; it is lord of their lives. As I've said, they don't seem to be too interested in Scripture, but perhaps they'll indulge me momentarily and look at their own responses to it. (To be clear, I am not talking about Christians who are tempted by same sex attraction but refuse to indulge even on occasion, and certainly refuse to live that lifestyle. That is resistance, and it is worthy of thanksgiving and encouragement.) 

For instance, if I was to teach the gospel to a room full of people and any one of them was to walk out midway or even stand up and call me a liar and a charlatan, should I belittle them, scream at them, curse at them, throw up my middle finger, or react with any other self-indulgent expression? Of course not! You would think I was crazy, number one; and the message of the gospel would go right out the window. Forgiveness? A gentle answer? Love? It's their loss, my friend, and a cause for pity that demands fervent prayer. So why is the response of "gay Christians" to the message of sin so prevalently hostile? Putdowns, vulgar memes, curses I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, a ridiculous DEFCON 3-type response to questions that should encourage thought or discussion absent vox populi. In the mid-nineties, I had an employee who wore a t-shirt stating I'm gay, I'm proud, and I'm in your living room with my feet up, or something to that effect. To my knowledge, she never claimed to be a believer, but the responses from "gay Christians" today are far worse than that, and really, who is challenging them? In reality, are they so perpetually persecuted every moment of the day by obedient Christians beating them over the head with Scriptures or showing up at their workplaces with signs or hanging banners in public buildings? Really? Let's face it, many Bible-believing heterosexuals have been intimidated into silence! And why tell us you are intentionally in our faces, trying to offend us? Do you think we will be won over by that approach, or do you think we will acquiesce and agree out of sheer fatigue? As ministers of reconciliation, are we called to make ourselves offensive or the center of attention? Or is Jesus, the One who should be the center of attention, offensive enough to the dying without our taking center stage? I have the truth of Scripture behind me, but as I said at the beginning, I don't particularly enjoy confronting wrong, especially when it's such a hot-button issue, especially when it means offending people. So, why is someone actively engaged in sin, with no biblical leg on which to stand, so eager to provoke others? (That was rhetorical, but I will answer. If I allow myself to respond wrongfully, I become the victim of a type of character suicide: my point appears invalid because of my questionable character. If I'm provoked and I am bullied into submission, my argument is silenced; if I simply walk off in frustration, I take my argument with me. Either way, they are free to return to their sin unchallenged by me.)

Lastly, we all sin; and if I'm being honest, I know which sins are hardest for me to resist. If a Christian brother or sister were to confront me in love or ask me how I reconcile my consistent failure to obey with my love for Jesus, I would probably respond one of two ways: Yes, I tend to struggle with that; please pray for me, or I never thought about it that way; oh, God forbid I should ever try to reconcile my sin! But cuss them out? Tell them if they don't like it, they know what they can do? Never! Why would I? Even if I thought they were dead wrong, didn't have all the facts, were saying something completely unfounded in Scripture (like someone who once told me I had sinned because I cut my hair short), I wouldn't react venomously. I might go home and search the Scriptures or ask my pastor, bearing in mind that iron sharpens iron, and they might just be right; or perhaps I can show them where they have been misled. I'm not perfect by any stretch, but I am eager to remain faithful to Jesus. That's the bottom line. If someone accuses me of being otherwise, I want to know the basis for their accusation. Teach me. Show me. That Christ might be glorified!

Living life as a homosexual is not something to be proud of. Living life as a homosexual is a choice to sin. Living life as a "homosexual Christian" is like being a heroin addict straight enough to find a spouse but completely unwilling to get sober enough to be one. And if that makes you uncomfortable, I'm praying it's for the same reasons I'm uncomfortable writing it.