PART 3: THE BIBLICAL
RESPONSE
Concerning
The Unbeliever
“But the natural man does
not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him;
nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14
We cannot expect the unbeliever to understand our position on this issue
of homosexuality and same sex unions. Our only response to them should be this:
we believe that God has revealed to us through His Word His divine design for
marriage, and that He intended it to be between a man and a woman, only. Any
departure from His design, according to His Word, is an abomination and sinful.
In holding fast to the truth, the believer in Christ will come under the
attack of those who favor a 'live and let live' philosophy. They will be called
“intolerant,” “unloving,” “discriminator” and even “homophobic.” We should do
our best not to react to the name-calling and to maintain our position. And we
should do so in spite of what the law of the land states, for we must appeal to
a much higher authority when it comes to this matter.
However, there are some within the Church who cannot bear the humiliation
of this name-calling. These are the ones
who have capitulated on this moral issue in an attempt to appease those who
hold this errant view of sexuality.
Concerning
Believers
“All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16
After
having looked at the Scriptures dealing with this matter, we must begin by
asking why those who claim to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and
Savior are giving in to this philosophy? The answer is that they have simply turned
their backs on the clear and plain teaching of the Bible. But it goes back further
than this. There was a time when all who claimed Christ as their Lord and
Savior, held the Bible to be objective truth. They believed it to be sufficient
for life and practice. But now they have turned their backs on objective truth
and have rejected that God has indeed spoken to us through His Word.
The clear teaching of Scripture is that homosexuality is a sin. And
since the Scriptures are profitable for instruction in righteousness, we who
claim Christ as Savior must adhere to these truths. We must not allow the
world to dictate what we should believe. If we let the world dictate to us what
we should believe, we risk compromising the truth and making Christ’s Gospel
ineffective to a lost and dying world.
Our
Response Towards Error
“Brethren, if anyone among
you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he
who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and
cover a multitude of sins.”
James
5:19-20
We who are holding fast to the truth on this issue must be willing to
speak out against those within the Church who stand on the other side. But we
must do so by first understanding their position and then in a very loving
manner refute their error. It cannot be done in a spirit of anger or puffed up
pride, but with sincere love and compassion for those who have been caught up
in this snare of Satan. If we fail to do this in the right manner, than we risk
causing further division to the Body of Christ.
Christian
Carnality
“And I, brethren, could not
speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:1
What if we are questioned: “Don’t you ever sin?” or “Isn’t it true that
even Christians commit sexual sins?” It is vitally important that we have the
correct answer to these inquiries. The answer is yes. Paul writes of this issue
of Christian carnality in 1 Corinthians 3. He also writes elsewhere that the
believer is not to grieve (Eph. 4:30) or quench (1 Thess. 5:19) the Holy Spirit
by indulging in sinful activities. The believer is commanded further to “flee
sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18), and not to “give place to the devil”
(Ephesians 4:27). The attitude of turning from one’s sin should be the rule of
life for the Christian, not to continue in a condition of carnality. So for a
Christian to state that he is a homosexual and then to continue in this life
style is a total disregard of the clear teachings of Scripture. Whenever a
believer sins he is to confess it to the Lord (1 John 1:9) and determine not to
give in to the same temptation again and again. The Catholic prayer of
contrition states this fittingly: “I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace
to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.” This ought to be the
attitude of the true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, whether it be sins of the flesh, murder or sins of the tongue.
The
Moral Slide of Our Culture
“For the time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine…and they will turn their ears away
from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4
But what about denominations who have adopted this view of condoning
homosexuality to the point that they have instituted ceremonies to ‘bless’
their unions, and even permitting them to become ministers and
leaders within the Churches. What should be the response of believers who are
holding fast to the inspired Word?
First, we must recognize the danger that this issue creates for our
generation and for generations to come. Our children and grandchildren will be
affected in an even greater way than we have been already. This moral slide of
our culture away from Christian principles will become more rapid when errant
denominations support this agenda. It will make it virtually impossible to
correct this shift away from sound doctrine and it will become difficult if not
illegal to speak out against this matter.
Secondly, we must again approach the subject knowledgeably and in a
spirit of love. Anger will not suffice at this time. What we do and say must
reflect the true character of our faith in Christ and our belief that He has
spoken to us with absolute authority in His Word.
Thirdly, we should make an effort to be heard. Writing to the heads of
these errant denominations, letters to the editors, to Christian periodicals
and, above all else, prayer. But we must act, or we will become partially
guilty of this problem by standing by and watching this moral slide away from
absolute values in our culture. And, we can expect to see in the days ahead on
this issue a culture that is totally intolerant of true Christianity.
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