I'm sure some of you have preconceived notions about what this post will sound like. I hope you're wrong. I preached on this topic last Sunday night in my sermon series "Biblical Ethics in an Unbiblical World." With several Christian singers "coming out" in recent years: Ray Boltz, Kirk Talley, Jennifer Knapp, etc.; with the development of homosexual friendly churches; with the political and religious ruckous surrounding this topic... I felt like I needed to address it. The basis of my sermon was "What is the church to do?"
I personally believe that Christians point out homosexuality because it is a relatively "safe" sin to attack. Since the majority of Christians won't ever participate in homosexuality, it makes them feel somewhat safe to rant against it. No mistake, I did call it sin and won't debate that point, since the Bible is so clear about it in both the Old AND NEW Testaments. In addition, the Bible is the only absolute truth, so I refuse to be drawn into debates based around moral relativism. By the way, it is easy to find someone (including a preacher) who will agree with your opinion, but that doesn't change absolute truth.
So, what did I preach? I preached intolerance... for every sin. I shared that we should not tolerate gossip, discord, gluttony, or any other sin in our lives. True Christ-followers should be broken-hearted over ANY sin, and quickly drawn toward repentance. You shouldn't try to justify gossip, neither should you try to justify homosexuality. The fact is that God abhors all sin... even the socially acceptable sins. Realizing our sinful condition makes us more appreciative of God's forgiveness and grace. It also makes us more tolerant, loving, and patient toward others who are caught up in a variety of sins.
I preached that we should gain our identity in Christ, rather than being identified by what sin we are struggling with. We examined whether homosexuality was a condition or a choice. Finally, I reminded our church that we need to preach God's model of one man and one woman for a lifetime. God's plan was established in Genesis, and reiterated in both the Old and New Testaments. While some will argue that grace eliminated the OT Law, I remind you that grace always exceeded the expectations of the Law. The only thing that changed was the motivation..
So what do we do? The church needs to love those who are caught up in homosexuality. We need to accept them where they are and love them to where God wants them to be. We need to realize that nasty comments or antagonistic confrontations will only fuel the fire; it won't result in change. We need to see the plank in our own eye. We need to be as bothered by our own personal sin, as we are about the sins of others.
So, I dare you to look at your own sin, with the same distain that some of you look at the sin of homosexuality. I dare you to honestly ask God if He is okay with your sin? Sadly, some reading this post will miss the whole point and fail to recogize their own sin struggles.
