Cheryl, the Bible shows us that each one of us are sinners before God. The only one that came in perfect human flesh was Jesus, God's Word, & he was born into this world without a sin nature & lived a sinless life. This made Him the only acceptable Sacrifice for our sins. There is no sin too great that His Blood cannot cover & which God cannot forgive - all sins that we commit are forgivable when we truly repent.
The sin of homosexuality is complex because some may have been born with such a tendency, others, because of an abnormal upbringing who were groomed towards it, & yet others may feel the love they receive from their own gender is better than the other. So, whatever the reason for one's homosexuality, it is essentially the sin nature that surfaces in such a form. The world makes excuses for it, because they do not give regard to God's Laws but rather appeal to the happiness of the person & for equal treatment for all. But God requires that all sin, including homosexuality, be repented of (i.e. to declare remorse for it & to turn away from its practise). It is hard for them to do this because it may seem natural to them & fulfilling, but they need to "abstain from all appearance of evil".
Yet, Christians are still required to love all people, regardless of their sin. And this love is not that we should agree to what people do, but to love them as God loves them & longs for them to turn away from their sin. If allowed, we should not neglect a repentant homosexual who wants to know the way of Salvation - we must treat that person as any sinner seeking God & who knows that his/her behaviour is against God's Laws & against the natural display of love & commitment. So the only way to differentiate the act of sin from the person committing it, is to view both through the Eyes of God & through His Son's sacrifice for them.
We could give many more examples to add to the sin of murder, but to the sin of homosexuality, I consider this to be yet another sin that needs to be dealt with. Medically, we've been told that this is how some people are 'wired', thereby giving justification for this aberrant behaviour. Yet, if we dig deeper, would not this convoluted mess in our brains also be the result of the sinful nature? God did not give some folk such an inclination to sin, but it surfaces from the root of sin in us. Now, how we deal with it, as all sin, is what God requires of us. As the apostle agonized over his sin(s), something he acknowledged was very real, he confessed that he seemed powerless in the natural man to deal with it as sin followed him everywhere & had its foothold in him - he hated it - he didn't want it at all - but he was subject to its relentless demands upon him that perpetually agonized him. ( Romans 7).
Does the homosexual then have a choice? Or, is the behaviour so much a part of his being, that 'choice' is not an option? Even though the need for love & companionship would rank amongst the most strong & compelling of desires in humans (only next to Survival), I still believe that if a sin is in question, then we also have the power to choose; if not, then there is no hope for forgiveness. They may not be able to rid themselves of this corruption in their being (as Paul well described his predicament), but they can recognize it as sin, come to the foot of the Cross with it & find forgiveness & power to deal with it daily. What makes this so difficult & sensitive an issue, is that that person has to then abstain completely from same gender involvements, as well as deal with the feelings & urges that continually press on the mind. But then, we all have something very real & compelling to deal with in our lives; it becomes then a question: do we obey God & find forgiveness & acceptance, or do we rather satisfy our lusts & reap the fruit therefrom?
DJ, thank you for your comments. Mine were really based on my understanding of this type of behaviour from observations, an ex-work mate & from a childhood friend (now passed on). We both agree that we have an inherent sinful nature from birth, but we seem to part at this point: "God does not equip people to be born with sinful tendencies".
I would agree that it is not God's wilful Act to specially cause us to have 'sinful tendencies' but I see that it is part & parcel of the sin nature we are so born with. In other words, as much as I would hate to admit to having such a fallen nature that could perform ALL types of sin, the Word tells me that this is so, finding, for example, even the root of murder (which is anger), in me. Why then do I not commit murder? Even as an earlier non-Christian, I would be subject to my own conscience, my propensities & urges, govt. law & societal expectations, that place restraint on me. Then why does one commit murder, with its root in anger? Those aspects that once would have restrained, now have little or no regard given to them, rather to satisfy one's lust to commit sin. (onto Page 2.)
The sin of homosexuality is complex because some may have been born with such a tendency, others, because of an abnormal upbringing who were groomed towards it, & yet others may feel the love they receive from their own gender is better than the other. So, whatever the reason for one's homosexuality, it is essentially the sin nature that surfaces in such a form. The world makes excuses for it, because they do not give regard to God's Laws but rather appeal to the happiness of the person & for equal treatment for all. But God requires that all sin, including homosexuality, be repented of (i.e. to declare remorse for it & to turn away from its practise). It is hard for them to do this because it may seem natural to them & fulfilling, but they need to "abstain from all appearance of evil".
Yet, Christians are still required to love all people, regardless of their sin. And this love is not that we should agree to what people do, but to love them as God loves them & longs for them to turn away from their sin. If allowed, we should not neglect a repentant homosexual who wants to know the way of Salvation - we must treat that person as any sinner seeking God & who knows that his/her behaviour is against God's Laws & against the natural display of love & commitment. So the only way to differentiate the act of sin from the person committing it, is to view both through the Eyes of God & through His Son's sacrifice for them.
I agree with much of the information you gave to Cheryl concerning homosexuality.
However, our opinions differ concerning someone being born a homosexual.
God does not equip people to be born with sinful tendencies.
Our heavenly Father does everything He can to give each and every one of us the best chance to succeed in this lifetime.
Original sin is upon every person.
Everything else is a choice.
We could give many more examples to add to the sin of murder, but to the sin of homosexuality, I consider this to be yet another sin that needs to be dealt with. Medically, we've been told that this is how some people are 'wired', thereby giving justification for this aberrant behaviour. Yet, if we dig deeper, would not this convoluted mess in our brains also be the result of the sinful nature? God did not give some folk such an inclination to sin, but it surfaces from the root of sin in us. Now, how we deal with it, as all sin, is what God requires of us. As the apostle agonized over his sin(s), something he acknowledged was very real, he confessed that he seemed powerless in the natural man to deal with it as sin followed him everywhere & had its foothold in him - he hated it - he didn't want it at all - but he was subject to its relentless demands upon him that perpetually agonized him. ( Romans 7).
Does the homosexual then have a choice? Or, is the behaviour so much a part of his being, that 'choice' is not an option? Even though the need for love & companionship would rank amongst the most strong & compelling of desires in humans (only next to Survival), I still believe that if a sin is in question, then we also have the power to choose; if not, then there is no hope for forgiveness. They may not be able to rid themselves of this corruption in their being (as Paul well described his predicament), but they can recognize it as sin, come to the foot of the Cross with it & find forgiveness & power to deal with it daily. What makes this so difficult & sensitive an issue, is that that person has to then abstain completely from same gender involvements, as well as deal with the feelings & urges that continually press on the mind. But then, we all have something very real & compelling to deal with in our lives; it becomes then a question: do we obey God & find forgiveness & acceptance, or do we rather satisfy our lusts & reap the fruit therefrom?
DJ, thank you for your comments. Mine were really based on my understanding of this type of behaviour from observations, an ex-work mate & from a childhood friend (now passed on). We both agree that we have an inherent sinful nature from birth, but we seem to part at this point: "God does not equip people to be born with sinful tendencies".
I would agree that it is not God's wilful Act to specially cause us to have 'sinful tendencies' but I see that it is part & parcel of the sin nature we are so born with. In other words, as much as I would hate to admit to having such a fallen nature that could perform ALL types of sin, the Word tells me that this is so, finding, for example, even the root of murder (which is anger), in me. Why then do I not commit murder? Even as an earlier non-Christian, I would be subject to my own conscience, my propensities & urges, govt. law & societal expectations, that place restraint on me. Then why does one commit murder, with its root in anger? Those aspects that once would have restrained, now have little or no regard given to them, rather to satisfy one's lust to commit sin. (onto Page 2.)
This comment thread is locked. Please enter a new comment below to start a new comment thread.
Note: Comment threads older than 2 months are automatically locked.
Do you have a Bible comment or question?
Please Sign In or Register to post comments...
Report Comment
Which best represents the problem with the comment?