"how are you supposed to react?"

this is the message i had originally planed to deliver when i preached at FBC BIG Church on August 31 of this year, but i was encouraged to pick another question. so i did, you can find that here. but the truth is, the student who asked this question still deserves an answer. so you will find the content of the message i wrote below. to the student who asked the question: thank you for seeking out answers and clarification on a topic that is tragically so often avoided in church circles. may GOD give you courage and compassion as you move forward in this relationship.

...


OK, this questions could be a monster of an issue, but we're going to trust that Scripture is absolutely true, clear, and relevant to our lives today as we dive in. are you ready?

I know homosexuality is against the bible but I don't get it. How are you supposed to react when a girl tells you they're going out with another girl or vice versa? What if the person has said they're a Christian? I just am confused about what to say in a situation like that.

Let's take it piece by piece, shall we?

Homosexuality is a sin of sexual immorality. Sexual immorality is a "catch all" term for the perversion of the gift of sex outside of the marriage covenant between one man and one woman, as set up by GOD. This includes: fornication, adultery, lust, homosexual acts, masturbation, porn, "friends with benefits", sex before marriage, etc.

Turn to Galatians 5:19-21:

The acts of sinful nature are obvious: SEXUAL IMMORALITY, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will NOT inherit the Kingdom of GOD.

So there it is: sexual immorality [including homosexuality] is right there, at the top of the list of acts of sinful nature which are obvious. But it is in there amongst all those other sins, isn't it? It's there amongst sins that you and I "good/clean people" all have in our lives [selfish ambition, envy]. Homosexuality is not a sin on it's own, unique from others. It is an "act of sin", which is a fruit of all of our "sinful natures". however, not all people have homosexual-branded or “same-sex” temptations, and if you don't, it's really easy to stand in condemnation and judgment against those that do. it's easy to create an unhealthy "us" vs. "them" mentality. we need to be careful that we don't respond in either “sinful judgment” or “self-righteous pity” to those that battle with this fruit of their sin nature, but rather take a humble look at the sin in our lives as well, and the need for us all to repent of sin and worship our savior, JESUS.

Let's pause for a moment for a quick look at harmartiology, which is a fancy word for the "theology of sin". It's a component to basic theology that reveals to us the heart condition that we all suffer in our sinful state.

This sin nature comes to us through two avenues:

INHERITED SIN and IMPUTED SIN.

"INHERITED SIN" is simply "the sinful state into which all people are born". it's also called our "sin nature" and "original sin", as passed down from Adam to his sons, and his sons, to their sons, and from our fathers to us. this is a very simple way to describe how each of us are influenced and drawn into doing actions that are against the desires of GOD. some theologies refer to this as "total depravity". not that we are as "BAD" as we can be, but that we are as "BAD OFF" as we can be. We must continually reject the desires of our flesh through inherited sin.

"IMPUTED SIN" is our sin nature that comes to us through adam's choice to disobey GOD in the story of the Garden of Eden [as we were all "present" with him in seed]. Romans 5:18-19 explains it in comparison to Jesus' act of redemption: "just as the result of one trespass [adam's sin] was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness [jesus' sacrifice] was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man [adam] were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man [JESUS] many were made righteous!" theologically, there have been three “imputations” of sin: first, Adam’s sin to us/all mankind [Rom 5]. Then, as Paul puts it in 2 Cor 5:21: “He who knew no sin BECAME SIN [2nd imputation] on our behalf so that WE MAY BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD [3rd imputation]”. ALL of our sin is imputed to Christ on the cross as he becomes our perfect sacrifice. Then, [as Martin Luther calls it] in the Great Exchange, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us.

Therefore, all who have lived [save jesus] suffer from both IMPUTED and INHERITED sin… WE ARE ALL SINNERS! It's through Jesus' act of righteous obedience that our sin nature is COVERED OVER and our sins are forgiven. In worship to Him and obedience to His Word, we must continually repent of our acts of sin and reject the desires of the flesh.

turn to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:

Do you not know that the wicked will NOT inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders [THERE IT IS RIGHT THERE, BUT LOOK WHAT IT'S IN THE MIDST OF!] nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God. And that is what SOME OF YOU WERE!!! BUT YOU WERE WASHED, YOU WERE SANCTIFIED, YOU WERE JUSTIFIED in the name of the LORD Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our GOD.

It’s only by the GRACE of GOD that we are NOT the very people we often try to condemn!!!

JI Packer, one of today's great authors, pastors and theologians refers to Homosexuality as a "heretical sin". He explains that because of our sin nature, as Christians, we are tempted to sin in many ways, including homosexuality. But because GOD saved us, through the atonement of Jesus and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, we are to practice ongoing and continual repentance for sin and rejection of sinful desires. He refers to homosexuality, in addition to all sins, as "heretical" because it denies a fundamental aspect of the gospel: THE NEED FOR REPENTANCE. Whenever sin is tolerated, reasoned into “a lifestyle” and not repented of or people aren't encouraged to repent of sin, it is heresy. Furthermore, whenever someone is practicing sin and no one else calls them to repentance, it puts souls at danger. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 is very clear that the people in the list [NONREPENTANT homosexual offenders, as well as thieves, swindlers, etc.] will NOT inherit the Kingdom of GOD.

Romans 1:21-32 gives us another glimpse into this issue. In it, we see that homosexuality [amongst other sin] is a fruit that happens when we exchange the truth of GOD for a lie and no longer give him the credit he's due, nor trust his redemption in our life.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened… therefore, God gave them over in their sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator… because of this, GOD gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion… [I wonder if you and I exhibit qualities portrayed on this list?] they have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

It sounds to me like the student who submitted the question's friend is in this category. If they are a Christian, they KNOW God's righteous decree that this is sin. They also would know Him as Creator, but instead, they've chosen NOT to glorify him or give thanks to Him for his forgiveness of sin, and out of that choice have the fruits of sin in their life as listed above. But really, when any of us have these sins that mar our lives, aren't we also not glorifying, worshiping, and thanking him as we should?

[AT THIS POINT A DRAMA, portraying john 8:1-11 [woman caught in adultery], INTERRUPTS MY MESSAGE TO CONCLUDE US WITH AN APPLICATION POINT]

***on the way into church, there will be buckets full of small river rocks [4" – 5” in diameter] with a sign that says "take one, you might need it!" ***

3 or 4 [student] actors come barging in each dragging with them a red handed "Guilty offender" of a sexual sin, Hetero/Homo/Bi/Trans-included.

I say, "whoa! Whoa! What's going on here?"

They take their turns saying:

"this woman was caught in the act of adultery!"

"this guy was caught looking at porn on the computer!"

"this guy is gay [or “a homosexual offender”]!"

“this couple was ‘fooling around’ before they were married”!

So what do you suggest we do with them?

"well, we can stone them!" "yeah! They deserve it!"

[to the audience]

How about you? What will you do?

Will you throw your stone at them? Will you look down your noses at them? Will you act like you're better than them? Will you show off all the religious things you've done so as to keep the spotlight off yourself and onto them? Will you roll your eyes and say it'd take a miracle to save them? Will you tell others they've really gone off them deep end this time? Will you complain to others about how unruly they are? Will you judge them?

Huh? What will you do?
How will you respond?
Will you condemn them?

I won't either.

[to the guilty parties, and to the student's friend:]
But I will tell you that what you are doing is sin. Jesus died to offer you forgiveness for that sin. And he's given you the Holy Spirit to empower you to reject your sinful desires. GO NOW AND LEAVE YOUR LIFE OF SIN.