Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Message: There is currently enormous popular pressure for Christian churches not to alienate or offend homosexual men and women. These are people God loves. These are people we are commanded to love. And so, a certain line of logic goes, we must accept their God-given appetite for sexual relations with their own gender. And, up to that point, the argument is absolutely correct. To love a person, however, does not mean we have to say that their sinfulness is just fine, that they should go ahead and indulge their sexuality as they please. Without any question, having sex with a person of one’s own gender is a sin. The commandment occurs so many times in the Bible that we hardly need a cite, but if we need one, Romans 1:26-27 is clear enough. Deciding that sex acts are godly because they are “expressions of love,” and God is love, is a preposterous false syllogism. temptation in church But then we have Christ, in several passages, warning us not to judge others, and His admonition is strongly worded. (Matthew 7:1-5.) “Hypocrite,” He tells us, “first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” And brother Tyrone, who spent an hour the previous night looking at pornography on the internet, feels like he is in no position to criticize. And sister Kaitlyn, one pew over, who stole $18 out of petty cash to cover her electric bill last week, is keeping her mouth shut. So what’s the problem? For all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and “all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24-25.) The problem can be seen in one of the most beautiful and comforting passages in the Bible, 1 John 1:8-9. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If homosexuals (or heterosexuals! or anyone else!) say they have no sin, they deceive themselves. And equally important, how will they confess it? If they do not confess it, how might God forgive them? “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” (James 5:16.) The very purpose of the Law was to show us our sin. E.g., Romans 7:7. Every one of us has a powerful natural instinct to seek pleasure. And it seems that, increasingly, churches indulge their members’ appetites, no matter how clearly the Bible condems them. Many clergy would rather have the pews full of people hearing what they want to hear, rather than a few scattered people hearing what God wants them to hear. But pews filled with people worshipping their appetites are not a holy priesthood. They are, as Paul terms it, “worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator.” (Romans 1:25.) So, finally, we come to today’s Scripture. What does the Bible say about clergy who preach appetite fulfillment rather than obedience to God? It calls them false apostles, deceitful workmen, “Satan disguised as an angel of light.” And “their end will correspond to their deeds.” These notes are already too long, but it is really important that we remember something: people born with a temptation to sex with others of their gender are no different from any of us. We all have our own particular temptations and we all have given in to them at some point. 20% of Christian men confess that they are “addicted” to pornography. A majority of the women I personally know (and many men) are saturated in vanity. A majority of people crave power. Most people suffer from pridefulness and anger. Homosexuals who have trouble controlling their urges are fundamentally like every other human being, and our primary duty as Christians is to love them, not to judge them.