JesusWalk Bible Study Forum: Q1. Homosexuality - JesusWalk Bible Study Forum

Q1. (19:4-11) How can Christians keep balance on the issue of homosexuality in our day? Is it really possible to be loving and compassionate toward practicing homosexuals at the same time as you condemn the sin? Should the church be silent about homosexuality? If not, what should we be saying? Where should we be saying it? (Be gentle and loving as you discuss this subject -- please!)

It disgusts God to be homosexual it is a sin.I do think though that God loves sinners and wishes them to repent,and would forgive as He forgives all our sins if we come to Jesus.I think the church needs to feel unconditional love towards homosexuals but in love let them know they're sinning towards God

Nearly everyday radical homosexual activists foist their perverse logic on our culture and mark Christians as intolerant haters, insisting that homosexuality is an acceptable, biological condition. Our workplace rules now prohibit discrimination based on “sexual preference”; God’s truth has been transformed into a “hate crime”; public schools impose homosexual agenda on our children through “diversity” celebrations and liberal teachings—while they deny the existence of the “one true God”; and worldly churches capitulate to the time and appoint homosexual elders.

Christians struggle to balance compassion and love amidst the seemingly endless onslaught of the gay rights propaganda. Still it is possible to be compassionate towards homosexuals, and condemn their sin.

While the Bible condemns homosexuality, it also condemns numerous other sins that exist within our churches. “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar, about which I tell you in advance—as I told you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:19-21)

Our churches must open its doors to all and speak out clearly and biblically. Homosexuality is sin. Homosexuals cannot serve in leadership positions in the church—the Bible is quite clear on that point.

But we must also send the message that homosexuality is not an unpardonable sin—and that Jesus offers forgiveness to sinners who turn from their sins (we’re a fortunate lot aren’t we). “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool.” (Isa 1:18).

As individuals, we cannot be cowed by others and still lay claim to be a follower of Christ. We must let our views be known, with self-control, and speak God’s truth, rebuke and instruct, as we would for any other sin.

Pastor Ralph, on Oct 19 2004, 07:15 AM, said:

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This post has been edited by PressThrough: 11 November 2004 - 02:20 PM

Q1. (19:4-11) How can Christians keep balance on the issue of homosexuality in our day? Is it really possible to be loving and compassionate toward practicing homosexuals at the same time as you condemn the sin? Should the church be silent about homosexuality? If not, what should we be saying? Where should we be saying it? (Be gentle and loving as you discuss this subject -- please!)

It isn't easy, especially in our society today that considers any discussion about things that God's word teaches is sin as a sign of being narrow and judgemental--for today, the prevailing thought is: whatever I want to do, I should be able to do, and be praised for doing it!
We must say that this is sin, for God says it is sin. The church cannot be silent--but, we must also recognize all of us sin in one way or another. None is without sin. We must love the sinner but hate the sin and pray that our neighbor or friend will be touched by God and saved from his/her sin--just as we pray that each of us is saved by Him!

I am unsure what "balance" means when it comes to this topic.

Plan and simple, homosexuality is a sin unto death for any and all who practice it.

Even if the preposterous idea that homosexuality may be genetic were true, I'd say so what. The tendencies of the flesh(ie **** greed gluttony etc) are present in all of us from birth. If we purposely rebel against God in continued willful participation in them, the pursuits of the flesh, we are headed for hell.

I do not understand this tone of near reverence when we are addressing this issue (on the part of some). On more than one occassion, God chose to look sinners in the eye and say "brood of vipers". His goal was simple. There should be no waffling on the issue of willful sin against Christ and His dictates.

When it comes to the message, we should be clear. When it comes to delivering the message, the target audience should leave the sermon, conversation, debate, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the person delivering God's Word (me, you or any Christian) loves them as Christ loves us.

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1.) Dear friends, this behavior is not natural. In a wonderful book by Dr. Jeffrey Satinover called "Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth"; he addresses this subject and how the radical lobby hijacked the American Psychiatric Association and had this behavior removed from its list of treatable behaviors. In fact, there has been movements to keep those who wish to be healed of this compulsive / addictive behavior from getting help from psychiatry with threats of malpractice to those doctors who reach out. Despite overwhelming medical and scientific evidence of its harmful effects to those caught in its grip.
Why does God list this as an abomination? Well read what Dr. Satinover reveals: "..the gay male life span, even apart from AIDS and with a long term partner, is significantly shorter that that of married men in general by more than three decades. AIDS further shortens the life span of homosexual men by more than seven per cent" (Page 69)
Dr. Satinover reflects: "Thus the compulsions are neither simple choices nor true illnesses. They are a category unto themselves that includes elements of both choice and disease. They are a process, a way or path by which life--a free, moral life--is progressively, not all at once, undone. It is this erosion of moral capacity that makes these preeminently spiritual conditions. For if there were no morality to consider, what difference would it make what a man did?" (Page 176)
Just like anyone of us that is dealing or has dealt with a sin that seems to rear its head from time to time until we eventually gain victory through the power of the Holy Spirit, and Lord Jesus Christ; so do those dealing with the complexity of this behavior. We need to reach out with the message of freedom from the bondage of this behavior through Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul delivers sobering words to those who do not repent and wonderful words to those in Corinth who have been delivered: "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 adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 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 God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Great news for all of us!! Let others know it waits for them too!
**Dr. Satinover addresses this issue from the psychiatric, medical and spiritual points in this well written book that the radical lobby would like to see fade into oblivion. A must read if you wish to help those who need help.

PressThrough, on Nov 7 2004, 04:33 AM, said:

There's an extremely fine line that needs to be trod here. It's one thing to say to a homosexual friend "I believe that when you practice homosexuality you are living a life that is completely unacceptable to God." That's a pretty cut and dried statement and one that has no sentimentality attached to it, either positive or negative. But one must ALSO say to this friend (or son or daughter) "I will love you unconditionally no matter how you choose to live your life." When we place conditions upon our love or our prayers we aren't walkiing the walk. If you truly love a person you will never put them out of mind or out of your prayers. And it's not necessary to pity them or to participate in their lifestyle in order to do this. Saying "Thank you for inviting me to your commitment ceremony, but you know that I cannot attend because it condones a way of life that I believe is contrary to God's will" is a perfectly loving response. So is gently refusing to meet a friend who is cohabitating at their home or even going out to dinner with that friend and their partner. But there's no reason why you should not meet that friend alone for lunch or invite him/her to an event. Your relationship is with your friend, not with his/her partner, and it's up to you to lovingly choose to keep it that way. Your friend may choose to take offense and storm off, but if you truly love him/her you will treat this as a temporary state of affairs and continue to pray and (if appropriate) to stay in touch.

Deciding that when someone rejects your statement of a biblical principle 3 times that you should give up is simply arbitrary and there is no support I can think of for making that kind of decision. There just isn't any option to walk away. The disciples were real blockheads sometimes, but I don't recall that Jesus gave up on them after 3 tries.

For a Christian to keep balance on the issue of homosexuality in our day we should be familiar with GOD's Word on the subject. He condemned it throughout the entire Bible. If one reads Romans 1:18 - 32 there is no way to get around this sin.

Yes, a Christian can be loving and compassionate toward practicing homosexuals but we should tell them what GOD's Word says about it and we must pray for them.

No, the church should never be silent about homosexuality, the entire Word of GOD must be preached condemning all sin. It should be said from the pulpit and anywhere else where the opportunity presents itself.

We can keep a balance on the issue of homosexuality by reading the Word and understanding what God says about it and by understanding that it also says for All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
I think it is possible to be loving and compassionate toward practicing homosexuals at the same time as you condemn the sin by speaking the truth "IN LOVE". If we have the holy sprit in us by first confessing our own sin and asking God to Cleanse us and asking Him to fill us with HIs Holy Spirit we can do this. Without the Holy Spirit I find to often I am condemning and not remembering my own position in Christ and how I was and how it is I am in Christ today. The same as He did for me He wants to do for the homosexual. We can be loving toward the homosexual by silently prayng for them. I seem to love the ones I pray for. I understand them as God sees them. With a soul that He is not wanting to perish but to spend all eternity with Him who bought us with a price.
If the church is silent on the isssue of homosexuality what other parts of God's Word should we ignore. His Word is to be preached in its entirety.

God Bless!
Jen
Numbers 6:24-26

Pastor Ralph, on Oct 19 2004, 07:15 AM, said:

How can Christians keep balance on the issue of homosexuality in our day?
Walk in the truth of God’s creation of man and women and also the Church needs to take a stand on all sin and not isolate certain sins because we are uncomfortable with them.
The gossip or the self-righteous person that comes to church every week is no more righteous than the homosexual and yet we do not confront them.

Is it really possible to be loving and compassionate toward practicing homosexuals at the same time as you condemn the sin?
Yes, we all fall short of the glory of God . . . we have to hate the sin and love the sinner.

Should the church be silent about homosexuality?
No, the church cannot compromise with sin . . . however the church is also a hospital for the sick.

If not, what should we be saying?
First of all no one will come to repentance unless the Holy Spirit leads them at that point we should speak the truth in love . . .We should be saying that God does not condone homosexuality just as he does not condone other sins and that there is a way out. We can also share our own personal testimony to let them know we are not without sin either.

Where should we be saying it?
We should be saying it directly to them in anyway that we can mostly by our actions in as well as prayer . . . so that not to cause resentment but curiosity of what we have that they do not. If they want help, we should be befriending them so we can share the light in us, telling them the truth and letting them accept it of not.

Focus on the Family is a resource that you can turn to, to learn more. . . there is also a conference called "Love Won Out" which I highly recommend . . . there are reformed homosexuals who have given their lifes to the Lord and they have a story to tell.

Praise God that He does not want to see anyone perish and that He is more mericiful than us humans at times

We can only keep balance by keeping out of the way. We are so culturated to take a stand and defend our cause, in our own strength. We need to keep control of our external obviouse response by applying God’s love to show acceptance, how else will any message be heard. But let our internal heart and spirit be so connected and led by the spirit to let the spirits message and purpose for our relating to these in sin to be drawn to the loving truth by what ever mean our Father intends to use us. Trusting HIM to be the judge the holy one is the only way to let faith grow in us and in others. He can let us be a light or a message as he sees fit in each unique opportunity. He can let us love those unloveables he can not approach because of their sin which causes separation, as ours does when we hold on to it rather than confessing and releasing it.
Is it really possible to be loving and compassionate toward practicing homosexuals at the same time as you condemn the sin? Maybe it is not humanly possible, but certainly spiritually probable. He does it for me often, with other sin.

The church needs to speak truth, not only what tickles our ears. How it is spoken is to be counciled by our chief councilor, the Holy Spirit.
If not, what should we be saying? Where should we be saying it? How ever the Spirit leads.

Christians can keep balance on the issue of homosexuality by STANDING FIRM
on the Word of God and offering no compromise . Let there be no misunderstanding, that those who blatantly practice such perversion will not
inherit the kingdom of God.

It is possible to be loving and compassionate toward practising homosexuals
because Jesus died for all men and for all types of sin. God is not willing that
any should perish , but that all men may come to REPENTANCE.

No. The church should take a stand against such a practice. It is abominable in
the sight of the Lord.

We should be saying it whenever we are approached on the subject for our
view of stand in this matter.

I have left churches that have made homosexuality too much of an issue. My heart goes out to those who have felt that they could not come into a church because the righteous Christians say they have to clean up their act before they should set foot in the door. How can they be expected to learn the Gospel if we don't allow them to come to church just as they are, if we don't show the love of Christ without judgment? The song says "Come just as you are". Jesus came to save the lost. I am confident that if He were here today He would be walking with the homosexual as He would with all types of sinners.

They are no different than the rest of us sinners except that they wear their sin on their sleeve. There is no one perfect. Not not one and I do not feel that we should judge homosexuals differently than other sinner. My pastor says he would welcome homosexuals to his congregation because it is not his church, but Christ's and he knows Christ would want it that way. He would not expect much from them at the beginning other than a desire to learn the truth. He would pray that as they learn about God's expectations and grow to a deep and personal relationship with Christ, that they would begin to shed their old selves and put on the new. He would encourage them to participate in the spirit filled life which does not condone homosexuality. By reaching out as Jesus would, we have a chance to change their hearts and lives.

I often participate in theatre where I meet many homosexuals. I have always made a special effort to be friendly and to be sure they knew that I was a Christian. None of them lived near my church so as of yet I have not invited them to church, but I hope eto someday have an opportunity to discuss Christ with them. But in order to do that they would have to trust me because they have been hurt so many times before by others to righteous to give them the time of day.

Q1. (19:4-11) How can Christians keep balance on the issue of homosexuality in our day? Is it really possible to be loving and compassionate toward practicing homosexuals at the same time as you condemn the sin? Should the church be silent about homosexuality? If not, what should we be saying? Where should we be saying it? (Be gentle and loving as you discuss this subject -- please!)


Christians have to take a stand against homosexuality. That is Biblical. But as God loves everyone, homos included, we should also love them as our neighbors. Condemn the sin but not the sinner. That is Biblical. That's the balance we can talk about in our days. Unless one is born of the Spirit, we cannot do the works of the Spirit. It is possible to love the sinner and hate the sin, if the Holy Spirit lives in us and takes control of our actions in our day to day life.

The church should never be silent in this regard. The topic should be addressed openly. Some may get hurt and disgusted but the truth is there for everyone to see. Bush won the electoral platform because he condemned the gay marriages, one of the electoral issues. Church should condemn this sin from every platform but allow the participants to come to the truth and change for the better. God and Bible condemn this behaviour and so the church should follow suit. But love should never be extinguished just because of this behaviour.

Homosexuality is always considered sin in the Bible. It is a sexual sin. I am convinced that homosexuality is only one symptom of sin in our society. I keep balance by remembering what is said in I Corinthians 6:15-20. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her body? For it is said, The two will become one flesh. But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in Spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” I do not deem one sexual sin different from another. They all dishonor us and our Lord.

It is possible to be compassionate and loving toward any sinner. I am a sinner. The Lord is compassionate and loving toward me. I am so sorry that many in this world believe that Christians hate homosexuals. I do not hate anyone who is in sin. We can love any sinner and pray for them always, especially if they are enslaved to sin. They are blind to the truth. We can declare the truth and pray.

The church should always declare the truth about sexual sin. Christians must be upfront about all sin. It is important to help others turn from their sin. If they do not accept that they must be saved by the grace of our Lord and turn from their sin, then we have done our duty, as commanded by God, by giving them the gospel and trying to help them turn from their sin. Now we must pray.

This doesn’t have to be personal, it should be public. It should be widespread knowledge that sexual sin is not something the church will tolerate but that should be dealt with and overcome by the love of Christ.

Sin is sin and it ALL leads to death. This truth is evidently manifested in our lives by the destruction and unhappiness reaped by those that have not been set free. Even Christans can struggle with the bondages of it and only the Lord's grace keeps us from receiving the full harvest. Homosexuality is a sin comparable to a drug or alcohol addiction. How could we withold Christ's love from any of those so obviously broken and in desperate need of it. To hold homosexuality to a higher standard of sin is just not true justice. They are a people bound to death, just as every other lost soul.
It takes a true work of the Holy Spirit to balance the love with the condemnation of sin, and it's my opinion that it's only the agape love for a lost brother or sister that can convey that message.
No, the church should not be silent about it, as it should not be silent about any other sin. And those churches that condone it by allowing church leaders to be practicing homosexuals are going to have a rod of iron to answer to soon enough. We should be saying it how ever, where ever and when ever the Holy Spirit guides us to do so, and only then.

By not exposing our families to it. We can love the sinner and hate the sin. The church should preach it from the pulpit. It is a sin and condemned in the Bible. It is an abomination. Sin is sin and the church should be preaching on it just like they do anything else.
Enough said!!

Christians can keep balance on the issue of homosexuality in our day is to realize that we all have some sort of sin to deal with and that their sin is just as wicked as ours. It really is possible to be loving and compassionate toward practicing homosexuals at the same time as you condemn the sin, especially when they are in your family. You love them, so it makes you aware that they are human, just as we are. The church should not be silent about homosexuality. They should make members aware that it is a sin just as alcoholism, adultery, murder, etc. This should be taught at the church to the youth, to the congregation, and the church's position should be stated in any paraphenilia stating their beliefs.

I loved Pastor Ralph's suggestion that homosexuality is no more or less evil than adultery etc. I believe we can keep balance on this issue today, and the above comment is the key.

There are many sins that prohibit leadership in the church. Homosexuality is one. Adultery, fornication, stealing, murder, lying, drunkenness are others. The trouble with sexual sin of any kind is that once sexuality is opened up, (whether within marriage or not) it is a very forceful part of human nature. God's intention is that it be opened only in marriage for the sake of children who need safe marriages, fathers and mothers if they are to become stable adults. When sexuallity is opened up outside of marriage it is still a forceful part of human nature and will require outlet. However, this is ungodly right from the first time it was undertaken. It is ungodly because it nurtures ****, whether for the same or for the opposite sex. ****, given the opportunity, brings about sexual addiction (whether for same or opposite sex), and sexual addiction is very difficult to deal with, as is any other addiction. Sexual addiction is a misuse and abuse of sexuality, and a very difficult habit to break. So homosexuality is like any other sin - anathema to God and to His people. Still God wishes to save every man who will truly repent including the homosexual person whom He (and we by imitation of Him) loves.

The church must treat homosexuality just like any other sin, proclaiming the deleterious effect on society. We need to preach about sin a great deal more than we do, because people lack proper fear of God these days. God is not mocked!

If we put homosexuality in the same box as adultery and fornication we can preach against it everywhere. It violates the family which is the core of society. It is not the best that can be given to children and children should not be submitted to it or to any other unsavoury practice.