Jul 31, 2019 4 min
Astoundingly, the Church struggles with adopting the right—that is, the Biblical—perspective of homosexuality. And yet, the Church’s perspective of homosexuality, as well as the vocalization of that perspective, is very important, especially in these times! Consider the following scripture: “You are the light of the world [and] people do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5: 14-15 NIV). When Christians do not have and voice the right perspective of anything, let alone homosexuality, the world is left in darkness regarding that particular issue. This is not a concern for those who love the darkness because their deeds are evil (see John 3:19). However, it is a violation of the will of God, as He has commanded us to “let [our] light shine before others, that they may see [our] good deeds and glorify [our] Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 NIV). In essence, we are responsible for what the world knows and sees about God. We are the ones who communicate God’s perspective on everything! Sometimes, we as Christians, complain about being scrutinized, of being held to a higher standard. And yet, that is exactly the way it should be. We are to be scrutinized, out of hiding, holding up the Light so others can see.
The Truth: Therefore, we need to come out of hiding, or out of the closet (pun intended), with God’s perspective—that is, the truth—about homosexuality. And what is that perspective? Consider Romans 1:26-27 KJV: “For this cause, God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” This scripture is filled with God’s perspective of homosexuality. First, God considers homosexuality to be vile, which means despicable or abominable. God also considers homosexuality to be unnatural; contrary to the bent of our culture, the natural expression of sexuality is heterosexuality within the context of marriage. Moreover, God considers homosexuality unseemly. Synonyms for unseemly include inappropriate, unbecoming, improper, unsuitable, indecent, and incorrect. Finally, homosexuality has a recompence—that is, a payment or a consequence.
But the title of this blog post is The Gospel Truth About Homosexuality. And gospel means good news. And the good news about homosexuality was declared by Jesus Himself: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach…deliverance to the captives” (Luke 4:18). In essence, homosexuality is a captor, and the good news is that there is deliverance for those held in its grip. I not only know this from the Word of God, but I also know it from personal experience. In short, I struggled with homosexuality for many years, finally gaining lasting deliverance in 1989. God delivered me from homosexuality and into the Kingdom of His Beloved Son (see Colossians 1:13). In that Kingdom, I have found the God-kind of life, a wife (29 years!), children, grandchildren, ministry, and wholeness! So in a nutshell, the gospel truth about homosexuality is that it is a sin, but there is a glorious way out! This is exactly what we should be sharing with homosexuals, not out of disdain and smugness but out of compassion and confidence.
The Grace: But truth and grace are always partners—always! Thus, it is not enough to communicate the truth but to communicate the truth in love (always in love). Consider Ephesians 4:15 NIV: “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” According to this scripture, you can’t even consider yourself spiritually mature—no matter how long you’ve been a Christian—if you cannot speak the truth in love. But that’s not all: I Corinthians 13:3 states, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity (love), it profits me nothing.” There you have it, Christian: whatever you do outside of love is unprofitable. So there is no way you will be able to minister deliverance to homosexuals without loving them. And I mean really loving them—loving them like God loves you: unconditionally, with no strings attached. I’ll never forget the story I heard a Christian mother share at a Bible Study one day. She related that once she stared in horror at a television screen as it showcased homosexuals participating in the festivities of gay pride week in Atlanta. She watched as scantily clad homosexual men and women defiantly flaunted their sexuality with reckless abandon. She could not help but wonder aloud, “God, what are you doing while this is going on?” God answered her without hesitation and emphatically: “I am showing mercy!” Can you do that? Can you reach out to homosexuals compassionately with the truth, but without judgment? I can!
In short, we, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, have the truth about homosexuality, and we must come boldly forth with that truth. We cannot allow our culture to bully us into silence. God is looking for people to voice His perspective, and as a Christian, you must make yourself available to Him. At the same time, you must be a compassionate truth-speaker! Honestly, the failure to act in love is as abominable as homosexuality because just as homosexuality, it sends the wrong message about God. Please understand, however, that despite how lovingly you speak the truth, you will encounter people that are simply not interested in the truth. To them, you are bigoted, narrow-minded, hateful, and homophobic. However, there are those, who like I was, are desperately crying out for freedom from the bondage of homosexuality. These are the wheat that is lost among the tares. These are the ones to whom we are called. And for their sake, we must be fearless and compassionate: ministering the truth with grace.
God bless you, and I pray for you to continue to hear His Voice
