FACING HOMOSEXUALITY
(Part 1 of 4)
In this article and its subsequent installments we will be considering the issue of homosexuality in our world and our response to it. It is our prayer that this study will enable us to better understand a scriptural response to homosexuality and to look for opportunities to implement that response in our lives.
. . . Afraid
. . . Disgusted
. . . Outraged
. . . Humored
. . . Uninterested
Each of the above adjectives (and others) represent the variety of ways in which someone may react to the growing prevalence of homosexuality in today�s world. The prevalence of homosexuality in our society is not so much the result of an increase in the actual number of people who are trapped in its lies, but it is rather the result of a concerted effort to dull people into a casual acceptance of homosexuality.
There are many social issues to which the conscientious Christian will need to respond. In many ways the modern Christian’s response to the world of 2000 will be the same as it has been for every Christian ever since sin entered the world. From the beginning the devil’s tools have been deception, lies, and every other manner of sin (made to look enticing). Nothing has changed. The devil’s tools are the same. Therefore, a godly response also remains essentially the same.
Even though the devil continually uses the same lies and fleshly temptations, he also is an expert at molding his enticements to the weaknesses of the times so that he obtains the most “tempting power” for his effort. There were, for example, plenty of temptations for people who lived through the Great Depression, but going to the electronics store and squandering a paycheck on every new technological advance wasn’t one of them. The way in which homosexuality is casually becoming an accepted “norm” in today�s world is just one of the dangers Satan is tailoring for our present time.
As Christians, what is our response as we face the issue of homosexuality in the world? Sadly, the response of Christians toward homosexuality has not always been scriptural or God-pleasing. In this matter (as well in all others) care must be taken that we not fall into a standard “response of the church” without evaluating that response in the light of Scripture. Nor do we wish to fall into a “text book” response that may be scriptural–but only in words and not in actions.
The world surrounds us. As we consider the way the world treats homosexuality, the first thing to realize is that we do need to respond. A lack of response to the sinful world is a response of disregard and disinterest. Such a response is not consistent with the instructions of our Savior: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Mt. 26:41), and “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Mt. 28:19-20).
Perhaps the best way to describe a God-pleasing response to homosexuality is to characterize it as a response of deep concern. It is a deep concern for two reasons:
1. Let every Christian have a deep concern as to the danger for his
soul and the souls of others, because our spiritual enemies work
feverishly to make sin look inviting and to pull many souls into
its supposed delights. If a Christian believes that the issues
surrounding homosexuality do not affect him, God warns: "He who
thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor. 10:12).
Homosexuality in itself may never be a temptation to a particular
Christian, and yet the devil may use it and our attitudes toward it
as a stepping stone to other equally dangerous temptations.
2. Let every Christian have deep concern for the souls of those who
are being led into homosexuality (and any other sin) or who are
already trapped in its lies. If a Christian believes that the
issues surrounding homosexuality do not affect him, he is forgetting
that there are many souls living around him who are in need of the
Gospel because they are affected by these issues in some way. Souls
in need--plus Christ's commission to make disciples--means that
this is an issue that affects us.
(to be continued)
–Pastor Wayne Eichstadt