craigmanderson

How we treat Homosexuals in this church. Message Sunday July 8th 2012. This subject is different to what we say about Gay Marriage although we will make mention of it later. This subject is about our attitude towards gay people. It’s about how we treat people who are openly gay and how we relate to them in every day life and also how we relate to them as they come along to this church. The gay issue is in the news constantly now over the last 20 years or so. This is because there is a part of the culture made up of the strong rights demanding gay community who want to see the homosexual lifestyle and practice recognised and legitimised as being normal and just another sexual preference. For that to happen, the general population must make the huge transition over the belief that there is something either sinful or unnatural about having sex with a person of the same sex. The Gay community according to most surveys constitutes about 2-3% of the population. However the gay rights lobby constantly affirm its 10% or more. I believe that because the gay rights lobby is so strong in the media and famous people like Katy Perry sing songs like “I Kissed a Girl and I Liked it”  Then a huge number of teens and youth are experimenting with Homosexuality and this may swell the numbers in proportions that are hard to quantify. The gay community contains some people who feel trapped in their homosexual urges and orientation and are not sure that they want to make it a public issue. Some are openly gay and proud it and some are strongly pushing the gay lobby agenda. Firstly we want to ask, what does the bible say about it? OT Gen_13:13  Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD. Gen_18:20  Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, Gen 19:5  And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” Gen 19:6  Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, Gen 19:7  and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Leviticus 20:13 – “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” (NIV) NT Rom 1:21  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Rom 1:22  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, Rom 1:23  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Rom 1:24  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, Rom 1:25  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Rom 1:26  For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; Rom 1:27  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – “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.” (NIV). Jud_1:7  just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. The Christian response The gay lobby has done an excellent job in controlling the rhetoric in the media about gay rights. Pretty much the media is on board about their demands. The church has responded in two unhealthy ways. Some denominations have abandoned their scriptural foundations and have ordained openly homosexual clergy and have approved gay marriage. Other right wing or extreme conservative denominations have come out as Gay haters, marching in the streets with offensive placards reading things like “God hates Fags” No wonder the community is confused about where the church stands. Many Christians like to stay out of the issue altogether because they lack the knowledge and understanding to say why they believe as they do; and maybe lack the courage to stand up to the debate that casts them as judgemental, narrow minded and intolerant. However it’s no good ignoring cultural issues. The church gets sidelined and becomes irrelevant if we don’t take a leadership role and clearly represent the mind of God and the practice that brings about health and life for others. Can we have solid moral and intellectual grounds to oppose homosexuality and let still love the homosexual as Christ loves them. Surely our job is to defend the biblical stand concerning homosexuality, engaging the public debate on Homosexuality and interacting with homosexuals on a one to one basis in a loving and Christ honouring way. Sexual Sin It seems clear that homosexuality is condemned in the bible. But is it a worse sin than some others? Equally the bible condemns fornication – sexual relations before marriage, it condemns adultery – the practice of have sex with someone you’re not married to when you are married, or when you are single and they are married. Bestiality is condemned. Paedophilia is not mentioned in the bible, however as the bible clearly says that sex is for the confines of marriage then sex with a child is condemned also. Masturbation is not addressed in the bible. It is probably very likely that people who come to this church are involved in these sinful practices. Furthermore that many people also struggle with pornography. Many sins are condemned in the bible as outlined in the law of the old testament and confirmed in the new testament such idolatry, theft, greed, drunkenness, revilers, swindlers. Even sins like hatred, anger, violence, jealousy, doubt, and unbelief are clearly condemned in scripture. However concerning any kind of sexual sin listen to what the apostle Paul says about that category of sin… 1Co 6:18  Shun immorality and all sexual looseness [flee from impurity in thought, word, or deed]. Any other sin which a man commits is one outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 1Co 6:19  Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, This illustrates how God sees our bodies as being a holy thing and designed ultimately for his Spirit to dwell within once we become a Christian. Another issue is that almost all sexual sin involves more than one person. It also can be a betrayal as in adultery and it can be leading another person astray as in seduction. This makes sexual sin more impacting than other sins, however homosexuality is not condemned any more severely than adultery or fornication in the New Testament. How should we treat homosexuals? When we as Christians meet any person who is not a Christian, surely our attitude is the same no matter what their beliefs or practices? They are someone Christ died for. I have a duty and obligation to share with them the words of life, the message of the gospel with my testimony and encourage them to consider the claims of Christ. If I meet an openly gay person, biblically they are no different to an adulterer or a fornicator as far as my response is concerned. Jesus showed His response to the woman caught in adultery was to rescue her from misplaced judgement, show her he did not condemn her and commanded her to sin no more. Joh 8:3  When the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand in the middle of the court and put the case before Him. Joh 8:4  Teacher, they said, This woman has been caught in the very act of adultery. Joh 8:5  Now Moses in the Law commanded us that such [women–offenders] shall be stoned to death. But what do You say [to do with her–what is Your sentence]? [Deut. 22:22-24.] Joh 8:6  This they said to try (test) Him, hoping they might find a charge on which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger. Joh 8:7  However, when they persisted with their question, He raised Himself up and said, Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. Joh 8:8  Then He bent down and went on writing on the ground with His finger. Joh 8:9  They listened to Him, and then they began going out, conscience-stricken, one by one, from the oldest down to the last one of them, till Jesus was left alone, with the woman standing there before Him in the center of the court. Joh 8:10  When Jesus raised Himself up, He said to her, Woman, where are your accusers? Has no man condemned you? Joh 8:11  She answered, No one, Lord! And Jesus said, I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more. In this story Jesus is directly confronted with sin exposed and must deal with it. The challenge for him was from the Pharisees who knew the law commanded that his woman be stoned to death. Jesus agreed with the law, but brought in mercy to allow the judgement to be averted (since He would pay the price himself at the cross) if the woman would respond to Christ’s offer of mercy. When people attend our church as a homosexual, or adulterer, or fornicator, we do not condemn them, we love them, accept them and introduce them to Jesus Christ. Our attitude is one that is wholeheartedly accepting and merciful, knowing that every one of us came to Christ as children of disobedience and He showed us mercy that we did not deserve. Furthermore as Galatians 6:1 says Gal 6:1  BRETHREN, IF any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also. We do not take temptation lightly but walk soberly, and in love and assist people to find Jesus. Our main job is to point people to Jesus. When I came to Christ, Chris and I had been sexually active for three years. No one came to us and said, “Hey you need to stop sinning.” We came to that decision over the first two months of our Christian walk and stopped sleeping together for the next 18 months till we got married. As Christians, whether in the family, the workplace, the school, the university or in the church I believe our job is to love people, accept them and show them Jesus by our words and actions. Don’t preach against their sin of homosexuality only, but preach about how all sin takes away from God, preach the gospel; we must believe in Jesus, and in the cross and what He accomplished for us. Being a homosexual will keep you out of heaven, but not believing in Jesus will also keep you out of heaven. If people ask what the bible says on these issues then we tell them, without condemnation. But let the Holy Spirit work in someone’s life for a little while before you try to get that spec out of their eye. So what about the public debate? Should we stand up for righteousness? Should we make our voices heard?  The media is full of articles about Gay marriage right now. It is a hot topic. Furthermore it raises all the other debates about the rightness of homosexual lifestyle and gay couples adopting children and many other issues. The Gay lobby has done an excellent job in painting this issue as a human rights issue and painting the church as a judgmental old fashioned and out of date irrelevant organisation. Some Christians and churches have buckled under this and come out in support of Gay rights. As we have seen this is only possible when the church ignores the scriptures. Perhaps we won’t pick a fight, but let’s be ready, be prepared, be knowledgeable about the truth so we can defend the position we hold to be true. If you need information about why gay marriage is not a good idea please go to the Australian Christian Lobby website: www.acl.org.au Are homosexuals born that way? This claim has really been pushed had in the media. My reviewing of research articles on this shows that there is no hard evidence of the Gay Gene. Myths and Misconceptions About Behavioral Genetics And Homosexuality “Homosexuality Is Not Hardwired,” Concludes Dr. Francis S. Collins, Head Of The Human Genome Project By A. Dean Byrd, Ph.D, MBA, MPH April 4, 2007 – Dr. Francis S. Collins, one of the world’s leading scientists who works at the cutting edge of DNA, concluded that “there is an inescapable component of heritability to many human behavioral traits. For virtually none of them is heredity ever close to predictive.” Everyone has opinions. Most people are very happy to tell you what  theirs is and for the most part it represents only what hey think. Surely you have a right to say what you think? Some others may be able to quote a learned person or study to back up their claims. For you as a Christian you have the bible as your basis for belief. Even when people say they don’t believe in the bible, the fact is most don’t have any basis for their opinion. If you want studies and research and hard evidence for your opinions then go to a website like the Australian Christian Lobby and learn about the facts so you can debate intelligently. Remember you win more arguments with an attitude of gentleness, consideration and careful listening than you do with belligerence, hatred and sweeping statements. If you want to know any more information please message me below