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(Part 3) Answering the Toughest Questions About Homosexuality with Alan Shlemon

This week’s Challenge: “If God made people gay and they don’t have a choice in the matter because they were born with that orientation, then isn’t it unfair that he punishes them for just being who they are?”

I have to agree with pro-gay advocates on this one. Homosexuals are born with an orientation. And it is genetic. This leads to desires that not only feel natural, but are considered sinful by God when acted upon.
But it’s not a sexualorientation. It’s a sinfulorientation. The Bible calls it a sin nature. And everyone is born with it – not just homosexuals.
I was born with that orientation too. As early as I can remember, I always felt that way. It felt natural for me to lie to get myself out of trouble. It seemed normal for me to fantasize about having promiscuous sex with girls. It was easy to think of myself first and others later.
So homosexuals aren’t unique. They’re not the only ones who get to complain they have a proclivity towards behaviors that God deems immoral. It will never be right for me to lie, sleep around, or act selfish. And alcoholics, some of whom are born with a genetic predisposition towards heavy drinking, don’t get off the hook either. Every person on the planet is faced with the choice to act morally despite being born with an orientation to do wrong.
Although we’re born that way, it’s not because of God. It’s a genetic problem that we inherited from our ancestors. So God is the wrong person to blame.
But even though we’re all born that way, God doesn’t punish us for being who we are. We’re punished for our behavior – for acting on our natural orientation. The Bible doesn’t condemn people for experiencing same-sex attractions. It prohibits homosexual behavior. It’s irrelevant whether you feel you’re born that way, you experiment with homosexual sex, or you’re stuck in a prison with no heterosexual outlet. It’s your conduct that matters.
So homosexuals aren’t faced with a unique situation that’s unfair. Everyone is born with an orientation to sin. And it’s a deep, ingrained tendency that’s impossible to resist. It doesn’t go away with therapy or medication. You can’t pray away the orientation.
But God doesn’t leave us helpless. Although He punishes sinful acts – even ones we’re born with a proclivity to commit – He also helps us in two ways. He grants us a pardon and gives us power.
The first is a pardon for our bad behavior. He offers someone else to pay the penalty for our moral crimes. We can accept the pardon and go free or pay the penalty ourselves. It’s our choice. That means a man can live a lifetime of homosexual behavior and still be acquitted. That’s a great offer given God isn’t even responsible for our sinful desires.
The second is power to overcome our proclivity to sin. He does this by replacing our old orientation with a new one. It doesn’t guarantee we’ll have perfect desires (we’ll still experience external temptations and have internal patterns of thought that we’ve habituated), but it does give us the strength to resist them. Many people who have experienced same-sex attractions have also experienced this new power.
These two offers are great, but we have to agree with the stipulations. Since God’s laws have been violated, He decides the terms of the contract. Although the pardon and power are free, they require action on our part. In exchange for our acquittal and a new orientation, God asks for a lifetime of allegiance.
Like living under a monarchy, we become subjects of the King. Except unlike previous kings, Jesus of Nazareth doesn’t just sit on a throne and rule. He also takes our place when the guilty verdict is rendered and the penalty is served. That’s why He deserves our allegiance.
Granted, it’s no small commitment. But given the alternative, it’s understandable why billions of people throughout history have taken God up on His offer of grace. That offer is good for anyone with any orientation.
Be sure to read Alan’s previous posts in this series at thinkchristianly.org hereor at Stand to Reason’s student site here. If you find these post helpful, please share on Facebook and twitter (see below)

Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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Christians Have Two Commissions

Chuck Colson offers some important comments about an oft neglected theological truth: “A few years ago, I spoke to a gathering of pastors about engaging the cultural battles of the day. Afterward, the pastors had a lot of questions — but they were also a little confused. One confessed, “I’d never heard of the Cultural Commission, and will it interfere with fulfilling the Great Commission? Isn’t that our job — to win people to Christ?” That people still think this way left me momentarily speechless. “Of course we’re called to fulfill the Great Commission,” I replied. “We’re also called to fulfill the Cultural Commission.” Christians are agents of God’s saving grace — bringing others to Christ. But we are also agents of His common grace: We’re to sustain and renew His creation, defend the created institutions of family and society, and critique false worldviews.

 I saw this was an “Aha!” moment for some of the pastors. But the Scriptures are so clear. In Genesis, we’re told that for five days, God created the universe. On the sixth day, He created human beings — and ordered them to pick up where He left off. They were to reflect His image and have dominion, but from then on, the development of the creation would be primarily social and cultural: It would be the work humans performed as they obeyed God’s command to fill and subdue the earth. The same command binds Christians today. We bear children, plant crops, build cities, form governments, and create works of art. While sin corrupted God’s created order, it did not obliterate it. And when we are redeemed, we are both freed from sin and restored to do what God designed us to do: create culture.

Remember, every part of creation came from God’s hand, every part was drawn into the mutiny of humanity against God, and every part will someday be redeemed. This means we must care about all of life. In Colossians 1, Paul notes that “everything” was made by and for Christ, and that everything will be reconciled by Christ; it’s clear that Christians are saved not only from something (sin) but also to something (Christ’s lordship over all of life). This is why Christians must never limit themselves to evangelism alone or to the “feel good” church. We must not stand by while our culture is hijacked by alien philosophies hostile to the created order….” (read the rest)

In my latest book, I seek to apply this idea to our own cultural intersection as we seek to engage well.

Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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Chuck Colson and others on the Theology of Christmas Carols and Other Good Stuff

Don’t get me wrong, Frosty has his place. But sometimes we miss out on and forget the richness of truth encoded into the truly great Christmas carols. Listen to a 2-part discussion with Chuck Colson, John Stonestreet, and T.M. Moore (click here to listen).

Also, here is John Mark Reynolds top 10 Christmas songs. Enjoy!

Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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(Part 2) Answering the Toughest Questions About Homosexuality with Alan Shlemon

This week’s challenge: Is Homosexuality the Worst Sin of All?

This is part 2 of our ongoing series (new posts each wednesday) engaging tough questions about homosexuality with guest blogger Alan Shlemon. If you missed last week’s post and to get up to speed on why this series is important, click here.

Is Homosexuality the Worst Sin of All?

Christians define sin as “missing the mark.” It almost sounds cute. Kyle lied so he missed the mark…Oops. Katy gossiped…Shucks, that was wrong. Randy was prideful…Yikes, better stop that.

But homosexuality? Whoa! That’s more than missing the mark. That’s an abomination! Homosexuals aren’t just sinners. They’re revelers consummating their reprobate mind. Someone please cite one of the Levitical prohibitions against homosexuality (preferably Leviticus 20:13 since it includes the death penalty) and say it in the King James Version for rhetorical effect.
And Christians don’t just think homosexuality is the worst sin. We act like it too. Christians who rarely cite scripture suddenly invoke Bible verses when the topic comes up. We get uneasy when gay men come to church, but we gladly welcome post-abortive women.  We’ll move a lesbian who sits next to other females at youth group, but we won’t separate girls who gossip.
It’s no wonder the culture thinks Christians hate homosexuals. We give their behavior a unique status: the worst sin of all. And because homosexuals are committing the supreme evil, we treat them like pariahs.
As a result, not only do homosexuals think their sin is the worst, but they are the worst. They’re the chief of all sinners. That’s why our verbal antidotes like, “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner” are so ineffective. They only hear the word, “hate.”
We shouldn’t be surprised, then, when homosexuals get anxious around Christians. It shouldn’t shock us that they start their own denominations. These men and women still have spiritual yearnings, but because Christians keep them at arm’s length, they have no choice but to turn to churches with pro-gay theology that accept them.
Don’t get me wrong: homosexual behavior is a serious sin. I’m not trying to downplay the gravity of what they do. But the Bible doesn’t elevate its status above all other sins.
Although homosexual behavior was a capital crime under the Mosaic Law, so were blasphemy, false prophecy, adultery, bestiality, and many other sins. Under today’s New Testament teaching, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 places homosexuals among other sinners like thieves, drunks, swindlers, and fornicators. And 1 Timothy 1:8-11 lists them among liars, rebels, slave traders, and other sinners. There’s no special designation for any of these sins (although sexual sins are grouped together since they are sins “against the body” in 1 Corinthians 6:16-20).
Many homosexuals have come to Christ. But they didn’t do it because they believed their sin was the worst. Instead, they recognized their sin was an obstacle to fellowship with God. Making homosexuality the worst sin isn’t merely a peculiar theological mistake. It has practical ramifications that alienate men and women engaged in homosexual behavior. And it creates unnecessary offense to the gospel that’s already offensive.
Be sure to read Alan’s post last week that addressed the claim that Jesus never said anything about homosexuality.
Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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Christianity is not just about believing in Jesus

Before you get nervous, the key word in that claim is “just” (not just about getting in to heaven when we die). I’m convinced that if Christianity is actually true (and I think there are good reasons to think this), then it speaks to all of life. Here’s a short video where Chuck Colson unpacks this important concept on his weekly two-minute warning at breakpoint.

   

If you are looking to go deeper in exploring how all of life is connected and how our Christian worldview impacts all of life, then you will really enjoy my new book, Think Christianly: Looking at the Intersection of Faith and Culture. Chuck Colson was kind enough to provide this endorsement:

“As someone who has devoted many years of ministry to teaching Christian worldview. I am thrilled to see dynamic and faithful worldview leaders like Jonathan Morrow stepping to the fore. Think Christianly, in a compelling and accessible way, equips Christians young and old to engage the culture winsomely, intelligently, and with confidence.”

Are you ready to engage?

Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow