An impending
rainstorm let me know my time for a gospel outreach conversation with a young
man named Adrian out on the sidewalk was very limited. I didn’t quite know what to say, because
Adrian had told me that as a homosexual he felt unwelcome or condemned in
churches, and I knew that any explanation of the Gospel from myself as a
conservative Christian would require much more than a quick soundbite.
For many liberal churches and Christians, the rainbow flag
has become that soundbite, signaling acceptance and support for the gay
lifestyle and a willingness to ignore, discredit, or misinterpret scripture
passages that condemn homosexual practice to do so. As a conservative Christian, I don’t have
that option, but I also have no option but to love my neighbor as myself. Since I have found salvation and acceptance
through repentance and faith in Jesus, why would I not want that for Adrian, my
neighbor? What could be more loving?
Calling people to salvation, however, often doesn’t seem
very loving, because the process of repentance and faith requires confessing
one’s own sin, repenting of it, and acknowledging one’s own need for a
savior. This is true for all Christians,
and we are all at various stages of maturity or immaturity in doing so. Sin takes many forms, and all Christians must
undergo this continuous process of sanctification, including confronting and
repentance from sexual sin.
Paul wrote “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified:
that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to
control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate
lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one
should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all
those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did
not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects
this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives
you his Holy Spirit.” (1 Thess.4)
This process of sanctification can be very difficult,
especially for those with deeply embedded sins, addictions, and lifestyles, and
we all need help, not condemnation, from one another which is part of God’s
purpose for his Church.
Adrian rightly complained that Christians often single out
some sins for judging others while ignoring other sins, although he mistakenly
used an example out of context from the dietary laws of ancient Israel to do
so. Anyone involved in a lifestyle
incompatible with scripture will feel guilt and judgment, especially from
Christians immature in their ability to deal with their own sins of pride,
self-righteousness or hypocrisy. But his
rejection of church for being judgmental and hypocritical is also a form of
being judgmental.
Adrian said he does believe in a god who loves his creation,
though “He has strange ways of showing it”.
But Jesus invites us to forgiveness and salvation now, while
sanctification is a life-long process.
Adrian’s same-sex attraction may or may not be the first thing God would
confront him with were he to become a Christian, just as other believers in
churches still have a wide variety of unresolved sin issues to deal with.
We are all made in God’s image, and deserve patience,
kindness, and respect from one another while working them out. Out there on the sidewalk the rainstorm was
quickly closing in, and the least I could do was try to tell Adrian that he
too, also made in God’s image, deserves that much.
(PS - "Sit in" on my quick conversation with
Adrian HERE)
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