The Banner of September 17, 1984, featured the subject of homosexuality. Some have reacted very negatively to this approach, feeling that this matter is such a grievous sin that it should not even be mentioned among us as Christians. The fact is, however, that there are more members of the church who struggle with homosexual temptations than we want to admit, and it was good that The Banner called our attention to our responsibilities in this regard. As the Synod of 1973 said, these people need our understanding and loving concern. Little good will come of simply keeping quiet and wishing the problem and the people who personally have it would just go away.
Sympathy Condoning Sin
There is a real danger on the other hand, that in address ing ourselves to the needs of homosexuals we do so by taking a position that will logically lead to condoning both homosexual orientation and practice. This would seem to be the case in the Gereformeerde Kerken in the Netherlands as their position was defended recently by the two Kampen professors, Dr. Bakker and Dr. Schippers. According to reliable reports even ministers who are openly practicing homosexuals are in good standing and permitted to retain their office in good standing. To be sure Dr. Schippers said they do not approve “the gays of San Francisco” who live promiscuously, but accepting men and women who express their homosexual love in a Christian way is an entirely different n:tatter. The church must be very careful in judging in such cases lest she be guilty of condemning those whom God accepts.
The guest editorial in the above mentioned Banner on “Christian Love For Homosexuals” contains much that we need to remember and practice. However, the sentence that is placed in a box and thus underlined as the main message of the article, or at least as the point that calls for special attention, provokes some questions regarding what the writer means and what the implications of this statement are. The sentence reads: “Any church that requires a life of celibacy from some of its members is obliged to create conditions under which that assignment can be pursued.”
The Law Is God’s
The first thing that strikes me is the reference to the fact that the church is said to make such requirements of its members, but nothing is said of the fundamental basis of such requirement in Scripture. It is true, Mouw has said earlier, “We (i.e. the CRC) have said that all forms of genital intimacy between persons of the same sex are unacceptable from a biblical perspective.” From the context one gets the impression that the author has his doubts about the propriety of this conclusion as the biblical teaching. How the Christian Reformed Church could take any other position and remain true to what it confesses about the Seventh Commandment in the Heidelberg Catechism defies understanding. Answer l08 says, ‘“God condemns all unchastity.” The proof texts referred to are Leviticus 18:30 and Ephesians 5:3–5. In Leviticus God charges his people not to practice any of the things forbidden in the preceding context, one of which is, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (RSV). So we must conclude that it is not an arbitrary requirement that the church makes of those members who have homosexual tendencies, but in taking this position she is only being true to the Word of the Lord.
Dr. Mouw says that because the church regards homosexual genital intimacy as sinful, this means that, “for all practical purposes many homosexual Christians face the prospect of a life of total sexual abstinence.” He goes on to say that this is a difficult assignment and “a burden not to be imposed lightly.” This is no doubt true, human sexual drives being what they are. The stress in this connection seems to be on a life time of total abstinence. But the temptations and frustrations can be just as great for limited periods of abstinence. By a very similar line of argument people today are condoning pre-marital sex and sex for singles who for a variety of reasons are not able to find a marriage partner. The Bible teaches that sexual activity outside of marriage is fornication (cf. I Cor. 6:12–20). One of the sad realities of life is that that means the burden of abstinence is imposed on many beside homosexuals.
The point that Dr. Mouw makes in this sentence is that the church must be sympathetic with the struggle of the homosexuals in its membership and “create conditions under which that assignment can be pursued with strong communal support.” Granting, as he charges, that such support has been all too frequently Lacking, our question is, what form must it take? Apparently in the Gereformeerde Kerken many now hold that “one night stands” and promiscuous relationships so common in the gay community cannot be approved because contacts are not motivated by love, but by lust. But a more permanent relationship between—two “lovers,” involving many of the commitments associated with marriage, they now regard and defend as legitimate. And it is not enough that such people live together as very intimate friends. Since they are not responsible for their sexual preferences, and sex is a good thing given by our Creator, such relationships should involve so-called genital intimacy. That seemed to be in essence the position defended by the two professors from The Netherlands. On the basis of Scripture, unchastity and immorality are sins whether committed by married or unmarried people. And the Catechism adds that people can be guilty of unchastity even in the married relationship . Even heterosexual marriage is not automatically “honorable in all,” as the King James Version translated (Hebrews 13:4). Compare also I Thessalonians 4:1–7. Since the kind of sexual activities involved in homosexual relationships are condemned by God in His word as abominations, the fact that they are expressions of “love” and given the sanction of so-called “marriage” or some kind of contract does not make them right.
Giving Real Help
In view of these facts, the church will not help the homosexuals by condoning the practice of homosexual acts. The approach outlined briefly by Douglas A. Houck, based upon his former experience as a practicing homosexual, would seem to be the best way to reach out a helping hand (see The Banner, 9/17/84, p. 11).
Finally, the sentence under criticism seems to imply the assumption that there is no possibility for a homosexual to change. “A life of celibacy” does not necessarily mean an entire life–time, but in the context of the rest of the article that is a natural interpretation. In another article in this Banner Dr. Melvin Rugen answers the question “Is Change Possible?” affirmatively. He states, “Every year a higher percentage of those seeking sexual therapy shifts from the category of being told ‘you will have to live with it’ to ‘we can help, maybe you find healing.’” Scripture and experience of many repentant sinners who found salvation through faith in Christ shows that the grace of God can also free men and women from this sin and bondage. For the church the classic text will be I Corinthians 6:9b–11, “Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (RSV). As we read that list of sins it is improper for anyone to look down upon any particular group of sinners mentioned, because by nature we all have weaknesses in some area. It is only by grace that we can be saved through faith. The church which imposes the “burden” of celibacy on homosexuals also proclaims the grace of God of which Paul speaks in Titus 3:4–8 when he says, “when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and the renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. The saying is sure . . . .”
Elco Oostendorp, who has long provided us with “News and Views,” is a retired Christian Reformed minister living at Hudsonville, MI.