“THE HOMOSEXUAL”
A young peoples’ group from Michigan raises the question about the homosexual as a result of an article t hat appeared in The Insight magazine on this same subject. Their question: “What is a Christian homosexual?”
In answering this question, it is very important that we begin with a definition of terms. Our thinking about this subject is sometimes muddied because we fail to do that. A “homosexual” is a person who has erotic attractions for members of the same sex, and who may or may not actually engage in homosexualism. “Homosexualism” is explicit homosexual practice. And “homosexuality” is a condition of personal identity in which the person is sexually oriented toward persons of the same sex.
There is no doubt that t he Bible condemns homosexualism, that is, the explicit homosexual practice, as incompatible with obedience to the will of God. It is placed on a par with adultery and murder. In I Corinthians 6:9,10 we read: “Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Paul writes much the same in I Timothy 1:10, and again in Romans 1:26, 27. So it is clear from Scripture that the practice of homosexualism is contrary to the will of God.
But is it possible for a person to be a homosexual, that is, to have an attraction to the members of the same sex, but not want to be that way, and in fact, never practice homosexualism? That’s the real question we are wrestling with now, and that was the question with which the committee that reported to the Synod of 1973 wrestled too. It’s something like asking: “what is a Christian alcoholic?” Drunkenness is also condemned in Scripture as incompatible with the will of God. But I would never conclude from that that an alcoholic could never be a Christian. I have personally worked with a Christian alcoholic for a number of years. This person was afflicted with “alcoholism,” (I do not excuse this person’s responsibility, but one drink made this individual lose control of self) and he wanted help in fighting it. We talked and we prayed and we used every means available, and I thank God that this person is no longer drinking today, in other words, is not a drunkard. But this person will always be an alcoholic, meaning that this person will always have to refrain from any amount of alcohol, lest there be a return to uncontrollable drunkenness.
I believe that Synod was saying much the same about the homosexual, though the parallel is not the same at all points. I know of a young man who spent tearful hours and thousands of dollars with Christian counselors, seeking to overcome his homosexual tendencies. He never practiced homosexualism, that is, the overt act. He was a Christian, and he hated what he was because he knew it was not God’s will. He was a Christian homosexual, the kind of person the Synod of 1973 was directing us to when they said that the church must exercise patient understanding of and compassion for. This in no way means that we put a stamp of approval on “homosexualism” as acceptable to God; we do not put a stamp of approval on drunkenness as acceptable to God when we try to help an alcoholic overcome his alco holism. We recognize both as a sin, but a sin for which there is forgiveness when there is repentance, as well as the power of God’s grace in overcoming the sinful practice.
I felt a deep sense of love, pity and compassion for this alcoholic with whom I worked. If this individual had said to me: “I don’t believe drunkenness is a sin, and I will keep on drinking regardless of what hap pens,” I would have felt differently, and the problem would not likely have been solved.
If there is a homosexual who wants to justify his homosexualism, and who believes it is not incompatible with the will of God, that is another matter. It would be inconsistent for such a person to confess to be a Christian.
I am very thankful for the amazing grace of God, on the basis of which both overt sins, and the sins of the thought and heart pertaining to adultery, murder (Matthew 5:21, 22, 28) and many others, can be forgiven when there is repentence, through the atoning work of the living Christ.
I agree, also on the basis of a pastor‘s observations, with Rev. Vanden Einde’s stress on the need to distinguish between the person tempted by this perversion and the practice which the Bible tells us is an abomination to God and will bring his judgment on any civilization which condones it. One wonders, however, whether calling someone a “homosexual” even though he OT she has never engaged in the practice or has long since turned from it. can be justified. Do we keep on calling someone a “thief” long after he has reformed or even if he has never stolen? The Bible seems to point us in an opposite direction. ‘‘Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral . . . . nor adulterers . . . nor homosexual offenders nor thieves . . . will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9–11 NIV).