Our current Bible Study series on Thursday nights is asking one general question about several topics.  The question is “How do we live our christianity day to day lives?”  We realize living God’s version of the Christian life if different than what most of us would do if we didn’t chase after Him.   If left all to our own, we are greedy, selfish, angry, consumed with getting what we want, and a host of other fairly unpleasant character traits.  The world is filled with people who have these traits on full display every day.  It is looking for something different.  The world has had enough of people who live only for themselves.

Our study has taken us through several interesting topics so far.  Things like “righteous living”, God’s view of alcohol in the Christian’s life, and this week we tackled the topic of homosexuality.  I would love to discuss any of these topics with anyone reading the blog, but for now I want to recap some of our discussion about homosexuality.

The first point I want to make is a very simple one.  According to scripture, homosexuality is a sin.  It is listed in several places among other sexual sins as being against God’s law and plan for us.  It is not worse than any other sin, but according to the Bible it is clearly a sin.  This brings up some very interesting questions.

If homosexuality is listed in scripture among other sexual sins, then why has our society seemingly separated it from among other sexual sins into a category all it’s own?  The church has definitely contributed to this problem.  We can forgive someone who cheats on their spouse (adultery), has sex before marriage (fornication), and is addicted to pornography (lust and covetousness).  However, when we hear the word “homosexual”  we automatically think it is unforgivable and unchangeable.  Our current culture has also contributed to this issue.  The popular stance has become “I was born that way”.

I fully agree that everyone is has certain temptations that impact them personally.  My temptations may not be the same as yours.  In fact, it is a fact that I am tempted every single day with my own personal set of things.  Some of them, I have made stronger because of how I’ve given in to them over the years.  Others seem to come very naturally to me.  They bring me great pleasure when I indulge in them, but then I’m riddled with guilt and shame because I wasn’t strong enough to stand up against the pressure and I know I’ve let down my God who loved me and gave himself for me.  All that being said, here’s my thought:  If I’m someone who is born with the inclination to be attracted to people of the same sex, then why is it ok to eventually give into this temptation.  If I have an inclination to be drink excessively and I decide I’m tired of fighting it, no one applauds me for “being myself” or “allowing the real me” to come through.  It’s wrong to give in to any temptation at any time.  The very nature of our human condition causes this daily, constant struggle between right and wrong.  It’s not freeing or some improvement for me to give in to these things in my life.  Homosexuality does not need it’s own category.  It is a sin, like any other sin (especially sexual sins).  Someone may struggle with attraction to the same sex, but they must fight that temptation just like anyone fights any other temptation they face.  It is never ok to just give in.

I welcome your input and discussion.

Here are the scriptures we looked at this week.

Romans 1:26-28, Mark 10:6-9, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, Galatians 5:16-21

WG