Tuesday, November 10, 2009

...Not to Condemn the World

I know a man who is gay who I will call "Gavin." He is in his fifties. He grew up Southern Baptist and his four siblings are strong "small-town Texas" Southern Baptists. When his brothers and sisters were told Gavin was gay, they said they would not talk to him or have anything to do with him...that was about 20 years ago. So for twenty years, they won't return phone calls and will not be in the same room with Gavin. Nothing. No relationship.

Gavin is a moral man. He regularly attends a "gay friendly" church, prays, reads his Bible and does many kind and benevolent acts for those around him. He is unapologetically gay and talks openly about it...He never was in a closet from high school to the present.

So my questions are: Is their stance Bibical? Do you think their stance is right, Christian, or moral? How would you deal with this situation if Gavin was your brother or son? Does Christ call for us to accept others who are living in sin or are we to reject and shun others? What do you think?

6 comments:

  1. I struggle with this whole concept. I know that in Leviticus it condemns the gay life. However, I do believe that we are called to love everyone. Pray for those that are not headed in the right direction. Reject the action, but not the person.

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  2. I have wrestled with the same thing....if I am going to err, I want to err on the side of loving people and showing mercy...mainly because I want mercy and grace to be shown me when I stumble or fall. I have grown up with the same thing: "hate the sin not the sinner" but in practice that is a difficult thing to do. Thanks for dropping by...

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  3. I would not shun the man. I would talk with him, pray with him and for him, and treat him with kindness. However, I would also affirm Christ's teaching that sex is intended to be enjoyed exclusively between a man and a woman who are married to each other. I would ask him to come to church with me. We are not a "gay friendly" church in the sense that we would deny (or ignore) Christ's standards of sexual morality, but we have a couple of homosexual men who regularly attend and who have found that we care about them as people. We call for repentance, but we are patient and willing to help those who struggle with all kinds of sins. It's the best way I know to relate to anyone. We may not do it perfectly, but we try to be loyal to Christ while helping others as much as possible.

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  4. Billy Graham said: "I believe homosexuality is sin. But, I don't believe it is any worse than some of the sins I commit every day."

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  5. I wasn't going to say anything, but I have to comment on this one.
    This issue is so much deeper than just targeting homosexuality. It's so much bigger than what we say we 'believe' or what we 'feel'.
    As Christians, we have to make a decision on what it is we stand upon. Do we believe God's Word to be true, or do we lead our churches by what we 'feel'? Do we allow others to influence what we say we 'believe'?
    In Galatians 5, we see a good list of the 'acts' of the sinful nature that weasel their way into God's house and into the lives of those who are called according to His purpose.
    In 1 Cor. 5, we're told how to handle those behaviors within the church. We're instructed that it's not the Christians duty to judge those outside the church - but to definitely deal with these matters when it comes down to a 'brother or sister' in Christ.
    Why? God calls His people to 'be holy' for He is holy. And again, He gives us specific things we should NOT be participating in. Sexual immorality (of any kind), gossip, slander, idolatry, witchcraft, drunkenness, selfish ambitions, etc. Tolerating just a bit of these behaviors within the 'church' causes them to sprout and grow and multiply (like leaven). And the 'sins' of the outside world have contaminated the church. Before we know it, we are a church without power and we look no different than any other social club.
    God's people are instructed to walk in a higher calling. Were the Disciples or Apostles unashamedly open, practicing homosexuals or child abusers or addicted to porn?
    We're instructed to 'judge' those who call themselves Christian but not to judge the world. We're told to expel them from our fellowship - even hand them over to 'Satan' so that their sinful nature might be destroyed and their spirits would be saved.
    But the question is, how do we do that today and still operate in 'love'?
    I can't help but wonder if the churches today truly lived then taught 'holiness' - how many people who are enslaved by sin would truly be set free?

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  6. I am glad you decided to write Deb.

    I love your last sentence and think that is very profound. We are called to be obedient and to love God...God makes the changes in us when we do that. If we pursue religion, we get a scial club. If we purswue God, we get change. He transforms us into what HE needs us to be. People pursuing religious purity and political correctness don't have to change for the the Gospel, they change the Gospel to suit themselves.

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