Jesus Loves the Homosexual

Jesus Loves the Homosexual

INTRODUCTION:
Chick-Fil-A is a family owned business based in Atlanta, GA, founded in 1967. It was started by Truett Cathy and is run by his son, Dan. The Cathys are very religious; I believe he is Southern Baptist. The Cathys lose millions of dollars every year by closing on Sunday to allow their employees to worship God.

A few summers ago, Dan Cathy was asked by a Baptist newspaper what his views were on same-sex marriage. Dan said he was against gay marriage and affirmed his support for biblical marriage. The floodgates have since burst open and Chick-Fil-A is one of the many battlegrounds in the current culture war. Homosexuality and, specifically, homosexual marriages is just one battle in the war over Christianity and our views in the public sphere.

After Cathy’s views became public, Boston Mayor Tom Menino sent a letter to Cathy warning that if Chick-Fil-A did not abandon their “homophobic view,” then they should abandon plans to open stores in Boston. There does not appear to be a Chick-Fil-A in Boston today. After Menino did his thing, Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel warned Chick-Fil-A to stay out of Chicago because Chick-Fil-A did not share Chicago values. There are several Chick-Fil-A’s in Chicago. Maybe Chicago shares Chick-Fil-A values but not Rahm Emanuel’s values! Then San Francisco mayor Edwin Lee got in on the act, followed by the mayor of Washington, D. C., Vincent Gray. There are Chick-Fil-As in San Francisco and DC.

I’m not sure what happened to the First Amendment but apparently it’s not good for Christians anymore. The First Amendment apparently covers people who want art of Jesus on the cross immersed in a jar of urine but it doesn’t cover those who believe in biblical morality.

Google announced that they were using their shareholder’s money to finance a world-wide gay-rights campaign to “Legalize Love.” Office Depot also decided to partner with Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way Foundation.” That foundation is geared toward anti-bullying gays. I’m not sure what a company that sells paperclips has to do with homosexuality but we are in a culture war. Of course, the Boy Scouts are drowning in this tidal wave of political correctness.

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, the founders of Amazon, donated millions to pass the same-sex marriage referendum in the state of Washington. Of course, when the Supreme Court, really Justice Anthony Kennedy, ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) that same-sex marriage was a constitutional right, it made all this other mute and pointless.

Newsweek reported just this year that Americans have been duped by the media (That’s not how Newsweek / the media reported it!) into believing a large number of Americans are gay. A majority of Americans believe that the population of gays in the US is close to 25%! The report, written by Daniel Avery, states, “Americans have continuously overestimated the size of the gay population in recent years…” Why? Because of the propaganda machine perpetrated by the mass media. The liberals in our country, who are in control of most media outlets, want Americans to believe gay is normal. The real percentage of Americans who identify as homosexual? According to newsweek.com, about 4.5%.

HOMOSEXUALITY:
Do you remember the Kool-Aid points you could get from the back of Kool-Aid packets? My mom did that kind of thing a lot; many of our stocking stuffers at Christmas was free stuff she got through products like that. One day, when I was in the 6th grade, my mom had gotten me a Kool-Aid backpack. 6th grade. I took the backpack to school with me. I did not have a lot to carry in it on the way home so, I had a friend who lived between the school and my home (we lived close enough, I walked), so I offered to carry a book or two of his in my backpack. This was 1983, 1982 I don’t remember if it was in the fall or spring. But when we got to his house, his mom came out and saw me taking his books out of my backpack and really got mad at us - both of us. She talked like she was afraid we might be gay. Why would I carry her son’s books home in my backpack? I don’t remember anything she said but I do remember she was mad and she yelled. No, we weren’t gay. I wasn’t even doing that out of a motivation of friendship as much as I just wanted something to carry in my backpack!

When I was very young, I played with dolls. Barbie dolls and dolls like Barbie. My only sister is only 1 year older than I am so we played together a lot and I played with her and her Barbie dolls. I can assure you that I have no homosexual proclivities at all. But if the environment had been different, my parents could have said, “Look, Paul plays with dolls. He’s 5 years old and already is expressing an interest in girl toys. He’ll probably grow up to be gay,” and they could have directed my thoughts and my life down that very road. It’s those parents who are now drugging their children literally into believing that they are a different gender than their genetics have determined. Maybe you’ve heard the news reports of a custody battle in TX where a mom wants her son to go through “conversion therapy” and the dad took her to court. Thankfully, a Federal appeals court judge has ruled the father does have a say in what happens with the boy. Family, our country is in a mess.

What does the Bible teach about homosexuality?

THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Genesis 19 - The men of Sodom wanted to “know” Lot’s visitors. This verb means “to be acquainted with;” it is used over 900 times in the OT. Most of the time it is used in the same way we would use the verb but in the book of Genesis, in 10 out of 12 times, the verb refers to sexual relationships and that’s how it is used here. In the NT, Jude refers to this incident (vs 7) and calls their sin “unnatural desires.”

The law of Moses certainly condemned homosexuality in all forms: Leviticus 18:22, 29; 20:13.

THE NEW TESTAMENT:
Why didn’t Jesus condemn homosexuality? Some defenders will say Jesus never condemned homosexuality. Well, He did. In three different ways. First, who was it that wrote Leviticus? Jesus was with God in heaven at the time the Godhead, through the Holy Spirit, inspired Moses to pen the book of Leviticus. Jesus said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).

Secondly, when Jesus defined marriage as between a man and a woman in Matthew 19:3-9, He implicitly condemned both homosexuality and homosexual marriages. But, thirdly, He also told us that He would send the Holy Spirit on His apostles and we were to listen to His apostles (John 16:12-14).

So, His apostles also condemned homosexuality: Romans 1:26-28; 1 Tim. 1:9-11. A homosexual can change his / her behavior just as they did in Corinth (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

There is a difference between homosexual “orientation” and homosexual “behavior.” Orientation refers to sexual attraction. Behavior is the fulfilling of those attractions. There are a number of factors that contribute to homosexual urges: psychological, biological, social, and spiritual. The factors, as we would expect, are unique to each individual. Male homosexuality is often correlated, but not always, with an absent or detached father. Female homosexuality is correlated with an absent or detached mother.

But, again, there are a host of factors that can contribute to this: sexual abuse, fear of the opposite gender, exposure to pornography, seduction by peers, willfulness or rebellion, even experimentation especially in the teenage years, moral relativism, or pedophilia.

There is absolutely no basis for any indication of a “gay gene” or some biological factor that causes homosexuality. Even if there were, it is just as clear that the Bible condemns homosexuality. An inborn tendency toward a particular sin does not justify that sin; it reinforces the need for a Savior. Homosexuality is a behavior and like all behaviors, it is a choice.

There have been three studies conducted to try to prove homosexuality is genetic. One study was a study of the hypothalamus area of the brain done by Simon LeVay in 1991. That same year, researchers Michael Baily and Richard Pillard studied homosexual twins. Two years later, in 1993, research led by Dean Hamer of the National Cancer Institute tried to suggest that there was a gay gene on the X chromosome. All of these studies have serious design flaws in them. There still is not any definitive study showing homosexuality is genetic.

TRANSGENDERISM:
What about transgenders or transvestites? Joe Biden, on the campaign trail, says there are three genders, according to newsweek.com, August 11, 2019. He was at the Iowa State Fair and a college student asked him how many genders there are. He says, “There are at least three.” The woman then asks him to name them. “Don’t play games with me, kid.” Then he said that he was the first one in the Obama administration to support marriage equality.

The same principles relative to homosexuality are applicable to transgenders and transvestites: Deut 22:5. God made male and female (Gen. 1:26-27).

Homosexuals do not need special “civil rights” as homosexuals. They have rights as citizens but the Constitution does not say one thing about homosexuals (or heterosexuals for that matter). In fact, there are no civil rights to do a moral wrong. Can we talk about rapists’ rights? A “pedophile’s” rights? A murderer’s “rights”?

Homosexuality is unnatural any way you look at it. Even if you reject the Bible and accept evolution as the alternative, homosexuality is a biological dead end. Homosexuality could never evolve in the human or animal world because homosexuals can’t reproduce.

STAYING CLEAN SEXUALLY:
Purifying oneself from homosexual thoughts, just like any addiction, begins with recognizing our relationship with Christ and whether we want to honor Jesus Christ in our lives. Christianity is a choice as is turning away from sin. Even if homosexual tendencies stem from one’s past, the fundamental issue is going to come back around to: Do I like who I am? Am I happy with my relationship with God? If not, what do I need to do to strengthen that and to accept who I am and the relationships I have that are proper, pure, and holy?

In counseling homosexuals, assuming they have admitted that the behavior is sinful and can’t be condoned, we have to remind ourselves that as repulsive as the behavior might be to us, it is not worse than all other sins. We still need to make sure we love the person and show a genuine regard for who they are, a person made in the image of God.

Homosexuals have repressed fears, anxieties, hostilities, and painful memories. We must communicate deep respect for the person. The pathway to healing, like a drug addiction, is long and not easy but when you can honestly say, “I am not addicted to impurity,” it is very rewarding. As with any sinful behavior, the course of healing and redemption is to obey Jesus Christ, walk with Christ, and strengthen one’s relationship to Christ, trusting that He will provide what we need - holy relationships.

Sexuality has to be submitted to God, seeking forgiveness from Him for choices we’ve made.
The choice has to be made to change the behavior, ending the relationships and not putting ourselves in those places where we are tempted to engage in bad behavior.
We need to identify ourselves first and foremost as a child of God, a Christian, a follower of Christ.
We need to wipe away guilt from the past through the blood of Christ.
We should face the pain of the deficit in relationships that has motivated us to find that acceptance in impure relationships.
We need to establish healthy relationships with those of the same gender.
We need to embrace our identity in the gender we have.

Take home message: All sin will keep us out of heaven and we need to submit all aspects of our lives to the teachings of Jesus Christ. He will help us stay pure to get to heaven.