Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Sexual Ethics”
Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality, no thieves, greedy people, or swindlers, will inherit God’s kingdom.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Can a person be gay and be a Christian?”
Can a person be gay and be a Christian? I must be nuts to tackle this question. Some of you are probably going to end up on my front lawn tonight with torches and pitchforks.
Oh well, here it goes: The answer is, “maybe”; “possibly”; and “it all depends”.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul tells us that homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. But he also says the same about immoral people in general, and about those who commit heterosexual adultery, and those who treat anything as an idol, and of people who steal, and of people who are greedy, and of people who are deceitful and who swindle others.
Also, this list was not all-inclusive. Paul intended it to be representative of sins in general. You can go ahead and assume that even if your personal sins are not on that list, Paul intended for you to understand that he includes them as well. Look at the passage again: the phrase “the unrighteous” covers any sins he happened to leave off his list.
So with that understanding we realize that if homosexuals are excluded from heaven, then we all are. And yet we know that even though we do still sometimes commit sins, if we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins then we are saved and we are going to heaven, therefore we will in fact inherit God’s kingdom. So what could Paul mean?
He was writing about unrepentant sin. He was illustrating that people who live in a perpetual pattern of unrepentant sin, be it adultery or greed or homosexuality or idolatry, are probably not really saved. We know that one of the Holy Spirit’s jobs is to convict us of sin. If a person really does have the Holy Spirit of God in their heart then that person should at least be sorry for the sin they have committed and have a genuine desire to do it no more. If we don’t feel sorry and convicted about sinful behavior, we have to wonder where the Spirit is. Evidently He’s not in our heart or we would feel convicted.
Is it possible to be gay and to be a Christian? Yes. Just as it’s possible to be a greedy businessman and be a Christian; just as it’s possible to be an alcoholic and be a Christian; just as it’s possible to be a glutton and be a Christian. But if you are a Christian, you should feel convicted of such behavior and if you don’t feel convicted, you have to wonder about whether or not you are really a Christian.
Tomorrow we will consider the issue of gay marriage.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 