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I'm in college, but I'd still appreciate feedback about
some confusion I've been having with homosexuality. I was
talking to a friend recently and he talked about his gay friend
at church. I looked a bit reproachful, which caused him to
be defensive about his friend, claiming that sin has no magnitude.
He asserted that his friend had said he would choose to be
straight if he HAD a choice. In my personal opinion, I really
do believe it to be a choice. However, how can I hold that
opinion if I myself am not gay and so many who are claim to
"have known it since birth"?
Does sin have magnitude? Surely it does to a certain degree,
but all in all, a sin is a sin isn't it? What are your views
about homosexuality?
Thanks Arthur and Sandra...
Hey [Friend]:
Great to hear from you. How's college going for you?
As for your question, I agree with you. There's been a lot
published about whether homosexuality is genetic or not, and
whether people really have a choice or not (see the Focus
on the Family link off the TD web site), so I won't really
go into that here, primarily because I'm not sure that it
makes all that much difference to the bottom line anyway.
1. Is there magnitude to sin? The answer is, certainly,
but with qualifications. In its most elementary sense, your
friend is right in that all sin is sin. James 2:10 says, "Whoever
shall keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point, he
is guilty of all." What that is saying is that when you are
breaking God's law, you are a law breaker, guilty of treason
toward the Law Giver Himself. When you keep the law and yet
decide to transgress a certain part of it, you have decided
to be a law unto yourself; you have decided to be your own
god. Your transgression reveals who you finally have decided
to be accountable to, yourself. And the only reason you didn't
transgress other laws is because YOU decided not to, for whatever
reasons, not necessarily because God commanded it.
Though sin involves action, ultimately sin is about a state
of the heart, the state of one's being before God more than
what one does. What one does reflects one's state of relationship
with God. Remember, man looks at the outward appearance but
the Lord looks at the heart (1Sam. 16:7)
That said, of course there is magnitude to sin, just as
there is magnitude to righteousness. The more hard hearted
a person is, the more deliberate and belligerent he is in
His sinning, the greater the magnitude of it. Conversely,
the more sincere, the more fervent, the more willfully and
lovingly obedient one is to God, the greater His joy. The
heart matters and it contributes a lot to one's blessing or
condemnation. In Psalm 51, it says that the Lord doesn't delight
in mere external sacrifice (heartless sacrifice), otherwise
He would have required it. However, a broken and contrite
heart He will not despise. The sacrifices of God are a broken
and contrite heart, a heart remorseful for offending God with
sin, and a heart desiring reconciliation, not self affirmation.
Different sins tend to reveal the different hearts. Some
sins are so egregious that they reveal a very hardened heart.
Others may still be sin, but of less magnitude. Surely, cold-blooded,
pre-meditated murder is more terrible than not having the
heart to tell someone that their apple pie is terrible and
telling them it's not so bad.
In the case of sexuality, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians
that all other sins are committed outside the body, but sexual
sin is sin committed against one's own body. It's of a greater
magnitude.
There are also public sins and private sins, which are treated
differently. For instance, if I have lust for someone, but
am fighting it and trying to do what I can to reduce that
lust, I am still sinning by lusting. That's private sin with
private consequences. However, if I decide not to put any
restraint on my lust and act it out on that person, that's
sin of a greater magnitude (because it reveals a harder heart)
to the Lord. That's also public sin that requires public consequences
(see the Q&A on public sin).
2. And that leads me to the question as to whether homosexuality
is genetic or not. I don't think it really matters. Here's
why. Let's assume for a moment that it is genetic. So what?
It doesn't then follow that because one has a genetic disposition
towards homosexuality that one has to practice it. What if
some scientist found that I had a genetic disposition toward
sexual promiscuity, or toward pedophilia, or toward killing
people, or toward drug addiction, or toward lying, etc.? Would
it then follow that it was okay for me to do any of those
things, even though they were against God's law? No. Even
though we may have a bent toward something evil, it doesn't
mean we have to follow through on our bent.
We are rational, moral creatures, who God has designed with
a will to be able to overrule our flesh. Though our flesh
may have the strong desire and urge to sin, we are not to
give in. We are to train ourselves to do what's right (and
are capable to do so), though our feelings may want to do
otherwise.
In fact, that is what the Christian life is about, dying
to self and living for Christ. Paul summed up the Christian
life the best, I think, "I am crucified with Christ; it is
no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me." (Galatians
2:20) In Matt. 16:24, Jesus concurs by saying, "If any man
wishes to come after me, let him DENY himself, take up his
cross, and follow ME (emph. mine).
When we are prepared to deny ourselves what our flesh desires
in order to gain what God wants to give us, we are preparing
ourselves for a life of right relationship with God and the
blessed fruits than come with it. If your friend is honest
with God, takes God at His word, and submits his will and
desires to Him in humble obedience (even though his flesh
says otherwise), he will have a freedom never before experienced
and will be empowered to serve God like never before. Galatians
5:13 says, "You were called to freedom brethren, only do not
use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through
love serve one another." Christ did what He did in this world
so we could be freed FROM the tyranny of sin, not so that
we could submit further TO it.
I'll also add that while homosexuality is certainly sin,
so are a whole host of other things. Everyone has their own
sin to deal with and struggle with. If one practicing homosexuality
repents and gives his life to the Lord, God will gladly welcome
him into the family and will not count his sin against him,
just as he will for any other sin as well. He's not as concerned
with where he came from as much as where he is now and where
he's going toward, namely His heart.
I hope this helps.
Blessings,
Arthur
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