Christian Message
By WARD PIMLEY
Pastor, Journalist, Author
PERHAPS NO SIN PATTERN divides the Christian community today more than does the sin of homosexuality, both gay and lesbian.
Most of us know someone who struggles with same-sex attraction, and many of us recoil when confronted with flagrant displays of gay or lesbian conduct.
Why is that? Is it because the sin pattern is so odious to us that we separate from it reflexively, or could it be that all of us have, even to a tiny degree, an inkling that we, too, could be tempted?
If we take the position – as does this column – that all sin patterns are tempting to mankind, whether it is cheating on a spouse or income taxes, telling fibs large or small, selfishly ignoring the pleas of the helpless around us, or even eating more sweets and carbs than our diet and doctor recommend, then we can readily see how someone’s homosexual lifestyle is more threatening to our self-esteem than any other sin pattern our neighbor can exhibit.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. — 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NKJV)
Homosexuality threatens our very self-image of being either masculine (male) or feminine (female). Our neighbor cheating on his/her spouse or their income taxes would not necessarily be visible to us, nor would it likely challenge our self-image.
*****
HOMOSEXUALITY, HOWEVER, places a mirror before us that causes us to reflect on whether, even if in the tiniest, briefest moment, we, too, could be similarly tempted.
We might think: Are we any less masculine (or feminine) if even for that quick fleeting moment we sense a recognition of the temptation that lures our neighbor to pursue that sin pattern wholeheartedly?
What other sin pattern has that same impact on us?
Is that any different from the thought — again, fleeting and quickly dismissed — of taking an income tax deduction to which we’re not entitled or to grabbing extra pens and notepads from our employer when no one is around to observe?
Yet all of us would admit, even without pride, that we’re tempted to grab something that’s not ours, even if it’s just tooling down the highway above the speed limit.
The Bible is very clear that we are not to hold ourselves out to be better or more holy than someone else and not to judge their sin more harshly than we judge our own.
— ROMANS 2:1b
We disdain all forms of weakness, and we take pride in our ability to deny self. After all, that’s not only the moral position but also is part of what we consider being mature.
Who does not feel a bit healthier just by declining a second portion of pie and ice cream or a bit more noble when avoiding the opportunity to rifle through the office supplies?
Aren’t we more likely to point the accusing finger at those among us who, in our opinion, are less noble than we are because they succumbed to the temptation of grabbing that second desert, the fistful of roller pens, or the unsupported tax deduction?
*****
EVEN MORE SO, what is our instinctive response to those among us who give in to the temptation they feel, more so than we do, of same-sex attraction? Consider also, that once that sin is indulged in, it can overtake us and demand a lifestyle change to comport with our new community of like-minded sinners.
Personally, I am not aware of a fellowship community of tax cheats, adulterers, gamblers, drunks, and spouse abusers, but we all are aware of fellowship communities that attract those dealing with same-sex attraction.
There’s another difficulty with the sin of same-sex attraction. It can’t be hidden as well as other sins, most of which are done in the darkness and away from prying eyes. Homosexuality, on the other hand, is flagrant, in-your-face, ever present, and — with the new “pride” movement — aggressively persistent.
We all know sins that have grabbed a hold of us so strongly, and are so pernicious, that we think little of committing them, even while we know that God holds all sin as sin, from murder and armed robbery to telling “half-truths” to speeding on the open highway to eating another chocolate-chip cookie when the hostess isn’t looking.
Yes, you say, but capital murder is a worse crime than petit theft, but we’re not talking about crime – which is a violation of a human standard. We’re talking about sin, which is a violation of God’s standard. To His holy eyes, sin is sin.
To earn our spot in Heaven, we must be perfect as God is perfect. We aren’t, so we depend on Jesus’ cleansing blood. Since we’re all flawed and fall short of God’s glory, we ought not be the church scolds, pointing “naughty fingers” at others.
The Bible is very clear that we are not to hold ourselves out to be better or more holy than someone else and not to judge their sin more harshly than we judge our own.
“For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” – Romans 2:1b ESV
The Bible also clearly states that we will be held accountable by the Creator not only for our actions but also for our words and even our thoughts. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, told us it is not enough to avoid committing adultery, just thinking about it condemns us in God’s holy eyes.
*****
THE GLORY OF the cross is that Jesus left the comforts of Heaven and endured that excruciating punishment for us so that we would not have to suffer the punishment for our own sin.
The fact that all of us sin and fall short of God’s glory, that all of us are weak and sinful, that all of us war against God’s standards for our lives does not give any of us the self-proclaimed right to judge harshly someone else’s failures or lapses into persistent sin.
We are called to turn our lives over to God, and He has promised, in turn, to transform us into new creatures, washed in His blood. While we continue to sin, we increasingly become, as the Holy Spirit works through us and in us, more Christ-like.
We sin less often. We avoid sin patterns and a lifestyle based around the sin that grips us. We grieve more when we fail.
One person’s failure around homosexuality is as grievous to God as is another person’s lapses around his/her employer’s office supplies. In other words, to God, our neighbor giving in to same-sex attraction is an abomination against nature, but we, who commit other sins, stand just as condemned before a perfect God.
*****
THE BIBLE TELLS US we are to love our neighbor but not their sin, just as we naturally love our selves but, when redeemed, not our sin.
Can we acknowledge, then, the basic personhood of our failed neighbor, pray for his/her redemption, and avoid being stumbling blocks to their spiritual recovery?
We are called to speak the truth in love to our neighbor, just as our born-again neighbors are called to speak the truth to us. Lovingly calling out someone for their sin pattern covers a multitude of our own offenses and can bring a wandering believer back into the fold.
It also can lead to conviction for those who are struggling with sin but who are not yet believers in God’s grace and mercy.
None of that is possible for us if we are too busy condemning the wayward neighbor while excusing our own sin.
PRAYER
ALMIGHTY GOD, Father of all creation, we confess our sinful hearts and weak wills. You have told us our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak, and that, unless we abide in You and You in us, we can do nothing worthwhile on our own.
We ask you humbly to forgive our sin and our judgment against our neighbor’s sin. Help us, we ask, to love our failed neighbor and teach them, when given the opportunity, God’s truth and to do so with grace and love.
Strengthen us, we pray, in our own walk with the Lord that we will be Your ambassadors, as salt and light, in word and in deed, as our Savior has commissioned us.
We lift our petition and our gratitude in Jesus’ beautiful name.
AMEN
Ward's Words | BY WARD PIMLEY 