First there was Ray Boltz. Then minister Ted Haggard. Now it's former Christian singer, Jennifer Knapp, who has come out of the closet, so to speak, on her homosexual lifestyle.
As I watched the Larry King Live interview with Jennifer, which also featured Ted Haggard and Pastor Bob Botsford of Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego, it became apparent that Jennifer does not see herself as thumbing her nose at God in favor of a rebellious lifestyle. She believes, or so she says, that she is still a Christian and loves the Church. Ted Haggard, likewise, when point blank asked by Larry King if homosexuality is a sin, sidestepped the question like a skilled politician by saying, "we all have sin."
So is homosexuality the un-pardonable sin? Can one be a Christian and a homosexual? If sin is sin, what differentiates this sin from all others?
Those were the questions being addressed on the Larry King segment with Jennifer Knapp and the other guests. Of course, Pastor Bob Botsford was not afforded the opportunity to speak at length on these matters without being interrupted by either Jennifer, Larry King, or Ted Haggard. So I am taking my space here to address these questions in length in this and the posts that follow.
Before I Begin
Before I begin addressing these questions, I wish to say from the start that I have no personal axe to grind against homosexuals. I have known several in my lifetime, and some I have been privileged to call friends. I even have a late uncle who was a bi-sexual. In pretty much every case, all the homosexual friends and acquaintance in my life have been wonderful people in many respects. I don't condone their lifestyle choices when it comes to their sexuality, but I don't consider them "evil" people anymore than I would consider someone evil who cheats on their income taxes or who indulges in pre-marital heterosexual sex. We all fall short in many ways, so I don't believe homosexuals are any better or worse than other types of sinners. Therefore, I have never gone out of my way to be rude or to oppress or condemn anyone who is gay. I wish them only goodwill.
That said, while Jesus on many occasions forgave the sinner, He didn't condone the sin, and He called for the person in question to "go and sin no more," as He said with the woman caught in adulterly. At some point we in the Christian community must in no uncertain terms call sin sin, while continuing to extend the love, mercy, and acceptance that Jesus did. And when I say "acceptance," I don't mean welcoming into the family of God those who call themselves Christians but who continue to live in a way that violates the commands of God, as Jennifer Knapp and Ray Boltz are doing. The scritpures tell us that we must not welcome into our churches those who call themselves Christians but who will not repent of sexual sins, among others. We can love them and want the best for them, but we are clearly instructed not to allow them to fellowship among us in our churches.
1 Corinthians 5:11-13:
[11] But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. [12] What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? [13] God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."
It's no different with any social club or political group. I could say that I'm a Communist, but if I don't practice the lifestyle of Communism and there is little evidence to show of it in my life, can I honestly call myself a Communist? How about Islam? If I called myself a Muslim but practiced homosexuality, I would probably be beheaded if I lived in a Muslim country. You can't say you are a true Muslim and be homosexual. So why do people try to play that game with Christianity?
What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?
I will address only this one issue in this post, and then move on to others in the ones following. If people like Jennifer Knapp are to have any leg to stand on in defending and justifying their homosexual lifestyles and yet still claim to be Christians, they must come to terms with and have a good answer to what the Bible says about it.
Now, if they want to say, “ I don’t believe the Bible,” or “the Bible should be in a state of flux,” or “the Bible is a nice book of stories, fairy tales, and guidelines to be considered, but not to guide our lives and culture,” then that's different. I respect a person more who doesn’t try to twist scripture to attempt to make the Bible endorse homosexuality. If we are going to disseminate and interpret the scriptures in a responsible manner according to the standards of scholarship, we are forced to pick a stand: embrace the Word, reject the Word, or adjust the Word, but we can’t responsibly say we believe the Bible AND embrace homosexuality. The two don’t mix.
Okay, this isn’t rocket science. In Genesis 2:20–23, Adam names all the animals and there isn’t a suitable helper found for him among them. So God puts him into a deep sleep and creates from his rib a suitable helper as his mate. What was that suitable helper? A woman. Not a man for a man (homosexuality), not a woman and another man for Adam (bi-sexuality), and not 3 women (polygamy). Nor did he pick one of the animals (bestiality). You get the picture. God’s design was a woman for the man. I mean that literally – God DESIGNED, made, manufactured a woman for Adam as the perfect, suitable helper, revealing God’s intent for mankind.
So then, how does God feel about homosexuality according to the Bible? It is stated in no uncertain terms.
Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. -Leviticus 18:22
If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. -Leviticus 20:13
Romans 1:26,27:
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
From the perspective of the God-inspired scriptures, and from the perspective of those who hold its truths to be evident and above the scrutiny of feeble man, it is unnatural to be homosexual. The design of the human anatomy is evidence of this, as one gender was obviously designed to join with the other. We are not physically “created” to be homosexual. It is unnatural, totally contrary to the physical and emotional design of mankind. Let’s not ignore that. God created a man and woman to fit, to work together. Don’t ignore the beauty and perfection of God’s creative design.
In fact, if you wish to argue the "choice" versus the "I was born this way" argument, let's examine the research.
The researchers of the Human Genome Project, which identified over 20,000 genes in the human DNA, specifically searched for a homosexual gene. This research project took years, and yet the researchers could not locate a gene that causes homosexuality. Therefore, the researchers of the Human Genome Project have concluded that there is no genetic cause for homosexuality. So no longer can homosexuals claim that they were born that way if they want to maintain a scientific approach to the argument.
Again, if they say, "This is the choice I have made and I am happy with it," fine. I respect that. I don't agree with the morality of the lifestyle choice, but I respect it more when someone just states their choice without trying to justify it with arguments that have no basis in science or the scriptures. If someone says, "Phooey on the Bible. I'm embracing the homosexual lifestyle, and that's that," I think that's where the argument would end. But saying you can be a Christian while embracing a lifestyle of Christianity is intellectually dishonest.
Can Someone Be a Homosexual and Still Be a Christian?
Let me qualify. Can someone have homosexual inclinations and still be a Christian? Yes, I suppose, as long as those inclinations are not practiced as a matter of lifestyle. For example, maybe Pastor Joe Bloe struggles with lust toward some of the female members of his congregation. But he understands that he is called to die daily to the desires of the flesh, so he restrains himself and does not follow after those sinful longings. In fact, he crucifies them whenever they come up. So Pastor Bloe can still be in the Faith while struggling with sinful desires. But if he begins indulging them to the point of feeling no remorse and even justifying sinful relationships, there is a point where he cuts himself off from grace.
Hebrews 10:26-29:
26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. 28 For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.
In other words, grace only covers those who have repented from their lifestyles of sin and turned to go the other way to follow the way of Christ. Grace does not cover those who try to excuse or justify their sin.
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. -Proverbs 28:13
Yes, we all fail in many ways, as Ted Haggard and Jennifer Knapp and Larry King like to remind us. But there is a huge difference between those straining toward godliness by forsaking their sins and working toward Christ-likeness by addressing their sins whenever they occur, asking forgiveness,and renouncing them, and those who justify and excuse their sins. The former will receive mercy, the latter will not.
More later.
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