In one of my classes that I teach, I told my students that I love gay men.  I said it to provoke a reaction.  It is not that I am homosexual myself, it is just that we can be such homophobes in the church that we hold gay men at arm’s length.  Our attitude is revealed by how uncomfortable we are with following through on our love.  Some of us think that we are being soft if we don’t point out our stance on homosexuality when interacting with GLTV people.  The Bible is already clear to most homosexuals.  The response of those who find their identity in their sexuality is to prioritize or reinterpret biblical truth.  For example in this passage some people say that the homosexuality is specifically that of temple prostitutes.  That means that it is the idolatry behind the homosexuality that is the real offence.  Some say that Paul had ‘feet of clay’.  This is a way of saying that Paul was just a human living in his times and we have moved on from there.  I think that more foundationally we have to see that sexually immorality is a self-oriented movement against God’s design principles.  In the broader sense all sexual immorality moves against God’s design.  His design is that men and women come together one-to-one in a marriage environment.  Their bits are designed to go together.  Marriage, however, is much more than sex.  Marriage is a lifetime of self-sacrificing commitment.  Although in our post-modern society we become egocentric and hold the individual’s rights to self-define in whatever way they choose, ultimately the Spirit of God lets us know that we are playing games with words.  It is those who have seared their conscience and no longer know that immoral or deviant sexual behaviour is immoral or deviant that find themselves outside the kingdom of God.  They need to be treated with all the love and respect that Paul has already told the Church of Corinth to treat those who are outside the church.  Remember he told the congregation not to judge non-church members.

However, notice in the list that there are those who are defined by a variety of sinful acts, not just homosexual ones, who find themselves on the outside.  If you are not tempted to have sex with someone of your gender, perhaps you have fallen with someone of the opposite gender.  Perhaps you pilfer from your workplace.  Perhaps you gossip about people.  Perhaps you cut corners to get ahead.  Any person who has a defining sin characteristic needs to question whether they are in God’s kingdom.  Members of God’s kingdom fight sin.  They do not redefine it as good.

Specifically then, how do we deal with homosexuality?  We combat it in our own lives.  We do not redefine it as a healthy lifestyle when statistics show that (for men in particular) it is not.  We find some GLTV people to love unconditionally.  We avoid getting on a moral high horse and telling them about their sin at every opportunity.  It would be more helpful if we just communicated our own weakness with sin and God’s amazing strength.

1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

⁹Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ¹⁰nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Questions

1. Who will not inherit the kingdom of God?
2. What actions removed the Corinthians from being defined by sin?
3. How would Corinthian culture have led to an easy acceptance of sin?
4. Do you know anyone who has an habitual sin that defines them (e.g. a gossip, a liar, a glutton)?
5. How should you be compassionate and non-judgemental to those who are defined by sin outside the church whilst being careful that sin does not become socially acceptable within the church?