Homosexual acts are sin. Plain and simple. This statement is not based on three or four "proof-texts", though for some it is. When I say that homosexual acts are a sin, it is only a tiny part of the Christian sexual ethic which essentially boils down to this: the only person that you should have sexual contact with or contemplate having sexual contact with is your wife (if you're a man) or husband (if you're a woman). It is from this fact that all of the sexual regulations of the Bible stem. Jesus talked about it too in Matthew 19 in setting the standard that a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they are considered "one flesh". So people say Christians are restrictive because of the homosexuality thing, but they fail to realize that God keeps sex confined to the marriage bed and only the marriage bed...and also for very good reasons that include the security and commitment in that covenant. But the best reason is because He said so. It is a system instituted by God for our good. We should respect it as such and trust Him to look out for our best.
Awesome book on the topic of homosexuality from a man struggling with the desires and accepting the testimony of Scripture: Washed & Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness & Homosexuality by Wesley Hill. I recommend it to everyone.
Important to note: Many will exalt sexual sin to a pedestal, making it worse than other sins. Some of this is warranted as Paul himself suggests that sexual sin is different. But we must remember that we are all sinners and ALL sin separates us from God, and unless our brother/sister is immersed in an unrepentant, sinful lifestyle, we must continue in fellowship of love with them.
Another important note: One of the very real, very tangible threat to traditional marriage: no-fault divorce laws. As one of my coworkers put it to me yesterday, "If more people entered marriage with the conviction that divorce was not nor would it ever be an option, the picture would be different."
Awesome book on the topic of homosexuality from a man struggling with the desires and accepting the testimony of Scripture: Washed & Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness & Homosexuality by Wesley Hill. I recommend it to everyone.
Important to note: Many will exalt sexual sin to a pedestal, making it worse than other sins. Some of this is warranted as Paul himself suggests that sexual sin is different. But we must remember that we are all sinners and ALL sin separates us from God, and unless our brother/sister is immersed in an unrepentant, sinful lifestyle, we must continue in fellowship of love with them.
Another important note: One of the very real, very tangible threat to traditional marriage: no-fault divorce laws. As one of my coworkers put it to me yesterday, "If more people entered marriage with the conviction that divorce was not nor would it ever be an option, the picture would be different."
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