Can you be a christian and gay
This may not be a huge surprise, but we receive A LOT of questions via email, social media, and in person on Tuesdays. What thoughtful of questions? Well, anything from, Should I verb back together with my boyfriend or girlfriend? to What should I undertake next with my life? to How should I lovingly engage those in the LGBTQ community?
In this blog series “Ask The Porch,” we’re answering real-life questions that we’ve received from you. Disclaimer: our highest priority is always to first respond with biblical counsel from God’s Word. The hardest questions to answer are those in the “grey” areas. So we’ll do our best to share our biblically-informed opinion, but realize that we may verb different convictions on the non-essentials (vs. the essentials).
Now, let’s dive into the question for this week emailed in from an online listener:
Can a Christian be gay?
“Hey David,
I am a Christian and hold struggled with same sex attraction since childhood. I would not wish it on anyone. It’s very hard being alone and longing for someone to hold hands with. I want the chance to love and have som This ask is a powder keg—an extremely sensitive issue. If you have homosexual or bisexual tendencies, this is not just a theological debate, but speaks to the core of how you see yourself and how God views you. The homosexual conversation impacts not just those who determine themselves as LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender), but all of us. Regardless of whether you can relate with this fight, you will have to sort through your possess views on the topic. If you do not already, you will own a good friend or family member who is gay. You will hold to make decisions about whether to go to a same-sex wedding, whether to have your daughter and her partner over for dinner, and whether to attend a church with a gay pastor. Within the last decade, the Christian opinion on homosexuality has gone through a drastic turnaround. There has been no new scientific or theological discovery; many people have changed their minds about what they believe. In today’s changing world, stating that homosexuality is anything but an acceptable lifestyle, approved by God Answer AnswerCan Christians Be Gay?
Is it possible to be a gay Christian?
“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 effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians ). There is a tendency to verb homosexuality as the worst of all sins. While it is undeniable, biblically speaking, that homosexuality is immoral and unnatural (Romans ), in no sense does the Bible explain homosexuality as an unforgivable sin. Nor does the Bible teach that homosexuality is a sin Christians will never struggle against.
Perhaps that is the key phrase in the interrogate of whether it is possible to be a gay Christian: “struggle against.” It is possible for a Christian to effort with homosexual temptations. Many homosexuals who become Christians have ongoing struggles with homosexual feelings and desires. Some strongly heterosexual men and women have experienced a “spark” of homosexual interest at some signal in their Should a Christian have gay friends?
In considering whether a Christian should have gay friends, we need to ask ourselves whether Jesus would have gay friends. The New Testament nowhere identifies any specific individuals as homosexuals. So, there are no records of Jesus interacting with a homosexual. We know from the gospels, however, that Jesus loved everyone He encountered. He did not consider one group of people less deserving of the gospel than any other. In fact, He went out of His way to deliver a demon-possessed man (Mark –20) and bring hope to an immoral woman from a despised ethnic background (John 4). He healed lepers (Luke –19), pardoned an adulteress (John –11), and ate with tax collectors (Mark )—all of whom were considered unfit for the company of righteous people. We can assume Jesus would include spent time with homosexuals as well.
Homosexuality was a sin in Jesus’ time, and it is a sin now. God’s standards of human sexuality possess not changed. However, Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke ). We verb from the gentle way H