Comments on: Reality. And Homosexuality.

By: J.

J. — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:36:31 +0000

Think standards and grace can co-exist. The only answer for the human condition is Jesus. Sin is our condition. For some its the homosexual lifestyle w/ urges so intense that a person just caves in an accepts it as normal. Though that’s the truth with a multitude of sins even in the sexual sins category.

If I am to believe scripture I am to believe that knowing Christ is life changing, and that sometimes sin is hard to shake off….we become new creatures in Christ and can overcome. Be it the drunk, murder, adulterer, the theif, the homosexual….all of us were defined by something before Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (New Living Translation)

9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

There is hope for anyone stuck in sin.

By: Liz

Liz — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:29:59 +0000

Thanks Kevin for your comment, I appreciate the disagreement and several of your points, including that about offense. We’ll all do better to not take offense and live in radical grace relationships to each other.

By: Kevin Hargaden

Kevin Hargaden — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:57:04 +0000

Thanks for the thoughts Liz. With respect to orthodox Christians and offence- Paul says in 1 Cor 13 that love takes no offence. It seems that my fellow orthodox doctrinal-basis signing, creed reciting, John-Piper-loving Christians don’t pay particular heed to that injunction. So keep talking!

I think I am coming to the conclusion that in the 21st Century we will be called to deepen this conversation a great deal and to do it by advocating with our own lives a sexual ethic that transcends the avoiding of transgression.

Jesus calls us to a radical discipleship- with our body, our mind, our heart and our soul enjoined for that pilgrimage. So it seems that we can break new ground where we can be faithful to his testimony that sexual intercourse is a covenantal practice that takes place inside marriage and welcome a diversity of people into the church who live outside of marriages. But it will take communities who are going to follow that call to live radically in grace together.

Or in other words, hopefully less abstract, your friend is not wrong to (lovingly) tell their gay friend (and we can’t blame her because she doesn’t have a big social circle!) that they are sinning but are they:
a) In the context of a relationship where that moves someone closer to God (even if it is a tough challenge)
b) Willing to take the same prophetic stand against their Christian friends who are addicted to consumerism or patriotism or any of the other “private” idolatries that we tend not to name?