Expert: Rev. Robert Woods - 5/28/2004

Question
hi!

i understand that the traditional church teachings on the subject of homosexuality has been negative and it's considered as a sin. however, i've also read many alternative Christian views on the topic and some are more lenient. in fact i have some personal Christian friends who are very serious about their Christian faith and lives, only that they are convinced that the Bible doesn't condemn all homosexual acts but those which are promiscuous, abusive and selfish.

i would like to hear your views on those who are devout Christians but yet sincerely believe that the Bible doesn't prohibit faithful and loving monogamous homosexual relationships. Must they repent of their lifestyle before they can be rightly considered as Christians?

Even if we insist that such Christians are wrong, how serious is their sin? Will they lost their salvation and go to hell because of their convictions?

thanks.

Answer
Blessings and thank you for your questions.

I would like to divide up your questions.  First of all, let's see why do we die in the first place. The Bible says, "It is appointed for men to die" Hebrews 9:27.  Yet when it occurs, people have difficulty in accepting the reality of the event.  Paul called death "the last enemy" 1 Cor. 15:26.  He also taught that death entered the world as the result of sin, Romans 5:12.  If there had not been sin, there would have been no death, Romans 5:17.  Death is more than a natural phenomenon:  "The soul who sins shall die" Exek. 18:4  When Paul describes death as receiving the "wages of sin," he means much more than its inevitable consequence Roman 6:23.  Death is God's verdict upon human sinfulness Romans 1:23.  Jesus Christ conquered death when He overcame sin and the devil.  Spiritually, believers have already passed from death to life John 5:24, and the broken relationship with God has been restored.  Believers still face the weakness and pain that accompany dying, but they need not be afraid of death itself.  Jesus Christ the victor will finally overcome the last enemy also 1 Cor. 15:26, 54-57.

2.  Who does God send to Hell?  God sends those to hell who sin.  Original sin is the term for being born a sinner.  Remember, man was created in the image and likeness of God.  Man was a free moral agent, freely able to choose God or turn away from him.  By eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he did the one thing he was asked not to do.  Breaking God's one commandment to him was sin.  At that point Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden and cut off from the tree of life.  From that moment on, the spirit of man was damaged.  It is as if man is now born with a moral handicap.  He is lame in the most important part of his being- his spirit.  That is original sin.  There is a rebellious nature in most children.  They just like to do whatever you tell them not to do.  This natural rebellion stems from man's original sin.  Instead of being morally free, man has a decided tendency toward sin - urged on toward evil by what is called "the world, the flesh, and the devil."  Original sin is a tendency to do evil, not an act of evil itself.  God does not punish people for tendencies to do evil, only for what evil they do in light of what they know.  God does not send anyone to hell because they never heard of Christ or never accepted Him.  He sends people to Hell because they have sinned.  

3.  How do you avoid Hell?  It has been said that if Jesus is not God, then we should worship the man who thought him up. Never has anyone in history spoken the way he did.  I see that the teachings of Jesus are self-validating.  Throughout history, they have been proven true over and over again.  When the teachings of Jesus are put into practice, they lead to peace, harmony, victory, and love.  This does not mean His teachings do not bring conflict.  For evil will always fight against the truth.  Jesus' words pulsate with wisdom.  For example, about governments "Give to Caesar the things of Caesar and to God the things of God."  The teaching that God the Father is a Spirit, not a man or woman.  The Sermon on the Mount has a treasury of wisdom, "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you."  Remember, "Love your neighbor as yourself."  God wants you to know that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) God wants you to know that Jesus Christ has already provided the way of salvation. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but will have everlasting life." (John 3:16) You must repent of your sins, confess them and forsake them. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) God wants you to know that acceptance or refusal determines your destiny. "Everyone who has faith in the Son has eternal life. But no one who rejects Him will ever share in that life, and God will be angry with them forever." Romans 10:13 “Those who call upon the name of the Lord, will be saved.   “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph. 2:8

4.  What is God's purpose for sex?
  a.  obvious one to multiply
  b.  be fruitful (some would say this is the fun part)
  c.  to join a man and women together as one flesh "A man shall leave his father and mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh." Gen. 2:24   
God created us as sexual beings.  He intended for sex to be good.  That is why he made it pleasurable.  The idea that sex was a sin came several centuries into the early church.  They came up with the theology that sin was passed from generation to generation through sex.  But this is bad theology.  At the fall, we lost part of what made us good in the eyes of God.  We lost part of what made us "in His image."   God even gave women the desire for men, even though they would have pain in childbearing. Gen. 3:16.  Read 1 Corinthians 7.  In verse 5, Paul points out that a married couple should not go without have sexual relations, unless they agree to do so to pray and fast.  Why?? Because we are sexual beings, if we are intimate at home, then we are less likely to be engaging in sex outside the home.  Romans 1:24-32 clearly states that Homosexuality is a sin.  God intended sex to be between a married man and woman.  Anything outside that union is sin.  Remember it is sin that condemns us, regardless of what sin that is.

5.  The Problem with homosexuality.  As a minister of the gospel it is my calling to preach about Jesus Christ.  It is my calling by God to preach about the moral ills and sins of the world.  One of those sins is homosexuality.  The problem today is that the gay right movement wants us to accept their behavior as normal.  Not only that, but they want us to bless it, make them leaders, or teachers.  I do not concentrate my efforts against homosexuals, I preach to sinners.  If a robber came into my church and claimed that stealing was no longer a sin and that he should be accepted as a moral person, then we would say he was crazy.  Yet, homosexuals say that their sin should be overlooked or blessed.  I find that difficult.  I do not believe in giving homosexuals any special rights or protections.  But, I do believe that any violence against them is also sinful.  Jesus commands us to love them.  To care for them as we would any sinner.  But, God condemns those who refuse to repent of their sins.  If a homosexual refuses to repent of his sin, then he is condemned to hell and separation from God forever.  I don't want homosexuals to suffer on this earth, I want them to know the joy, peace, love, and salvation of Jesus Christ.  Groups like Exodus International are made up of ex-homosexuals who have repented and have been delivered from their sin.  But, in our society today, homosexuals make it worse on themselves by drawing attention to their sin and basically making us respond to their behavior.  By demanding blessings for their activity, they bring the judgment of the church and Christians upon them.

6.  hell is both physical and spiritual. It is a place and not simply a condition. It is the place where all those who have refused the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ go upon death. Jesus presented it as a place of eternal torment for the devil, his angels, and the sons and daughters of Adam who rejected him and his sacrifice for their sins.  It is a place of damnation where the fire is not quenched (Matt 23:33; Mark 9:48). Their soul leaves their body and descends into the physical place hell.  Now, at the end of time in Rev. 20:11-15, all those who died without Christ will rise from the dead.  Their literal bodies will reform and stand before God in judgement.  Then their bodies will join their souls in hell for eternity.  Louis Berkhof in his book "Systematic Theology," says hell consists in (a) a total absence of the favor of God; (b) an endless disturbance of life as a result of the complete domination of sin; (c) positive pains and sufferings in body and soul; and (d) such subjective punishments as pangs of conscience, anguish, despair , weeping, and gnashing of teeth (Matt 8:12, 13:50; Mark 9:43-44, 47, 48; Luke 16:23 -26; Rev 14:10, 21:8.  Evidently, there will be degrees in the punishment of the wicked.  This follows from such passages a Matt. 11:22, 24; Luke 12:47-48, 20:17.  Their punishment will be commensurate with their sinning against the light which they had received.

Well I hope you understand that I don't wish a miserable life to homosexuals on this earth.  I pray and hope that they come to know Jesus Christ and His plan for love on this earth.  

I hope this answers your questions.  Blessings upon you.