Is there help for homosexuals?

Discussions with others on the issues and questions related to homo sexuality have been a blessing to me for several reasons. I will mention only two major ones. To begin with, the term homosexual was one I used sparingly and almost secretly in my early ministry. To think of the connotations of this word fell under the category of those things covered by Paul's statement, "For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret" (Eph. 5:12, N.I.V.).* However, my aversion to the practice of homosexuality spilled over into my attitude toward the homosexual per se. I hope to practice more fully the principle of maintaining a staunch resistance to and hatred for sin, but at the same time showing love and concern for the sinner.

It is impossible, to my mind, to find Biblical approval for those who engage in homosexual activities. Believing that Scripture labels homosexuality a serious offense, I must at the same time acknowledge that fornication, adultery, lying, stealing, hatred, idolatry, and pride are also serious wrongdoings! Any violation of God's commandments is inconsistent with Christian living. Sin in all its varied forms is the result of man's fall, which has produced a thousand varieties of fruits that we label sin. Thus, desires and motives that are alien to the character of God are found residing in the hearts of all. Instead of analyzing and evaluating the relative evilness of sin and impugning the motives of the sinner, it is the minister's business to direct the sinner to the Saviour and demonstrate the triumphant adequacy of grace.

There is marvelous help for all of us sinners! It is found in Jesus Christ and His saving grace. I recognize that there are many Christians, including ministers, who seriously question the possibility of significant change in human lives, especially in the area of homosexuality. This humanistic position is seemingly becoming more popular. I find it difficult to harmonize this position with scriptural teaching. What was Jesus talking about when He expounded on the new birth experience with Nicodemus? If Nicodemus, of all people, needed changing, what about those who openly and flagrantly rebel against the will of God? What does Paul mean when he speaks of a person becoming a new creature or a new creation? What do the words of Ephesians 2:1-6 (R.S.V.) mean?

"And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

Surely Paul is not saying that a person in an unchanged state, "following the desires of body and mind," is now sitting in heavenly places in Jesus Christ! This makes a mockery of the gospel of our Lord. Change is not only possible but is a requirement!

Change in a person's life and habits comes slowly in some cases and quickly in others. I have seen conversion experiences in which an individual not only gives up a wrong habit instantaneously but actually has no more desire to practice it. In other cases, the individual will obey the call of God but endures a struggle for a period of time before the temptation is weakened and brought under control.

I have a friend who struggles with the problem of overeating (by the way, I face a similar problem!) He said to me one day, "Spangler, I have been on a partial fast all my life!" Although this man was a happy Christian and loved the Lord dearly, yet it was a day-by-day battle with his appetite that was in need of constant supervision in order to be restrained.

If there ever was a time when the cross of Jesus Christ and the law needed to be lifted high, that time is now. As we look to the cross, the Holy Spirit impresses our minds with the enormously high cost of sin. As we have a love relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, an enmity is created in the heart against evil. Genesis 3:15 becomes a reality in our experience: '"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel'" (R.S.V.).

Above all, may we as ministers see people through the eyes of Jesus Christ. May we exhibit His mighty power over sin in our own lives. With concern and deep love, let us with the power of the Holy Spirit reach out a helping hand to those who long for deliverance from the prison house of sin.—J. R. S.