How can a Homosexual be Saved?

The question this article is seeking to answer implies at least three things about the discussion that follows:

• God Exists – The concept of salvation necessitates there is a Judge who is bringing a judgment which man should seek to escape. Without God, humanity has neither need nor any hope of an eternal salvation.
• God Judges a Person’s Actions – The question this article asks of homosexuality (or any other activity in which a person could participate) implies that the actions he/she takes have an impact on his/her relationship to God.
• Humanity Needs Salvation – To ask a question about the possibility of a certain kind of person being saved demands that the person must first be lost.

Those points flow from a theist and Christian worldview. This author believes there is a God who will judge all of mankind; all of mankind has sinned and stands in need of salvation before God; the Bible defines right and wrong for all of humanity; and that the Bible also expresses the conditions each person must meet to be saved from the consequences of his/her wrong actions in life.

Each of those points is important to appreciate before beginning a discussion of the salvific impact of a homosexual lifestyle. The truth is that the vitriol that continually streams into our societal discourse on this topic has little to do with the topic itself. It is simply the latest skirmish between the forces of the secularist and theistic armies. In our culture, that war has many fronts. In just the last generation, we have engaged in conflict astride the battlefields of the sexual revolution, abortion, state-sponsored gambling, and the legalization of drugs. Homosexuality is simply another fight in a bigger conflict.

Even if, somehow, the armies of theists in America were able to hold the ground we possess in the discussion of homosexuality, our fight would not lessen. The progressive secularist would simply move his forces elsewhere.

The great divide in our culture is not about just homosexuality or any other such  concern. The issue is the nature of man.  Some will read this article and already know that its contents are hate-filled and bigoted. However, in truth, the word “homosexual” in the title could be changed to nearly any other action people take and that same critic would still believe this article was nothing other than the musings of a limited and repressive mind. That kind of detractor of articles such as this has already concluded that even if God exists, that God would never dare to tell His creation what it should and should not do. There is no approach to the topic of homosexuality – other than to accept it unilaterally – that will placate that kind of critic.

So at the beginning of this discussion, it must be said to those critics: “You are wrong.” God does exist. He created the world (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-2). One day He will judge the world (Acts 17:30-31). All of humanity has sinned and needs salvation from that God (Romans 3:23). None of us, including the homosexual, is immune from having his actions condemned by that God. Lastly, the Bible is the book in which are expressed to us the judgments and expectations of God about our actions.

If you reject those ideas about God, humanity, and the Bible, then this article is probably not for you. Those of us who are Christians know what you believe on those matters and how much disdain have for us. If reading an article that seeks to discuss homosexuality from a biblical perspective is simply going to cause you anger and further negativity, you are quite welcome to stop reading now. I will not be offended.

This article is offered for the Christian. It is aimed at helping the child of God to have both a biblical and god-like attitude toward those we understand to be engaged in a sinful activity. It may be that you have seen Christians abandon their beliefs about homosexuality and find your faith on the matter in doubt; perhaps you have experienced true anger and hate from misguided or immature Christians; perhaps you or a loved one is struggling with homosexuality; if so, I hope the thoughts below can help to strengthen your faith again. As Christians, we must hold to the truths that all sex outside of the marriage of a man and a woman is sinful in the eyes of God, but that the blood of Jesus is sufficient to save man from all kinds of sin – even homosexuality.

Homosexuality is Sin.

The skill of modern linguists and scholars is quite amazing. Apparently, we have learned more about Greek and Hebrew in the last generation than the accumulated studies of all of the scholars of all generations past. This must be true because among the pro-homosexual activists that endeavor to make textual arguments in support of their position, the single approach of their efforts is an attempt to re-define every word in the biblical text which describes homosexual activity. In so doing they assert that the translators of every major English translation of the Bible were so uninformed or so bigoted that they missed the clear evidence that the Bible never actually denounces homosexual activity. It is truly amazing that this new scholarship, born in a time of relativistic thinking and which at its core does not support the principle of inerrancy in the text, has found truth that was missed for so long.

Without even looking at the texts in the Bible which specifically condemn homosexuality (and there are many spread across all parts of the Bible) the facts are these:

1. Before sin entered the world, God made marriage to exist between man and a woman.
2. According to Jesus, marriage is the effect that is based upon the cause of Creation: “He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore [For this cause – KJV, jj] a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4-5). There is simply no “for this cause” for the homosexual. Jesus places His divine stamp of approval on marriage. His words demand divine intent and purpose to the joining of man and woman. There is no place in scripture where that divine stamp is given to homosexual relationships.
3. There is no homosexual relationship ever endorsed in the Bible. Some homosexual activists have tried to find “closet” relationships in the Bible in relationships like David’s and Jonathan’s or even in the life of Jesus Himself. Those attempts are nothing more than the wishful thinking of people looking for what is not there. The question that cannot be overcome is “If God deems those relationships as holy why are we left to infer the sexuality in those relationships?” You see, if the Bible is verbally inspired (which I believe it is) God would have inspired the Bible writers to overcome any cultural bigotry they faced. If it were God’s intention to endorse homosexual activity, that endorsement would be found in the text clearly. There would be some clear mention of an acceptably created and lived homosexual relationship. We would not have to infer it.
4. Marriage between man and woman is heavily regulated in the text. The Law of Moses has long sections regulating marriage. The marriages of the Jews are restricted. The priests are told who they can and cannot marry. Jesus comments on marriages that are acceptable or not. Paul adds his apostolic voice into the mix. Where is the passage which regulates homosexual relationships? If, as we are told, the passages condemning homosexuality do not actually condemn it, it would be the case that not only does the Bible text fail to condemn it, but it also fails to regulate it. For example, in the New Testament Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 and Matthew 19 are explicitly about a man and his wife. The same is true of Paul in Romans 7 and 1 Corinthians 7. Those passages heavily and specifically regulate marriage between man and a woman. Because they are explicitly about heterosexual relationships, they cannot be used to bind legislation upon the homosexual. That being true, if the homosexuals’ assertions about the text are also true, we are left in a state in which God has restricted the freedoms of the heterosexual but not the homosexual. That position is not plausible. The fact that God regulates true marriage has the effect of endorsing the activity so long as it is carried out within the confines of His regulations. That it was not necessary that He provide the same direction to the homosexual highlights that He never intended the action to occur in the first place.

There is simply no place in the Bible’s text that gives space to homosexual activity. From the creation forward, the only sexuality that falls within God’s plan is sex between a man and a woman.

Homosexuality is sin not SIN!

The passion with which many Christians speak out against homosexuality is understandable. The progressive, secular armies are waging war against traditional and biblical values. Homosexuality is a major front in this war. Articles such as these are already deemed as politically incorrect. Many view them as hate speech. Having them criminalized in the United States in the near future is not completely out of the question.

Yet, we as Christians do need to be able to separate the passion and indignation we have about the assault on biblical values that we face from our approach to the text. Every sin is an offense to God. I can find no special anger in the text reserved for the homosexual. There is no corner in hell reserved for the homosexuals that is just a bit warmer than everywhere else. Sin is sin. It is a transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4). Death is the wage earned by sin, whether it be homosexuality or any violation of the law of God (Romans 6:23).

We need to be careful not to look beyond other sins to see the dangers of homosexuality. When we are watching television, is our anger reserved for the portrayal of homosexual characters while we have grown to accept the actions of heterosexuals? Many times the heterosexuals are engaged in fornication and other sinful activities and we speak little about it. Would we view our children’s experimentation in homosexual activity the same way we would view their experimentation in heterosexual activity? At work, do we listen politely to discussion of the dalliances of our heterosexual co-workers, but would walk away from the description of our homosexual co-workers actions?

In Paul’s description of those who will not inherit the kingdom of God he includes “men who practice homosexuality” (1 Corinthians 6:9). But it is fourth in the list after both fornication and adultery. Let us be clear and forceful about this issue, but let us also be fair in our judgments. Sin is sin, even homosexuality.

The Homosexual Can Become a Christian

The homosexual can become a Christian just like any other sinner. All that stands between him and the cleansing blood of Christ is his belief in Jesus, his willingness to repent of his sins, his confession of faith in Christ, and his being immersed for the forgiveness of his sins (John 8:24; Acts 17:30; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 2:38).

Perhaps the most relevant item in that list for this discussion is the matter of repentance. In order to come to Jesus to find salvation, all men must acknowledge their wrong-doing and be moved by a godly sorrow to turn from their sin. Paul states this about repentance, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). When one recognizes the person and authority of Christ and begins to appreciate the true nature of his sins, he should be moved to turn from those actions.

 That sense of sorrow or “grief” produces repentance. Yet it is not repentance in itself. True repentance bears fruit in the life of the penitent as evidence of the change of heart within him (Matthew 3:8).  That is why Paul speaks to the Corinthians in the past tense in relationship to the sins of their lives before coming Christians:

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

The Corinthians had felt that “godly grief” of which Paul reminded them. They repented of the actions of their former lives. They believed what Paul preached about Jesus and were baptized to have those sins of their former lives removed from their account before God (Acts 18:8). In that list, as we have noted already, Paul included some who were engaged in homosexual activity. Just like every other sin in that list, if a man is willing to acknowledge his sin and will turn from it, the blood of Christ can save him. The homosexual can be saved just like any other man.

Abstain from Sex – Really?

Through that repentance, the Corinthians ceased to be what they were. Paul could say they “were” (not “are”) sexually immoral or “were” homosexuals, not because they ceased to have strong, sexual passions. Undoubtedly, those passions continued. However, the Corinthians made a commitment to deny those passions and live the life God intended for them. Both the sexually immoral heterosexuals and homosexuals in Corinth committed to control the impulses of their physical passions to live for God.

This kind of restraint is foreign to much modern thinking. In fact, one of the major objections to a proclamation of the sinfulness of homosexuality is that if homosexuality is sinful the homosexual would have no wholesome outlet for his/her sexual desires. In many people’s thinking, God would not be so uncaring as to condemn a person to that manner of life. Surely, He would want them to experience the happiness of the intimacy that sexuality brings.

Part of the reason that argument has such power in our culture is that we have loosened our understanding of sexuality in so many ways. Pre-martial and extra-marital sex are accepted and even deemed as helpful in most instances. The idea that two adult heterosexuals would date without engaging in sexual activity is laughable to most. If then heterosexuals have license to engage in consensual sex with impunity, it seems extreme to forbid the same license to the homosexual.

It is on that point that we missed the mark. So many of us are working under the assumption that God wants all of humanity to experience the joys of sexuality. Indeed, sex is portrayed as a wonderful gift from God in the Bible. An entire book of the Bible (Song of Solomon) is dedicated to the exploration and growth of sexuality in the marriage relationship:

Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples. (Song of Solomon 7:7-8)

Do Solomon’s intentions toward his wife seem restrained or prudish? Within marriage, sexuality is to be honored, cherished, and explored. Outside of that bond, it is always sinful.

God calls upon all non-married people to abstain from sexuality. He restricts the sexual freedom not just of the homosexual, but also for all people. The only people who can have sex with God’s approval are those whom He has “joined together” as one-flesh in marriage:

He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)

If God has not joined two people together, they cannot be sexually active without sin. This principle applies equally to every heterosexual and homosexual couple. The idea that God will not call upon humanity to restrain his sexual passions is not biblical. We do not exist to explore our sexual desires without restraint. We exist to live a life of holiness before God and part of that life is defined as the ability to turn away from the passions of our life that we freely satiated before turning to God:

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)

No heterosexual ever stops desiring to express his heterosexual urges, but if he is unmarried, he must do just that to remain holy before God. The same restraint is true of the homosexual. If he cannot find sexual fulfillment by being joined as “male and female” in the “one flesh” relationship of marriage, he must still control his passions and remain holy. The standard is the same for both the homosexual and the heterosexual.

How Can the Homosexual Stay Saved?

Once again, the answer to this question is the same answer that every child of God would hear. The truth of the matter is that no man will ever rid his life from sin. John states that case quite plainly: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). What that means is that every child of God is going to need help in sustaining his relationship with God even after his sins have been washed away.

Fortunately, God has provided that means: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). John’s description of the one who is cleansed from his own sin is that he is a man who “walks in the light.” As this article is not intended to be a full discussion on the topic of sanctification, it will suffice to say that this man who is walking in the light is the same man who Jesus describes as having put his hand to the plow and is not looking back (Luke 9:62). It is the man who has turned to the Lord for salvation, and in so doing acknowledged his wrong-doing, and who does not waver from that choice. That man’s life is lived everyday as one walking in the light.

Yet does that man continue to sin? Of course he does. As 1 John 1:8 states, to believe otherwise is a matter of self-deception and ultimately a denial of the very truth that one needs Jesus to remain in fellowship with God. Would it not be wonderful if we could just repent of sin and so turn away from it and that we are not enticed by it again? But we know that is not how sin works. The affections and passions of the heart are not so easily laid aside. Chances are the man tempted to lie will always be aware of that temptation. The alcoholic will still remember the taste of his favorite beverage long after he commits to giving it up. This is also true of the homosexual. Those desires and attractions are not likely to fade quickly. Like all of us, his temptations will ever be with him.

So the real issue is not about the homosexual. It is about all of us. Does the homosexual lose his salvation the moment he is overcome by temptation? Well, do you lose your salvation the moment you succumb to the temptation to lie or to lust or whatever your weakness is?

Again, this document is not intended to answer all the questions about the nature of our sanctification. However, even staying in 1 John, the Bible does describe two different kinds of sin. The distinction is not the sin and SIN of which we spoke earlier. John’s words describe a sin that is “unto death” and a sin that is “not unto death” (1 John 5:16). In the same light James says that sin bring death “when it is full grown” (James 1:15). These verses describe then a progression of sin. One sin is unto death; one is not. One sin is full grown; one is not.

The difference in those two sins is found in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confession prevents the sin not unto death from becoming the sin unto death. Confession stunts the growth of sin in our lives and prevents it from becoming “full grown.”

Every Christian, even the homosexual, maintains salvation not through his perfect removal of sin (which is not possible), but by maintaining a spirit which is willing to confess whenever he succumbs to his temptations.

Salvation Before Confession

But the existence of a sin “not unto death” and the need for sin to be “full grown” in order to bring death implies something that should bring great comfort to every Christians, even the one who has turned from homosexuality.

If confession of sin prevents death, it necessitates that for every act of sin we commit, we must be given the opportunity to confess it before God counts us as dead. If it is the case that we lose our life in Christ the moment we sin, every sin would be unto death and full grown from the start.

Further, John states that if we are in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from unrighteousness. That necessitates that we must able be to have unrighteousness in our lives and still be in the light. If the moment we sin we lose our standing in the light, we are then in darkness. That means there would never be an opportunity for the blood of Jesus to cleanse us while in the light. His cleansing could only take place while we were in darkness to bring us back into His light. That is not what John affirms.

The point of all of this is that Christians have some protection inside of Christ that those outside of Him do not have. There is grace and life in Christ, not outside of Him (1 Timothy 1:14; 2 Timothy 2:1). In Christ, we are given opportunity to acknowledge our sin before our relationship is severed.

But for how long are we given that chance? The answer to that question is not found in the expression of time. 1 John 1:7 provides the limit as being as long as “we walk in the light.” That is not measured in time. It is measured by intent and purpose. God, who looks on the inward and knows the heart of man, knows whether or not His child is intending to walk in the light or is living in rebellion. Our judgment on those matters is much more clouded. We see whether or not a man is willing to acknowledge his sin and confess it. So we have that layer of evidence. However, even then I have witnessed those who call into question the sincerity of a man’s confession if it has to be made too often. Again, God knows the sincerity of that action.

For those of us ministering to the homosexual, this is an important fact to remember. Repentance demands a turn from a former life. It does not demand a perfect execution of that turn. Sexual desires are strong. A penitent homosexual may admit the wrongness of his/her actions one day and the next return to them. This may go on for years, even for a lifetime. While it is possible that this continual return is evidence of a lack of commitment to God, that is not necessarily the case. It could simply be an indication of the depth of this person’s fight against sin. To an outside observer, this person may appear to be “living in homosexuality,” but that may not be true. The fight against sin against is hard. Our successes are mostly internal. However, the failures are almost always seen by others. It is a dangerous thing to condemn a child of God simply because we see their failures, even failures spread out over time. Sin must be repented of, acknowledged and confessed, and kept at bay in our lives. But it is not ours to stand in judgment of another’s progress in that fight. It is not ours to call into question the salvation of a brother or sister in Christ who has not made clear his rebellion against his first love.  Yet, to put a time limit or some other kind of visible metric on the pace at which a child of God overcomes his sin is to do just that. It is akin to the Pharisee’s attitude toward the lowly, sinful publican in the temple of whom Jesus spoke (Luke 18:9-14).

In the end, the salvation of a Christian troubled by homosexuality is measured in the same terms as the salvation of any saint who is tempted by any other sin. None of us can claim to have removed all sin from our lives. So, our lives are just as troubled by sin as is the saint’s life tempted by homosexuality. His/her offences may be more obvious and more shocking to the sensitivities. They may be so foreign to our thinking we cannot understand why they have not yet been overcome. But in a redemptive sense they, and we, are in the same boat. Our lies, gossip, anger, and all the other sins with which will still are afflicted after decades of faithful living have no more or no less impact on our redemptive condition before God than do the homosexual missteps of our brothers and sisters with that temptation.