Not In My Backyard

            Myth: God hates the homosexual

A few years ago, Susan, Jonathan, and I lived  in a duplex in Red Bank. We had interesting neighbors in the house next door. That house was also a duplex. On the first floor lived a gay man and on the top floor lived a lesbian. Some folks might bristle at that idea.  We saw it as an opportunity to teach Jonathan to treat those who live lives counter to God’s Word with love and respect.

We read earlier how homosexual behavior is viewed in the Bible.

We could add to the list Leviticus 18:22:

22 " 'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.

 When I first learned how homosexuals engage in sex, my reaction was – and still is, “they do WHAT to each other?!!”  That repulsion is certainly justified considering what the Bible has to say about it. This has led some in the church to believe that God hates the homosexual.

Does the Bible say that God actually hates the homosexual?

Psalm 5:4-5

 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
       with you the wicked cannot dwell.

 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
       you hate all who do wrong.

If you were to conclude from this passage that God hates the homosexual you’d be partially correct. We’ll explore this passage more a little later.

Sadly some churches – and one which have the word “Baptist” in its name  will proclaim “God hates fags!” One particular church has gone so far as to disrupt funerals of fallen soldiers. They justify this incredible low in behavior by saying that they are agents of God’s wrath and that God is punishing through the war in Iraq for tolerating homosexuals in our culture.

            Reality: God welcomes the homosexual who turns to Him

Nowhere in the Bible will you find a verse stating that God specifically hates a homosexual person.

Let’s take a closer look at Romans 1:24-32

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

 26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

 28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Check out verses 28-32. What behaviors besides homosexuality are worthy of death?

 We also see envy, murder, greed, insolence, arrogance, boastfulness, senselessness, disobedience, heartlessness, and ruthlessness, are also frowned upon. How many times have we been guilty of arrogance, boastfulness, disobedience, insensitivity? Let’s face it, all sin is detestable to God and worthy of death!

So let’s go back to Psalm 5:4-5

Psalm 5:4-5

 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
       with you the wicked cannot dwell.

 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
       you hate all who do wrong.

God hates all sinners.

But doesn’t the Bible say that God loves sinners?

Romans 5:6-8

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us

Confused? Don’t be. God works on a number of levels.

The hate God shows in Psalm 5:4-5 is for unrepentant sinners and refers to the fact that God can have nothing to do with sin. However His heart for man is love.

Name a place in the Bible where this love/hate relationship was shown

Matthew 27:46

46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,^[c] lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"^[d]

From the American Heritage Dictionary, we have a great definition of forsaken:

1.           To give up (something formerly held dear); renounce: forsook liquor.

2.           To leave altogether; abandon: forsook Hollywood and returned to the legitimate stage.

Why did the Father forsake His Son?

2 Corinthians 5:21

21God made him who had no sin to be sin^[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

In the movie, The Passion, Mel Gibson took some artistic license in the scene where Jesus died on the cross. You see a bird’s eye view – presumably the view of God of the entire scene. And a giant tear falls to the ground. Can’t say whether a giant tear fell to the ground but Mr. Gibson aptly conveyed the emotion of the moment.

And as Christ conquered death, the Father’s love for His Son from a righteous perspective and from His heart will be resolved.

In Philippians 2:8-11, Paul writes of Jesus:

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^(Y)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Furthermore, I’d like to say that there are Christians who struggle with homosexual feelings and those who act on them.

What does God offer for the homosexual?

God offers healing for the homosexual.

Psalm 147:3

3 He heals the brokenhearted
       and binds up their wounds.

Can a person be “cured” of homosexuality?

Remember, we worship God through which all things are possible. Much like any other condition for which we seek healing, God can do this immediately, over time, or He may allow some to live with this condition. Christian counselors and support groups such as Exodus International have helped many.

15 years ago – wow has it been that long?!!, I served with a group of Christians from Calvary Chapel Old Bridge in an outreach to the mentally challenged. We ran the Thursday night dance program for The ARC – (formerly known as the Association of Retarded Citizens.  at the Knights of Columbus in Freehold.  I befriended one of the men in the ministry who with great trepidation confided in me that he once engaged homosexual activities. I wasn’t surprised. His manner of speaking fit the gay stereotype. He let me know that he still struggled with his impulses – impulses which now repulsed him. This wasn’t a problem for me because I knew where his heart was. He noted that many homosexuals are not happy with their lifestyle. Yet stay away from the church because they fear they won’t be welcomed there.

This is tragic. God offers healing for the homosexual yet many homosexuals stay away from God’s house fearing that they will be rejected there.

Clearly this is a case where we must hate the sin but love the sinner.

How would you feel if a homosexual couple were to show up at Calvary Baptist?

Would you welcome them?

Do you have any homosexual friends or neighbors?

What would you say to the non-believer who says that God hates the homosexual?