Wednesday,September 3, 2003

Current debate about gays in church misses point about sin

The current problems facing the Catholic, Episcopal, and many Protestant churches are indeed relevant, cancerous, and in serious need of attention and correction. However, all these problems along with the "personal choice of homosexuality" are exactly the issues the Church (not the buildings, but the Body of Christ) is to be concerned about.

The root problem in every single one of these issues boils down to one word: Sin. Should Christians be concerned with issues of sin (i.e., personal choice that results in sin)? Absolutely! Let's define sin. It is any action or quality that is contrary to the very nature of God.

The sole reason God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this Earth was to deal with this issue of sin. Jesus Christ addressed and conquered this issue for all of humanity, past and present, by dying a horrible, yet, sacrificial death on the Cross at Calvary. We are all sinners. If we accept Jesus' atoning death as the payment for our sinful choices, then God is faithful to save us from ultimate eternal separation from Him.

I say all of this to explain that those of us that have accepted Christ as our Savior are very concerned about others' personal choices that result in sin. Who, in good conscience, would turn their back on someone destined for disaster? We should not judge someone self-righteously, but we should judge actions by the very Word of God. So again, absolutely, every Christian should be concerned about personal choices of others that result in sin.

Dixie Eska-Thedra makes the point that "every Christian should have the right to choose their lifestyle and to interpret the Bible and the word of God in a way that is most relevant and right to them." This expression follows a worldview called post-modernism. Postmodernism is the belief that truth is subjective to the individual or, in other words, truth is created rather than discovered. It is the commonly voiced phrase, "That might be right for you but it's not right for me."

Society today has moved away from the belief that truth is an objective standard. It's like saying, "Two plus two equals five because that's what I believe and if that's what I believe, it must be true." It ignores an objective fact.

I have heard Josh McDowell, renowned worldview author, put it like this, "You think things are true because you believe it, but I believe things because they are true."

The Bible cannot be rightly interpreted in a way that suits the reader's opinions. It must be interpreted in the proper context in which it is written in order for it to be completely understood, appreciated and ultimately put into practice. The Bible is the objective standard of truth, given by God, because it reveals, in every way, the true nature of God and His love for His creation.

This is not an empty claim. The Bible is historical and its contents can be proven. No other piece of literature in history can match its credentials. It has more manuscript evidence, archaeological validation, it contains numerous predictive prophecies that came to be, and through the science of statistical probability its claims cannot be ignored. It is on this standard that our nation was squarely based.

In the past decades, popular culture has moved away from this standard of biblically-based truth in many areas. Homosexuality is one of those areas. I pray that murder never fully gets to that point although in 1973 it took a big step in that direction. We simply cannot define truth subjectively for some things while we cling to objective truth on others. Only chaos will result (as we are currently witnessing).

The use of the phrase "homosexual Christian" raises my concern as well. Those two terms are mutually exclusive. One cannot be a practicing homosexual and a Christian. That would be similar to saying, "I am practicing adultery in my Christian walk." Again, it's an issue of sin. The Word of God, the objective standard, speaks against both homosexuality and adultery. An attempt to make it anything other than sin is simply rationalization.

Ms. Eska-Thedra is right in that Christ taught and demonstrated tolerance. But not the tolerance practiced in today's society. Today, tolerance is defined as an acceptance of every person's beliefs, values, lifestyles and truth claims as all equal in validity. This is not the tolerance Jesus modeled.

Jesus accepted others where they were at in life but He never, ever agreed with or accepted their sinful ways. He came to seek and save those that were lost and to turn them from their sin. Why? Because He loved them and He loves us. The Bible states that we are created in the image of God and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. God hates to see us destroy our lives with sin. He cares for His creations and that's why through Jesus there is hope.

A point is also made in her letter that the sin of homosexuality cannot be nearly as bad as murder or rape since homosexuality makes a large part of society so happy. The bottom line is this: Sin is sin. Sin is anything that separates us from the will of God and anything that is contrary to the nature of God. It makes no difference if the sin makes us happy or not. Some may find it pleasing to lie, cheat, steal, and, yes, even rape, but that will never make those things right or acceptable.

I do agree with Ms. Eska-Thedra that everyone has the right to choose his own way. This right is given to us by God. He gave us the capacity to choose between right and wrong, good and evil. We will each bear the consequences of our choice to accept Jesus as our Savior or not, eternity in Heaven or eternal separation, respectively. However, I pray that neither I nor any Christian ever become so disinterested that we turn our backs on those headed for sure destruction.

The goal of my letter is not simply to disagree with someone but to cause people to think about the way they view things and ask questions. Is what I believe and the way I believe measured against a sensible, logical, objective standard or do I just go by what makes me feel good? Are my beliefs consistent? If I'm a Christian, how do I feel about those that are lost, those that are making damaging choices? Am I moved by compassion to help them realize with gentleness and kindness there is a better way, that Christ came to give life more abundantly?

To God, every single person matters! If it matters to God, it should matter to us. Thank God for His mercy and grace!

Neal Nelson

Fayetteville, Ga.