“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, —Deuteronomy 30:15
God has given us the free will to choose our own path in life. He sets before us life and death, good and evil.
The Bible is God’s word. It’s the handbook for the human race that leads to life and good. The word of God doesn’t target the LGBQT+ community, it targets all sexual sin. Let’s begin with these scriptures:
9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
These scriptures don’t say homosexuals won’t inherit the kingdom of God. They say those who “perform homosexual acts” won’t inherit the kingdom of God. So, if we feel we’re homosexual, we can’t submit to or perform homosexual acts. We have to resist putting these desires into practice and block the lustful desires of the heart. When we deny ourselves our former passion, we suffer in the flesh, because it’s difficult.
Since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same mind, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. (1 Peter 4:1)
Let’s remember that things will get easier over time as we grow to maturity in Christ.
There are some who claim to be believers but continue to practice the homosexual lifestyle. Let’s continue with verse 11:
And that is what some of you were. 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 6:11)
The apostle Paul says, “That is what some of you were.” He doesn’t say, “That is what some of you are.” Once we’re washed, we don’t do the things we did in our former ignorance. We must deny ourselves and carry our cross, and carrying a cross isn’t easy.
There’s a controversy about the word homosexual that’s in the New Testament. Some say it’s an incorrect translation. Luckily, we have the Old Testament to verify the New Testament. Let’s go to the law of God in Leviticus to get our answer:
You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination. (Leviticus 18:22)
No translation is needed in this scripture. However, some people let themselves be deceived. Satan and his angels are going to eternal fire, and they’re trying to take as many people with them as they can, and they use our fleshly desires to do this. We have to resist the devil’s temptations, and we’re all tested in our own way. We have to overcome if we want to receive God’s promise of eternal life. We don’t want to go to hell, but many don’t want to do what it takes to avoid this terrible fate. They let themselves be deceived into thinking the homosexual lifestyle is ok, but it’s not. No one who is actively practicing sexual sin will enter God’s kingdom. Breaking with sexual sin is difficult for some, but it gets easier over time, and for many, it might be a life-long struggle.
All sexual sin is evil whether it’s fornication, adultery, masturbation and pornography, homosexuality, or pedophilia. Sexual intercourse is only lawful between a man and woman who are married. Everything else is sin.
No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him. (1 John 3:6)
Jesus Christ goes directly to the source—our hearts:
21 For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. 23 All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.” (Mark 7:21-23)
The sinful desires of our hearts is where sin is conceived. These evil thoughts and desires give birth to the sinful act.
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:15)
Sinful acts that are brought to life by evil thoughts, give birth to death. So, if we change our thinking, the sinful act won’t happen. How can the sinful act happen if we’re not thinking about it? We must take control and block suggestive and intrusive thoughts even if we desire to let our imaginations run wild. We have to turn from the lustful desires of our hearts, and Satan is always trying to tempt us to sin.
In life, sometimes we see things that entice us. When we see these things, we need to avert our eyes. This takes self-control, and self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23). It may feel natural to want to stare, but it’s not. Staring could put us in a trance-like state that opens us up to the power of darkness. With self-control, averting our eyes gets easier over time. Resisting sinful desires is difficult at first, but it’s possible. Surrendering to evil desires will eventually put us on the broad road to destruction. Every time we give in to sin, we pour out a measure of that life-giving water given to us by Jesus Christ crucified on the cross. If we continue to deliberately sin, we will eventually run out of water. At that point, we won’t even want to change. God has peacefully handed us over to death, and if this happens, there’s no coming back. We won’t even want to come back. Let’s read these scriptures:
26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. (Romans 1:26-27)
Again, sinful desires of the heart give birth to sin, and sin gives birth to death.
Imagine sinful desires like waves of the sea. Every wave of temptation to sin that we let pass strengthens us a little for the next wave. This is how we build endurance. The sea will get calmer over time and the waves will become less frequent. The old desires of our former life will become more and more distant. So, to those who feel they’re homosexual, an adulterer, a pedophile, or to those addicted to pornography, feeling this way isn’t the sin. The sin is fantasizing or acting on the lustful desires of the heart. In Ephesians 2, the apostle Paul tells us that we were once dead in our sins, conformed to this world, and lived with the children of disobedience:
All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. (Ephesians 2:3)
We have to change our thinking and take captive every thought that Satan puts in our head. We have to carry our cross, no matter how hard it is. If we sin from human weakness, we go to Jesus to ask for forgiveness:
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)
God knows us, and he is patient and forgiving. As we grow in Christ, we need to break with sexual sin. This is part of our sanctification. But some might choose not to. We’re warned up to the last chapter in the Bible:
Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (Revelation 22:15)
Let’s not be put outside the gates of the new Jerusalem. While there’s still time, let’s stop sinning against our body and turn to the Lord. Hell is real, but the promise of God is eternal life for those saved in Jesus Christ. In these last days, let’s conform ourselves to the truth of God’s word, not the sinful desires of the human heart and the way of this world. Nothing in this life is worth an eternity. Peace to all.
And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life. (1 John 2:25)
Futile World 