the basic message #E269
7/11/04
Will there be "practicing" homosexuals in Heaven? That's a question that might likely get a quick answer from most church-going folks, but would their answer be correct? What does the Bible have to say about homosexuality? Let's look at a few passages:
Leviticus 18:22 (NIV)
"'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.'"
Most of you are probably a bit more familiar with the King James version of that passage, rather than the NIV I like to use. I'll save you the trouble of looking it up:
Leviticus 18:22 (KJV)
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
The NIV only lists the word "abomination" 8 times, but the KJV lists it 142 times. It's funny, though, that the only time I really hear the word "abomination" used these days is when someone like D. James Kennedy uses it to describe homosexuality. Perhaps the Good Doctor Kennedy might want to see what else is an abomination to God:
Deuteronomy 22:5 (KJV)
The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
So what can we gather from this passage? It sounds to me like women
shouldn't wear pants or business suits or any type of clothing commonly
considered to be that of a man. If D. James wants to blast the
"abominators", he'll need to reload his theological shotgun and be
ready to shoot the bulk of his congregation. For what? Read
on..............
Proverbs 12:22 (KJV)
Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
Maybe, just maybe, no women in Kennedy's congregation wear pants or business suits, but does the entire congregation tell the truth all of the time? If not, they're......you guessed it, an abomination to the LORD.
I guess you might think that I'm pro-Gay at this point, but that's not exactly the case. What I am very "pro" about is pro-truth, rather than the half-truths that D. James Kennedy, James Dobson and other radicals like to cook up. Is homosexuality a sin? Yes, according to the word of God. Are you happy now? Good, because you'll need to be happy to overcome the great sadness that will be placed on your doorstep with the rest of the story.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV)
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 male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Now right about now, someone will wave their Bible and say, "Hold on just a darned minute, John. You need to read verse 11 too!" Okay............
1 Corinthians 6:11 (NIV)
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.
Happy now? Me too, because verse 11 does indeed give us the hope that those of us who are Christians will be given a break on our sinful lives. But here's the fundamental question: When did God ever say that a homosexual can't be a Christian, but an adulterer or a thief can be? Before you go away mad, just consider the gravity of that question. Do you know any Christian that never, ever lies? Do you know any Christian that never, ever steals? If you're an employee of a company and you're paid to work 40 hours each week, do you indeed work every single minute of those 40 hours? If the answer is no, and if you still accept your full paycheck, you are a thief. It seems like our current administration in Washington has put the homosexual battle back on the front burner, and apparently it's good for George W's popularity rating with Republicans. Overall, Republicans are the biggest bunch of hypocritical mud-slingers I've ever seen. And no, I'm not a Democrat, so go build your case on something else.
Most Christians seem to think they aren't friends with any gay people. Even more Christians doubt that they have any gay people in their immediate family. Both assumptions are dangerous. Here's a couple of questions every Christian parent should answer:
1. Do you believe that practicing homosexuals will go to Hell?
2. If your child came to you and said, "Mom and Dad, I'm gay", do you still think practicing homosexuals will go to Hell?
I'll guarantee you that any parent who loves their child will be flipping every page of the Bible to find evidence that their child won't end up in Hell if they're gay, and rightfully so. The bad news is, as I've already proven, that the Bible does say that homosexuals won't enter God's kingdom. The good news, if you want to call it that, if we use the "rule system" commonly view by most Christians, the "straight" parents of that gay son or daughter won't be going to Heaven either, so we don't have to worry about any detachment other than death itself. The true "Good News" is that real Christians serve a Lord that, fortunately, isn't nearly as harsh as most of us. There's another thing I'd like to clear up: when D. James rails on about the "Sodomites", he might need to consider that much of his congregation might well be Sodomites, if his definition of "Sodomite" is "one who practices the sins of Sodom". Take a look:
Ezekiel 16:49 (NIV)
"Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters
were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy."
So, Reverend Doctor Kennedy, can you say that your entire congregation isn't arrogant, isn't overfed, isn't unconcerned, and do all of them help the poor and needy? If the answer to any of these questions is "no", then, by George, you've got some of those pesky Sodomites right there in the Coral Ridge mega-church. Make no mistake, friend, if you're pushing homosexuals down the staircase to Hell, remember that most of us are handcuffed to them with our own sins of choice. Maybe if I push a gay person towards Heaven they might help pull me up. Yeah, I know it doesn't work that way, but one day we might all be surprised to find out just how it did work.