We Don't Have to Sin
Some homosexual activists sat down with some Baptist leaders the other day and demanded that they apologize for what Baptists teach about homosexuality. The meeting went about like you would expect. It was cordial on both sides. The homosexuals questioned by the Baptists would apologize about what they had once taught about non-Caucasian races and the Baptists essentially told them that they were only teaching what the Bible says. They can’t change what the Bible says because they didn’t write it.
When you consider this issue, the difference between what many Baptists once taught about the various races and what they are teaching about homosexuality is that the racial lines were drawn on the color of a man’s skin, which he is born with and cannot control. On the other hand, what the Bible says about homosexuality is always about the actions. If you define homosexuality as being attracted to someone of the same gender, then it is no sin and any Baptist who is worthy of calling himself a Baptist would not call it such. But that isn’t how the Bible talks about the subject. It is always the action of homosexuality.
There are so many people who have the idea that if there is a desire then one must follow through with the action, so if we speak against the action then we are speaking against those who have the desire. But that misses the central message of the Bible. We are all born with a desire to sin. Throughout our lives, we are tempted to sin. If we sin, then we are separated from God who cannot look upon sin. But the Bible has good news. Our sin doesn’t have to separate us from God. We don’t have to keep sinning. The desire doesn’t require the action.
When you consider this issue, the difference between what many Baptists once taught about the various races and what they are teaching about homosexuality is that the racial lines were drawn on the color of a man’s skin, which he is born with and cannot control. On the other hand, what the Bible says about homosexuality is always about the actions. If you define homosexuality as being attracted to someone of the same gender, then it is no sin and any Baptist who is worthy of calling himself a Baptist would not call it such. But that isn’t how the Bible talks about the subject. It is always the action of homosexuality.
There are so many people who have the idea that if there is a desire then one must follow through with the action, so if we speak against the action then we are speaking against those who have the desire. But that misses the central message of the Bible. We are all born with a desire to sin. Throughout our lives, we are tempted to sin. If we sin, then we are separated from God who cannot look upon sin. But the Bible has good news. Our sin doesn’t have to separate us from God. We don’t have to keep sinning. The desire doesn’t require the action.
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