A response to Dan's question (part I)

...was wondering if we could skim over homosexuality again, because i'm living with a lesbian and i'm scared of mentioning Christ to her because of homosexuality being a sin. i think she can't help it and she says its just the way she is, so in a way i"m tempted to feel that the scripture is unfair with this. Then i think that its natural, due to sin for us to lie, so why should our sexual behaviour not naturally be sinful? Just because it's natural doesn't justify it, like a straight person having promiscous relationships. However, i don't think that a person can choose or help what they find attractive...Is a gay Christian simply expected to supress all their sexual desires if the want to please the Lord?

dan r

Dan, I'm really glad that you've felt free to ask this question. Of course, as Christians we have to make sure that we have a biblical view of homosexuality. We are jealous for what is right according to God, not according to people or society. However, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be sensitive towards these kinds of issues. My advice, for what it's worth, would be to stay clear of the topic for the time being with your friend. If the subject crops up then obviously you need to talk about it, but there's no need to talk to the homosexual about his or her homosexual sins any more than we would talk to the habitual liar about his or her lying. Our chief aim, in evangelistic terms, is to tell people that they are sinners. Most people, despite the fact that they deny it, are weighing up what they consider to be the good and the bad aspects of their lives. The message of the bible is not that individual sins are the issue (though they contribute to the whole of course), rather that it's the sinful life that is characteristic of mankind. Remember, 'there is no-one good, no not one'. People are totally depraved from the tops of their heads to the souls of their feet and there's nothing that any of us can do to change that fact.
So, how does this apply to your question Dan? Well, your friend is a sinner just like I was and just like you were until we were saved. None of us could do anything about our lives. There is no point in telling your friend that she needs to address her homosexuality, because it is simply a manifestation of her sinful nature and what can she do about her sinful nature? As you rightly pointed out, there is no difference between the promiscuous heterosexual and the homosexual. If I were talking with your friend, I would stress to her, her standing before God according to her sinful nature and her need for the Saviour to do that for her which she can't do for herself. She needs Christ for all the same reasons you and I did.

Continued in part 2...