Daily Devotional for Friday January 10, 2003

Is Homosexuality Really a Sin?

( 1 Thessalonians 4:3 )

Is homosexuality really a sin? If you accept the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God this is a resounding yes. Not out of some homophobic fear, or out of ignorance and intolerance, but because God clearly defines this activity as sin. There is a vast amount of scripture referring directly to a man/man or woman/woman relationship being sinful. Rather than using those passages, I chose today to use a passage from Paul's letter to the church at Thessalonica. It is here that the Bible simply states that fornication is a sin. Just in case you thought today's Devotional was going to be just a tirade against homosexuality, you are wrong. You see, homosexuality is clearly a sin. But as per the definition of fornication, sexual relations between two people who are not bound by marriage, ANYONE who engages in sex outside of a Biblical marriage (marriage defined by God as one man, one woman) is committing sin. There is absolutely no gray, it is very black and white.

***Since I have dealt with this issue many times in the past, I already expect the normal amount of death threats and other hateful mail that always comes in afterwards. Let me make a few important points. I have several close friends who operate some of the largest ministries in the world to those who battle with the sin of homosexuality. I have talked with thousands of men and women that have overcome this sin in their life. There are 2 LIES that the pro-homosexual lobby MUST keep alive in order to exist. The first is that 10% of society are homosexual. The reality is that less than 1% will EVER engage in homosexual sex during their life. The second and most important lie is that people are "born gay". Despite spending hundreds of millions in research to prove this, there has NEVER been one ounce of scientific evidence to support this claim. THE FACT IS...IT IS A CHOICE. How wonderful it would be for those I counsel that commit adultery to be able to say, I was "born to cheat on my spouse". What nonsense. It is a CHOICE to engage in sex with someone that is of the same sex, just like it is a CHOICE to have sex with someone that is not your spouse, just like it is a CHOICE to have sex with anyone. Like all sin, the more times we make that choice, the easier it becomes, the more "instinctive" it becomes, but it is always a CHOICE.

While we are quick to point to homosexual behavior as sinful, and we acknowledge adultery as sinful, we also must understand that any type of sexual activity between two people who are not married is just as sinful. Having sex with a schoolmate, someone you work with, or whoever the other person may be is a sinful act. I am working hard to drive this point home because many in the church, many good people who know Christ and are saved, are also living a sinful lifestyle when it come to their sexual activity. Like every other aspect of our life, we must come under the Word of God and abide by God's plan for our sex life, just as we must do that in our finances, our health, and every other area of our life. If you haven't gotten the message yet, living together without being married is just as much of a sin in God's eyes as those living in a homosexual lifestyle.

What this ultimately means is choosing what you want for your life. God's blessings, or the heartache and pain of living in rebellion to what God has ordained for our life. I do not have to even ask those who have been involved in illicit affairs and sexual activity outside of the bounds of marriage the consequences of those choices. I read the thousands of emails daily. Abortions, broken homes, children without a traditional family unit, pain and heartache when things "don't work out", and on and on and on it goes. As I have pointed out so many times. God has given us free-will to make our own choices. He has given us the instruction manual on how to live life His way. When we choose His way, there are blessings, and peace, and contentment. When we choose our way there is pain and heartache and destruction. Again, it is your choice, but God loves you and has tried to show you His way in very plain and simple terms via His Word.

I really do love you and care about you. I am so glad God gives me the opportunity to share each day a word that will challenge you and encourage you to be all that He has raised you up to be. The Christian life is one of balance and one of obedience. We can do so well in some areas, yet fall short in others. My goal is to get you to do an entire inventory of every aspect of your life. Note those areas where you re doing well in following God's will, and those areas you need to work on. God will help you, strengthen you, and guide you when you are open and willing to do it His way. I pray today that you will open your heart, and find the strength only He can provide you to rise above the desires of this world, rise above the desires of your flesh, and make your heartfelt goal each day to die to self and live for Him! Living God's way brings BLESSINGS to your life.

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller