Please note: This post is not intended for those who struggle with homosexuality. If you identify as homosexual, whether publicly or not, I want to clearly say that you have not committed an unforgivable sin. You are not my enemy. I do not hate you. I do not cast stones. In fact, you and I are the same. We are both sinners. We both need a Savior. My desire is to minister to you. But this post is not that ministering post. This post is for those who do not identify themselves as homosexual.

I am writing this post as a concerned Christian, as one called to love homosexuals, my family, and my community at large.

As I watch the growing acceptance of homosexuality and intolerance for those who don’t agree with the homosexual lifestyle, I have asked myself what we as Christians can do about this issue in our generation. What I share below is not a comprehensive list to be sure, but a starting point on how we as Christians can and should be salt and light in our current culture.

4 Things Every Christian Can Do About Homosexuality:

Stop being homophobic.

Homophobia literally means the fear of homosexuals or homosexuality. Granted, our culture wants to incorrectly pin “homophobic” on anyone who so much as disagrees with the homosexual lifestyle. That topic is for another post; for the purpose of this one, however, it is vital Christians recognize debilitating fear we do in fact hold in regards to homosexuality. Here are some of the fears I’ve encountered,

^ We’re afraid that homosexual sin holds incredible power that once tasted, is almost impossible to resist.

^ Christians are afraid that someone who is homosexual can never be “straight.”

^ Christians are afraid homosexuality is the sin of no return, that it is un-redeemable.

^ Christians are afraid to talk about homosexuality in the church because if we do, our kids might identify themselves as homosexual.

^ We’re afraid someone cannot ever fully leave the lifestyle.

Let’s be clear that we should be afraid of sin… of all sin, not just homosexuality. Our fear of sexual sin should cause us to flee it (I Corinthians 6:18). But let’s not give in to ungodly fear. It is ungodly to allow fear to grip our hearts (in this case, in regards to homosexuality) to the extent we shun those living in it.

It is ungodly to fear it’s allure and magnify it’s strength to captivate and define an individual to the extent we can’t offer hope to a culture bombarded by it.

It is ungodly to fear homosexuality to the extent we aren’t able to biblically help those in our midst who are confused about sexual orientation, love those who struggle with deception in this area, and provide godly, supportive relationships for those who are inclined towards same sex attraction.

And mostly, it is ungodly to elevate the power of homosexuality over the power of the gospel.

We owe it to homosexuals not to fear …because we have a hope and a love bigger than the lie they are believing.

Know the real enemy.

Do you remember Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night Jesus was betrayed? When the group of chief priests, officers, and elders came to arrest Christ, Peter pulled out his sword and lopped off Malchus’ ear. (Luke 22:47f)

Jesus said, “Put the sword away!” and after healing the servant’s ear, said, “This is the time when darkness rules.”

You see, Malchus wasn’t the enemy. Peter was fighting the wrong person, the wrong battle, and with the wrong weapon.

Church, our battle has never been against flesh and blood. Our battle is against powers and principalities, against rulers of darkness in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 6:12). Christian, homosexuals are not your enemy. Homosexuality is not your enemy.

Your enemy is Satan.

We will never win a battle if we aren’t fighting the right enemy with the right weapons. God’s Word tells us we have spiritual weapons capable of demolishing strongholds (II Corinthians 10:4-5). If the prayers of a godly man availeth much, what would happen if all God’s people fervently and regularly prayed? Don’t you think Satan would like us to do war with fleshly weapons and lop off ears in order to keep us away from the spiritual weapons that can bring down his fortress?

You bet he would.

Call homosexuality a sin.

One of the greatest ways Christians can serve homosexuals is by calling homosexuality a sin. Yet we are more and more wary of this because we hear cunning and convincing arguments as to why it can’t possibly be a sin. Not to mention legal ramifications becoming more and more menacing.

Perhaps the most convincing argument Christians are buying into goes something like this: “Homosexuals are born that way; so, why would a good God be so cruel as to punish someone for something He made them to be? They can’t help it!”

One of the tactics being used to validate this argument is the “young transgendered” sob story. Take for example the story of Jazz as told in the recent Clean and Clear ad. ( See the story at Huffington Post here and a Conservative push back here. )

Jazz was born male but as early as two years old, identified himself as female. We hear his story and think, “It doesn’t seem fair that a young boy must be punished for a desire to wear dresses and play with dolls and be a girl before he even knows his right hand from his left.”

“Wow,” we think, “this child really had no choice in this matter.” We want to have compassion on his situation, and rightly so. And we want to give this child and others the freedom to be who they are.

We owe it to him and others to do this. Right?

We do owe Jazz compassion. And we owe Jazz truth.

The truth is, our sexual identity is not our highest identity and calling what God says sin “sin” is one of the most gracious things we can do for Jazz and others like him. Why? Because as we have established, our enemy is Satan and the devil doesn’t play fair. He is out to kill, steal, and destroy and we must remember he starts from the time we are born.

If, in our desire to be compassionate and understanding, we redefine sin and downplay what the Bible says about homosexuality and the condition of the human heart, how can we ever offer the hope of redemption? There is nothing to be redeemed from. We actually render ourselves useless to help anyone.

It is the TRUTH that sets us free and the liberating truth of the gospel can only be received after we see our need for it….after sin is revealed as sin and we are exposed as sinners.

The good news is that Jesus came to give us life. He came to redeem us from the grip of evil, to deliver us from the domain of darkness.

Is it fair that a small child is born with such a compelling bent to sin? That before he or she even understands how to tie his shoe this deception regarding sexual identity is present?

Remember, God didn’t make us sinners; Adam took care of that. Let’s not blame God for setting standards of right and wrong or making us a gender we’d rather not be. God creates us male or female and God says it is an abomination for a man to lie with a man and a woman with a woman. That is the standard of a holy God and He is not cruel for setting it. He is righteous. Would we dare say it cruel of God to hold us to His standard when in fact we are the ones born into sin? Rather isn’t it the love of God that has provided a way of redemption out of our sinful condition?

Truth is, homosexuality reveals our depravity. We are all born sinners. We don’t like to see ourselves as utterly desperate, depraved, and hopeless apart from Christ. A young child in this situation represents each one of us, and is a reflection of our human condition. The reason we buy into the “oh, he can’t help it” argument is because we don’t want to acknowledge that each of us, in fact, ARE there. No, not all of us have gender dysphoria; but we each are born into sin and under the dominion of darkness and we can’t do anything about it. Homosexuality reveals each and every human heart to be desperately wicked and without hope in this world.

And we don’t like that.

The solution is NOT to redefine God’s Word and say it is cruel of God to call homosexuality sin. The solution is to run to the glorious Savior. Which leads me to the final thing every Christian can do.

Believe in and proclaim loudly the power of the Gospel.

The thinking that one can’t change certain things about themselves is understandable among unbelievers but it makes no sense for the believer. Why? Because of the gospel itself. The gospel is the power of God to change the entire nature and identity of an individual. Maybe you need to go back and read that again.

For a Christian to believe that a homosexual can’t change is to marginalize the gospel. And to elevate homosexuality as a sin one cannot overcome through the blood of Christ is to admit something has the ability to trump God. Really?

God is able to redeem anyone from anything. Does that mean God will automatically, say, remove all same sex attraction desires from a person and never let them experience sexual temptation again? Not necessarily. He could and sometimes He does completely remove temptation from our lives in a certain area. But more often than not, he trains us how to be warriors, how to believe Him, experience intimacy with Him, how to battle and be victorious with the weapon of His Word, to experience the sufficiency of His Grace.. and those things are done via the thorn of temptation.

For decades in the church, we’ve failed to fully explore how the gospel supplies provision for those who are tempted with homosexuality. This has been the case with many such sins we tend to be afraid of, particularly those sexual in nature. We are quick to give right verses wrong teachings but not so quick to lay the foundation of how the gospel- the message about Christ- adequately equips us to deal with these very real dangers. Overall, this has been a massive failure in American Christianity. Let’s briefly see how the gospel is the power of God for the homosexual:

It is the power of God unto salvation. The gospel can convict a person of sexual sin. It can expose the depravity of the human heart and expose our need for a savior. It can then deliver the good news that we have a savior and His name is Jesus. It is the power of God that results in salvation, and redemption. (Romans 1:16) The gospel is regeneration. Every one in Christ becomes a new creation. Old things pass away and all things become new. Jesus transforms our very nature and sets us free from the dominion of sin, making us alive unto God. The gospel does so for every single person who receives it, homosexuals included. (I Corinthians 6:8-11) The gospel is daily grace. Grace to overcome sin and to live a life of godliness and holiness. (II Peter 1:3) The gospel opens intimacy with God. Being justified by faith, we now have peace with God and enter into relationship with Him. The intimacy sexual sin promises and the pleasure it holds is only a shadow of the substance of intimacy and pleasure with God. Turning from sexual sin does not mean we “give up” pleasure but that we gain it. God does not withhold Himself from us. (Romans 5)

I know this post is lengthy; nonetheless, I believe we as Christians CAN be pillars of truth to a culture that is growing ever dark. Let’s not fear homosexuality. Let’s call homosexuality a sin. Let’s use our weapons of prayer and truth in this battle. And let’s believe and proclaim the Gospel.