First, I want to say that regardless of your stance on this issue, please read this entire post with an open heart and open mind. You might be surprised at the conclusion I come to, but you have to read the entire post to get there with me.
I live on a college campus – my wife, Allison, is a Residence Hall Director, so we have to live in an apartment in one of the dorms while she’s in that position. I’m not complaining, though, because we don’t have to pay rent or many utilities, and over 1/2 our meals during the school year are provided, free of charge. You can’t beat that with a stick
And one of the things that comes along with living on a college campus is “street preachers.” And when it’s warm outside, they show up in droves. Last spring, Allison sent me a text letting me know that there were 3 of them here (there’s usually one, but never 3) and for the first time, I decided to head out to hear what kind of craziness they were pitching.
I hadn’t gone to listen to any street preachers at this college, but when I was an undergrad, I remember the street preachers at the University of Toledo being particularly “fire and brimstone” biased. So, that day, I decided to – I needed to get away from my work anyhow, I was getting stressed out and needed a break.
So I walked across campus to where they were preaching, and sat to listen for awhile. I wasn’t alone – there were probably 40 or more others there listening; the biggest crowd I’d seen for a street preacher ever. I listened for awhile, threw out questions and comments a number of times to let the non-Christians who had gathered around know that I was a Christian, and I didn’t agree with most of what the preachers were saying. (Like when the preacher who called herself “Sister Elizabeth” said she was perfect, like Jesus… but that’s another story)
Ohh, speaking of Sister Elizabeth… Whenever she said the word hell, she’d do this weird little dance thing where she’d put her hands down toward the sidewalk and wave them around while stressing the word “helllllllllllllllllllllllll” in a really low voice. Oh, and she said that she grew up in a “pagan household,” then proceeded to say that her parents were Catholic, and that all Catholics were going to hell… HAH! I love sweeping generalizations that have absolutely no context or bearing other than hateful bigotry. (and no, I’m not Catholic, I just don’t believe that they’re all going to hell)
Anyhow, back to the topic at hand.
When the Sister Elizabeth got done preaching, one of the men got up and started talking. Unfortunately, I missed his name. Lets call him “Brother John.”
Brother John’s first, and only, topic was homosexuality. The question of homosexuality being right or wrong, or if it’s even a big deal, is a question that that I’ve asked in my life because I’ve had friends, classmates, and relatives “come out” before, and it’s never really bothered me, so I couldn’t understand why there’s such revulsion for other people, other than the fact that gay people aren’t “like them.” (People “just like them” is something that we Americans are particularly fond of) So I’ve done a lot of study, prayer, and listening for what God wants from me about it. Keep reading, I’ll get to that.
I’m going to share what the preacher said about homosexuality, but I’m going to remove the obvious bigotry and terrible correlations that his talk was laced with. More or less, this is what “religion” has to say about homosexuality:
It’s a sin, as laid out in Leviticus 18:22
Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
9Do 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 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
Looking at the verses from 1 Corinthians and Romans,
Have you had sex with someone who wasn’t your spouse, either before or during marriage? You’re mentioned in those verses. Focused on money? You are too. Stolen anything? Been greedy? Ever drank too much? Ever said anything false about someone? You’re mentioned as well.
Then there’s so many other sins listed throughout the Bible that I can’t begin to mention them all in this post. But one I will bring up is one that everyone reading this post has done: lie.
Exodus 20:16 says “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” It’s one of the 10 Commandments!
False testimony = lying. You’re a sinner, just like me, and just like someone who is homosexual.
Taking that to the next level, Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death…” Yes, as a sinner, you should die. Starting to feel persecuted? You should.
But the reason we’re not all dead is revealed when we take Romans 6:23 in context:
20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:20-26)
Jesus is the answer to the question of “Is gay marriage right or wrong?” – In fact, He makes it irrelevant.
Because we’re all sinners, it doesn’t matter what our sins are. God hates them all, and his justice demands the wages of sin to be paid. But Jesus came to earth to pay our debts for us – he suffered extraordinary torture at the hands of humans, was hung on a cross, and died so that our sins may be forgiven. God put that all in motion because he knows we’re not perfect, and in order for us to live with him in eternity, we must put our faith in Jesus, and follow him – truly follow him. We must live like he did.
And while I won’t go into every act of love and mercy that is recorded in the Bible, I do want to focus on one, specifically.
2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:2-11)
Read that passage a few times. This one’s huge. The religious leaders brought a sinner to Jesus (her sin doesn’t matter, because all sins have the same wage: death ), and Jesus called them on their sins but forgave her. Why? Because Jesus is love.
Jesus loved all of them, and his actions did two things. First, he was showing the Pharisees and all of the people there that they weren’t perfect – they were all sinners, just like the woman. Second, he showed love to the woman by forgiving her sin, and telling her to leave her life of sin.
According to the law, she was to die. But Jesus didn’t judge her like he could have (and would have been right to) – he loved her, and forgave her.
Nor did he follow her around judging her actions from there on out, or send one of his disciples to do that. He simply loved her.
Have you heard the phrase “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar?” I believe the same applies to Christianity.
Allow me to go back to the street preacher to finish this post. While “Brother John” was talking, there was a constant barrage of rebuttals, swear words, and yells being thrown out by the crowd. He accomplished nothing other than prompting me to write this post. After he was finished talking, there was a pause and the crowd started to dissipate. Apparently nobody wanted to hear what the third guy (who looked strangely like Santa Claus) spew hatred for another hour or two.
But then something miraculous happened. One of the college faculty walked up in front of the crowd and started speaking quietly. People quickly took notice, and the crowd stopped and was silent.
This quiet, unassuming man who most didn’t know was even there, now had a command over the crowd, and he didn’t have to shout; didn’t have to do strange hell dances; didn’t have to yell at people as they passed by to get their attention. He simply stood up and spoke what was on his heart, without judging, condemning, or hate.
He introduced himself, then gave his testimony. He explained, in the same quiet voice, that he was a Christian and loved Jesus Christ because Jesus had died on the cross for his sins. He spoke about his life for about five minutes, then thanked everyone for their time, and walked off to the side.
The crowd erupted with clapping and cheers – from Christians and non-Christians alike. People went to him and began to pray with him.
This man did what all three of the preachers there could not – he got people’s attention, and made an impact. He caught more flies with honey.
When it comes to homosexuals, adulterers, the greedy, the sexual immoral, or any sinner at all for that matter – including yourself – are you using honey? or vinegar?
jdevelvis