You've probably seen people on the news holding signs that say, "God hates you!" They irreverently show up to funerals and scream at people's faces. They do an incredible disservice to the message of the gospel because they contradict this truth: Christ did not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Luke 5:32). God loves all, including homosexuals. Christ died for the homosexual as much as He died for anyone else.When a homosexual says, " I was born this way," I respond, "I also was born with a sinful nature that opposed God." The bible says regardless to whatever sin you were born fond of (i.e. lying,gossip,drunkenness,fornication,homosexuality); that 'you must be born again' (John 3:3). I do not agree anyone is born homosexual, but I am trying to convey the point we are all corrupt in sin and naturally desire to do evil from birth, til we are saved, and that any sin, whether we consider it to be a "big sin" lifestyle or "little sin," will still take the lost to hell. A straight fornicator is just as hellbound as a homosexual is. When I was born, no one had to teach me to lie,steal or hit, or hate even, it was my sin nature I inherited from Adam and Eve. I had to be taught to tell the truth, to share, and to love others. It was contrary to my nature, and until someone becomes born again by repentance and trusting in Jesus to save and change them, they will remain in a sinful nature with desires that are contrary to God.Behavior modification is temporary for any 'bad habit' (sin), because what is truly needed is a heart transformation.Because 'the heart is deceitful above all things' and 'desperately wicked' (Jeremiah17:9) All our hearts are that way til we come to Jesus to change it. The source of sin is in our heart. Out of it comes murder,adultery,evil thoughts,etc. (Math 15:19)
Ask God to change your heart through His saving power in Jesus Christ.You hear of catholic priests who molest little boys, why? because those priests came to a religion, but not a relationship with Christ to change the heart itself. So they tried to deny their sinful nature and cravings of lust, but eventually fail and give in because until the heart is changed by Jesus Christ, it remains full of wicked desire.Religion cannot contain the evil desires.It only suppresses 'urges' and eventually a meltdown of indulgence occurs.Instead of being a sheep (saved) naturally doing what sheep do, you're still a wolf (unsaved) just containing your desires in a cage of religion you put yourself in, that will not always hold you. Only Jesus can change the heart itself not to desire evil things. Christ came to set us free from the bondage of sin and death. He came to bring us freedom from sin. Not freedom to sin, as some mistakenly pervert grace to mean. So am I "anti-homosexual?" I would correct the phrase to be 'anti-homosexuality' because I hate the practice of it, but not the person who does it,The same as I am "anti-lying," "anti-lust," "anti-drunk," etc. I hate the sin, not the sinner. God hates the sin, but He lovingly died to rescue the sinner out of the sin. Jesus was a friend of sinners, but the goal was to free them from it, not keep them in it and condone it. God can free and change anyone, from the drunk, the pornographer, to the homosexual. We all need to be saved from our sins because any sin condemns us and separates us from our maker. If we break even one commandment, we are guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10). Who hasn't ever once lied,lusted or hated before? Guilty of all sin then. But again, 'you must be born again' if you are to overcome any sin at all.Some homosexuals falsely argue that you cannot separate the two by 'hating the sin and not the sinner' because it is who they are, so they equate it with hating their very personhood, so as to excuse themself from judgement by saying 'God made me this way so you must hate me also', but once again, you MUST be born again regardless of whatever sin you embrace as being "part of who you are". Part of the cost of following Christ is to part from your sin and die to 'who you are'(self and self-will) and to become like Him and who He is (Luke 9:23/Galatians 5:24) doing His will (Mathew 7:21-23/Luke 22:42). For "He must increase, I must decrease." John 3:30. That is a cost most are not willing to pay because they love darkness rather than light (John 3:19). You will not desire to do this til you understand your need for Him to save you and what Jesus lovingly and willingly did for you on the cross, and then come to Jesus Christ in repentance (turning from sin/self-righteousness), and in faith (putting your trust in what He did for you on the cross and resurrection, and who He is: Savior and Lord), and allow Him to change and transform your heart. You must see what a sinner you are and what a Savior He is. God does indeed love the sinner, for that is who He came to save, to save from what? The sin that He hates and will punish in His wrath. No sinful pleasure is worth hell, and I can tell you from being a filthy, rotten, even religious, sinner for years in rebellion against God,seeking my own sinful pleasure, that it is far more pleasurable to know Him and the weight of sin and guilt lifted off me, with sweet sleep at night knowing no more fear of hell or God's wrath. I sleep with peace because I have peace with God through His Son and know He loves me and I belong to Him. I couldn't do that before I knew Him. Neither can you love God or desire to honor Him with your life before you come to Jesus as the sinful person in need of a savior that you are. Jesus said, 'if you love me you will keep my commands,' so the unrepentant sinner cannot love Jesus because he/she is living a life of breaking His commands. Christ forgave adulterers,prostitutes,thieves,murderers, etc, but they had to come to Him, forsake their sin, and receive Him as their Lord and Savior. God forgave the woman caught in adultery, but told her 'Go and sin no more.' He did not say, 'you're forgiven, now you can do whatever you like.' He forgave her as Savior, He commanded her to sin no more as Lord. Anyone who comes to Christ to be saved will not be turned away (John 6:37). 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble' (James 4:6). So humble yourself before Jesus Christ, be broken of your sin against God and ask for His mercy and to save you and change your heart.God is rich in mercy! His blood can cleanse any sin and is more powerful than any sin or addiction.
On a separate note to those already saved: We do not water down the message, thus presenting a diluted ineffective vaccine to cure, and thus producing a false convert with false assurance of salvation, but we better bathe our message in love when we do present it uncompromised. We will still be accused of hatred no matter how kind and lovingly we present the truth, because the world hates the truth.They hated it when Jesus said the truth, and you are not going to out-love Him.The world redefines love as 'tolerance' and condoning approval of sin, instead of love being a kind warning to keep them from death and destruction (just like when a child says, "you hate me!" because they didn't get their way). So they will accuse you of hate speech and bigotry. But still, we will kill our witness and contradict the gospel if we do it with a hateful, self-righteous attitude, or if we lose our temper, which can easily be done to a hostile mocker if you don't guard your emotions when things get "heated". That is partly why Peter says, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" 1 Peter 3:15
Ask yourself when witnessing, or debating, am I doing this with meekness? If not, you need to stop and check yourself so your witness is not contradicted by the ugliness you will otherwise portray on your face and tone. We are to be indignant about sin, but we are to not sin in our anger, and need to realize we will turn people off if we do. Another point is, do you debate for the sake of winning an argument? Is that your objective? To 'one-up' the other?Or is it to win the sinner over because you are lovingly concerned for their well-being? I have been guilty of the wrong motives, and still do from time to time, but I am trying to evaluate myself while witnessing to see, "what do I look like on the outside?" Does this person (whether they agree or oppose me) know that my concern for them is genuine? OR, do they feel like a project or a means to win an argument? If I have not love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). Love through your life,your conduct, your words, silence their accusations by your good deeds.
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