Are You Fond of God's Commands?

Before doing this study, please read the one-minute introduction:

 “Adulterers Sensitivity Statement”  

It talks about the way culture has influenced church language and attitudes causing sincere believers to modify or downplay Scripture when it comes to popular sins like LGBTQ+ lifestyles.

In this study, we're going to address some statements on a Christian website that featured a “LGBTQ+ Sensitivity Statement.”  I'm not trying to pick on this one website, but it represents the way genuine Christians are trying to accommodate culturally approved sins.

I actually believe the author of this site is well-versed in Scripture and well-intentioned. He's very knowledgeable about the Hebrew Roots Movement. He never denies that LGBTQ+ lifestyles are condemned in Scripture. But the ways he presents these truths brings me sadness. It shows how successfully pro-LGBTQ+ groups have shamed Christians.

So let's look at specific quotes from this site so we can respond when we hear similar statements in our conversations with friends:

🚫 “Homosexuality is not worse than any other sin (James 2:10).” (source)

In one article, the author who made this statement acknowledged that according to 1 Corinthians 6:18 sexual sins are worse than other sins, but in the article containing this quote, he omitted that truth. 

Please consider this statement. It would mean that a child who is irresponsible about doing his homework is no different in God's eyes as men committing sexually perverse acts. If we think our God has that view of sin, we don't understand His character. 

I also encourage you to read Does God View All Sins the Same? It explains that all sins are bad, all sins need to be forgiven, anyone who rejects Christ will die for his/her sins no matter how insignificant the sin but that doesn't make sins equal. Scripture clearly shows that God judges sins differently based on motives, knowledge, opportunity, position, influence, and type of sin. Some sins do more damage to people's souls and to society at large. 

1 Corinthians 6:18: “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.”

Romans 1:18-32 speaks about the decline of mankind and it specifically mentions homosexuality as an “unnatural” lust, meaning it goes beyond defying God’s commands to defying His creation design. It makes people more resistant to God's truth, causing God to “give them over.” 

Romans 1:24-25: “Because of this [exchanging 'the truth about God for a lie'], God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

For more insights see God Gives Some People Over to Their Sins. Do You Know Why? and Did You Know that "Unnatural" Sins Are More Damaging to Our Souls?  

The author of this false claim used James 2:10 to support it. But that's neither logical nor biblical. 

James 2:10: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

Let me offer some scholarly explanations, and I encourage you to look for further understanding of James 2:10. 

“The point is not that all sins are equally heinous. Rather, it is that on God's legal scorecard, for those He will judge according to the Old Testament Law, even one sin is damning. A person either is perfect, or they are not.”   BibleRef

“Some people have mistakenly thought that this verse means that all sins are equal in God’s view, that no sins are worse than others..What James is confronting in this verse is the self-righteous attitude that we don’t depend as much on God’s grace as someone who has committed more obvious and heinous kinds of sin.” Questions.org 

I also encourage you to read Have You Noticed How Some Sins are Pampered in the Church?   

🚫 “Same-sex attraction is not sinful. It is not the temptation but the behavior that is deemed sinful in Scripture.” (source)

If a temptation comes from something in our environment that we didn't plan, we aren't to blame unless we give in to that temptation. And God promises to provide a way out for us (1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

However, ungodly thoughts, desires, and attractions are temptations we create. Christ said those who look lustfully at woman are committing adultery in their hearts (Matthew 5:27-30). This would apply to same-sex attraction as well. James 1:14-15 also explains that both desires and behavior can be ungodly. 

We’re commanded to take our thoughts captive, making them obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We’d never say having an attraction to lie, murder, or commit adultery isn’t sinful. Why this special treatment for homosexuality?

 

Thoughts shape our values, especially when they are reoccurring. 

🚫 Gays should “be afforded every legal right.”:

While not specifically stating it, that would naturally include marriage and adoption. I don't think these are legal rights Christians should approve. We may need to acknowledge them as citizens, but we should not promote or desire this redefinition of marriage, nor should we desire that children be raised in such an environment.

🚫The author of the article said he struggles with “not being fond of everything the Bible teaches.” (source)

This was perhaps the most disturbing statement on this website.

It breaks my heart to hear a theologian say this. And that attitude is apparent in all of his articles about homosexuality. He repeatedly claims that Christians mistreat homosexuals, a popular piece of cultural propaganda. We are experiencing far more anti-Christian abuse than LGBTQ+ abuse. And from my personal family experiences and knowledge of similar situations with friends and readers, homosexual friends and family members are usually the ones who cut off contact, harshly judging Christians and Christianity, not the other way around. For one of my personal situations, see Why Some Folks Have Created a "New" Jesus.

God's commands about homosexuality are loving, warning people of Hell. We aren't honoring God by singling out popular sins and handling them differently from other sins. We need the same mindset Paul expresses in Galatians 1:10: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” 

 

These examples illustrate our need to be aware and prepared to respond to popular half-truths in culture that are influencing the church.

 

Lies in Disguise is a book that can help you understand and avoid half-truths that are damaging the church. And it's concise, understandable, and filled with Scripture like all of Bible Love Note's devotions. Click image to find out more.