Expect Sinners to Sin

Straight up Christian, you shouldn’t be shocked by the fact that gay marriage is becoming legal. What grounds do you have to for being puzzled by this “spectacle”? Here’s a little secret–sinners sin. Therefore, don’t be blown away by the fact that the unregenerate/unsaved/ungodly world around us is living up to it’s name. Now, I’m certainly not saying that we excuse homosexuality. But my point is that if we would wake up from our amazed stupor, instead of spending our energy being stunned, we could be better able to actually deal with the issue, and deal with it Biblically.

Remember that Homosexuality Isn’t the Only Sin

Is homosexuality a sin? Yes. But is it the only sin? Certainly not. It’s not even the only sexual sin. Sex outside of marriage, looking at porn, and even lusting after someone else are all sexual sins right alongside homosexuality.

There is a great danger in overemphasizing the sin of homosexuality to the exclusion of other sins. First, we can lead people to believe that the only thing we care to condemn is homosexuality and that all we care about is condemning it. These things will easily become our identity in the eyes of others. This is a great threat to the Gospel’s advancement. Instead of being known as ambassadors of God’s love in Christ we will be branded as crusaders’ against homosexuals. No one will know what we are for—the Gospel of God’s grace—if we become consumed and identified with what we’re against. Second, if people only know us for condemning others, we will appear self-righteous and hypocritical as if we think we are “holier than thou” just because we are not homosexual, which leads us to our next point.

Remember That You Are Also a Sinner

Christian, you may not be a homosexual, but this is only by God’s grace (1 Corinthians 15:10). And just because you’re not a homosexual doesn’t mean you are any less of a sinner.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9 Paul condemns homosexuality. But Christian, he does not condemn it alone. Look at the entire list of sins in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and tell me we too are not guilty of one of them, which Paul lists together with homosexuality (chew on that for a second). But more so, we are not just sinners (general sense), but I can also guarantee that each and every one of us has committed sexual sin just like homosexuals have. You may not lust after the same gender, but you’ve lusted, which makes you “sexually immoral” (v.10). O, Christian, it is vital to remember that Paul is not just speaking of others in verses 9-10, but he is speaking primarily of the believer who once was outside of Christ (Paul says, “and such were some of you” – verse 11). Allow me to continue on this point.

In John 8 the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in adultery and they asked Jesus if they should stone her since that’s what the Law of Moses said to do with such violators. But as they continued to pester Jesus, He replied with the famous words, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (verse 7). Of course, this statement slapped the scribes and the Pharisees in the “spiritual face.” Jesus wasn’t excusing her sin (He said, “go, and from now on sin no more”—verse 11); and so neither should we excuse the sin of others. But Jesus did confront the scribes and Pharisees with the fact that they too were violators. Who were they to condemn like this and seek to punish her when they themselves needed forgiveness? This truth is exactly what we need to preach to ourselves as we interact with fellow sinners, namely homosexuals.[1. And one way in which Christians have been extremely hypocritical is by condemning homosexuality and homosexual marriage while failing in their own marriage relationships—divorce, separation, or otherwise. Failure by Christians in this area needs to be admitted and corrected immediately.]

So Christian, yes, you are to call out the sin of homosexuality as sin and in that sense judge the sinner.[2. Remember, Jesus never  outlawed judging all together but instructed us to judge rightly and not incorrectly—Matthew 7:1:5; cf. John 7:24.] But you are to do so with all humility knowing that you too are a sinner, you were desperately in need of forgiveness as they are, and it is only by God’s grace that He saved you from that sin and has made you who you are today.

Notes