When I was learning a little about the birds and the bees -- some from my father, some from our home set of the Encyclopedia Britannica and some from the older kids on the elementary school playground, I was told about homosexuality. I remember the grimace of sole that gripped my being when I began to understand that there were some men who lived with another man as a man would live with his wife. I remember shutting my eyes tight and saying "yuck".
The absolute worse thing you could call a boy on my school yard playground was a "queer". That was a fighting word, not because of the word itself as it is today because no one in my circle of friends knew the word "homosexual". "Queer" was a fighting word because of the automatic ilk of feelings that accompanied the thought of a sexual relationship of a man with a man.
The Holy Spirit was doing his job among us of convicting us of (what) sin (is) (John 16:8) and convincing (informing) us of right, wrong and judgment.
The Holy Spirit still does his job. Because the Holy Spirit still does his job, I know most adults feel the same yuck about homosexuality that children do.
"God gave them over to shameful lusts...." (Romans 1:26). This verse deals with the shameful lust of homosexuality. Homosexuality is not only a sin, but it is a particularity shame-filled sin. Because the Holy Spirit does his job, the majority of people who are homosexual and who defend homosexuality are filled with shame about their involvement in and/or defense of same-sex activity.
I recognize there are a few who have such a deadened conscience that they do not feel the depth of that shame. They share that lack of sensitivity along with sociopaths and psychopaths. However, sociopaths and psychopaths are only about 1% of the population. I find it interesting that only about 2% of the world are homosexual.
It is, in my opinion, unproductive to spend excessive time and energy quoting the Bible to homosexuals. Tell them what the Bible states because they need to know, but also tell them that you know what the Holy Spirit has filled them with, which is shame. Most of them feel the full weight of that shame, but they do not want you to know it. Tell them that you know they are shame-filled. Invite them to come to know Jesus who can take away their shame. If you have lived ashamed of yourself, you know how powerful shame is and how it ate away at your very being. The term "gay-pride" is a desperate attempt to get rid of the shame with a slogan. Slogans cannot get rid of shame. The rainbow symbol is an attempt to add something bright, pretty and God-approving to their dark and ugly lives. Bright symbols does not get rid of the darkness in their lives nor make ugly realities disappear. No matter how many God-ordained symbols they steal from scripture, God will never approve of homosexuality.
At some point, shame becomes like a mounting tooth-ache. Nothing else matters but to end it. Offer them a way out from under their heavy burden of shame. That way out is Jesus. Remember how the weight of your sin drove you to salvation in Christ. It is the same for everyone!
Before you talk with a person about homosexuality, know how to lead a person to freedom of soul and spirit that is only found in salvation.
Companion Article: http://ppsimmons.blogspot.com/2015/07/degraded-thinking-is-necessary-to.html
Rev. Joda Collins
www.LuLu.com/spotlight/joda collins
I make no claim that my views are the views of anyone else.
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