Be gay, but leave God out

THE EDITOR: I must say that I am very pleased that Mr Ethan G (Mr G) has read my letter to you and responded. I am again compelled to respond, since he has raised some very important issues in his letter titled “My sins are not worse than yours.” The title is true indeed for the Bible says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23). How we deal with this knowledge is another matter. Some choose to turn away from sin while others choose to continue in it. It’s our choice. God on the other hand is Holy, that is, He has a high moral character, that does not tolerate sin big or small and he requires the same thing of us. “Be holy for I am Holy.” (1 Pet 1:16). We must choose to be Holy. He does not force us. I agree with Mr G that Sodom was not destroyed for homosexuality alone, for there were far worse sins present there, including sexual abuse of children, rapes,  murder, stealing, sexual relations with animals, etc.

The Bible also says of Sodom, “This is the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter (Gomorrah) had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy and they were haughty and committed abominations before Me, therefore I took them away as I saw fit.” (Ezek 16:49-50). God is sovereign. It is not accurate to say born gay, but rather to say born with no desire for the opposite sex in a sexual way. Jesus in speaking of celibacy said, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb... made eunuchs by men... made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake. He who is able to accept it let him accept it.” (Matt 19:11-12). If you are born this way, it is a gift from God. Paul admonishes, “I wish that all men were even as myself, but each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that... if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” (1 Corinth 7:7-9). Notice, the alternative is not homosexuality, but to get married.

Mr G admits in his letter homosexuality is a sin, for he “knows His (God’s) position on the subject.” The Bible says, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fear of judgement...” (Heb 10:26-27a). No wonder Mr G’s prayers appear to be futile. He knows God’s position on the issue, but is convinced in his own mind he is born gay; something that goes against God’s creation. He is actually telling god that He made him so. Think how angry we get when someone accuses us of doing something we did not do. Much more God! God will not hear his prayers. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for what a man sows, that he will also reap...” (Gal 6:7). We are encouraged in the Bible, whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of a good report... mediate on these things.” (Phil 4:8).

In other words, if we fill our minds with good things, good things will be manifested in our lives for people to see. A classic case of “garbage in garbage out.” God knows the power of our minds, for He created it. It is in our mind, we shape who we are and what we become. A true Christian is instructed to “put on the mind of Christ” and let God make us into what he wants us to be. If we do that, there is no room for homosexuality or any sin for that matter. To go before God and say, “change me, I am gay,” without having the intention to change, will not work until we make a genuine effort to change ourselves. God does not force us to do his will; we must freely choose to do so. The simple prayer that will work is, “God, I am wrong, you are right, forgive me for sinning against you. I surrender my will to you; let your will be done in my life.” “A broken and a contrite heart — These O God, you will not despise.” (Ps 51:17).

If Mr G first repents of his sin and asks God to forgive him and really means it, then God will hear and answer his pray, for God is Holy and will not dwell where sin is. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear (me).” (Ps 66-10). He speaks of the tremendous burden of being gay; this alone should indicate to him something is wrong. Jesus said, “For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Matt 11:30) and again, in speaking of life under the Devil (calling him thief in this scripture) says, “The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. “I have come that they might have life and ... have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) Jesus wants us to live life to the fullest, both physically and spiritually. He wants us to be happy, not burdened down. The Bible says, “cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Pet 5:7). We feel these heavy burdens, when we go against God’s will.

Mr G speaks a lot about his conscience and his right to choose. Here is some of what the Bible says about the conscience. “Now the Spirit expressly says, that in the latter times (our time) some will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” (1 Tim 4:1-2). This means that you can train your conscience to approve and disapprove  of whatever you want. You can make good, bad, and bad, good within yourself, without feeling guilty. God is constant and does not change and cannot be swayed to change His mind like we can. Paul admonishes us to “always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” (Acts 24:16) This we cannot do for ourselves, for Jesus through the shedding of blood on the cross “offered himself without blemish to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” (Heb 9:14b). there is a good conscience as opposed to an evil conscience. The Bible says, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience...” (Heb 10:22a). This is why we need God to decide for us, what is good and evil. We cannot decide for ourselves. We are still learning. He already knows.

Do not be deceived, “let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He Himself tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown brings forth death.” (James 1: 13-15). Yes, we are ultimately responsible for the choices we make and therefore must accept the resulting consequences. In conclusion I say to Mr G and all gay people, both male and female, you are gay as long as you choose to be. It is your choice, and God’s design. His scriptures do not “appear to denounce the lifestyle,” according to Mr G. If you want to be gay, be gay, but I charge you on the authority of the scriptures presented, leave God out of it.

MICHAEL  RAMDASS
Arouca