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And He answered and said, "Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave His father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall be one flesh."- Matthew 19: 4, 5 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood…. Ephesians 6:12 To those who are struggling in the bondage of sin and want to get free but you feel you are fighting a losing battle because of constant failures, God wants to remind you of something. You are also wrestling against unseen forces, demonic entities that have existed in your linage for untold ages. They have entered into you at infancy to make the abnormal seem normal (Mark 9:21). Their goal is to cause you to function in opposition to the word of God. Scripture references: Romans 1:26-27, Leviticus 18:22, Genesis 13:13; 19:4-13, I Corinthians 6:9-10
Christians and Homosexuality
When God created the heavens and the earth, He set everything in perfect order. Sin entered and distorted the perfection that God had ordained. God created man to be with the woman, and the woman with the man. The spirit of rebellion always seeks the opposite of the will of God, whether we care to admit it or not.
Jesus tells us the context through which sex is sanctioned and that is between a married man and woman. Sex outside of that context is the sin of fornication. It does not matter whether this sin is practiced by an unmarried heterosexual or someone who is gay; fornication is still sin in God’s eyes.
There are those who have embraced Christianity who are practicing lifestyles that are not in accordance to the word of God. The practice of homosexuality is the sin of fornication. To these brothers and sisters who claim to be in Christ, I would say to you; there are no special privileges afforded to you. You have come under Christ's Lordship and what He requires of His children, He also requires of you. He has called us all to take up our cross, follow Him and die to ourselves (Luke 14:27).
If you are truly Christ's, then you must be willing to lay all that you are upon the altar of spiritual sacrifice. You must be willing to let Him change you into the person He wants you to be. He is committed to your transformation into the image of Christ and the perfect will of God and it is not God's will for you to remain in a lifestyle that He has not ordained.
It’s important to understand this has nothing to do with your salvation. We are saved by faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. We are saved by grace alone, and if we are saved, then the Holy Spirit begins to operate in our lives. However, we all must stand before Jesus at the judgment where we will be rewarded for our works. We all want to be able to hear Him say, “Well done, you good and faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: you enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21).
We are also shown from the apostle John that anyone who willfully and deliberately continues in sin has never seen Him or known Him, according to the original Greek in I John 3:9, which suggests a continuous action. This is someone who has no conviction of sin. It’s not talking about a follower of Jesus who falls through the weakness of the flesh, repents and tries to do better next time. The Lord fully understands how weak the flesh is and identifies with those who are struggling to resist temptation in any form.
There are many things in God’s word He says He does not like. We are all guilty of doing some of them. In Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the sinner (Luke 18: 9-14) we are shown that the sinner recognizes that he has sinned and asks for mercy. The humble sinner is the one who is justified by God and not the prideful, self-righteous Pharisee. It is pride that refuses to humble itself before God and the Pharisee’s pride is what condemns him and it is the sinner’s humility that justifies him. None of us can afford to be like that prideful Pharisee and refuse to acknowledge what we are doing is wrong according to the word of God.
When we willfully sin, we are as the Bible says mocking God and we will eventually reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). All sin has consequences. When we walk in disobedience to the word of God, we shut the door to many blessings including deeper intimacy and fellowship with Jesus.
I read a testimony from a Messianic Jew who is gay. He said very simply, “I am gay, but I do not practice it because my Lord does not like it.” This person genuinely loves God. Jesus said, “If a man loves Me, he will keep My words" – John 14:23.
You know that God loves you. Do you love Him enough to give Him your sexual idols? Don't cling to your old clay beads when God wants to replace them with diamonds.
You have been given all the power you need to defeat them in Christ, but it is a wrestling match and the victory will be secured on your knees. You are not alone. Jesus is kneeling beside you in your own garden of Gethsemane. Be as determined to win over your inner enemies as they are to destroy you. Your desire to overcome them is the first step of victory.
Persevere and be dependent upon the Lord to strengthen you. If you ask for strength He will give it to you (Luke 11:10). If you fail, repent. Repentance is the door you can open that will flood you with cleansing grace and another brand new beginning. Come boldly to the Throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16).
Don't be discouraged if it takes a long time, even years before you receive your deliverance. Keep fighting. Resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7).
The Lord is suffering with you and He cannot wait to place upon your head the crown of overcoming victory. Copyright 2003 by H.D. Shively
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