LETTER FROM A HOMOSEXUAL
(Taken with permission from Christianity Today, 1968, March 1)
(Investigator 7, July 1989)
A recent issue of CHRISTIANITY TODAY
(January 19) carried an editorial "The Bible and the Homosexual,"
calling for compassion for those who find themselves tempted to
homosexual relations but reasserting the biblical strictures against
any sexual act outside a heterosexual marriage. Among the letters of
comment was this one from a Christian minister with acknowledged
homosexual tendencies. It gives stirring evidence of the power of Jesus
Christ to forgive sin, to cleanse of guilt, and to provide a continuing
victory over sin through the working of the Holy Spirit.—Ed.
I am a homosexual and a minister of the Gospel. This may be shocking to
many people, but it is not so shocking to Jesus Christ. He has been all
sufficient, not only to forgive me, but also to give me control over
this problem. Still I am a homosexual.
The homosexual's problem is very similar to the alcoholic's. Although he never seems to overcome the temptation, he is
able to withstand it through the power of God. A homosexual is usually
considered to be one who practices sexual activity with someone of his
own sex; but a person can have homosexual tendencies without ever
committing a homosexual act. Many happily married men have these
tendencies. They enjoy sexual relations with their wives but also have
drives toward other men.
Homosexuality is a manifestation of the lust of the flesh, never, in my
opinion, of the love set forth in the Word of God. Love binds two
people together and is a manifestation of the love of God. The love of
a man and a woman draws them together to become husband and wife, to be
joined as one in sexual union. To try to fit people of the same sex
into the biblical picture of marriage is impossible at every point. The
sex act in marriage is the ultimate expression of love. The sex act
performed apart from marriage falls short of this ultimate expression
and leaves much to be desired. Often, if not always, it leaves both
persons with a sense of guilt and lack of fulfillment. This is true of
loveless marriages, of masturbation, and of homosexual activity.
The homosexual often falls into a life of constant searching for sexual
fulfilment; but he doesn't find it. He has sexual relations with many
different people—many of whom he will never see again—and admits that
there is no expression of love in the act. Two people might become
emotionally attached to one another because of their similar problem,
but this cannot be classified as love.
Legalizing homosexuality would only bring into the open what is now
practiced by some behind closed doors and what is constantly suppressed
by many others. Since practicing homosexuals are, I suspect, a small
percentage of the total homosexual population, legalizing such activity
would affect only a few of those bothered by the problem. And it would
have little to do with the accompanying guilt.
Most male homosexuals are drawn to young men in their adolescence and
early adulthood. To legalize homosexual activity—or give it church
approval—would result in more aggressiveness of adults among youth.
Many young people have participated in such acts with a sense of thrill
in their first sexual act only to find themselves scarred in their
sexual relationships in later life. A large number of adult-child
sexual acts occur in what appear to be normal homes. Neither the
children nor the adults ever reveal this activity. But the scars
remain, and later the young people have difficulty adjusting to a
God-given relationship in marriage.
Young homosexuals are often sent to reform schools, and there, in
isolation with others of their own sex, their problem inevitably
increases. Prisons are filled with homosexual activity.
Society looks with great disfavour on the practicing homosexual, and he
moves from place to place, job to job. He is running, not only from
society, but also from the lust within him. Finally he is discovered
and condemned.
What is the solution? Only the forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ
and constant deliverance through the Holy Spirit. The Word of God, in
Romans 1:24-28, classifies homosexuality as sin—but by no means as the
only or the gravest sin. It is listed among the sins of pride,
boasting, gossiping, and others. Let us not condemn homosexuality any
more—or less—than we would condemn the other sins in Romans 1.
The temptation to homosexual activity endured by many Christians is
like the "thorn in the flesh" that constantly bothered Paul. This
temptation has drawn me closer to God than any other, and I can attest
to the sufficiency of his Holy Spirit to give constant deliverance.
I am a homosexual—but I am also a servant of the living Christ who
experiences God's forgiveness and deliverance. By the grace of God this
temptation does not express itself, and I am victorious through Christ.