Pure As He Is Pure

To the homosexual who reads this: I’ve been where you are. I know what it’s like to be a teenager having to hide his attraction to other boys and to keep from getting caught looking at other boys in the shower after gym. I know what it’s like not to fit in because I wasn’t like the other boys. I know what it’s like to be called "faggot," "queer," "sissy," "homo," and other such derogatory names intended to communicate only one thing: that what you are is sick, evil, disgusting, perverted, unnatural, wrong, etc. I know what it’s like to try to reconcile an attraction I didn’t choose with a faith that says it’s a sin for me to act on that attraction. I know what it’s like to be rejected by other homosexuals because I chose to be a Christian (as the Bible defines a Christian and not as pro-gay churches define one) and rejected by other Christians because I have a same-sex attraction that I didn’t choose. I know what it’s like to hear those words over and over out of the mouths of Christians, "God hates you. You’re sick. You’re evil. You’re an abomination. You deserve to die."

FROM CHAPTER 1

Before we can even talk about an issue, much less deal with it, we need to accurately define the terms used in the discussion. Having been on both sides of the issue, I can tell you that one of the main reasons the opposing factions don’t seem to understand each other is because of how they define the terms they use. Even among those of us who struggle with same-sex attraction and are involved in ex-gay ministries, there is some contention about how we define terms.

FROM CHAPTER 3

Just as there are causes, so also there are choices. The gay community argues that they didn’t choose their same-sex attraction, that they were born that way and, so, it is only right for them to act on that attraction. Failure to act on that attraction by pursuing homosexual sex and relationships, they argue, is to deny who you are as a person. They argue that if you’re not embracing your same-sex attraction and acting on that attraction through homosexual sex and relationships, you’re repressing your sexuality, you’re not being true to yourself, and you’re living a lie. If we adhere to that logic then, since we were all born with an unnatural bent toward sin (a "sinful nature") passed on from Adam and Eve, we should act on that unnatural bent by engaging in sin. After all, we didn’t choose to desire sin so why not act on our sinful nature? Brother Paul answers this in Romans 6:1-7,

FROM CHAPTER 5

Many Christians tend to be a bit lazy when it comes to our use of God’s word. We quote a particular scripture to prove our point but ignore the context of the passage in which it is contained. For example, we’re quick to tell unbelievers that God stands at the door of their hearts knocking but ignore the fact that the Lord wasn’t saying that to unbelievers at all. Rather, He was saying it to a fallen, backslidden Church (see Revelation 3:14-22). We also tend to use scripture with improper motives. One of the most common criticisms that pro-homosexual faiths have of us is our selective use of scripture to prove a point; and I believe that particular criticism is valid even though the same charge can rightly be made against pro-homosexual faiths (or worse: many of them deny the authority and inerrancy of scripture). We particularly tend to be rather selective when it comes to quoting from the Law of Moses. We are quick to tell homosexuals that the scriptures call for their deaths (see Leviticus 20:13), but are unwilling to say it to children who rebel against their parents (see Deuteronomy 21:19-23). It is absolutely essential, if we are to be, "rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15), that we pay attention to the context of the scriptures we are quoting. Now, there’s nothing wrong with quoting a single verse or part of a verse but we need to do so in a way that is true to the context of the passage in which it is contained. Failure to do so is nothing less than the sin of bearing false witness – in this case, against the word of God itself.

FROM CHAPTER 8

If a Christian falls, it doesn’t mean that he or she is down for the count. Yes, it’s your own fault for falling. Yes, you are guilty. However, King Solomon tells us in Proverbs 24:16, "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief." Psalm 37:23-24 tells us, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand." If we are walking in the Spirit, the Lord directs our steps. His promise is that if we should happen to fall (as we are likely to do when we are resisting His direction), He is there to pick us up again.