Does Jesus Love the Homosexual?
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I will never forget the hurt in my dad’s voice as he lovingly but painfully confronted me.
Just days before he excitedly pulled out his guitar and showed me a song he’d written. I come from a very artistic family – music and creativity flow freely on both sides. My dad has written a few songs, and this was a new worship chorus he’d just written. He wanted to get my thoughts.
As he sang the simple but powerful words, I easily recognized the melody. It was probably one he wasn’t terribly familiar with, but had heard as we kids played the radio incessantly. Most certainly the tune stuck in his head and easily fit the words that had filled his heart during his devotion times.
I didn’t want to disappoint him by telling him that while the words were great, the tune wasn’t his. So, I simply praised him for a great job and kept the rest to myself.
Sunday morning, after worship was sung, he grabbed his guitar and excitedly shared with our reasonably sized congregation that the Lord had given him a song. I squirmed as he sang it, because I knew without a doubt that others would recognize the tune as I had.
Lovingly, one of the ladies on the worship team pulled him aside and shared with him that the tune wasn’t original.
He felt betrayed by his daughter’s silence.
As indeed he was.
I learned a very important lesson that day:
[Tweet “Love is only love when it protects!”]
I thought my silence was protecting him from disappointment, but what it actually did was set him up for public humiliation. What I thought was love was actually selfishness. I didn’t want to be the one to break the news, so instead I allowed him to stand in front of a few hundred people and unknowingly pass a borrowed tune off as an original.
[Tweet “Love protects, even when it’s painful. It will go the distance of pain to protect, heal and restore!”]
Lately I have seen this same “selfish love” (which by definition is an oxymoron because 1 Corinthians 13 clearly states that love is not selfish) in the church. Only on a much grander and more disturbing level!
I have been deeply troubled as over the past few months I have read more and more articles and blog posts by Christians about them “just wanting to love on the sinner”. It’s become a mantra I see over and over. Most often in reference to homosexuality and the LGBT community.
And to be clear, I have no problem with reaching out with love to the LGBT community!
I am literally surrounded by sinners everyday. I spend more time with sinners than I do with my brothers and sisters in Christ. And I think that is exactly how it should be!
Jesus loved sinners. Oh – He deeply loved sinners. His heart was repeatedly moved with compassion for them.
Yes, I believe the church should love sinners, she should be known for her love of sinners.
[Tweet “The question isn’t whether or not we should love sinners, but how should that love be demonstrated.”]
Sadly, when I read these articles and blog posts by Christians, it is paired with the idea that our love shouldn’t confront sin, but it should simply make them feel loved and accepted.
Friends, this is dangerous! This is a false love that is neither demonstrated by Jesus nor illustrated anywhere in Scripture! Not only is this a false love, it is literally the antithesis of love.
It is hate.
It is betrayal.
To glibly show love and acceptance to the LGBT community without warning them of the consequence of their actions is no different than standing passively by as a driver careens off a precipice to his death.
Does Jesus love the homosexual? The lesbian? The bi-sexual? The transvestite?
Yes. A hundred times yes!
He allowed His body to be beaten unmercifully until He was bloody, swollen, and nearly delirious from pain because of His deep love for them.
He allowed Himself to be mocked, ridiculed and publicly humiliated out of deep love and compassion for them – as for all of us who are none of these.
But the love Jesus felt for sinners never stopped Him from saying, “Go and sin no more”. It never stopped Him from calling sin what it is – a capital offense against a holy God.
His love never prevented Him from saying, “Be ye perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect”
Quite the contrary!
His love compelled Him to say these things!
Out of deep love and concern for their eternal souls did He speak out and call sinners to repentance.
And then He commissioned us to do the same!
He commanded us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
Believe what?
Believe the gospel – which is simply this:
We are all sinners in need of a Savior. Our sin has offended a holy God and has separated us from Him. The only way to pay back the debt of sin is by death – a blood sacrifice. But even our own death could never repay the debt of sin we owe. That’s why Jesus – God in the flesh, the only perfect human being to ever walk planet earth – came with one purpose: to die and reconcile man to God!
By acknowledging our sin and our need for a Savior – namely acknowledging the sacrifice Jesus paid for us on the cross – we become reconciled to God.
That is the gospel!
You cannot share the gospel – you cannot fulfill Christ’s command – you simply cannot love a sinner without addressing their sin!
Ezekiel said it best in chapter 3:
When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
Does Jesus love the homosexual? Yes! Just as He loves all sinners. And He wants to show that love through us!
We must simply lay down our own pride and fear that they will reject that love so that the purity of God’s love comes through – unhindered by our own insecurity.
For if they reject that love, they don’t reject us. They reject Him.
A final word: I acknowledge that the church has often been on the other extreme, when her confrontation of sin has been hateful and intolerable. This is no more Christ-like than a false love that refuses to speak about sin at all. Both are wrong. Both are sin. Both are dangerous. Both leave the sinner in their sin and close the door to any hope of salvation. True, unadulterated, Christ-like love is a love that isn’t afraid to touch sinners, and yet isn’t afraid to speak the truth. In love. Always in love. But love never remains silent.
True love protects!
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“You cannot share the gospel – you cannot fulfill Christ’s command – you simply cannot love a sinner without addressing their sin!” Yes! Today’s culture often says, “If you don’t agree with me, you don’t love me.” and that is so backward. I’m grateful for this post, Ros.
Thank you, Holly! And you’re right. Love and grace NEVER agree or accept sin. Contrary to popular opinion today, you CAN love the sinner and still hold fast to your values and convictions!
Thank you for speaking the truth. It’s very refreshing. I love your story at the beginning and how it relates.
Thank you so much, Kim. Your comment encouraged me today!!
Dear Roz,
I have been trying to hammer away at this subject in my blog posts, trying to show the difference between hate and love, and you have done it so beautifully here. Thank you. Your comparison with your dad’s song is such a good one. I rarely share blog posts on my BLN FB page, but I’m going to share this. Well done!!
Gail
Thank you so much, Gail. You are such an encouragement to me. I thank God for you!
I absolutely agree with you! Ever since a certain athlete “came out” and had a major surgery to change his body into something that it was not, social media feeds have been bombarded with “wishy-washy” Christians who don’t want to speak out about an issue, but rather been a passivist and not offend anyone with things that the Bible says. I’m proud of you for proclaiming truth! It is a great encouragement to other Christian bloggers! I really enjoyed this post! What a great reminder that our silence isn’t true Christianity!
Isn’t it sad to watch the church waffle on this issue. It has grieved me more than I can describe; which is probably obvious by my repetitive FB posts about it – but I can’t let it go. Sometimes it seems like we’re lone voices out there calling for truth….and then we find others out there with a same passion and realize there IS remnant still. Praise God there will always be a remnant!
I think people calle you hateful and bigoted despite this explanation because you are still wrong. You hurt people by attacking them and yet they didn’t do anything wrong. What you call “sin” from your point of view isn’t really doing any harm to anything or anyone, except your religion. And there’s 2 points there. You can’t forbid people for making that choice (they want to be happy while hurting noone) and more importantly, people don’t care about your religion. Your ‘truth’ is so from your point of view. Theres a lot (and I mean A LOT) of other religions, and a Lot of people with no religion At all. I know you really really feel like you are right and you know better than anyone else, but you have as many proof of your religion as the person next door. All of you have feelings, all of you have holy books, all of you have miracle stories yet none can prove their delusion is the right one.
So attacking inocent people in the grounds of nothing is bad. Hateful, unloving, bigoted, and shows your center-of-the-universe complex. Please stop being idiotic.
Carolina, I would gently suggest to you that accusing someone of being hateful and unloving, followed by an immediate insult to that person’s intelligence by labeling them “idiotic” is not helpful to your argument.
I would also like to point out that the author’s title “Does Jesus Love Homosexuals?” strongly implies that she is writing from a Christian perspective based on the Bible. She is not labeling “sin” from her point of view, but from that of the Bible. If you don’t identify with Christianity, then you may safely assume that this post isn’t intended to speak to your belief system.
Well said, Jennifer!
What is ironic is that Christianity – and only Evangelical Christianity – is the only religion that actually tolerates homosexuality. I find it curious that no one speaks out about Islam – a religion that goes much further than merely calling homosexuality sin. They actually kill homosexuals. Why doesn’t anyone talk about that? Because murdering – YES MURDERING – homosexuals is far more damaging to a religion than calling them sinners.
Not all Muslims practice strict Islam. The murdering of homosexuals in predominantly Islamic countries is completely up to the government, not the people.
I really appreciate your bold and loving stance. No one wants to be the one to deliver a hurtful truth, but you explain very well that (as the Bible says) the wounds of a friend are faithful. Well written.
Thank you, Amanda!
This very topic has been heavy on my heart, too. I see a lot about this in social media and am refreshed by your Biblical and Christ-like stance. Jesus always spoke the Truth in love.
Thank you so much, Kristy! Your comment encouraged me today.
This topic has been heavy on my heart, too, Rosilind. I’ve written a post about it, as well, and I appreciate your bravery in tackling this “hot topic.”
I don’t disagree with any of your points here. However, I do believe we’re wise to use discernment in our interactions with unbelievers. Too many Christians think they’re “speaking the truth in love” simply because they have no hateful intent. But love goes much further than the absence of hatred. And love goes much further than acknowledging God’s love for sinners. Love reaches out. Love embraces. Love offers hope. Love spends time. Love involves itself. And love points them to Jesus. He is the One who can bid them to go and sin no more. But the going and sinning no more came after they encountered Him.
Rather than putting myself in the role of Jesus, I tend to think my role is that of the adulteress woman who ran back to town beckoning all those she saw to “Come and see a Man.” Bearing witness of the wounds I bore now healed, and the sins I committed now cleansed.
Again, I don’t mean to be argumentative – only to offer what I hope is a complementary perspective from a sister in Christ. Thank you for sharing with us at Grace & Truth!
Yes – I completely agree…and this very topic about HOW do we speak truth in love in a way that is received and understood to be love is something I’m hoping to write about soon. We can’t just go around and confront people in their sin. That is not constructive at all. It has to be paired with action.
Hi Rosilind, I am always interested to hear what people have to say about this issue. I do not think that homosexuals need to be “fixed.” The way that this group is being treated by a large number of Christians really saddens me. We need to point people towards God, but then, that relationship between that person and God is all theirs. We are not in a position to condemn or judge.
Thank you so much for chiming in, Laura. I have to disagree. When we say that homosexuality is a sin, it is not condemning or judging because God’s Word has said that in many places. So then, it is God who has judged not Christians.
Rosilind, I think you expressed everything in this post very lovingly and Biblically! Thanks for standing on the word of God no matter the cost. Praying for us all that we continue to stand on His Word. His word is all we have to share in love!
Thank you so much, Lisa! Your comment was so encouraging to me. Yes – we must continue to stand on His Word and His Word alone, no matter the cost. And I fear that the cost will be great in the end….but our reward will make the cost pale in comparison!
Perfectly, scripturally sound words, Rosilind!
Thank you so much, Angie!!
Rosalind,
Although I agree with much of what was said, I’m troubled by one point.
“I’m literally surrounded by sinners everyday. I spend more time with sinners than I do with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I I think that is exactly how it should be.”
ALL of us are sinners, whether we are saved or not. Being saved DOES NOT mean we never sin again. As Christians, our hearts are grieved when we sin. The Holy Spirit, who lives within us after we are saved, convicts us of our sin and reminds us of whose we are.
I understand the point you were trying to make but wanted to be clear on the standard. We all fall short. Everyday. That is the reason we need our Savior, The Lord Jesus Christ. Always.
In love.
Yes – but I hope you understand the context in which I wrote that. While we all sin, I do believe that when God forgives our sins and we accept Him as our Lord and Savior we are now considered “saints in Christ” and so I differentiate sinners: those who have not yet received Christ, from saints: those who HAVE received Christ.
We do all fall short everyday. But the difference between sinners and saints is that as saints we have God’s grace on our behalf that gives us the freedom to choose NOT to walk in sin, whereas sinners do not yet.
Love always protects. So simple. I enjoy your blog postings. Stay blessed.
Love always protects. Simple and powerful. Enjoy your postings.
Yes!! Sometimes that protection hurts, but when its done in love its a pain that leads to healing.