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IF GOD MAKES SOME PEOPLE GAY, WHY IS HOMOSEXUALITY WRONG? A few years back I was privileged to speak at 'Youth Happening' in Belgrave Heights, Victoria to thousands of young people. I was privileged to share a room with the other speaker who was the director of an global organisation that helps people who desire to leave homosexuality. He said something that had a powerful impact on me at the time, "I have talked many times with people puzzled by our viewpoint that homosexuality behaviour is 'wrong'. An increasing number of progay Christians call to tell us that homosexuality is 'God-given' and therefore right." This is a hot topic!! Let me share a few things that I think need to be considered by all of us. The first I call… WRONG ASSUMPTIONS People generally and some Christians have been increasingly influenced by the persistent claims of the secular media, which now often assume homosexuality is both innate and normal. But research supporting these claims is lacking. Studies of identical twins reveal that when one twin is gay, the other is heterosexual about half the time. So genetics alone cannot 'cause' homosexuality. In the 1940’s when researcher Alfred Kinsey asked homosexuals how they got that way, only 9 percent claimed to have been born gay. Today, most members of the gay community embrace this wrong assumption. Leaders in the 'ex-gay' movement and Christian therapists have another explanation for what causes homosexuality: Early life experiences leave deep, emotional wounds that open the door to homosexual temptation. Many gay men confess a lack of same-sex affirmation in their early years. Gender insecurity can prompt difficulty in same-sex peer relationships, leading to feelings of rejection and alienation. A large majority of gay women seeking deliverance have been deeply wounded by men, often through sexual or emotional abuse. These factors open the door to a search for same-sex intimacy. Homosexuality is not simply a lifestyle choice. Most gays and lesbians don’t consciously choose their same-sex feelings. They are pulled into this way of life by powerful, and largely unconscious, emotional needs. But same-sex immorality will never heal their pain. Drinking salt water will never quench thirst; similarly, pursuing a physical or fleshly relationship does not bring emotional healing. A true resolution comes when the individual struggling with homosexual feelings agrees with God’s Word that same-sex fornication is wrong. Leviticus 18:22 (NIV) "'Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.'" Romans 1:26 (NIV) "…Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones." Then he must let God show him the underlying motivations and seek spiritual healing through Christian discipleship and counselling. IS CHANGE POSSIBLE? Gay men and women need to be challenged by the facts: There is a way out. Thousands of formerly gay people are now leading changed lives as Christian believers, chaste in singleness or as heterosexual spouses and parents. The apostle Paul knew former homosexuals in his church at Corinth… 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 (NIV) Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. What may seem impossible with man is possible with God’s power and strength.1 SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS Often a non-christian friend or co-worker will argue, "But it feels so natural!" in defending same-sex practices. That’s true. Sin feels natural, because we have been born into unrighteousness. David admits in… Psalm 51:5 (NIV) "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Our physical desires continually pull us away from God, into self-fulfilment. Paul wanted to live righteously, but found another 'law' in his body pulling him into unrighteousness. 2 This is the same struggle faced every day by all people, including us here today, and of course including those struggling with same-sex or heterosexual attractions. Sy Rogers, my friend, I mentioned at the beginning of this article came to faith in Christ as a homosexual. As an active homosexual he reached desperation point, he cried out to God, begging Him to spare him, his world was caving in on him. Sy read… Isaiah 1:18–20 (NIV) "Come now, let us settle the matter," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." …and somehow the Lord broke through. In his words, "bitterness, guilt, and shame for the lost years of his life poured as he wept at the foot of his bed. I admitted my failure and guilt to God as I cried out to Him." Sy admits that leaving homosexuality was the hardest thing he has ever faced as a Christian. Today he is married with a beautiful daughter and is involved in the worldwide ministry to homosexuals – Exodus International. Today, over 20+ years after his conversion, Sy has had the opportunity to travel the globe and minister to the sexually broken. In his words he said, "I have met many hundreds (if not thousands) of men and women who have overcome various sexual disorders. Many 1 2 Luke 1:37. Romans 7:21-25. more are in the 'process of recovery' – a phrase I believe accurately describes God's ongoing triumph in the lives of those reconciled to Him. As often has been said, 'God gets glory out of the process – not the just the end result'. Becoming a Christian is just the beginning.