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Do Christians "Hate Gays"?
Friends, I often preach on the sinfulness of homosexuality and on the need for homosexuals to repent. For my efforts, I am frequently accused of being a homophobe or of hating gays. This is a complete mischaracterization.
I know several people who are open homosexuals. They are friendly, hard-working people. I don't feel uncomfortable around them, even when they display affection. Some of them adopted children, and those children grew up and didn't turn out any different from children raised by heterosexual couples. Homosexuals don't seem to have any "agenda" other than a desire to be treated normally.
I don't buy arguments that allowing homosexuals to marry would "undermine marriage". My marriage is between me, my wife, and God. If secular law allowed the gay couple down the street to have legal recognition for their relationship, it would not affect my relationship in the least. If a man loves his wife and loves the Lord, I can't imagine how legal recognition for gay marriage could change that. It seems to me that the people who cry the loudest about the institution of marriage being undermined are the same people who use a "wide stance" in the public restrooms, if you know what I mean. Their marriages are already a sham, so the worst legalizing gay marriage would do to them is to allow them to not be hypocrites about it.
I also don't buy arguments about homosexuality being a choice. Sure, they can choose to be abstinent or to marry a person they aren't attracted to, but they don't choose to be attracted to the same sex. I didn't choose to be attracted to women -- I just am. Even before I was saved, I was never attracted to men. I can't imagine looking at another man's hairy hiney and thinking it was something I wanted. A homosexual man is a person who is equally repulsed by the idea of being with a woman. It's not binary either; there is a smooth gradient between a 100% heterosexual and a 100% homosexual, and many people feel varying degrees of attraction to each gender.
To conclude this first part (yes, there is a "however" coming up), I don't have any personal problem with folks being gay. If two guys walk down the street with their arms around each other, or two women kiss on a park bench, it doesn't hurt me at all. If I hadn't gotten saved and read the Bible to learn how God feels about homosexuality, then I wouldn't care about this issue at all.
However...
Man's ways are not God's ways. Even though my mortal mind doesn't understand the problem with it, God clearly sees homosexuality as a grievous sin. In Old Testament times, God called homosexuality an abomination and even demanded that all practicing homosexuals be put to death (Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13).
Some people will read this and say, but that's the Old Testament so it doesn't mean anything anymore. Jesus did away with the old laws and established a new covenant. There are many things wrong with such a statement, but the easiest way to dismiss it is to point out that the sinfulness of homosexuality was reiterated in the New Testament (Ro 1:26-32, 1Cor 6:9-10, 1Tim 1:10, 2Tim 3:3, Jude 7-8).
I've even heard some professing Christians summarily dismiss all of those verses because "they were written by Paul, and Paul was a bigot". Now, I'm not the one to judge the faith of a person who would throw out half the books in the New Testament because he doesn't like the message they contain, but I will ask this question. Was God a "bigot" when He wrote Leviticus? Was God a "bigot" when He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah? Of course not.
However, there is hope for homosexuals. Jesus established a new covenant, and homosexuals can be saved if they repent and believe. That's why we don't kill homosexuals any more, despite what Lev 20:13 says. Now we help them to understand that homosexuality is sinful, but that Jesus can help them. Once they repent of the sin of homosexuality and get saved, the Holy Spirit lives inside of them, and they will have the tools they need to overcome their homosexuality. They might still feel slight temptation from time to time, but they as saved Christians, they are easily able to avoid acting on it, because saved Christians cannot sin.
1John 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
1John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
1John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
1John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
Of course, like any other unsaved person, homosexuals are in love with their sin, and hate any message (and messenger) that tells them they have to give up their sin. So, we are accused of "hating gays" simply for warning them of God's wrath.
If we hated gays, we wouldn't warn them at all. We'd just stand back and let them damn themselves. We preach the Gospel to them because we love them.
Pastor Billy-Reuben
Friends, I often preach on the sinfulness of homosexuality and on the need for homosexuals to repent. For my efforts, I am frequently accused of being a homophobe or of hating gays. This is a complete mischaracterization.
I know several people who are open homosexuals. They are friendly, hard-working people. I don't feel uncomfortable around them, even when they display affection. Some of them adopted children, and those children grew up and didn't turn out any different from children raised by heterosexual couples. Homosexuals don't seem to have any "agenda" other than a desire to be treated normally.
I don't buy arguments that allowing homosexuals to marry would "undermine marriage". My marriage is between me, my wife, and God. If secular law allowed the gay couple down the street to have legal recognition for their relationship, it would not affect my relationship in the least. If a man loves his wife and loves the Lord, I can't imagine how legal recognition for gay marriage could change that. It seems to me that the people who cry the loudest about the institution of marriage being undermined are the same people who use a "wide stance" in the public restrooms, if you know what I mean. Their marriages are already a sham, so the worst legalizing gay marriage would do to them is to allow them to not be hypocrites about it.
I also don't buy arguments about homosexuality being a choice. Sure, they can choose to be abstinent or to marry a person they aren't attracted to, but they don't choose to be attracted to the same sex. I didn't choose to be attracted to women -- I just am. Even before I was saved, I was never attracted to men. I can't imagine looking at another man's hairy hiney and thinking it was something I wanted. A homosexual man is a person who is equally repulsed by the idea of being with a woman. It's not binary either; there is a smooth gradient between a 100% heterosexual and a 100% homosexual, and many people feel varying degrees of attraction to each gender.
To conclude this first part (yes, there is a "however" coming up), I don't have any personal problem with folks being gay. If two guys walk down the street with their arms around each other, or two women kiss on a park bench, it doesn't hurt me at all. If I hadn't gotten saved and read the Bible to learn how God feels about homosexuality, then I wouldn't care about this issue at all.
However...
Man's ways are not God's ways. Even though my mortal mind doesn't understand the problem with it, God clearly sees homosexuality as a grievous sin. In Old Testament times, God called homosexuality an abomination and even demanded that all practicing homosexuals be put to death (Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13).
Some people will read this and say, but that's the Old Testament so it doesn't mean anything anymore. Jesus did away with the old laws and established a new covenant. There are many things wrong with such a statement, but the easiest way to dismiss it is to point out that the sinfulness of homosexuality was reiterated in the New Testament (Ro 1:26-32, 1Cor 6:9-10, 1Tim 1:10, 2Tim 3:3, Jude 7-8).
I've even heard some professing Christians summarily dismiss all of those verses because "they were written by Paul, and Paul was a bigot". Now, I'm not the one to judge the faith of a person who would throw out half the books in the New Testament because he doesn't like the message they contain, but I will ask this question. Was God a "bigot" when He wrote Leviticus? Was God a "bigot" when He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah? Of course not.
However, there is hope for homosexuals. Jesus established a new covenant, and homosexuals can be saved if they repent and believe. That's why we don't kill homosexuals any more, despite what Lev 20:13 says. Now we help them to understand that homosexuality is sinful, but that Jesus can help them. Once they repent of the sin of homosexuality and get saved, the Holy Spirit lives inside of them, and they will have the tools they need to overcome their homosexuality. They might still feel slight temptation from time to time, but they as saved Christians, they are easily able to avoid acting on it, because saved Christians cannot sin.
1John 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
1John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
1John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
1John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
Of course, like any other unsaved person, homosexuals are in love with their sin, and hate any message (and messenger) that tells them they have to give up their sin. So, we are accused of "hating gays" simply for warning them of God's wrath.
If we hated gays, we wouldn't warn them at all. We'd just stand back and let them damn themselves. We preach the Gospel to them because we love them.
Pastor Billy-Reuben
Trump / Arpaio 2016 -- The Government We Deserve 
Praise Jesus!!!!
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