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Homosexual
Church
Leaders?
Liberal churches and denominations continue their relentless
quest to accept and legitimatize homosexuality. Not only are they tolerating homosexuality in society and
in their membership, they are also openly endorsing it. Not only do they approve of homosexual orientation, they expressly
celebrate homosexual relationships and activity!
The latest
news in this regard comes from the Episcopal Church, one
of the most liberal denominations in America. Leaders
decided to ordain an openly homosexual bishop and their
130-page report stated that there is “genuine holiness” among
those involved in sodomite relationships. The
report went on to assert that committed sodomites can be “open
to God’s blessing and holy purposes.”
This issue
highlights the bizarre nature of this matter. First,
one must ask, if these church officers are willing to pronounce
a relationship to be holy that God declares to be unholy,
what other sinful aberrations may be condoned in the name
of inclusiveness and acceptance? Will they legitimize and celebrate incest, child abuse, adultery,
bestiality, and other sexual sins?
Second,
if these Episcopal leaders are willing to disregard the
plain will of God revealed in His Word, the Bible, in regard
to sexual relationships, will they overlook His will in
many other areas as well? If
a church openly endorses a certain relationship or lifestyle
that Scripture plainly condemns because of prevailing views
in society, what would happen if another Hitler arose,
declaring that one ethnic group should be eliminated for
the common good? Would
these officials and theologians then assert that “God’s
blessing and holy purposes” are being carried out through
this “ethnic cleansing”? Why
should they oppose ethnic prejudice while accepting a sin
just as abhorrent to a holy God?
Third,
the seriousness of this denominational pronouncement may
be seen clearly when we examine the Word of God that true
Christianity must honor. Scripture
says that homosexual activity involves “degrading passions” that
are not natural, but “unnatural.” Sodomy
consists of “indecent” or “shameless acts” that are worthy
of eternal death (Romans 1:26-27, 32). Homosexuality
is opposed to the moral Law of God (1 Timothy 1:8-11). God
declares that unrepentant homosexuals “will not inherit
the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10), but will suffer “the
wrath of God” (Ephesians 5:5-7) and will have their part
in “the lake of fire” (cf. Revelation 21:8). No,
a sodomite relationship cannot be a holy relationship regardless
of what professing ecclesiastical leaders may advocate.
Fourth,
the hypocrisy of the Episcopal stance may be noted. God,
in Holy Scripture, says that those guilty of “fornication” (of
which sodomy is one form) must be disfellowshiped or removed
from the church if they refuse to repent of their sin (1
Corinthians 5:1-2, 5, 7, 9-13). This
includes not only adulterers, child abusers, and those “living
together” without marriage, but it includes male and female
homosexuals. The
pointed question is this: If all sodomites are to be removed
from the Christian body, how is it possible for a homosexual
to become a church leader—whether pastor, bishop, elder,
deacon, or any other position? If
unrepentant homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of
God, how can a church presume to ordain one guilty of this
sin to a place of leadership and responsibility? How
can a homosexual leader of a church withdraw church fellowship
from other homosexual members because of their sin? Isn’t
this hypocrisy?
Fifth,
this issue is basically about what guides our lives and
the life of the church. Do
we have a right to make our own decisions, according to
our own desires and the prevailing opinions of society? Or
do we allow God, in His written Word, to be the basis of
our views of homosexuality and all other sexual sin? True
Christianity knows that God’s Word—the Bible—must be the
ultimate standard of right and wrong. And
God’s Word does declare that a sodomite relationship—even
if it is labeled a “holy” relationship, an alternative “marriage,” or
a committed relationship—is still sinful and opposed to
the holy will of God.
Hopefully,
all thinking readers, especially those who respect God
and His Word, will see the gross inconsistency and hypocrisy
demonstrated in this contemporary phenomenon, whether promoted
by Episcopal clergymen or any other churchly authority. And,
hopefully, true Christians will determine to remain faithful
to God’s own moral standards, the very standards that will
judge all people in the Great Judgment Day.
Richard
Hollerman
STAR-TELEGRAM |
