If you have a friend who is gay, but they tell you they have a relationship with Jesus, what do you say?
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Asked December 01 2022
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Bonnie Ferguson
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Jeff Cokenour
I have family in this situation. My opinion doesn't matter, what matters is Jesus' opinion. In 1 John we read: 1 John 1:6 NKJV — If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Homosexuality is darkness. So are many other things. Tragically, scripture teaches that when our blessed Savior returns many will say, "Lord, didn't we..." and He will reply, "I never knew you." We love our family members caught in the lie of homosexuality, but we would be harming them if we didn't show them what Jesus (God) says about their lifestyle choice. This goes for those caught in the demonic web of adultery, lying, cheating, anger, alcoholism, etc.
Ursula S Monroe
I’m friends with a civil married gay couple. For me it’s a thin line but one thing the Lord has taught me is that Christian or not we are sinners. As a Christian we can go to Lord and ask for forgiveness and help to overcome our sins. One must remember that sin permeates to every cell in our body, therefore a sexual preference can be messed up as well. In summary we must love one another, and if asked, be truthful and loving in how the Bible addresses a particular sin. Jesus died for all sins, including a messed up sexuality.
Eddie Mills
I will repeat what Jesus said: Jesus asks the woman if anyone has condemned her and she answers no. Jesus says that he, too, does not condemn her, and tells her to go and sin no more.
Danny Hickman
Supporter
If you have a friend who is heterosexual and that friend tells you he / she has a relationship with Jesus, what do you say to that friend? Whatever that is, is what you say to another friend of yours who is gay who tells you the same thing. I have a suggestion: you tell both of them, 'Please pray for me.' I sincerely hope you're not suggesting that gay people are on Jesus' 'no knock' list. Jesus declares that he stands at the door and knocks, and if we answer the door and let him in he'll come in and dine with us (Revelation 3:20). He's suggesting that he wants an intimate relationship with us, praise the Lord! He ain't talking about the door of a building, he's speaking of the hearts of individuals. He's talking about us letting him come into our heart. Do you think he goes to individuals and makes them an offer of friendship only if they will turn from being gay? Or is it that you think he lays back waiting for them to get turned around, and then he knocks? What is it about sexual sin that makes people think that it disqualifies a person from being in relationship with the Lord? Whatever it is, it's changing. People are responding differently to questions like this one. Why? Because they have family members and friends whom they have known personally for a long time, who have come out and admitted to their sexual orientation; people they love and respect whom they thought were of a different orientation; people they recognize as having been in relationship with God for a long time. They learn that that person is gay and it causes them to rethink the way they've thought about sin. These gay people have always been in our midst. They were in that closet we've heard so much about! A preacher, a man of God, can be discovered to be having an adulterous affair and people will talk about how he can be restored. The same man can be discovered to be gay and some will say 'he was never saved.' That's changing because the gay closet door is standing wide open, and the people coming out of it are people that many in the church know very well and care about. "Conservatives" in the church complain that the church is devolving because of this issue. These are the same brand of people who brought the John 8 lady caught in an adulterous act to Jesus to be convicted and stoned. They are proud of their conservatism. Jesus, in his own diplomatic way, points out that they are as sinful as she is. They agree to drop the charges. But that didn't settle it for some of us. Over 2,000 years have passed since that episode and there are still people who hang on to what Jesus told the lady. They say, 'He didn't excuse what she had done, he told her to go and sin no more.' Conveniently overlooked is that he said, 'I do not condemn you.' (Read John 8, I ain't making this up). There it is: tell that gay person that Jesus doesn't condemn them and neither do you! (I knew we could come up with something if we looked to God for an answer).
Mark Vestal
I would ask them if they would care to share their testimony with you, just as you would with anyone else stating that they have a relationship with Jesus. We are all at different stages of our walk in faith, but it's the foundation of the believer's faith that is key. Do they share that they have belief in the only gospel message that saves today (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), the gospel of our salvation (Ephesians 1:13), where immediately upon belief they are sealed with the holy Spirit until the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13)? Do they understand that by their belief, offered by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9), they have accepted God's free gift and are made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)? When these questions are answered, we can better ascertain a person's position in Christ for the purpose of a starting point for further discussion. If they are not clear on their understanding of the simplicity that is found in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3), by belief in His accomplishment on the cross on our behalf, then they are most likely religious but lost. Share the good news with anyone you meet that may have a misunderstanding of today's requirement for salvation: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" Once someone believes the apostle Paul's gospel of God's grace, the Spirit baptizes us into the Church, which is the body of Christ (Romans 12:5). The Spirit can then work effectually through us as we have finally removed the focus of ourselves and placed it on Jesus Christ and His accomplishment on the cross for us (1 Thessalonians 2:13). The understanding of what the shed blood of Jesus Christ on our behalf means, and how Christ's burial and resurrection for our justification has given us hope of new life in Him, is our daily reminder to allow God to work through us. Once the foundation of proper faith has been established, a believer's life by the Spirit will begin its preparation for their heavenly home that awaits.
Justin Hale
The terms 'gay' and 'straight' do not appear in scripture. Neither do a myriad of other manufactured 'categories' appearing throughout history and offering us the opportunity to join a temporary 'alliance' based on superficial generalizations designed to rob us of our own unique individual divine calling from GOD Himself while offering us power, shared wealth, revenge, 'social justice' or any number of other very tempting things. Who is responsible for this? The Bible tells us that it is an evil being who goes by many names, including 'Kategor adelphos' which in Biblical Greek means, "Accuser ['categorizer'] of the brethren.' Most of us know him better as 'Satan.' Satan is actually a legal title for GOD's 'chief prosecutor' in His holy court, which was this being's previous position, before he was accused and convicted himself of inspiring the fall of fully one-third of GOD's holy angels. Knowing the law of GOD, he continues to accuse human beings of violations night and day by creating these 'categories' and demonstrating that people have agreed to join them and share in the sins inside of them. GOD has provided us with a 'way of escape' through His work upon the cross and His resurrection in the Person of Jesus Christ. Yet, we must each accept our 'new' identity and join a New Covenant by surrendering all of these 'categories' along with everything they may offer us in this life. So is a 'gay' person doomed from birth then? Did GOD simply make some people to die in judgment as Satan implies when he convinces them to join him and oppose GOD? No. GOD explains clearly that ALL of us have an equal responsibility to love others of both the same gender and opposite gender, only that some of us are born with predilections for one or the other based on His unique calling to each person. In other words, the goal is the same for each of us, but the starting point differs as a 'clue' to help direct our lives. Do we see 'same gender romance' in the Bible? Absolutely. However, you should note that 'same gender sex' (known as 'arsenokoites'), is NEVER involved and actually ruins the intimacy that GOD is building. Examples include the relationship between King David and his 'beloved' Jonathan in the Old Testament, (1 Samuel 18:1-4). In these verses we see 'two souls united into one' along with the exchange of romantic keepsakes and even a form of nonsexual mutual cohabitation. Both men even based their traditional marriages to women and lineage building on this great love for each other. The absence of this 'brotherly love' is likely why more than 50% of all modern marriages end in divorce. In the New Testament era, we see Jesus Himself and His 'beloved' John, who is described as the 'disciple whom Jesus loved,' (John 21:20, etc...). In Hebrew he was called 'Yohanan' and he was often seen with his head literally resting on the chest of Christ while reclining at the dinner table together. This was a kind of extremely intimate 'bro-mance' (to use a modern expression), that was unique within Christ's inner circle. In fact, this is obvious because John was also part of a secondary 'circle of 'three' within the Twelve, (Peter, James and John), that experienced intimacies and spiritual encounters together not shared by the others, (Mark 9:2-8). Did Jesus 'love' the other disciples any less? No. This was just a very different kind of love which these disciples were willing to embrace, while the others were not. It likely made them feel uncomfortable or conjured up confusing feelings similar to sexual desire. Jesus even uses the word translated 'lust' everywhere else in scripture to describe His 'great longing' to share the Passover Seder with His disciples and begin His 'passions' (Luke 22:15, the work on their behalf on the cross and His ultimate resurrection). Satan knows the destructive power of 'twisting' such great intimacy into an aberrant form of sexuality. No one filled with the Holy Spirit would EVER embrace this.
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