Do Christians Fear Homosexuals?

I read a snippet of something in the press about something to do with some sort of homosexual issue. I was pretty annoyed by a statement by someone that was tantamount to regarding anyone who disagreed with homosexuality as a lifestyle practice as being homophobic. I've become really tired of hearing that. It is such a lame attempt at a guilt trip. I'm surprised that it still clams so many people up.

A reasonable discussion of this issue is becoming nearly impossible to have. The recent slap in the face by the Episcopal Church in America to its counterparts in the Anglican Communion is a good example of what is happening even when a reasonable discussion does take place. The authority of God's Word is waved aside or twisted to fit the needs of the moment. When believers approach homosexuals for Jesus, probably the last thing they ought to bring up is the issue of homosexuality itself. There is plenty else to talk about.

Does this really mean that all Evangelical Christians (on the more conservative side) are fearful, uninformed, unfortunate men and women who just haven't gotten the updates? Hypothetical: Should we be regularly hanging around homosexuals? I think a good look at 1 Corinthians, Chapter 5 might help.

The Corinthian church was suffering from a serious lack of judgment. A man in the church there was being intimate with his father's wife. In Matthew 18:15-20, the Lord gave some pretty clear disciplinary instructions, but instead of following them, the Corinthian church not only embraced what this man did, but they were glorying in it. Paul told the body there that he had already turned this man over to Satan, and gave them good reason why they should do the same.

Paul taught that Christians shouldn't associate with people who called themselves believers but who were immersed in sexual sin the way this man was. The church unfortunately, misinterpreted his teaching, and assumed that he was telling them not to associate at all with the unsaved. "Quite the contrary," Paul told them, and us. If we had to stay away from the unsaved to become holy, we would have to leave the planet.

I think if one looks closely at this text, one may conclude that believers in Christ are not to isolate themselves from the unsaved, but instead they should live forth in the gospel among those who do not have it. It was for doing this very thing that Jesus was roundly criticized by the Pharisees. (Matthew 9:9-13) I have unbelieving friends and acquaintances who are homosexuals. I also have two neighbor men who claim to be Christians but who are practicing and very public homosexuals. I have no fear of them. I don't demean them. I disagree with their lifestyle, and I have seen how they have intentionally tried to influence others to believe that what they do is approved of by God. It isn't.

I have one close friend who is gay, and I care deeply for her. I know that her eternal destiny will be determined by whether or not she chooses to follow Jesus in this life. I would spend a good deal of time with her if she were willing to discuss reasonably with me what her chosen lifestyle means in regard to that. Make no mistake though, there is a whole list of things that no believer should be involved with or do. 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 is a pretty good list of examples. In such cases, Jesus' command to the woman caught in adultery would be appropriate; "Go and sin no more." (John 8:11)

When we repent of our sins and put our trust in Jesus, our hearts get changed, and we see things in the light of the Word, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and there are a lot of things that we see are just not right for us to do. "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, ........" Ephesians 4:17 Homosexuality is plainly sin. Is gossiping? Yes, definitely. But the fact that I don't believe gossiping is right before God, doesn't make me "gossiphobic"

I don't know too many Christians who refuse to associate with people who have lied, lusted, coveted, gossiped, stolen things or who have demonstrated disrespect for their moms and dads, but lots of Christians will cautiously avoid spending any time around homosexuals. One wonders, is this an act of obedience to the Word of God, or because they simply dislike homosexuals in general? This shouldn't be ignored. Did Jesus associate with unbelieving sinners? Yes, He did. Does His Word place any prohibition on associating with them? I don't see any in 1st Corinthians, Chapter 5.

I think the most important question that one should ask one's self should be, "Does the time I spend among unbelieving sinners, (regardless of their sexual orientation) advance the gospel and does it bring glory to God?" I wouldn't bat an eye if someone called me homophobic, but if a reasonable discussion of the issues at hand is sidetracked by unreasonable anger, then I think it is probably (prayerfully) best to let it go.