We are living in a day when everyone does that which is right in his own eyes. There is no respected standard of morality in America anymore. Americans have dismissed the Word of God as a bunch of old fairy tales no longer valid for our modern times. Therefore, the Bible has no authority in people's minds today. The Bible's usefulness for guiding moral choices today has been totally dismissed. Everyone demands their rights to not only make their own choices (we all have free will) but to require our society at large to accept the sin of homosexuality as a respectable American lifestyle decision. That battle in the political arena is outside the scope of this article. However, when confronted with the idea that homosexuality is no longer a sin, I am compelled to respond.
Someone recently commented that we Christians are quick to point out some sins in the Old Testament but neglect others. For instance, Leviticus 19:19d says, "neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee." This person asks how "prohibitions against homosexuality still 'count', but that rules about, say, mixing fibers or trimming beards do not."
This observer asks a very good and valid question. Why do we adhere to one commandment in the Hebrew Scriptures and not another? The answer is that we now live in a different dispensation of time. We no longer live in the Age of Law (Old Testament times) but in the Age of Grace (the Church Age). This distinction makes all the difference.
Of the three types of law given in the Old Testament (Ceremonial Law, Civil Law, and Moral Law), the New Testament affirms the Moral Law against the sin of homosexuality while it does not reiterate the law against wearing a "garment mingled of linen and woollen". I'll go out on a limb here and say that wearing such a garment today does not violate God's Moral Law. There are some laws in the Old Testament (Ceremonial and Civil Laws) which are no longer necessary to follow in New Testament times because Jesus has "fulfilled" the law.
For example, ceremonial laws such as the command for Temple sacrifices are currently unnecessary because Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, "offered one sacrifice for sins for ever" (Hebrews 10:12). It is no longer possible "that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4).
Homosexuality, however, is recognized as sin in the New Testament (in the current Church Age), as the apostle Paul points out;
"Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie... For this cause God gave them up until vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet." - Romans 1:26-27
Homosexuality is not the only sin reiterated in the New Testament. Other crimes against God's moral law are also still valid today such as adultery, killing, idolatry, and coveting, to name a few. The bottom line is that people who engage in homosexuality are sinners just like everyone else born in this world today. ..
"There is none righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:10).
"If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" (1 John 1:10).
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
Christians need to be careful to distinguish the sin from the sinner (Hate the sin, Love the sinner). We do not judge the person engaged in such activities because judgment is reserved for God. Homosexuality is just one symptom of the corrupt, sinful condition of mankind.
Christians recognize that we are also guilty sinners and, like the Pharisees mentioned in John 8, no true believers are without sin or ought to be willing to cast the first stone. It is, however, a part of a Christian's duty to call sin sin and to share the truth of God's word while expressing love and concern for the souls of our fellow human beings.
Rather than trying to justify a modern lifestyle of sin (ie. homosexuality), what is really needed is for mankind to:
1. Become aware of our sinful condition (via the Scriptures).
2. Feel true sorrow for our sin (conviction).
3. Hear and understand the love of God who voluntarily laid down His life to pay the penalty for our sin.
4. Repent and accept God's sacrifice and His offer of eternal life to all who will believe.
It's also important to keep in mind that salvation cannot be obtained by performing good works; "For by grace are ye save through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9
So even if one were to try to live a perfect moral life, he/she cannot be good enough to deserve God's favor. And that's exactly why God sent the Messiah - to suffer the penalty that we deserve to receive. Why? God loves us and "is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance"(2 Peter 3:9).
Although some of this may seem off point, the original question has to do with the identity of sin. And the ultimate answer is that all are guilty before God, whether engaged in homosexuality or not. But God provides a solution. If only more people would accept it before it's too late.
