It is hard to understand how a debate about homosexual acts ever came into the Christian Church.  Scriptures are clear right?

Well here are some, what do you think? :

Lev 18:22-25 ~ Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. 
Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. 
Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:  And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

Lev 20:13  If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Some might say this was under the Law and not applicable today under Grace.  Well then:

Rom 1:26-27 ~ For this cause God gave them up unto 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.

There is also a passage that some translations translate “Effeminate” as “Homosexual” such as the NIV, Amplified, New Living, etc:

1Co 6:9-10 ~ Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Some will point out about Sodom and Gomorrah and say the real reason for their destruction was not for the perversions such as homosexuality, but rather because of their lack of hospitability.  Scripture is clear again:

Jud 1:6-7 ~  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.  Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.  

Yes, “Strange Flesh” is translated often to “homosexuality”.

People who wish to justify homosexuality for either themselves or people they know or those they wish not to offend, often will say this is not enough, that the passages or too vague.  How much clearer can Rom 1:26-27 above be?  Even this passage some try to say is just talking about lust and not about homosexual sin.  Many years ago, I had a great Pastor, Cliff Kahl that said over and over and over, that “the flesh will justify ANYTHING if we want it bad enough”.  This happens every day in Churches all over the world.

Back in September 2008, when Ray Boltz admitted to “being” homosexual, he said that he always thought the Church had it all wrong about homosexuality and that they were probably wrong about other things too.  See how opening the door to one sin, he then opens it to reject the parts he wants to reject?  This is a man who has done so many wonderful things for the Kingdom of God, but finds himself living in openly gay lifestyle and for what?  Inside, his flesh had to justify the lust he felt even at the cost of his family, work for God and even his own soul until he repents, along with all those that will be weakened in their faith who looked up to him (although I pray and believe that.God will restore him again to the faith once the sin has run its course).  That is the power of justifying your flesh at the cost of God’s Word.

Another commonly used comment you will hear from people choosing that sin, is that they are “born that way”.  Ray Boltz said that God would not send him to hell because God created him that way and that he was only being want God created him to be.  This is another step of deception.  With such statements you invalidate what you believe about God, by thinking God would create a person and force on them a sin which He has already clearly condemned as an abomination.  No matter what anyone tells you, to commit a homosexual sin is just as much choice as any other sin which God condemns!  You are not born to live a life of fornication, nor a life as a liar, nor a life as an adulterer, it is all by choice and when you make the wrong choices, God will condemn them.

Look at the Lev 18:22-25 reference, it says that the nations which were being destroyed before Israel where polluted with these sins and that is why God was driving them out.  It had nothing to do with the Law, He had not given those other nations The Law.  God did not make mankind to be with the same sex and it is a perversion of His creation to do so.  Nothing can change this, the homosexual act is sin regardless of how look at it!

Great Deception?

While it takes several different deceptions to try justifying the act of homosexuality, there is a greater deception, that it is “who they are”!  People approach the act of homosexuality as an all or nothing view.  That is, people are considered to BE a homosexual and thus move with abandonment to the “homosexual community”.  At some point they realize the ARE a homosexual as if there are something different from the rest of people on the planet.  It is this abandonment into the “Lifestyle” which changes the mindset and enforces this great deception.

There is no different between for a  person who commits a homosexual act than a  person who commits adultery, it is simply a sin of choice like anything else and as such can be repented of and forgiven.  While a person who commits adultery is sometimes referred to as an “adulterer” that does not mean they are different from any other people, it is just a title for those that practice that sin.

Many people who are locked into the sin of homosexuality are deceived into believing they are no longer “normal” or that they are different from everyone else and seek out others in the same sin to build a support group so to say, to help convince themselves they are normal people, that their life is not one of perversion and everything is all okay.  They are still completely normal, just tied into an act of perversion.  God still loves them and wants them just as He does anyone that has fallen into sin, but He will NOT accept the sin!  If the people repent and turn to God, He will embrace them, but not with the sin they carry, any more than He will accept someone who is locked into adultery, backbiting, unforgiveness, etc.

There is an even greater issue when they are led to justify their sin and pretend in their minds that God accepts them.  They have deceived themselves into an area that they may not come back from.  It is a horrible thing when people who practice sin can go into a church or create one that accepts the sin they have justified.  There are a number of churches (or so they call themselves) around the globe that are accepting people bound in unrepentant sin, allowing them to believe they are Christian and heading to heaven.  This is not limited to those bound to homosexual acts, but of all kinds of sins.  They have deveined themselves to a point where they feel no conviction and without conviction there will not be repentance and without repentance the sin will remain and the person will NOT be saved.  They are damming themselves to eternal judgment simply because they are want to sin…

God loves the sinner, but will NOT accept the sin!  God is there for those who wish to turn!

Remember Church, we need to love all sinners and pray for them that they will find their way home.  Every time you hear the name Ray Boltz (or any other fallen soldier), pray for him that God will put him in a place were he can repent and be shown the love of God!