Showing Jesus's Love to Homosexuals

By David
Published September 16, 2015

Jesus's Message of Repentance

What was the major theme of Jesus's teachings when He was on earth? The majority of Americans would say "love". They would point to passages like Matthew 22:39 – "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Or John 13:34 – "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another." If you said love you are very close. Jesus spent a large portion of His earthly ministry teaching on love, but that was not the main point of His message. The major theme of Jesus's teachings was: "Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). 1Footnote 1
-----------------------------

The words "repentance" and "repent" are used 60 times in the New Testament.

This is not to say that Jesus didn't love in a completely radical way. He loved sinners in a way that we cannot even imagine with more compassion than we will ever muster. As followers of Jesus, we are also called to a radical love. Christians often talk about love and acceptance of sinners (usually homosexuals). They all say different things like "we need to show them Christ's love" or "reach out to them and love them where they are".

But what all these arguments seem to have in common is a quote from Jesus in Matthew 9:10-12. "Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" But when Jesus heard this, He said, 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.'"

The Pharisees would have never dreamed of associating with such people as tax collectors or prostitutes (sinners). It would have made them feel dirty. They were concerned with outwards appearances but Jesus was more concerned with the hearts of men. He said that "it is not what goes into a man but what comes out of the heart of man that that defiles him". (Matthew 15:11, 18)

Many Christians in progressive circles use this passage to teach love, tolerance, and compassion towards sinners. That's great. We are called to love, tolerate, and have compassion for sinners, but loving sinners never means tolerating their sin. Jesus did eat with tax collectors and prostitutes (sinners) in this passage. Do you know whose house it was that Jesus ate at? It was Matthew the former tax collector's house! Previously in Matthew 9:9 we see that Jesus comes across Matthew sitting in his tax collector's booth and says, "Follow Me." Luke records in Luke 5:28, "He [Mathew] left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him."

Luke goes on to say that Matthew threw a party for Jesus and invited the only people who would have had any contact with him, other tax collectors and lowlifes. When the Pharisees get wind of this they accost Jesus's disciples asking "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus responds with the famous quote, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick." What you don't get from Matthew but Luke records is the rest of the sentence. "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32)

You see, Jesus was not just hanging out with some sinners. He was telling them what He told everyone He met, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17) Jesus was showing true love to these tax collectors and prostitutes. He was giving them the Good News of everlasting life. While the religious leaders were too prideful to talk to these sinners, Jesus did. But He never compromised His position on sin or His message of repentance. And unlike the Pharisees, these sinners (at least we know Matthew did) listened to His message and repented. "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick" is well understandable in this situation. The Pharisees did not think they themselves were sinners and were thus unwilling to heed Jesus's message of repentance. These tax collectors were well aware that they were not right with God so they listened eagerly to what Jesus had to say.

Jesus did not tell Matthew, "You're pretty must a good person, once you learn to love who you are and understand that God loves you, all will be well with the world." He said, "Follow Me." And Matthew left all that he had behind him and followed Christ.

The Adulterous Woman

People also like to use the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8:3-11. They quote the famous line, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." God is truly loving and merciful. Much more than we could ever know, but take a look at what Jesus says to the woman in verse 11, "Go. From now on sin no more." He's not saying, "It's ok that you are an adulterer, no one is perfect; I love you anyway." He says, "Go and sin no more."

That is the love of Christ. He loved us so much that He died, not only to save us from the penalty of sin, but to save us from the power of sin. Jesus loved His Father so much that he made a whip and drove moneychangers out of the temple (Matthew 21:12). And He loved us so much that He died so that we might attain to the full righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus is calling us in the same way that he called the people of His time, "Repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15) Jesus did not accept people where they are, He told them to come to Him.

Repentance and Homosexuality

I try to avoid the subject whenever it comes up but let's talk about homosexuality. There has been a lot of discussion about homosexuality now that gay marriage is legal all across America, and there are too many people on both sides of the issue calling themselves Christians that are just plain wrong. What does the Bible say? I'm going to refer to the New Testament because we as 21st century gentile Christians are not under the Mosaic Law (Romans 9:4).

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Paul is rebuking a church that prided themselves on their tolerance of sexual sin. He says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

Paul is basically saying the other side of what Jesus preached: the unrighteous and unrepentant will not inherit the kingdom of God. These Corinthians used to be fornicators, idolaters, homosexual, thieves, and drunkards, but they had repented when Paul presented them with the Gospel. The problem was that some of them were going back to their sin, or tolerating the sin of unbelievers in the Church. 2Footnote 2
-----------------------------

1 Corinthians 5:1-2 "It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst."

The gay community often criticizes Christians because they do not feel welcome in churches or do not feel able to come to God. Is this criticism warranted? Are homosexuals the only immoral people in this world? Of course not. We shouldn't act like homosexuality is the one sin that makes people unable to come to God. All sin makes us unclean, that is why Jesus died on the cross to give is a way to come to God. But we have to come to God on His terms, and His terms are "Repent, and believe the Gospel." (Mark 1:15)

But what about someone who was born this way? Rarely would anyone say that they chose to be gay. I have heard people who do, but it's definitely not the norm. We often get the argument of, "I can't change who I am; I was born this way." I believe it. We were all born sinners (Psalm 51:5). And I believe we all are predisposed to different sins. Someone might lean toward stealing, another might be a serial liar, and others are slaves to pornography. I won't disagree with someone who claims to have been born gay. The issue is not the circumstances of one's birth. Jesus said, "Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

After Paul lists a bunch of sins, he says, "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified." The Gospel of Jesus is that we were sinners, slaves to our own lusts but Jesus set us free from the power of sin and gave us the power to live righteously. Jesus says in John 8:34 that "Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin." Sinners are not able to stop sinning. Homosexuals are not able to be straight by their own power. That's why ex-gay therapy has failed so badly. They are relying on the power of man to stop sin, and it doesn't work. But Jesus died to set us free from sin. He say's in John 8:36, "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."

Jesus didn't just call us to repentance; He gave us the power to do so. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come." Once a sinner has believed in Jesus's death and resurrection, they are a new creature, they have been born again. They don't have to go back to the sin that once enslaved them. If thieves like Matthew can change, if murders like Paul can change, if slaves to pornography can change, so can homosexuals.

You might say there's no way that's the case. There's no way gays can become straight. To say that is to doubt the life-changing power of God. If that is the case, then there's no way anyone can be saved. Paul was a Jewish zealot. He persecuted Christians, threw their families in jail, tortured, and murdered them. And yet God saved him and caused him to travel to the known world sharing the Gospel. He wrote over half of the New Testament. He was ultimately beheaded for Christ. That's quite a change.

If that won't convince you that God can change sinners, be aware that ex-gays do actually exist. ex-gaytruth.com has a list people who were gay but Jesus saved them. I personally know two people who were gay. They have both been saved by Jesus and have since renounced their homosexual lifestyles. One of them is now married. Repentance is a real thing. Jesus can save anyone from their sin.

We are called to love people so much that we can't help but tell them this message. Jesus says, "Come you who are sick and heavy laden and I will give you rest". We are the mouthpieces of God and "we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20) But sinners can only come to God on God's terms. And those terms are to "Repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15)

Footnotes

  1. The words "repentance" and "repent" are used 60 times in the New Testament.

  2. 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 "It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst."

  3. Luke 13:1-5 - Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."