Let's talk about sin a bit shall we?
Sin is an evil thing, a destructive corrosive thing that devours and
distorts everything it touches. From our perspective there are bad
sins and worse sins and minor sins and slight sins and more, but to
God there is just 'sin.' Now one thing we as Christians are getting
accused of more and more as of late is picking and choosing which
sins we condemn -specifically in others. I have to say I've seen
this but really I think this idea stems from our own poor work at
explaining reality as the Bible describes it.
Take homosexuality for example. Just
about everybody knows (or should) that Christianity is not fond to
say the least but do they know why? Do they understand that God is
the rightful ruler of all things and that He has made the world in a
certain way. The world may be contaminated but that doesn't change
the standard, any deviation from His order is wrong. We create more
problems than we fix by always harping on this subject because it
creates a skewed perspective both for those outside the faith and for
ourselves. How many times have you heard someone ask about the other
old testament laws and why we don't uphold those? People see us not
living what we preach and it creates a wall of misunderstanding that
keeps them away from the truth.
People need to know that homosexuality
is not particularly sinful. By that I mean that it is no more or
less sinful than stealing or lying or any other misdeed. Personally
I don't find it hard to believe that someone could be born
that way, we are corrupted by sin after all however, the Bible tells us that it takes a will to make sin. Choice is a key component.
You cannot have inherently evil objects because it is always a
consciousness that defines evil, a willful choice. People get
outraged at us partially because we fail to explain that it is not the
feeling of a desire that is the sin, it is the embracing and acting on
that desire. When we point out the sin without explaining this people naturally feel as if we are telling them that they -as an
individual person- are inherently evil. Of course people actually
are evil but you get my point. The understanding that you are guilty
of a crime is different than being told that the feelings you have no
control over and that seem to be a natural part of you are evil. Again, they are
and it is the same for all of us not just homosexuals but the
understanding of that comes with a greater knowledge of God and the
plight of man.
We need people to know that we don't
think that homosexuals in particular
are going to Hell. Everyone is, because we are all deserving of it.
Homosexuality is just another sin, another example of man's fallen
state. We need to focus less on pet sins and specific infractions
and more on the overall condition of humanity. God will punish all
sin and evil, not just the ones that are publicly obvious. God hates
evil, it is an affront to His purity and righteousness and because He
is also just, He must punish and deal with that evil. But God is also
love and He loves us despite our sin.
Because God is
just, He must punish evil but since He loves us He made a way of
escape. Jesus came down to earth, the Son of God took on the form
and nature of man and lived here as we do but without sin. His life
and identity made Him the perfect and only sacrifice worthy to pay
for our debt. Ultimately it comes down to who bears the burden of
your sin, you or Jesus? You can pay for your own sin but it will
take an eternity of suffering and punishment, or you can lay your
burden at the cross and Jesus can bear it for you. Your individual
sins do not set you apart for your evil, they simply mark you as
human. We are all sinners, whether in much or in a little, and we
are all in need of a savior.
