10 Things Jesus Had to Say about the Sexual Sin Debate

Shane Idleman | Contributor to ChristianHeadlines.com.

My hope is that readers will read the entire article before drawing conclusions. I have nothing but compassion for those trapped in sexual sin. Those who strongly believe in the Bible and God’s will regarding sexual behavior also strongly believe in unconditional love and forgiveness. To say that authentic Christians hate or fear those trapped in the homosexual lifestyle demonstrates a gross misunderstanding of the Christian faith. To “confront in love” simply comes from a desire to honor God and to truly love and care for others. The ability to relate to people on their level, show genuine concern, and love them regardless of their lifestyle is the mark of true Christianity.

In case you don’t continue reading, let me offer some encouragement: if you’re hopeless, depressed, and confused, look to the One who created you. He has the answers. No matter what you have done, you have the ability to turn to Christ and start anew: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

1. WE NEED A REVIVAL OF THE TRUTH.

It’s no surprise that the church, and our nation, desperately need to hear “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” to awaken, convict, and restore. It was not so long ago that we were concerned about “the fall of America.” America cannot fall because she has already fallen. We are now picking up the pieces of a broken nation reflected in our laws, lives, families, and children. America’s moral heartbeat has ceased because we cut off the source of life. We need resuscitation, renewal, and revival of the truth.

2. WE MUST SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE.

When people, groups, denominations, or movements depart from absolute truth, and thus, quench and grieve the Spirit of God, they become mechanical in their approach to Christianity and lose the ability to guide. The Word of God is not in their hearts “like a burning fire” (Jeremiah 20:9), but relative, powerless, and debatable. This is what we see today.

Unfortunately, those who are sounding the alarm are often categorized as irrational, judgmental, bigoted, and intolerant. But how can we warn if we won’t confront, correct if we won’t challenge, and and contend if we won’t question? We must speak the truth in love…the Bible is crystal clear on sexual sin, including homosexuality. 

3. PRAYER IS ESSENTIAL.

Why is there a lack of conviction today? The reason may not be in the pew, but in the pulpit. Much depends on the prayer life of the preacher. Pastors, preachers, and teachers must spend extended time in prayer to be truly effective—God prepares the messenger before we prepare the message. Luther’s motto, “He that has prayed well has studied well,” rings true.

4. WE NEED REPENTENCE.

I’m convinced that the majority of the churches in America are seeking to please the masses rather than convict. Judgment is never mentioned; repentance is rarely sought; and sin is often excused. We want to build a church rather than break a heart; be politically correct rather than biblically correct; coddle and comfort rather than stir and convict. This leaves people confused and deceived because we teach and live a form of Christianity void of repentance…void of truth. 

5. BIBLICAL STANDARDS OF MORALITY ARE STILL VALID TODAY.

The “moral” laws in the Old Testament such as killing, stealing, lying, adultery, sexual immorality, and so on are all valid today. Jesus referred often to the Old Testament, and said that He didn’t come to abolish it, but to fulfill it. Although many of the ceremonial and dietary laws of the Old Testament do not apply today, the moral laws do. They are as significant today as they have been throughout history. For example, Leviticus 20:13 states, “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination….” To suggest that this verse is invalid today is to advocate the dangerous practice of redefining or deleting what God has said. Jesus referred to the Old Testament often in regard to moral behavior.

The consequences of wrong actions may have changed, but the moral implications remain the same. For instance, even though we no longer stone to death those who commit adultery, this does not mean that adultery is acceptable or any less dangerous. Adultery is wrong even though there aren’t legal consequences.

6. WE ARE ALL BORN SINFUL.

Jesus condemned “all” sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and woman when He said, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications…these defile a man” (Matthew 15:19). Jesus was implying that all sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman is harmful and immoral. The word “fornication” in the Greek is porneia; where the word “pornography” comes from. We cannot say, “But I was born this way,” because we were all born to lie, cheat, lust, and deceive, but this doesn’t make it right…it makes us sinful and in need of a Savior.

7. SILENCE DOES NOT EQUAL APPROVAL.

An argument cannot be based solely on silence. To suggest that Jesus approved of homosexuality simply because He did not use the term “homosexual,” is to imply that He approved of necrophilia, pedophilia, incest, and bestiality. But, of course, we know better.

8. PEOPLE HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM GOD AND FROM DOING GOOD.

Other passage in the New Testament are clear on this issue as well. Romans 1:18-32 and 1 Corinthians 6:1-20 are good places to start. In short, mankind did not see fit to acknowledge God and they suppressed the truth; therefore, God gave them over to a depraved mind—to do those things which are not proper. Homosexual behavior, and sexual sin in general, is comparable with dishonoring the body and turning from God. “The sexual disordering of the human race is a judgment of God for exchanging Him for the creature” (John Piper).

 9. MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN.

Jesus said that since the beginning of creation, God created them male and female in order that they would be joined together and become one flesh. He adds, “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9). Marriage between a man and a woman is God’s plan since creation. No matter how many laws are passed in favor of gay-marriage, it will not change God’s mind. Man often rebels against God; this is nothing new.

10. JESUS OFFERS ABUNDANT LOVE AND FORGIVENESS.

In closing, Jesus would often speak out against sin, but His love and mercy also reached out to those who regretted and hated their condition. Forgiveness is a mark of genuine faith. We should have compassion for those who struggle with same-sex attraction because we all struggle with sin, but at the same time, we should not condone or excuse this type of sin any more than we condone or excuse any other sin.

‘LGBT ‘pride’ parade advocates say children like to see ‘nakedness’ and ‘kink’. So Goes The Thinking of Reprobate Minds.

Thu Jun 20, 2019 – 8:12 pm EST. LIFESITE NEWS.

— A sex therapist claims she cannot imagine “a safer place for families to bring children” than an LGBTQ “pride” celebration.

According to HuffPost Canada, Pega Ren brought her grandchildren to a homosexual “pride” parade in British Columbia. When asked about the appropriateness of children participating in the LGBTQ event, she said, “I can’t imagine a safer place for families to bring children.” Pride parades in Canada and around the world feature not only public nudity and sex acts, but also various other forms of perversion and deviance on display

While even within LGBTQ circles there has been debate over whether or not children should be exposed to displays of adult nudity and sexuality, HuffPost quoted a retired sexual diversity professor, David Rayside of the University of Toronto, who said, “Pride has always had a kind of outrageous edge to it. And should we alter that? It is not the Santa Claus parade, and it never was. It shouldn’t be. It can’t be.” Rayside said it is “important for parents to bring their kids” to “pride” celebrations, adding that he has never seen people “fuss about what they see there.”

S. Bear Bergman told the publication there is no reason not to take children to “pride” parades. He told HuffPost that he takes his own children to the Toronto Pride parade every year. He said, “It’s their right as queer spawn. And as a parent, I might want to take my kids to Pride, because they might be lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer or two-spirit.” Bergman said the display of adult public nudity should not be a problem for children, saying, “… nobody likes nakedness more than children.” Bergman added that he does not want his children exposed to “compulsory heterosexuality, demonstrations of sexism, demonstrations of racism, demonstrations of able-ism, violence. These are all way higher on the list than some homosexual’s tuchus.” Bergman is a writer and publisher of books for children.

According to HuffPost Canada, sex therapist Ren believes that children somehow benefit from seeing “people loving one another, from seeing diversity and inclusion. Children suffer from seeing violence and fear, hatred and divisiveness.” Ren also claimed that a “pride” parade, “from kink to nakedness, is an excellent opportunity for parents to do unbiased sex education.”

In contrast, pediatrician and child welfare advocate Dr. Michelle Cretella responded to LifeSiteNews, noting via email: “We know from decades of research on the impact of all forms of media [books, radio, TV, internet etc etc] on children that they will act out what they see and hear.” Dr. Cretella is the executive director of the American College of Pediatricians. Saying this is true of sex, violence, and substance abuse, Cretella wrote: “Parents should no more take their children to a Pride parade than they should sit them down to watch pornography.” Regarding the effects of adult nakedness on children, and the proliferation of cross-dressing children in Pride Parades, Cretella asserted that a “segment of the LGBQT movement has long wanted the normalization of pedophilia as an inborn sexual orientation. The National Man Boy Love Association still exists.” According to NAMBLA’s website, the organization’s goal is “to end the extreme oppression of men and boys in mutually consensual relationships.”

Cretella noted that apart from the LGBTQ “segment” that is seeking the sexualization of children, there are people who identify as LGBTQ who are opposed. She noted that the Hands Across the Aisle Coalition, which brings together radical feminists and lesbians with conservative women, is united in opposing transgender ideology and the sexualization of children.

In an interview with LifeSiteNews, Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a psychiatrist who has done seminal work in the area of forgiveness and anger management, deplored the notion that children like to see nakedness. “Young children are not interested in sexuality,” Fitzgibbons said, “They’re interested in bonding, warmth and happiness with their families and peers.” Exposing children to nudity and sexuality “is the same as exposing them to pornography,” he said. A number of studies have shown the negative effects suffered by adolescents and children exposed to pornography, said Fitzgibbons. Exposing children to “kinks and fetishes,” said the psychiatrist, “would be traumatic.” In his practice, Fitzgibbons said he has had numerous patients who were traumatized by exposure as children and adolescents to homosexual and heterosexual acts and pornography. “They thought they were going to be used next,” he said, “in that process, so it scared them.” Fitzgibbons is the president of the Marital Healing Institute in Pennsylvania.

Signaling some debate among LGBTQ advocates over the exposure of children to deviant sexual behavior at “pride” parades on Twitter, a now deleted tweet by user Nikole pleaded, “Please don’t bring your k*nks/fet*shes to pride, there are minors at Pride and this can sexualise the event” (see archived tweet here).

In a series of tweets, Twitter user “Amp – Mr Friendly” opposed restricting children from Pride parades, writing that he is proud of his own “kinks.” Defining the goal of LGBTQ celebrations, he wrote: “Pride is, among other things, a defence of sexual freedom, the very nature of what kinksters want in our world. As we continue to lose freedoms online and spaces in the real world, we want nothing but to defend what we love and have pride about.”

Writing that protecting children is not the responsibility of “pride parade” organizers, he tweeted: “Pride is as much about politics and activism, representation and being sexual yourself, as it is about celebrating family. So if you haven’t talked to your children about birds and bees, best do that before pride where they could see a number of sexually expressive floats.”