We ran out of time before we answered all the questions, as usual - but NOT "as usual", we covered all of the questions except ONE! (That's a record.) Here's the last one:
WHY DID JESUS (in the whole New Testament) SAY A SINGLE WORD ABOUT BEING GAY BUT HE CONDEMNED ADULTERY AND MANY OTHER THINGS. JESUS LOVED GAY PEOPLE WHO WERE BORN THIS WAY.
I believe the question was meant to say "Why didn't". There are at least 3 key points to address:
1 – Yes, Jesus loves everyone, no matter who they are. We strive to follow that example as a church. I do as an individual. Let's affirm that first, that the issue has nothing to do with "does Jesus / HBC / Jeff" love homosexual people. We do.
2 – Jesus didn't say a single word about it? Well, Jesus didn't give a list of everything that's sinful. The Bible would be ridiculously long and unreadable if that were the case. Nor did Jesus say "rape is sinful" or "sex with an animal is sinful" (but I think we naturally understand both of these are true).
Instead, Jesus cleared the whole marriage and sexuality issue up with one statement: Matthew 19:3-6 – this is God's plan for marriage – nothing else. One man, one woman, one lifetime. (Jesus was quoting Genesis 2:24).
And 1 & 2 are not incompatible. You can still love someone even if you disagree about something.
3 – One other thing to address is the point of bring "born this way". Yes, we are all born with a bent to sin – Romans 5:12, Isaiah 53:6. It may differ from person to person, but I agree that these tendencies are things that we are born with. The good news is these are things we don't have to live with. See 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
Great question!
If you missed Sunday, be sure to listen to the all of the questions and answers for this fun service HERE!
-Pastor Jeff
