Rejecting Sinners

In a well-written article by Wesley Hill, he asks the question "Will the Church be the Church for Homosexual Christians?" Now before you get your knickers in a twist, the question is not likely what you are thinking. He's not urging the Church to be more accepting of homosexual behavior. Hill is sharing his own struggles with homosexual desires -- desires that he struggles against as a Christian -- and the loneliness that it brings.

In this day and age some Christians are having difficulty maintaining their position that things like homosexual behavior and adultery are sin. Still, according to John, "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God" (1 John 3:9). Believers have the Spirit in them working to sanctify them and transforming them. Still, even Paul said, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own" (Phil 3:12). Even the great Apostle Paul struggled with sin. The problem, then, is not that we are troubled by sin. The problem is that we try to act like we're not.

In our attempts to take a firm stand against sin in the world, we tend to take an equally firm stand against recognizing sin among believers. No, that's not quite right. We tend to deny it. "If those others knew what I'm struggling with, they'd kick me out for sure." Even when we find a safe haven, somewhere we can share our struggles, the response seems tepid and dry. "Don't worry" we might hear, God will take you through it." All the while there is a sense of being a leper, at best among friends, but still "outside".

We tend, then, to not only reject sin, but to reject sinners. If we were consistent with that, we'd be in a world of hurt. All Christians sin. All believers struggle with sin. Sometimes it is even recurring sin. Sometimes it seems like we'll never beat this particulcar problem. And we do it alone because we know we're supposed to be sinless, right? After all, no one else seems to be struggling with this. I mean, do you actually suppose that the pastor or the elders have a problem with pornography, as an example? Of course not! We wouldn't let them be where they are if they did! And would we willingly embrace (literally and figuratively) a brother who admitted to homosexual desires? So why would they embrace me?

Christians find it difficult to maintain balance here. The Bible is clear that sin is sin and we ought to reject sin. On the other hand, the Bible is equally clear that believers are forgiven and the only righteousness we have is imputed, not acquired. So why is it that, when we find someone (like us) who is struggling with sin -- struggling against sin -- we still tend to push them away? It's that whole balance issue. We don't want to embrace sin, so we fear embracing sinners. On the other hand, what is it that people who are struggling with sin really need most? Well, it's that embrace of fellow believers, that support of fellow sinners, that encouragement and exhortation of others who struggle with sin.

One of the primary complaints about the Church is "It's full of hypocrites!" There is some truth to the claim. The Church is constructed of admitted sinners. To be a Christian you have to first admit that you're a fallen human being, a failure in the eyes of God, unable to redeem yourself. Somehow, too often, the next step after that admission and accepting Christ's sacrifice on our behalf is to deny that we are what we started out admitting we were. It's a trick of Satan, really. Deny struggling believers the support they need by making struggling believers think that they can't admit what they are -- people who have a common Savior and are in need of help.

Brethren, these things ought not be.