Worse than Sin

Last year I wrote an article about whether or not it's a sin to be gay. The article stuck in my craw. I don't like the term "gay". I don't like the concept of "homosexual" as a definition of a person. (When did we start defining people by who they want to have sex with?) I don't like the concept of "sexual orientation" as if it's genuine, by birth, or unchangeable. But I still wrote it. And I said that being tempted to sin is not the same as sinning, that the behavior was the sin. I think I need to revisit the idea.

David reported, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). That's not an indictment against David's mother; that's an indictment against humans. We suffer from a deceitful heart (Jer 17:9). The best we can do is "filthy rags" (Isa 64:6). It's not ignorance; it's a heart problem (Rom 2:14-15). Sin "dwells in me" (Rom 7:20). Humans are sinful by nature. Beyond that, we suffer from brain damage. Paul speaks of the "debased mind" (Rom 1:28) where we operate from "the lusts of their hearts" (Rom 1:24) and "dishonorable passions" (Rom 1:26). So, is that sin? Maybe not, but sin is unavoidable because of it.

Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell" (Matt 5:27-30). Imagine that! "Lustful intent" equates to adultery. And Jesus doesn't say, "Don't worry. As long as you don't act on it, you don't sin." He said, "If that's your problem, tear out your eyes." Do whatever it takes to change.

The problem is not simply the sinful choices we make, and the correction, then, is not simply to stop making sinful choices. That's part of the solution, but not the entire answer. The rest of the answer is "born of God" (1 John 3:9; 5:4; 5:18). The rest of the answer is "I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh" (Ezek 11:19). The answer includes "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions" (Rom 6:12) and "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2).

Humans are sinners by birth. We sin (say, for instance, homosexual behavior that is sin) because we are sinners. It isn't the behavior that makes us sinners; it is the human condition that makes us sinners. That condition needs to be overcome. The only means of overcoming that condition is a divine intervention. No amount of "good behavior" produces that change or satisfies God's righteous demands. What is required is a new heart, a new birth, a changed mind.

Back to the original question, then. Is it a sin to be "gay"? (I think it's a sin to use the word that way, but that's just me.) I would say that temptations are not sin. But if we stop there, I'd say we haven't reached the answer. We are to "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col 3:5). Reading that, it's not possible to say, "It's okay to lust; just don't act on it." Instead, we're supposed to be killing the "passion", the "evil desire". Paul said, "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Rom 8:13). James warned, "Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire" (James 1:14), so it becomes imperative that those who belong to Christ be working on an ongoing basis toward changing not merely behavior, but desire. Is it a sin to have homosexual desires? I would say, at first glance, not if you don't act on it. But if you don't work to change those desires, I'd suggest there is a problem, and it's not merely whether or not something is a sin. It's whether or not you are a new creation (2 Cor 5:7). Temptation isn't a sin; giving in to it is. But not working to change one's sinful desires indicates a heart problem that has not been addressed, and that would be more fatal than sin.