HELPERS
Here are some ways in which we can reach out and help someone in need. Are we equipped enough with the knowledge and the right thought process to bring comfort to people who want to be out of this situation?
Homosexuality doesn’t have to last a lifetime. Change is possible. Most of the people in these relationships want out. They dream of having a normal life, a family, children and be accepted into mainstream society. This is what brings wholeness. We are designed a certain way and only when we live by God’s design our life will be wholesome and free.
Therefore, as far as possible, we should seek restoration and healing. None of us are perfect now. It is understandable that the term ‘healing’ is hard to digest for many. ‘How’, they ask, ‘Can I be healed from the disorder of being myself? Is what I am a disease? Is this not an offensive suggestion and an affront to my identity and self-esteem?’ To which we must reply in the words of the St. Andrew’s Day Statement ,’At the deepest ontological level..there can be no such being as “a” homosexual or “a” heterosexual: there are human beings ,male and female ,called to be redeemed humanity in Christ’.
Christopher Townsend writes that
Since the fall ,sin has been the root cause of a deep state of disorder within human nature. What is found innate in men and women is not necessarily good…Further, sin is a power which dominates people and deceives us that we are free. We are all “slaves to sin”(John 8:34) , filled with compelling desires leading us into disobedient actions, living out involuntary but culpable rebellion (eg Romans 7:13-25).Those compelling desires are different for different people; for some they are homosexual desires.
Some have changed through supernatural power of the Holy Spirit or a gradual process of inner healing.
For others, healing takes place through the Christain community as they develop relationships within the body of Christ and find affirmation, love and acceptance.
Yet others have been helped through psychiatrists or psychologists
There is no conflict between prayer and therapy, for there is only one source to all healing. It is up to God to use miraculous or more ordinary means. But the older a person is, the harder it is to change .Like any behavioural pattern , the more it is followed ,the more it will become fixed .The psychiatrist John White writes , “Once I experience physical pleasure with a member of my own sex, I am more likely to want to experience it, the more fixed will the pattern become. What I do determines what I am, just as much as what I am determines what I do”
The lie: People don’t change, they can’t change and if you try to change them it is detrimental to their health. This is what people will tell you when you speak to LGBTQers. They struggle with feelings of being trapped. People can and do change and they should be willing and made to seek that out. They want to have children; they want to get married and have a normal life. Our identity is not our behavior, it is not how we look but it is our identity in Christ.
Genesis 1:27 says: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” We are made in God’s image and when he created us it was his desire to see us be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth. That is the purpose for our being. Anything opposed to this natural path doesn’t show completeness. The ultimate question we should be asking ourselves is ‘Whose disapproval do we fear the most? Whose opinion do we truly value? Is it God or society? Once the answer to this is clear we can choose to come out of this lifestyle. Yes, the challenges are great because we will not feel attracted to the opposite sex, we cannot relate to a normal life again. But Christ said’ With me all things are possible’. And we can stand in that strength alone.
Resources:
What Is the Christian Attitude to Homosexuality – Nicky Gumbel
Is God anti-gay? and other questions about homosexuality, the Bible and same-sex attraction-Sam Allberry
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How do I as a Christian witness to a homosexual person? As Christians and bible believing people even though at times we may be terrified to do it, the love of God should compel us to speak about his love and about his saving power so that those in the throes of death would turn and be saved. They should at least hear the good news.
The bible is very clear when we look at 1 Cor 6 : 9-10 which says ‘Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And the good news is that the character of God doesn’t change. He came for the sinner and is so willing to take our sin upon himself if only we repent and turn to Him. We need to acknowledge and give up this life in order that he cleanse and heal us outside in.
In today’s world we see that this whole concept of homosexuality is being glamourized by the movies, giving it a very rosy picture of love and the freedom to love whom we want. But when you speak to people of the LGBT community who have come out of this lifestyle you get to really understand the struggles, the horrors and the reality of what they’ve been through. The life is so different from what Hollywood and the media portray.
As Christians we are called to show love just as God shows us love in our weakest moments. This does not mean that we support the whole concept of homosexuality but means that we empathize with the person going through this phase. Supporting and lending our acceptance of the fact is not a very loving thing to do because indirectly we are encouraging them to live a life of unhappiness and discontentment where they will not find peace. Ultimately it pushes them into further rebellion against God. Rather offer to them the fullness of life in Christ. Tell them the truth in love.
If I really love people then I’ve got to say something. Love can’t stay silent.
Gender fluidity is part of the diversity of human experience related to gender identity and expression. While acceptance is important in how we treat anyone, it’s especially important for children and teens.
Listening helps: Listen to the feelings of young people without being judgmental about them. Accept them for who they are and help them though their moments of confusion.
Be patient, as a youth’s gender fluidity may be part of their gender identity development.
Support gender-fluid youth in making informed decisions about gender-affirming care, such as hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries.
Connect them to support and resources so they can talk to others with similar experiences.
In the book of Ephesians Paul implores us put away falsehood and speak the truth with our neighbour. (Eph 4:25) And who is our neighbour? It is everyone we come across in our day to day life - colleagues, friends, family, co-workers, business partners, people at church etc. If we know the truth about something then it is our duty to help those who either misinterpreted or are being led away from that which is not the truth.
Speak the truth in love. Paul again in Ephesians reminds that we should speak the truth in love, and grow in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.(Eph 4:15)
What is the attitude with which we bring correction? Is it with an intent to hurt and bring down the other person or does love compel us to help the person turn from their way?
Being silent also amounts to us not having a very loving and caring attitude. We are silently accepting or acknowledging the wrong that is being done. This makes us an equally guilty party in the wrong.
Share and don’t enforce. To not sound judgemental we can share our point of view of why we feel homosexuality is not God’s choice for a person’s life and why they should get out of it. We cannot enforce our point of view but only share it with the hope that the Holy Spirit will work in the mind and will of the person. Sometimes this may take years but the initial seed has to be sown.
Hold the person in prayer so that they will come to the truth themselves.
Marriage between a man and a woman is the bedrock of a healthy society because it leads to stable families and, ultimately, to children who grow up to be productive adults.
(Further Reading :Question 2 :https://www.straightanswers.live/psychology )
Giving gay couples the right to marry will ultimately lead to granting people in polygamous and other non-traditional relationships the right to marry as well.
Allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed, they argue, will radically redefine marriage and further weaken it at a time when the institution is already in deep trouble due to high divorce rates and the significant number of out-of-wedlock births.
Links:
1. https://www.pewresearch.org/2008/04/01/an-overview-of-the-samesex-marriage-debate/
3. https://www.frc.org/issuebrief/ten-arguments-from-social-science-against-same-sex-marriage
Hollywood is glamourizing the whole sexual revolution movement. We live in a society and are part of a growing culture (even in India) where homosexuality is celebrated. The Gay / pride movement is spreading all across small towns and cities too. How should we as a church respond to this trend? Do we participate with them to show our solidarity and support or do we think them immoral and shun them in our churches, societies and families?
As Christians by affirming this we think we are doing a loving thing, but when we stand up with this cause and support it, we unavoidably hurt the individual and push them into a life where they will find no peace, no relationship and no harmony with God and nature. There will be no fulfillment. We will be encouraging a lie and affirming the untruth. We will be pushing them into a life that further alienates them from God and which will be in rebellion to the purposes of God. Speak the truth in love. Speak scripture to them, familiarize yourself with talking points and giving them the scripture as a reference guide. If you hand over the Scripture to them they may not read it. Quote things from the scripture to lovingly bring them into a relationship with the Father. Most of these brothers and sisters need healing and only a loving church and community can bring them into the knowing presence of Christ. Christians should truly have the heart of Christ and the Holy Spirit would convict. Christians should spend time with them lovingly and pray and be there for people showing them compassion just as Christ would.
Homosexuality” among animals in nature is not a lifestyle choice. Animals do not operate within any moral context and do not “sin.” However, human beings are not the same as animals. Men and women were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). All other creatures of creation were not. Animals are not accountable to God for their actions. Men and women are. Because animals were not made in the image of God, we cannot look at them as examples of how to live our lives.
The Bible is clear that homosexuality is a sin (1 Corinthians 6:9–10). Animals are not going to be condemned by God because of their actions. But sinful humans will be (Romans 3:23; John 1:8). Animals do not have a conscience or an innate knowledge of right and wrong. Humans do. Animals do not have the ability to make moral choices, for they function primarily on a survival instinct.
We need to ask ourselves whether Jesus would have gay friends. The New Testament nowhere identifies any specific individuals as homosexuals. So, there are no records of Jesus interacting with a homosexual. Jesus loved everyone He encountered. He did not consider one group of people less deserving of the gospel than any other. In fact, He went out of His way to deliver a demon-possessed man, bring hope to an immoral woman from a despised ethnic background, heal lepers, pardoned an adulteress, and ate with tax collectors—all of whom were considered unfit for the company of righteous people.
We can assume Jesus would have spent time with homosexuals as well. He did not choose their company because He approved of their sin. He did not in any way participate in or enable sin. He came to lift people out of sin if they would only believe in Him (Luke 7:36–50).
Friendship is built upon shared interests, values, and experiences. A Christian intent on following Jesus will not have much in common with a person following an aberrant lifestyle. There will be a limit to how close the friendship can be (2 Corinthians 6:14–16). Following Christ’s example, we can extend friendship to gay people, demonstrate His love for them, pray for them, and celebrate as much common ground as we can find. In our interactions with gay friends, we must be careful not to give the impression that we are validating their sin. We cannot allow our love for a gay person to cause us to compromise God’s Word.
Read more : https://www.gotquestions.org/gay-friends.html