Surely the greatest days of testing are upon us for our Christian same-sex attracted brothers and sisters. We must stand firm with them and pray for them. Their willingness to remain celibate despite their fleshly desires is perceived as a slap in the face to the homosexual community who prides itself on living outside of God’s bounds. It is viewed as absolute absurdity to not act on your impulses.  The condemnation that they experience for striving to subdue this particular struggle extends beyond what most of us might ever face.

Author’s note: Nowhere in this article does the author condone homosexual practice or the idea of “gay Christianity.” In the author’s opinion, this terminology connotes that one can practice the homosexual lifestyle and simultaneously bear the name of Christ. The author will use the term “same-sex attraction” (SSA) and define its intended meaning in the following paragraphs.

In light of the so-called progression of our society, the Church as an institution has been forced to make known its stance on the issue of homosexuality. Among the greater Church, there are many individuals and establishments that have been sifted out like tares. There are those who have rejected Christian orthodoxy by bending their knee to the god of “tolerance” as well as those who have openly embraced homosexuality as permissible by God. On the other side, there are the more conservative churches who are, despite cultural backlash, standing firm in the faith and doctrine of our church fathers, the apostles, and Jesus Christ himself. It is to the latter group that I address this article.

It is not always easy and is certainly not popular to stand up for biblical truth. My concern is for how this truth is communicated, relayed, and implied to those who sit in our pews. Sadly, in their well-intentioned stand for biblical standards, some conservative denominations and individual churches have unwittingly increased the sense of isolation and shame for struggling members of their congregations who are faithfully wrestling with same-sex attraction. In the effort to draw a line in the sand against homosexual practice, all forms of same-sex attraction and those who struggle in this area have been categorized together. This has resulted in creating an environment of fear, confusion, and perceived rejection for many upright, God-honoring Christians. To be very specific, these are the ones among us (and they are there!) who do not practice a homosexual lifestyle, are committed to dying to themselves daily (Mt. 10:38; Mk. 8:34; Lk. 9:23[i]), and seek to faithfully follow after Christ and all that He has commanded. Yet, to their dismay, there is a powerful draw toward members of the same sex that they cannot wish away, plead away, or be rehabituated from. It is a warring in their soul between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light (Eph. 4:17-24; Ro. 7:22-25). The old man rages against the new man. God has ordained it to be their particular calling to suffer in this manner. And they do suffer, even unto utter despair. Jesus’ death and resurrection has made them clean, yet they continue to be counseled, treated, and thought of as though they must do more to rid themselves of this particular temptation in order to be right before God. Their guilt is increased and God’s all-sufficient grace is downplayed. Are we to believe that this is the biblical teaching toward these particular individuals?

Think about the things that entice you…

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…” (Genesis 3:6)

This passage fluidly correlates to James 1:14-15 where we read, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

Is temptation in and of itself sin? My response is a resounding “NO!” If this were so, then Jesus Christ would have been disqualified from being our Savior after being tempted by Satan for 40 days in the wilderness.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

What is it that is a delight to your eyes? We all have our areas of struggle, but some of us face greater overt battles while others’ temptations take a more subtle approach. The spectrum of sinful desires is broad. No human is exempt. Are you a Christian who wrestles with heterosexual temptations, fantasy, or pornography ordo you have a quiet tendency to be critical of others or to privately slander or gossip? Are you battling to elude the temptation of addiction or do you angrily yell at your children, treating them as though they’re less than human, ignoring their status as image bearers of God himself?

As I take my own soul to task, I observe in my life a battle that rages against shimmering fruit that I find particularly pleasing to my sinful eyes. As with any of the examples listed above, it would be against all of God’s law for me to partake of it. So, how do we reconcile sincere, but self-serving, feelings of delight and pleasure that do not conform to what God commands?

“The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:12-14)

We don’t simply imitate Christ, but we are clothed in him and his righteousness. We wear him and we bear his name which is no trivial calling. By the power of his Spirit, we desire that he would shine the light of truth into our soul, exposing the darkest places of our heart (Ps. 139).  We commit to and practice a life of faithfulness despite the desires of the flesh. This is an expedient approach toward fighting against our lusts for unfaithfulness in heart, mind, body, and soul. This does not assume that our weaknesses will become lesser temptations. In fact, the opposite may be true. As we strive toward lives of faithfulness, the enemy may be stirred to increase his crafty ways. However, by the working of the Holy Spirit, our strength for the battle also takes on renewed fervency. This is why we must earnestly watch and pray that we will not fall into temptation (Mt. 26:41, Mk. 14:38).

When you are honest with yourself and uncover your own innate proclivities, you, too, will find that you have more in common with the Christian wrestling against same-sex attraction than your differences. Is one propensity worse than the other? If so, then how can you be certain that Christ’s blood has covered youroffenses? When we place our trust in Christ alone for salvation, we receive the blessed assurance that our guilt is taken away and our sin atoned for (Is. 6:7). This promise belongs to all of God’s people regardless of their tendencies toward a particular area of weakness.

In 1 Timothy 1:15-16, Paul proclaims, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”

Paul is declaring that even the foremost of sinners can receive mercy which displays Christ’s perfect patience toward them. No sin is beyond His grace. He is patient with us through our grappling against temptation and even our lapses into sin. He knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust. Yet, he pours out his compassion upon us (Ps. 103:14). As we are created in his likeness, and have been set apart as members of his heavenly Kingdom, we, too, have an opportunity to share in his compassion.

So, how do we exhibit Christ’s compassion to our neighbor?

Do we come to church with the assumption that these same-sex attracted saints are sitting in our pews worshiping alongside of us? Or, if we knew who they were, would we sit in judgment over whose worship is more sincere and acceptable? Instead we should be grateful that we have the opportunity to share in the means of grace with sinners such as ourselves pondering how we can love this person well. How can we bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2)? How can we encourage our brothers and sisters in the Lord as they face societal pressures to “just be whom and what they naturally are”?

We love one another well by responding to the calling to admonish when a brother or sister falls into sin, speaking the truth in love. We encourage the fainthearted. We help the weak. We are patient with them. We rejoice with them, pray with them, and give thanks with them (1 Th. 5:14-24).

In his book, Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality [ii], Wesley Hill writes of his own experience,

“One of the hardest-to-swallow, most countercultural, counterintuitive implications of the gospel is that bearing up under a difficult burden with patient perseverance is a good thing. The gospel actually advocates this kind of endurance as a daily “dying” for and with Jesus. While those in the grip of Christ’s love will never experience ultimate defeat, there is a profound sense in which we must face our struggles now knowing there may be no real relief this side of God’s new creation. We may wrestle with a particular weakness all of our lives. But the call remains: Go into battle.

Significantly, this kind of long-suffering endurance is not a special assignment the gospel only gives to gay and lesbian[iii] persons. Many believers of all stripes and backgrounds struggle with desires of various sorts that they must deny in order to remain faithful to the gospel’s demands.”

Let us not leave our wounded brothers and sisters on the battlefield to fend for themselves. We all, at different times, have the privilege of carrying one another through this fallen wilderness. Our time here is filled with gifts of joy as well as tremendous challenges, and so we wait with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” (Romans 8:18-26a)

Surely the greatest days of testing are upon us for our Christian same-sex attracted brothers and sisters. We must stand firm with them and pray for them. Their willingness to remain celibate despite their fleshly desires is perceived as a slap in the face to the homosexual community who prides itself on living outside of God’s bounds. It is viewed as absolute absurdity to not act on your impulses.  The condemnation that they experience for striving to subdue this particular struggle extends beyond what most of us might ever face.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39)

[i] All Scripture references are from the ESV.

[ii] Hill, Wesley, Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality, p. 71, Zondervan Publishers, 2010

[iii] While the author of this article finds it unhelpful to use the term “gay Christian”, Wesley Hill does use this terminology to refer to himself and others in his book. However, his intended definition is the same as that put forth in this article.

Lisa M. Pratt is a member of Emmanuel Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Kent, WA, and is the director of Abundant Grace Biblical Counseling. This article appeared on her blog and is used with permission.