Thinking Biblically while acting compassionately

03/16/07 08:22 AM
Hillary Clinton went on record yesterday declaring that she does not think homosexuality is immoral. How should the church respond to the current cultural debate over this issue? One thing is certain – this issue is not going away. In fact, there are many who warn that the church had better be paying attention because there are those pushing for "hate speech" legislation that could eventually criminalize those who say that homosexuality is wrong.

But even more important, how should Christians enter the cultural debate as salt and light? We've all heard the cliche that, as believers, we need to hate the sin but love the sinner, but what does that look like practically?

Dr. Al Mohler recently wrote, "Christian families are struggling with sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and a myriad of others who are themselves struggling with this sin or caught in its grasp. Many homosexual persons are waiting anxiously to see if Christian really love the sinner even as we hate the sin. When it comes to homosexuality, the Christian church has often violated its Gospel by appearing to hate both this sin and the sinners who involve themselves in homosexuality." Check out the rest of his article here.

Without question, if we love Jesus then we will love His Word, all of His Word, including the verses that call us to repentance out of whatever sinful behavior pattern happens to be our struggle. But equally true, if we love Jesus then we will love people, all people, remembering that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance.