“Not Heterosexuality, But Holiness” Is An Unnatural and Unbiblical Compromise
It is still being peddled in seemingly orthodox evangelicalism: “The opposite of homosexuality is not heterosexuality, it’s holiness.”
Or plagiarizing pastors sling this line: “Do you know how I know homosexuality doesn’t send you to hell? Because heterosexuality doesn’t send you to heaven!”
Consistent with the special exception in modern Christianity carved out for ontological homosexuality, a slightly narrower exception has been carved out by formerly identified homosexuals (and pragmatic enablers in evangelical pulpits like SBC pastor and EC trustee Dean Inserra) for a new brand of Roman Catholic-lite “holy celibate.” This person may or may not identify themselves as a homosexual, but they decry the notion that they are in any way obligated to nurture or seek so-called heterosexual orientation to mortify homosexual inclinations they have faced or may face in the future.
Notably, this concept is only applied (and seemingly only applicable by its proponents) to the sin of homosexuality. Theologians, authors, and influencers are not promoting similar ideas for other sins. We never hear things like, “The answer to stealing is not paying for your goods, it’s not procuring goods at all!” or “The answer to bearing false witness is not telling the truth, it’s not saying anything at all! Do you know how I know lying won’t send you to hell? Because telling the truth doesn’t send you to heaven!” Rather, it is only the natural, sexual urges of the flesh-bearing human being (Genesis 1:28, Isaiah 45:18, Psalm 127:3-5) that are described as if they can be and often should be neutralized.
More pointedly, the redeemer former homosexual has already demonstrated that they do not possess the gift of singleness described in 1 Corinthians 7:1, 7:8, and Matthew 19:10-12. This person – rescued from a deadly lifestyle obsessed with sexuality – has not only been tempted but has fallen into sexual immorality (1 Cor. 7:2, 7:9) and should cultivate heterosexual desires culminating in marriage as the Bible clearly instructs. Much like the redeemed former alcoholic will flee from the sin of being drunk with wine by avoiding wine and the redeemer gambling addict will avoid Las Vegas, the redeemed former homosexual (apart from abanding human relationships entirely) will follow the Bible’s clear instructions for how to avoid burning with passion (1 Cor. 7:9).
This kind of teaching, promoted by many well-meaning but compromising Christian pastors and teachers, presumes a Gnostic-flavored disconnect between the natural and the spiritual man, where a person can effectively place on ice the design God has woven into their humanity physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and this behavior can strangely be credited to him as righteousness.
The Bible does not teach the existence of a “homosexual” as understood by modern culture, nor that a person can be “gay” or “straight.” But it clearly condemns homosexual behavior under the presumption that human beings are straight by nature (Romans 1:26) – a presumption so clear that special revelation is not needed for it to be obvious (Romans 1:19-20). Our bodies were designed by God to work according to his intent, and the purposes of men and women (outside the rare and supernatural gift of singleness for the purpose of ministry) are designed for sexual union with one another in the bonds of marriage.
While holiness is the overarching proper and righteous pursuit for all Christians, this does not stand somehow in opposition to God’s gifts of marriage, children, and proper sexual intimacy as part of his plan of obedience for his children. The notable absence of this plain truth from the teaching of people pastors like Inserra – ignored in order to placate our culture’s pet sin – is patently unbiblical and must be exposed as the sinful error that it clearly is.
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I agree with much of this article, but it’s a bit too simplistic. One thing that isn’t discussed is this: “WHY are homosexuals sexually attracted to other members of the same sex??” In a nutshell, they’re split off from their own gender identity. That is, a male homosexual is split off from his masculine side, and a female homosexual is split off from her feminine side. Until these folks receive healing from God (which can often take decades), they should *not* be trying to enter a heterosexual marriage, which would cause way more problems than it would “fix.”
In addition, many “ex-gays” have fallen back into homosexual sin. For instance, there’s a minister named Mario Bergner, who came from a homosexual background, received much healing from God, and then married a woman in 1996. But in 2016, he had a fall, in which he had sex with another man. He says it only happened once, which is probably true. Anyway, even though he and his wife have five kids, they ended up divorcing. Apparently his wife was planning on divorcing him before his one-time fling, though. All the same, Bergner is an ordained minister who, for years, prayed for other homosexuals to receive healing. In spite of this, he still had a fall.
My point here is that it’s a mistake to use a cookie-cutter approach and just magically assume that all that a Christian struggling with homosexual attractions needs to do is to get married to someone of the opposite sex. That may be the eventual goal for some of them, but for the vast majority of those, it’s would be WAAAAY down the road. As I said, for these folks, healing can often take decades.
Agree with you brother, it takes many years of deep counseling and honesty to rid yourself of same sex desires.
Thanks, Douglas. 🙂 It seems that many Christians, however well-meaning, think that there’s a “quick ‘n’ easy” solution to homosexuality—just marry someone of the opposite sex. If only everything in life were that simple! 😉
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Oh, just wanted to post one more comment. For those who would like to learn how to pray for others struggling with homosexual attractions, the book “The Broken Image” by the late Leanne Payne is outstanding. In fact, she’s written several outstanding books, and another one I’d recommend by her is “Crisis in Masculinity.” The latter book describes how to pray not only for homosexual men but also for heterosexual men who are not completely affirmed in their masculinity. Sadly, in this day and age, because of the breakdown of the family unit, the majority of American men are *not* fully affirmed in their masculine side. But the good news is that God can heal this condition. However, we as Christians need to learn how to pray for this kind of healing, because it doesn’t just *happen* on its own.
The notorious Alfred Kinsey was bisexual and rigged his studies to promote the idea that bisexuality and not heterosexuality was the norm. The evangelicals referred to in this article seem to be promoting the equally false idea that asexuality is the norm.
Yes, Jack—unfortunately, so many folks out there seem to have their own agendas. I mean, you’d expect that from non-Christians, but it’s so much more dangerous when so-called Christians do the same. 😝