Orland Evangelical Free Church | At Least I'm Not Gay

Is homosexuality worse than other sins? The textbook answer is no, but we often repeat what the textbook says without believing it. If we must “beg” the world to “be reconciled to God”, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.16-21, then we need the right attitude toward the people we’re begging.

So were there homosexuals in Corinth? Did Paul beg gays?

In 1 Corinthians 6.9-11, he says “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God” and then clarifies who is unrighteous by giving a list.

“Fornicators” are on it – all who have sex outside marriage. “The covetous” are also on it, those who envy others for what they have. “Revilers” are on the list too, people who heap scorn on those in authority over them, who grumble at the stupidity of their bosses, teachers, and parents.

And the “effeminate” and “homosexuals” are on the list.

Then Paul slips us an arresting piece of information: “Such were some of you.” Some believers in the Corinthian church had been homosexuals. “[B]ut you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

The statement testifies to a radical change. They were “washed”, or cleansed from the filth of coveting and reviling. Beyond this, these sinners entered a process of being “sanctified,” being taught how to find contentment and submit to authority. Even more, they were moved from the guilty category to the not guilty: they were “justified”. Paul had witnessed this change first-hand.

This helps us understand Paul’s begging in 2 Corinthians 5 more specifically. Among the sinners he begged to be reconciled to God were homosexuals. In order to beg them, Paul had to be in relationship to them. He had to spend time interacting with them on whatever common ground he could find. In the context of that interaction, he demonstrated the love of Christ tangibly.

The apostle Paul witnessed spiritual transformation because he considered gays worthy of his time. He even lowered himself to consort with the covetous. This gives us two attitude-adjusters.

We really can’t claim to love homosexuals without making time for them. It is impossible to plead Christ’s cause without some sort of relationship.

But there’s an issue even more basic. If you have never repented of coveting, or any other sin or Paul’s list, you won’t have any success at the judgment seat of Christ saying, “At least I’m not gay.”