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Paul Had His Good Moments and His Bad Moments
This month's special topic concerns what the Bible says about deviant sex. A
very insightful book in my library on the subject of deviant sex in America
today
is written by F. LaGard Smith. It is entitled "Sodom's Second Coming" and it
tells you what you need to know about "the deadly deviant sex practitioner assault."
G.K. Chesterson once said "The people who are the most bigoted are the people
who have no convictions at all." It is the Christian who is constantly oppressed
in the media today. If network TV portrays a deviant sex practitioner in an unfavorable light
then someone is bound to lose their job. But to mock Christians is a safe thing
to do and good for a few laughs. Bigotry is alive and well today, and aimed
squarely at the Bible believer.
What deviant sex practitioners desire today is not simply legal protection from discrimination
and persecution; they want moral sanction. Sometimes the media seems to suggest
that almost every other person is gay. Kinsey (of the famed sex study) put the
figure at 10% of the U.S. population as being gay, but his results are suspect
due to where he took his survey samples. More recent studies put the figure much
lower, closer to between 1 and 2%. That's still 2 to 3 million Americans, but
much less than you would expect when watching the news or when considering the
political clout of this group.
I certainly recommend Smith's book (published by Harvest House) as well as
Adonis Bailey's article found elsewhere in this issue. Smith included a sample
of the
revised lyrics of the hymn "Amazing Grace" used at San Francisco's Glide
Memorial United Methodist Church (a gay church).
"Twas guilt that taught my heart to fear,
And pride my fears relieved;
How precious did that pride appear,
The hour I first believed."
These are fine lyrics for those to whom Jesus is not Lord; a thrilling anthem of
the worship of self as carnal pride is praised and the guilt of an active
conscience is
castigated. One gay "theologian", struggling with the writings of Paul
concerning the sinfulness of deviant sex, put it this way, "Paul, like most of
us, had his good moments and his bad moments." (Williams, "Just as I Am"; page
50). How convenient to be able to dismiss the parts of Scripture one does not
like!
The God of all grace has blessed every deviant sex practitioner with patience, the offer of
grace and mercy through the gospel, and the promise of strength to overcome.
Faithful men and women of God pray that more of those lost in sin may repent and
obey the gospel, rising from baptism to walk in newness of life.
By Jon W. Quinn
The Final Page
From Expository Files 3.3; March 1996
