The challenge of homosexuality is that there are many people who have never had a heterosexual thought in their life.  They are just not attracted to the opposite gender.

The world’s way of answering is to say they were born that way.  This is terrible.  Because it is saying to a person that they are damaged and broken goods.  That somehow God made them this way and then rejects them and wants to send them to Hell because of their desires.  This belief is a lie from hell.  It causes people to be bitterness towards God and to hate themselves.

Another terrible thing is when people say, “I can see it on them, even as a young child.”  That may be true.  But that does not mean that what someone sees is of God.  There are spiritual influences that prey on children.

But we come back again, what do we say to the person who has these desires?

It seems many who are participating in homosexual behavior have either been sexually abused, or they have a bad relationship with the equivalent parent of their gender.  For these ones, it is a grasp for love that feels safe.

But this isn’t always the case.  There is a story of one young man touched by another male and it raised excitement.  He decided he must therefore be homosexual, and now he is fully into the lifestyle.  Prior to this it wasn’t even a thought for him.

For others, it often is social contagion which we have seen in the last couple of decades.  When one person in a group begins to go down that road, others experiment and join in.  When experimentation starts, there is pleasure, which then produces confusion.

But what about the person who was never sexually abused?  Who grew up in a good family but has always had homosexual desires?  What about them?

The truth is that every human has desires to sin.  Most men do not have a desire for monogamy.  They struggle with pornography, lusting after other women, and more almost the entirety of their lives.  So does that mean that they are free to act on those desires?  Especially when married?  Not at all.

Fornication is another  That is, having sex outside of marriage, typically before marriage.  Because a man or a woman has lustful desires, does that mean they should act on those?  It’s not just a male issue.  Women in particular often struggle with fantasy.  It’s why romance books are always in hot demand.

Should a man who loves to kill and murder do so?  Or to steal?  Or to rape because it excites him?  Absolutely not.

We are all sinful.  We all have a proclivity to sin.  But sin, if it acted upon, produces death.  It separates us from others.  It brings problems emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and it separates us from God.  Not at first, but eventually.

We ALL have desires to sin, just in different areas.  But that does not mean license to act on those desires.  We all exercise self-control with those impulses and tendencies.

I think of Henri Nouwen who was a great Christian theologian and writer.  After he died, his journals revealed his homosexual desires and struggles.  But out of reverence for God, he abstained from engaging sexually.   His restraint was his act of worship.  He struggled with it.  But he did so out of reverence for God.

You and I also would love to act on our desires.  But we do not indulge our sensualities for the sake of God.

But we must debunk fallacies.

1) God did not make people this way even if it is a person’s every desire.  It’s called sin and it is real in all of us.

2) Someone is not more sinful because they have these desires.  The problem is acting upon those desires.

3) It does not mean there is not an ability to love.  Love takes many forms.

4) Sinners were attracted to Jesus.  They felt his warmth and love.  At the same time he called us to repentance over and over.  Love was never separated from truth.  He is not homophobic for speaking boldly.

5) We are all saved by grace and grace alone through faith in Christ.  He is our only hope and salvation.