By now you’ve probably heard about Ray Boltz’s announcement that’s he’s gay. One of his comments really struck me:
“I didn’t hate myself anymore, so in that sense I felt closer to God.”
At the risk of hyperbole, I want to say this to all Christians: If you don’t hate yourself, at least a little, you aren’t doing it right.
I’m not going to enter into the debate about whether people are “born” gay or not – that really is above my pay grade.
It’s also beside the point.
You see, I’m born an adulterer. I’m also born a liar, thief, idolater, and a rebel to the core.
A lot of bad things come very naturally to me. And to you too. We all have a natural tendency to sin, though the sins differ. In all of us there is supposed to be a struggle between the natural man and the Spirit.
It was this that caused the apostle to say, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24)
All the greatest saints have followed that pattern. If you’re not growing in the sense of your own sinfulness, you’re not growing in Christ.
Our culture tells Christians, “You don’t have to hate yourself anymore!” Then they give in – to lust, to alcohol, to hatred or temper or pride or greed or any number of other things that are both completely natural and utterly sinful.
We are supposed to fight our sinful nature. We’re going to lose. We’re then supposed to get back up, ask for forgiveness, and move on.
And we live caught between the two truths that we are worthless and we are of inestimable value to God.
4 comments:
Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
Romans 7:14-20 (NIV)
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
1 John 1:10 (NIV)
How can two walk together except they be in agreement? When we cease to call sin sin in our lives we have stepped out of agreement with the Father. While I don't believe that the Father turns away from us, if we have truly been born again...I do believe this denial will remove us from the joy of our salvation and leave us walking in darkness and open prey for our mortal enemy. We become unprofitable for the Gospel.
Well written and well said. It took a long time for me to realize that homosexuality was no different from a sin perspective than adultery - but yet we are so quick to judge homosexuals.
Christianity is complete rubbish.
Incredibly well put.
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