How do you respond to the person who on the one hand says they are gay and on the other says they are a follower of Christ? I quite often encounter this situation and the response, which seeks to be consistent with biblical Christianity, is not always as straightforward as one might think. For one, we all fall into sin from time to time, even to the point of being openly and stubbornly wanton in our rebellion against God’s law. Does this mean that during these periods of foolishness we are no longer to be considered “Christians” or we have, by our refusal to repent, revoked God’s saving grace in our lives? I find no biblical support for such a position, in fact, quite the contrary. Take King David, for example, who sinned egregiously against God committing murder and adultery. Was David considered “lost” during the time he was unrepentant?

Similarly, one has to be very careful in casting broad judgments upon those who claim to be “gay” Christians. Now, to be clear, homosexual behavior, or any other lifestyle, contrary to God’s law, is absolutely incompatible with the Christian life and constitutes disobedience and salvation dictates repentance. This would be no different than the Christian man who persists in adultery. In both instances, each could be truly saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ while at the same time openly rebelling against God. Some may say “yes but, if such a person were truly a Christian, they would come under conviction of the Holy Spirit.” I would agree, however, I cannot nor can anyone define a biblically “acceptable” period in which this conviction should be accomplished. We simply cannot know where a person may be in their relationship with the Lord or what the Lord is doing in response to their rebellion.

Therefore, these situations require a great deal of humility, caution and grace in our response out of fear that we might sin in our own words and deeds and cause harm to a brother or sister in Christ.

One such situation presented itself in one of the many responses to my recent article Freedom for All Except... A man, I will call “John,” from South Africa wrote:

As a Christian I stand in awe at God's extravagant love, His all encompassing and unconditional love for us all. I am amazed on a daily basis at how He takes us, blesses us, breaks us and uses us... but the work is always His! I know that God uses me in ways for which I feel I am not worthy - but He has deemed me worthy. EVEN though I am gay!

For the most part, I would agree with this statement. God does indeed love sinners, however to imply, in this sense, that God’s love is “unconditional” is to suggest that He overlooks or ignores our sin. This is a wholly unbiblical premise. The issue of our sin (or rebellion) is the very reason for God’s redemptive plan, which was accomplished in Christ, and His love alone is the impetus for that plan being put into action. This is why God’s grace is so amazing! As the apostle Paul wrote, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8)