Recently, I wrote a blog in which I said that homosexuals need not turn from their homosexuality in order to be born again (see here). They simply need to believe in Jesus for the gift of everlasting life. John 3:16 says, “whoever believes in Him has everlasting life.” Whoever means whoever. No matter what sins a person has committed, he is born again by faith in Christ, without having to first clean up his life or even promise that he will clean it up.
That does not mean, however, that there are no negative consequences if the new believer continues to walk in his or her old ways. The Scriptures teach that we reap what we sow. God blesses obedience and curses disobedience.
The primary way God instructs new believers is through local churches. Most homosexuals today do not believe that what they are doing is a sin. They believe this is God’s will for them. As a result, when homosexuals come to faith, they need to go to church so that they might grow, come to see that homosexuality is wrong, and turn from it.
There is a difference, however, between new believers and those who’ve been believers for many years.
I read about a pastor of a somewhat conservative megachurch who invited practicing homosexuals to become members in good standing in his church, presumably if they believed in Christ and had been baptized. Many people have criticized the pastor and the church.
I agree with the criticisms, because the pastor was not saying that homosexuals can be born again just as they are. He welcomed them into full participation in the church, with no church discipline or restrictions, even though they might have been believers for many years.
New believers must be given time to grow. If a homosexual couple came to faith in the Sunday morning service, the church should not put them under church discipline on Sunday afternoon. Welcome to the Body of Christ!
The same is true for the unmarried heterosexual couple living together, the guy who gets drunk every Friday night, the person who cusses like a sailor, the man who is argumentative and opinionated, or the woman who is a habitual liar.
We don’t instantly swoop in, determine the new believer’s major areas of sin, and then start church discipline.
We give them time to grow.
How much time?
The Scriptures do not give a specific time limit. The principle is that after a new believer is taught that what he is doing is wrong, he needs to accept that. If he does not, then he would be confronted by one person, presumably an elder in the church. He might give him a month or two to study the Scriptures and pray about this. He’d offer to study the Scriptures with him. If, after that time, the new believer was not convinced that what he was doing was sin, then the elder would schedule a meeting between the person and the entire elder board.i The board would explain why what the person is doing is a sin and would give him more time to reconsider. If, after that time, the person was still unconvinced that what he was doing was sin, the elders would forbid him from partaking of the Lord’s Supper or volunteering in any ministry. They might even say he could not attend church until he owned up to his sin.
If a person admits (i.e., confesses) his sin and wishes to change, he can continue in church as a member in good standing. In the case of the homosexual, this would mean stopping that behavior. The desire would likely remain. But as long as the person remained celibate (or married someone of the opposite sex), he should be fully accepted in the church.
Pastor Bill Counts told the story of a young couple that came to his office one day. They told him they had come to faith in Christ nine months before because of his preaching. They’d been so happy to know they were saved forever. But the past Sunday, Bill taught on a Scripture that said sex outside of marriage is wrong. They had no idea. They’d been living together for two years. What should they do?
Bill gave them two choices: move out and stop sleeping together, or get married. He married them shortly after that, and they stopped sleeping together until then.
In some cases, the government gives us guidelines. If a person is a registered sex offender, that person cannot be allowed to be around children. If we discover that a new believer has committed a crime, we need to turn them in.
If someone comes to faith in Christ and continues to walk in darkness, God will discipline him, and so should a local church if he is still attending. But his standing as a child of God is unchanged.
Lots of bad things happen to the believer who is walking in darkness. But being eternally condemned is not one of them.
Keep grace in focus, and you will continue to believe and proclaim the message of John 3:16.
