All men are created equal... or are they?

** I got busy again, so this post took me a bit longer than I had hoped. Sorry.**

Alright. Here it is. The super controversial post that I've been putting off writing for a while now. I'm not entirely sure of why I haven't taken the time to put down my thoughts yet. It might be that I'm a little worried about how people are going to take it. It might be that I'm still trying to get back to "normal" after losing my grandpa. Or maybe it's just that I've been so caught up in day to day life that I've not really had the time. Most likely it's a little bit of each and probably some other stuff too. Anyway, I know this is going to be a tough read for some people. Hopefully others will love it. I will probably lose some respect over this, but I may just gain some, too.

Now before you go and take my title the wrong way, let me just straighten that out right away. What I meant is that we aren't all cookie cutter replicas of each other and I think that's something that needs to be better addressed in the Church. But I'll get back to that.

I'm sure that you've heard all about the whole homosexual rights movement thing that's been going on lately. I just thought I'd put my position out there. I personally haven't been following the movement all that closely, but I continuously see it pop up on the news, on social media and just in everyday conversations. I also recently had a conversation with a friend about the issue of homosexuality and whether or not it is a sin. One thing she said was that she couldn't understand my argument because she didn't see it as sinful. So where do I go? To God's word:

"Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable." ~ Leviticus 18:22 

"If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." ~ Leviticus 20:13 

But Alex, that's Leviticus, the laws for the Israelites. Didn't Christ come and basically say that the old law was fulfilled and that he was the new law? Yes, but there's also New Testament verses that still say that homosexual acts are wrong. For example:

"Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people-none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." ~ 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

I thought about doing the whole ellipses shortening of that verse thing, but by leaving the entire passage, it helps to demonstrate my view. First off, notice that he doesn't say those who are homosexuals, but rather says those who practice homosexuality. This is one of the huge things that points to the act being the sin, not the orientation. Secondly, I want you to notice that he doesn't just say those who practice homosexuality, but includes the idol worshipers, drunkards, greedy, adulterous, abusive, etc. in the list of those who will not inherit the kingdom. And last, but most definitely not least, reread those last couple of sentences. You were once like that. But you were cleansed, made holy and made right with God by calling on the name of Jesus. By calling yourself a Christian, you choose to put off your old ways. You no longer practice homosexuality. Just like you no longer steal. Or cheat. Or become drunk. Or beat your wife. Or [insert your own personal struggle here]. Yes you may will still struggle with the desires. But the desires lead to sin (James 1:14-15) and we need to learn how to deal with those desires. But that's a whole different discussion.

 The problem is that many people think that being a homosexual is sinful. That if you have an attraction to the same sex, you are sinning. I personally do not believe that. I believe that acting upon those feelings, attractions, desires, is what constitutes the sin. Another part of the problem is that when people share this view, many homosexuals believe it to be the other view. If they are told that what they are doing is sinful, they believe they are being told that they are sinful just for being who they are. 

The truth is, we are all sinful just for being who we are. It's a fact of life. Which leads me to the my next topic, the Church. I feel like the Church as a whole hasn't been doing all to great with the idea that we are all sinners. Now, I can't speak for every church, but I have been to a few of them in my area. Quick clarity point; by Church I'm talking about Christ's bride as a whole, whereas church is an individual church. I believe it is every church's responsibility to accurately portray the Church. Christ laid out quite a bit of what we are supposed to look like as the Church, and I think I can honestly say that I have never been to a church that completely looks like the Church. Of course, that's probably because the Church is full of sinners. At least some churches are attempting to portray the Church. The church I go to now is really into the idea that we are all sinners, we all fall short of the glory of God. We're a very come as you are kind of church. I like that,  because it encourages people to not put on a mask of perfection when they come to church, only to take it off again as they leave. But one thing I've seen at many churches, mine included, is the failure to notice that we aren't all the same. We don't all struggle with the same sins. Some of us face vanity issues. Some of us face homosexual desires. For some it's alcoholism. For some it's pornography. Envy. Hatred. Lying. Cheating. Gluttony. The list goes on and on. Sin is sin. And God has said that anyone who sins, which is every last one of us, whether it be sexual immorality or not honoring our parents, is in the same boat. It is all a direct defiance of His law. The problem I see is that in many churches, we fail to remember that. I've heard of churches who excommunicate members who were caught in an affair. Who are we to decide that one sin is worthy of excommunication and another is not? The truth is that if we kick sinners out of the church there wouldn't be a church left. Though my church doesn't go so far as to excommunicate people (as far as I know) I still see this failure to recognize that we are not all the same but our sins are. There are certain things that are viewed as more acceptable sins than others. I recently talked with someone who said he felt ostracized by the church for something he did. While I hear stories of others who are blatantly disobeying God, but through our wanting to be accepting of all no matter the sin, we almost give approval of a sinful life.

I guess it's all just been bothering me a bit lately. I've been trying to take the faith that I've been raised in and make it into my own. My own personal relationship with Christ. I guess that's what's been getting me to think about this kind of stuff more. But I do believe that this is something that our churches need to work on. We need to stop being churches and become the Church.