Guest post by Courtney Jimenez
When I was younger, especially as a teen, I lied all the time. I would lie to get out of trouble, I would lie to seem more likable, and sometimes I would lie for absolutely no reason at all. I was able to manage my lies for the most part, only occasionally slipping up and having to deal with the consequences. This habit was destructive, and after I started getting closer to God and actually caring about what it was He wanted for me, I began to realize that deceit was not only an awful thing to live in, but it was harming those around me as well. I decided to no longer lie. For a while it was a bit extreme, I wouldn’t even tell someone the time unless I knew the exact minute. But as I learned more about God’s grace and love and why I shouldn’t be lying, I arrived at a place of peace, not paranoia. Am I still a liar? Yes. Do I lie? No. My sinful nature calls me a liar, but I choose to not act on my own nature, but on the nature of Jesus.
The same logic follows for all sin. The Sermon on the Mount demonstrates to us that not one person is free from a sinful nature. Sure, you haven’t killed someone. But have you ever been angry? Jesus cuts straight to the heart of the issue by teaching us that our actions and our sinful nature are separated by our choice to follow Him.
When a person is attracted to the same sex, they are not more or less sinful than anyone else. There is no place in the Bible that says, “If you are attracted to the same sex, you are evil and will burn forever.” Not even close. There are verses that address the inappropriate nature of same-sex intercourse, just as the Ten Commandments themselves address the issue of lying. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 is a very specific New Testament text teaching that same-sex intercourse is inappropriate. But many choose to ignore the following verse wrapping up the passage: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (NKJV).
Thankfully, God likes to use words like “but” and “yet” and graciously disregards the sinful nature in which we live and has given us a means by which we can be reconciled with Him – Jesus.
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