My Thoughts On "the homosexual issue"

I recently read a blog by Tony Jones, an emergent theologian (of sorts) who recently endorsed same-sex marriage (of sorts) (it is always "of sorts" with emergents).

His blog offered the opportunity to comment so here is what I wrote and it seemed the best I've been able to put down my thoughts on this issue:

Mr. Jones definitely is struggling with this issue, but it is based not on the
rule of God's law but on one's own experience.

We Christians tend to twist our role in the world as the policemen of God's Law to the world when, actually, we are to see the sin of the world and use that to police ourselves. We should not "hate" the person engaging in homosexual behavior any more than we should hate ourselves for our lusts of the flesh.

Sin is sin to God, and the difference is that we Christians are at war with our flesh through the Spirit for our soul. Those without Christ do not have the spirit so they are at war with their own image of themselves. So, to put homosexual behavior as any worse (or any better) than any other sin is ludicrous and we should be repentant about that.

However, to sanction a sin is another thing. I have seen this with heterosexual couples living together, in church, and no one saying anything in tacet approval.
We are called to be God's Ambassadors. That means we speak the truth, in love, about the sins of ourselves and others. We approach people as co-conspirators against God, the difference being that we know the Truth and want to share that Truth.

We cannot do that by screaming or by staying silent.

What causes one to have Homosexual desires is still unknown. It may be part of a genetic aspect and a developmental aspect, but most of the homosexuals I know have this preoccupation with sex (kind of like the rest of the world). It is an idol and holds bondage over them. The best response is to love but not endorse.

This is a fine line to walk, a difficult line to walk. Love is doing that which is in the other person's best interest. We should preach the Gospel while cleansing their wounds. We should heap coals that both burn and warm. Sanctioning will not change their hearts, but condemning will not save their soul. We should support their needs without supporting their sin. We should comfort them in this world while warning them of the dangers to come.

To do otherwise is to fail in our duty to love Christ.

Well, that last line about sums up my sense of it. We are to do our duty in the love of Christ towards others. Tell them the Truth about their condition but treat them with kindness, respect, dignity, and always with their best interests in mind.

It is tough, and I often fail to do so (and that is NOT a "sort of") but I still need to run that race.