Article: The "Gay" Christian?

"Oh what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive. - Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, 1808)".

It shouldn't amaze me but it does-- how the enemy's deception can take on such a perverted twist on a subject of a gay man who seems so sincere for his love for Christ and claims to be a Christian and yet, he embraces the sin of homosexuality as something acceptable to God. As is Satan's custom, he is using the three demonic spirits: Intellectualism, Religion and Homosexuality and he weaves it all together to form the "new buzz word" THE GAY CHRISTIAN. To a true Christian this is an oxymoron. It is like water and oil, black or white, or 1+2=4...it just doesn't add up...it doesn't mix...no matter how you stack it it doesn't provide any legitimate justification or change what God's Word says about the homosexual sin.

Matthew Vine, author of the book "God and the Gay Christian" is being hailed as the new voice for gays who are calling themselves "gay Christians". I have seen interviews with Mr. Vine and he seems so genuine in his love for Jesus and he does seem to be a scholar in biblical studies, but I am afraid he is either reading from the New Queen James Bible which omits every scripture that refers to homosexuality, or he is reading perhaps out of the King James or NIV version of the bible and he is omitting the holy scriptures that speak against homosexuality being a sin. If he is doing so then he embracing his beliefs on half truths. In all honesty, Mr. Vine seems to be a really decent man, but even in all of his intellectual, charismatic and deeply embedded personal conviction, he is deceived. A person can be sincere and be sincerely wrong folks and this is one of those times when the enemy has clearly used lies and deception all under the guise of the "love of Jesus". In truth, no matter how you label it, place a bow on the package, or a give a spritz of perfume, homosexuality is still an abomination and sin that God abhors. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is not going to change His mind on how He feels about the subject of homosexuality. Period!

What grieves my heart greatly is that this deception has even seeped into the Church today and Christians are beginning to believe in what he is saying. Mr. Vine claims he is a gay man who claims he remains celibate and having no homosexual relationship and yet considers himself to be a Christian. In other words, he is not having homosexual relations, although he does admit he does have the issue of same sex attraction. Well then, why not just come out and say "I am now a born-again Christian who finds myself challenged with same sax attraction and believe and trust God that the Holy Spirit will help me to resolve this issue in my life. Believe that God can transform your life and make you WHOLE - not a partial deliverance from the gay lifestyle.

The personal challenge I face is that I can't wrap my belief system around the concept that a person can call himself a Christian and add at the tail end of his or her identity being gay. I imagine I should approach this matter from a different angle:

I was a gay man and when I became a Christian in 1988. I didn't associate or identified myself as a gay man any longer, but rather I embraced the title of being a born-again Christian. In the process of true deliverance from the homosexual lifestyle there was a period of time when I was presented with the challenges of what I refer to as "the residuals of homosexual feelings ..those lingering feelings that try to pop up as a constant reminder that you were once gay. But the Holy Spirit would walk me through these thoughts and eventually these "residuals" like thistles in the wind would blow away. I eventually stopped having any struggles with those feelings. God has given me a healthy ability to love a woman and I enjoy being a Christian man who knows God's transforming power in my life. I am about to be married to the one of the greatest woman I know and I look forward to a healthy, passionate relationship with her as the new creation in Christ Jesus. Amen.

I am providing you, my readers to with the insert/introduction to Matthew Vine's book entitled "God and The Gay Christian". Perhaps you will get a better perspective from his point of view and then as a true Christian you can decide whether or not you will one of those Christians who still supports those who refer to themselves as "Gay Christians":

Matthew Vine Book Insertion:
God and the Gay Christian is a game changer. Winsome, accessible, and carefully researched, every page is brought to life by the author's clear love for Scripture and deep, persistent faith. With this book, Matthew Vines emerges as one of my generation's most important Christian leaders, not only on matters of sexuality but also on what it means to follow Jesus with wisdom, humility, and grace. Prepare to be challenged and enlightened, provoked and inspired. Read with an open heart and mind, and you are bound to be changed."-- Rachel Held Evans, author of A Year of Biblical Womanhood and Faith Unraveled

As a young Christian man, Matthew Vines harbored the same basic hopes of most young people: to someday share his life with someone, to build a family of his own, to give and receive love. But when he realized he was gay, those hopes were called into question. The Bible, he'd been taught, condemned gay relationships.

Feeling the tension between his understanding of the Bible and the reality of his same-sex orientation, Vines devoted years of intensive research into what the Bible says about homosexuality. With care and precision, Vines asked questions such as:

* Do biblical teachings on the marriage covenant preclude same-sex marriage or not? 
* How should we apply the teachings of Jesus to the gay debate? 
* What does the story of Sodom and Gomorrah really say about human relationships? 
* Can celibacy be a calling when it is mandated, not chosen? 
* What did Paul have in mind when he warned against same-sex relations?

Unique in its affirmation of both an orthodox faith and sexual diversity, God and the Gay Christian is likely to spark heated debate, sincere soul search­ing, even widespread cultural change. Not only is it a compelling interpretation of key biblical texts about same-sex relations, it is also the story of a young man navigating relationships with his family, his hometown church, and the Christian church at large as he expresses what it means to be a faithful, gay Christian.
End of Matthew Vine's Book Insertion

So as you can see, I remain strong in my own convictions that there can be no such thing as a "Gay Christian". I will not tag the word "gay" to my Christianity because I have renounced my affiliation with the sin of homosexuality and I am a CHRISTIAN!

I pray this article has enlightened your understanding of just how these individuals who are calling themselves "Gay Christians" believe. It is my prayers that Mr. Vines and many others who are labeling themselves as Gay Christians will simply release and renounce homosexuality in their lives, and allow the Holy Spirit to deliver them from that perverted sinful lifestyle. Then they too will simply refer themselves to being a CHRISTIAN as well.

Much love, blessings, and prayers my beloved,

08-07-15 J.