Identity

   Just as there is a gay community, there is also a community of Christians who are attracted to the same sex but are living for God and not giving into those attractions. Some have never had a sexual experience with the same sex....or opposite sex, some have had sexual experiences with the same sex, and some have lived the gay lifestyle with a same sex partner or many partners for several years. Some have managed to marry the opposite sex and make it work.

    There are also differing degrees of deliverance. Some have been delivered completely of all attractions and are not attracted to the same sex at all anymore. Some are attracted to the person of the opposite sex they are married to, but are still not attracted to any others of the opposite sex. Others, most likely the majority, have been delivered from the sex and lust - or never had the sex - but will most likely have the attractions for the rest of their lives for the same sex.

  All of these comprise a community of people who are or have been attracted to the same sex, and have put God above their sexual attractions and desires.

   So what does one call this group of people? That is what I am writing this blog post for. The opinions are wide and varied among we who deal with these attractions, and some discussions/arguments can get quite heated as everyone gives their opinion.

 One term that used to be fairly popular was "ex-gay." I personally have no issue with that one, but it doesn't seem many people like it. It is also highly ridiculed by those still living the gay lifestyle, and has been compared to the X-Men movie characters...a reference some of you will not get. By the way, people who dare suggest change is necessary, and dare to change are hated intensely by the gay community and liberals in general. You're a girl and don't want to be? They are fine with that. Don't want to be heterosexual? They are fine with that. Don't want to be gay? They aren't OK with that. And ironically, they claim gender and sexuality are fluid....

   The term that is becoming increasingly popular that I do not like and have a problem with, is "gay Christian", or "gay".Now imagine you don't know me, do not know my religious/church background, or really much of anything about me. If I would come up to you and say "I am a gay Christian", or "gay", what are you going to assume? There is almost a 100% chance you are going to assume I am living as a gay male, having sex with other guys, and possibly even having a partner or guy I am "married to." You are not going to assume I am living a celibate life according to the Bible, and living clean of sex and lust with other guys. If "gay Christian" is used,  most or all people are going to assume I am one of those people ascribing to gay theology......those who believe the Bible doesn't really say homosexuality is wrong, and that you can have sex with others of the same gender and be a Christian.

   Wesley Hill wrote a great book some years back titled "Washed and Waiting", relating from his experiences what it is like to be a Christian guy attracted to other guys. It is a great book that is one of the better ones written on the subject. In recent years, he has spearheaded a movement called "Spiritual Friendship", where he and others refer to themselves as "a gay celibate Christian". This sounds confusing to me. Imagine you are of the world, and someone tells you that. You are most likely going to think "what on earth are they talking about?!" Most Christians are going to wonder the same thing.

   Here is the thing about the gay label, whether it is attached to Christian and/or celibate: it is an identity. If a person truly wants to leave the gay life behind, should he carry the gay identity around? I have used the example that one doesn't say they are a Christian thief, a Christian murderer, a Christian rapist, etc. I still believe that is a valid point to make, but a friend of mine disagrees and pointed out with the rest of those, people choose to do those sins. Being attracted to the same sex is not a choice or a sin, and if you believe it is, you are clueless about such things. So my friend disagrees that my point is valid.

   Whether it is a valid point and argument or not, it is a valid point and true statement that gay is an identity. If we are Christians living for God, our identity should be in Him, not in our sexuality. We are children of God. There are actually a lot of words in the Bible to describe us that are healthy and good.

   Many people that are alcoholics refer to themselves as an alcoholic for the rest of their lives, even if they quit drinking. I cannot believe that is is healthy and helpful to constantly refer to oneself as an alcoholic if one is trying to be delivered from that......and neither can I believe it is helpful and healthy to refer to oneself as gay if you are trying to leave that sin behind and live for God. Oh I am all to aware that the attractions and desires may be a lifelong struggle, and that it may be a daily denial of oneself and one's desires and attractions......but I believe with all of my being that the struggle will be all the more difficult if the person clings to the very identity they claim they are seeking freedom from.

 Revoice

 Revoice is a new thing that has come along this year. The organizers of this movement and conferences feel that Christians in the church who are attracted to the same sex are misunderstood, ignored, and many are feared and not used in their churches. There has been a lot said and written about Revoice. Many people have concerns about it, while others think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I fall on the side that has concerns. One of those concerns falls in with what I have been talking about, which is why I brought Revoice up:

 In their mission statement, they say they want Christians who are LGBTQ to have a place to come so the church can hear their voices and affirm them as Christians. If you are not sure what those letters all stand for, I'll list them:

Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transgender
Questioning

  This has made the conferences/movement all the more problematic to me. The gay Christian label is bad enough for people who are actually genuine Christians, but now we are going to have Christian lesbians, bisexuals, transgender, and questioning?

 Do these people truly want to live for God and leave their sexual identity behind, or are they wanting to hold onto it with one hand while trying to hold onto God with the other?

 I have heard the arguments, and I remain convinced you are either Christian or gay, not both.

  I don't deny the church needs to do better with we among them dealing with this very tough issue. Many are ignored, marginalized, refused to be allowed to serve in the church, ostracized, and thought the worst of. Many of us are misunderstood, lonely, feared, and more. But the solution is not to cling to our gay, lesbian, transgender, etc identity while claiming to be Christians. There is so much more in Christ to identify with, we don't need the old gay identity that is connected with sin, sinful desires, and lust.

 Things like these:

• I am a child of God.
But to all who have received him--those who believe in his name--he has given the right to become God's children … (John 1:12).

• I am a branch of the true vine, and a conduit of Christ’s life.
I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me--and I in him--bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing (John 15:1, 5).

• I am a friend of Jesus.
I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father (John 15:15).

• I have been justified and redeemed.
But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24).

• My old self was crucified with Christ, and I am no longer a slave to sin.
We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin (Romans 6:6).

• I will not be condemned by God.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

• I have been set free from the law of sin and death.
For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

• As a child of God, I am a fellow heir with Christ.
And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)--if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him (Romans 8:17).

• I have been accepted by Christ.
Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God's glory (Romans 15:7).

• I have been called to be a saint.
… To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours (1 Corinthians 1:2). (See also Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, and Colossians 1:2.)

• In Christ Jesus, I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption … (1 Corinthians 1:30).

• My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in me.
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you (1 Corinthians 6:19)?

• I am joined to the Lord and am one spirit with Him.
But the one united with the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17).

• God leads me in the triumph and knowledge of Christ.
But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14).

• The hardening of my mind has been removed in Christ.
But their minds were closed. For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read./netbible2/index.php?header=&book=2co&chapter=3 It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away (2 Corinthians 3:14).

• I am a new creature in Christ.
So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away--look, what is new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17)!

• I have become the righteousness of God in Christ.
God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

• I have been made one with all who are in Christ Jesus.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female--for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

• I am no longer a slave, but a child and an heir.
So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God (Galatians 4:7).

• I have been set free in Christ.
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).

• I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

• I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God.
For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love (Ephesians 1:4).

• I am redeemed and forgiven by the grace of Christ.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7).

• I have been predestined by God to obtain an inheritance.
In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11).

• I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)--when you believed in Christ--you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).

• Because of God’s mercy and love, I have been made alive with Christ.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you are saved (Ephesians 2:4-5)!

• I am seated in the heavenly places with Christ.
… And he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus … (Ephesians 2:6).

• I am God’s workmanship created to produce good works.
For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them (Ephesians 2:10).

• I have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ.
But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13).

• I am a member of Christ’s body and a partaker of His promise.
… The Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6). (See also Ephesians 5:30.)

• I have boldness and confident access to God through faith in Christ.
… In whom we have boldness and confident access to God because of Christ's faithfulness (Ephesians 3:12).

• My new self is righteous and holy.
… Put on the new man who has been created in God's image--in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth (Ephesians 4:24).

• I was formerly darkness, but now I am light in the Lord.
… For you were at one time darkness, but now you are/netbible2/index.php?header=&book=eph&chapter=5 light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light (Ephesians 5:8).

• I am a citizen of heaven.
But our citizenship is in heaven--and we also await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ … (Philippians 3:20).

• The peace of God guards my heart and mind.
And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

• God supplies all my needs.
And my God will supply your every need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

• I have been made complete in Christ.
… You have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority (Colossians 2:10).

• I have been raised up with Christ.
Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).

• My life is hidden with Christ in God.
… For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

• Christ is my life, and I will be revealed with Him in glory.
When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him (Colossians 3:4).

• I have been chosen of God, and I am holy and beloved.
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience … (Colossians 3:12).

• God loves me and has chosen me.
We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you … (1 Thessalonians 1:4).