Homosexuality—3: Who Am I To Judge?

Biblegems # 104

Question: I don't want to think that God would fault me for associating with people who are homosexual because God wants us to love everyone. Who am I to judge?

This is the third and final installment on this series dealing with homosexuality, focusing this time on how God would have His people interact with those who have adopted a homosexual lifestyle. The answer to this begins with the question, “who am I to judge?”

Usually, what we mean by that question is “who am I to condemn?” Listen to what Jesus taught about that:

         John 3:17-18 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

According to Jesus, then, the entire human race is already condemned. Humanity is contaminated by sin—we are born into it, like an AIDS baby is born into a deadly disease. The Bible puts it this way:

         Rom. 5:12 …sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—

The sins we choose to commit—lying, adultery, homosexuality, etc.—come from the sin nature we have inherited from our ancestors. We are all born into an environment of sin, of disobedience to God, and of a slavish desire to satisfy our animal desires and determine our own path through life. As Jesus said,

         John 3:19-20 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

But—you ask—why should we be condemned for a sin nature we inherited? It’s not fair!

You’re right, it’s not fair, any more than a baby condemned to die of AIDS because of a parent’s choice is fair. In fact it’s outrageous! And if you could do something to rescue that baby, to save that baby from the consequences of a parent’s sinful choice, would you not do it? Of course you would!

This is precisely what God has done in sending His Son Jesus to die in our place, taking the disease of our sin upon Himself and offering the transfusion of His life into ours for our salvation. You have heard the verse and seen the reference at baseball and football stadiums every year:

         John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

No, it is not our place to condemn those who choose a life of sin, whether homosexuality or stealing or whatever. Sin cuts us off from God, and God IS Life. Apart from life in Jesus, we are all condemned (John 14:6). But for us who have put their faith in Jesus and have been vaccinated against the effects of sin, who have been given the free gift of eternal life, our role is to get this Good News out to the rest of humanity.

One final thought: for those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, yet choose to maintain a lifestyle that belongs to the old sinful nature…

         Rom. 6:1-2 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Where Do The Unsaved Go When They Die?

Biblegems #91

Question: When a Christian dies, we believe his spirit ascends immediately to heaven; when an unsaved person dies, does his spirit go directly to Hell---or is there a "waiting" place for them----and are their spirits alive and alert?  Does the New Testament story of the rich man and beggar apply now?

(Note: Because of the involved nature of this question, I have extended the response beyond the 500 words I normally strive for. My apologies.)

According to both the Old and New Testaments, when a person dies whose spirit has not been regenerated (born again) through faith in Jesus Christ the spirit of that person resides in a spiritual region the Bible refers to as Sheol (Hebrew) or Hades (Greek). Unfortunately, many English versions of the Bible inconsistently translate these two terms as “Hell,” or “the grave,” which refer to entirely different things.

The Old Testament has a specific word for “grave” (Heb., qever):

         1 Kings 13:31  After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave (Heb. qever) where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.

Sheol, on the other hand, typically refers to the realm, or region, where the spirit of a dead person exists:

         1 Sam. 2:6 The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave (Heb. Sheol—realm of the dead) and raises up.

In Sheol, the spirits of the dead are normally in a state of unsettled consciousness:

         Eccl. 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave (Heb. Sheol—realm of the dead), where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

But they can be emotionally aroused:

         Is. 14:9 The grave (Heb. Sheol—realm of the dead) below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones—all those who were kings over the nations.

They are aware of a confined existence:

         Ps. 18:5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.

In Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Lk. 16:19-31), the unrighteous rich man died and went to Sheol:

         Luke 16:23 In hell (Gk. adehs—Hades, the realm of the dead), where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

As unpleasant as Sheol (or Hades) is, it is not as horrifying as what awaits after the Judgment, where the dead in Sheol are condemned to an eternity of fiery torment in Hell:

         Rev. 20:11, 14-15  Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. …The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades (Gk. adehs—Hades / Sheol, the realm of the dead) gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Of this eternal torment, Jesus said:

         Mark 9:43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell (Gk. geenan—Gehennah, the realm of eternal torment), where the fire never goes out.

The good news is that Jesus came to save mankind from both Sheol and Hell:

         John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.