Homosexuals Should Not Be Ordained Into the Christian Ministry
To believe that the laws written in the Bible came directly from God, as Christians do believe, is also to accept that all the laws stated in the Bible should be obeyed and that it is not up to man to decide what laws in the Bible should be obeyed and which can be ignored. While some attempt to justify lifestyles by stating the Bible does not apply to the modern world, these individuals fail to understand the consequences of these views. Though many have chosen to accept homosexuality and argue that same sex marriages and even ordination to the ministry should be acceptable, 1 Corinthians states, "Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or worship idols, or commit adultery, or who are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves are greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people -- none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God." (1Cor. 6:9-20 NLT). There is no room for misunderstanding here as the message is obvious. Homosexuality is expressed as an unacceptable act throughout the Bible. For example, both in the books of Romans and Corinthians Paul discusses this very issue of homosexuality. "And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned wit lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved." (Rom. 1.27 NLT). Paul focuses on the points of the act as being both shameless and in error to emphasize the point that any act of homosexuality should be considered sinful and God will condemn those involved. Paul continues to clearly state that homosexuals are not "acknowledging" God and God's will as they are being unfaithful to the will of the Lord. "Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done." (Rom. 1.28 NLT). It is essential to acknowledge that God does not like sin and homosexuality is a sin. It cannot be justified that some sins are not as evil as others or that God is accepting of sin just because he shows mankind grace and mercy. This does not give man permission to sin. Through man's fallen nature, he is going to sin and God is aware of this sinful nature, but that should not be confused with sin being acceptable. Man should make every effort to omit sin from his life. However, practicing homosexuality is considered an act of habitual and willful sin. Therefore, anyone living a lifestyle of habitual sin, such as homosexuality is not walking with the Lord and that individual should not be ordained in his ministry.
Research shows that "sexual preference is predominantly a socially learned response, not an orientation fixed from the outset by genetic or hormonal factors."[footnoteRef:1] Though this might be a debated point, there is no reference that homosexuality was accepted in any culture during any period and especially in the Christian Church regardless of the reasons for engaging in such acts. In other words, historically speaking this has not been an accepted behavior and only in modern times has anyone is society advocated the rights of those practicing these acts. Though homosexuality has existed since the fall of man, it does not make it permissible as it listed as detestable behavior along with other sins. "Homosexuality is simply one expression among many of the basic disordering of human life; all lust, whether heterosexual or homosexual, violates the divine law and reflects man's fallen nature."[footnoteRef:2] In Genesis, God purposefully created both man and woman to live together. When man was in need of a partner, Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.'"(Gen 2:18 NLT). In addition to being his companion, the purpose of this union was to "be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it." (Gen 1:28 NLT). In was not God's intention for same sex sexual relations to occur. This was something that only came into existence after the fall of man. There can be little debate that homosexuality is contradictory the will of God. Those purposefully engaging in such activity should not be ordained. [1: Davis, John Jefferson.2004. Evangelical Ethics. Philipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing...
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