Galatians 6:1-3
Introduction
Four Sundays is not nearly enough
time to say all that could be said on the subject of homosexuality. If you would like more, I
recommend the book by Sam Alberry, Is God anti-gay? Allberry is an
Anglican pastor who struggles with same-sex attraction and has chosen to remain
single and celibate in obedience to the Gospel.
Allberry’s book is written from a unique perspective. The book is easy to read and offers an easy
to understand examination of homosexuality from a Christian perspective. I highly recommend it and have a few free
copies if you are interested.
The goal of this blog is to encourage
everyone to break the silence about their personal struggles. Whether
it is homosexuality or divorce or substance abuse or anything else, we are
called to love, pray for, and support one another in our struggles instead of
hiding them and pretending we are perfect.
Galatians 6:1-3
1Dear brothers
and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin,
you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person
back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation
yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this
way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help
someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
Coming Out of the Closet
Most
people who struggle with homosexuality keep their struggle secret. They don’t tell anyone for fear of how they
will react. In this secretive stage,
they are said to be “in the closet.” In
other words, they are keeping their struggle secret as if hiding in a
closet. Once a gay person finally
decides to reveal their homosexual feelings to others, they are said have
“come out of the closet.”
Coming
out of the closet can be very scary. One
doesn’t know how their family and friends will react to the revelation about
their sexuality. Will they be angry or
disappointed? Will they reject? Will they be understanding, kind, or supportive? It takes great courage for someone struggling
with something as sensitive as homosexuality to make their struggle known to
others.
You
may not know this, but there is a strong parallel between homosexuals who “come
out of the closet” and the journey of the Christian faith. For the Christian is also called to “come out
of the closet” (i.e. reveal to others the secrets about that with which they
struggle). 1 John 1:9 says “confess our
sins to [Jesus]” and James 5:16 says “confess your sins to each other”. Galatians 6:2 says we should “share one
another’s burdens,” meaning we should share our most difficult struggles with
each other. Homosexual temptations might
be one of those struggles, but it is not the only one or even the toughest
one. We are all burdened with sin and
temptation and we usually want to keep our secret struggles locked away in the
closet. Christ calls us to “come out of
the closet” in order to let the light of His love heal and help us.
We’re Not Perfect
Somewhere
along the way, many people got it into their heads that Christians are always
supposed to live happy, perfect little lives and never struggle. Christians often try very hard to keep up
this façade. We smile, hide our
struggles, and pretend to be the perfect people we’re expected to be. This is not the reality the Bible
teaches. And in all honesty, it hinders
our witness. People need to know Christians
are real people with real struggles. We
are not perfect, but we serve a perfect Savior who promised to help us through
our struggles. Jesus said, “In this
world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John
16:33)
We
should expect that Christians will struggle with many kinds of temptation, sin,
illnesses, tragedies, and other problems.
We should expect that some Christians will struggle with
homosexuality. Struggling does not mean
one is not a Christian or is somehow weak or lacking in faith. It simply means you are human.
When
we “come out of the closet” about our struggles—whatever they may be—we open
ourselves up to healing and other Christians are able to help us. Furthermore, our lives become a powerful
witness—not that we are perfect people (we never are), but—that Christ took our
brokenness and didn’t give up on us.
People cannot see the power of Christ overcoming your brokenness if you
always wear a mask pretending to be just fine.
Advice for Coming Out
In
his book Is God anti-gay, Sam Allberry offers some helpful advice to
those struggling with same-sex attraction.
This is good advice for dealing with any kind of problem, not just
homosexuality. I offer the following
suggestions for everyone, regardless of the secret problem with which you
struggle.
Pray about your struggles.
You can talk to Jesus about any
struggle you face—whether it is homosexuality or anything else. There is nothing off limits with Him. Jesus said in John 3:17, “God sent his Son
into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” You can talk to Jesus about anything and know
that He will love you unconditionally.
Furthermore, there is no one who can keep a confidence better than
Jesus!
When you pray, you don’t have to use
fancy language. Just be honest and
authentic. Talk to Jesus about your
confusions. Share with Him your
distress. Ask him to help you with your
temptations. Seek forgiveness for times
you feel you failed. Jesus “is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (1 John
1:9). Jesus “understands our weaknesses,
for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews
4:15). Talk to Jesus in prayer and tap
into the unlimited power of God to deal with your struggles.
Think about your struggles in the
right way.
Sometimes we struggle with something
so hard it starts to look like an insurmountable problem. Some people here might be thinking, “You
know, I’ve struggled with this for so long and failed so many time, God has
probably given up on me. I’m just too
far gone.” Or you might think, “My temptation, my sin is just too big, too
dark, too unspeakable, to despicable, God would never want to have anything to
do with me.”
Sin
has a way of twisting our perspective that way, but don’t you believe the
Devil’s lies. God loves you no matter
what and He will never give up on you.
You are never too far gone, out of reach, too dirty, too lost, or too
wicked to be saved by God through Jesus.
God would save the Devil himself if only he would turn from his sins and
turn to God through Jesus Christ. Surely,
you are not that far gone.
Regardless
of whether you struggle with homosexuality or something else, something big or
something small, keep it in perspective.
Your struggles don’t disqualify you and they define you. You are not a homosexual. You are not a pervert or a thief or a drunk
or a liar. You are a child of God and
Jesus would go to the ends of the earth to seek and save you. In fact, he went all the way to the cross for
you. So when your problem seems too big,
you just remember how much bigger God is and you let Him define you instead.
Seek support from others.
Galatians 6:2 says, “Share each other’s
burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” A burden is something you were not meant to
carry all by yourself. Everyone has to
carry their own load, but a burden is heavier than one person can safely carry
by themselves. So we should share
our burdens.
In our context today, this means we
should share our struggles with each other.
Now, you might not want to run around telling your deepest, darkest
secrets to every person you meet—not even within the church. But you should find a trusted, Christian
friend—someone who will listen and not judge you and not go around talking
behind your back. If you don’t have
someone like that, you can come talk to me.
That’s my job as a pastor.
Galatians 6:2 also says that when we
share each other’s burdens, we “obey the law of Christ.” So it would seem that sharing our struggles
with each other—both opening up to others and helping others with their
struggles—is the law of Christ (which is love).
Sharing our struggles with others
and seeking support can yield tremendous results. Sometimes, just talking about our problems
brings marvelous relief. It relieves
built up pressure and anxiety and helps put our troubles in proper perspective.
I have seen amazing results and
personal growth when people “came out of the closet” about their secret
battles. I am bound to keep names and
specific details confidential, but I can tell you that right here in this
church, I have seen racism overcome and family bonds healed. I have seen drug and alcohol addictions conquered. I have witnessed broken marriages made whole. I have watched out of control tempers brought
under control. I have seen friendships
restored, shame and guilt released, and lives put back on track. And in each case, it was possible because
people courageously opened up about their struggles and sought the support
of others.
Conclusion
It
takes courage and faith to “come out of the closet” about our problems with
each other in the church because it seems like everyone else is perfectly
happy. What we don’t realize is that
everyone struggles with something and often the smiles we see are only the
masks people wear. We all need to remove
our masks and live more authentically.
It is the only way we can grow in Christ. And who knows, when you are honest and come
out of the closet, it might not only help you.
It might just help someone else who is secretly struggling too. So what are you waiting for?
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