Shayla: Can a homosexual worship God?
Responsa:
In order to answer
that question, we need to ask and answer the following two questions:
- Can unbelievers worship God?, and
- Is a homosexual a believer or an
unbeliever?
First, the Bible is
very clear that God accepts the worship of those who worship in truth:
- John 4:23-34 HCSB But an hour is
coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father
in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God
is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit
and truth.
God
wants us to worship with our spirit (Greek: pneuma) which is that part of us
that thinks, feels, and makes decisions. God is not interested in ritualistic
worship that does not involve our minds and emotions. But we also must worship
Him in truth; that is, we must worship Him how He wants to be worshipped. We
must be in obedience to the truth He has given in the scriptures. Therefore, an
unbeliever cannot fulfil the requirement of worshipping God in spirit and
truth.
This,
however, does not mean that we should not encourage unbelievers to come to our
worship services. Quite the opposite! They should come and by observing our
worship, be convicted, respond to that conviction, and then be able to worship
God (1 Cor. 14:23-25).
Second, the Bible
is clear that those who practice homosexuality are not believers.
- 1 Timothy 1:9-10 HCSB We know that the law is not meant for
a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly
and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their
fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral and
homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is
contrary to the sound teaching.
- Romans 1:24-28 HCSB Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of
their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among
themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and
served something created instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever.
Amen. This is why God delivered them over to degrading passions. For even
their females exchanged natural sexual intercourse for what is unnatural.
The males in the same way also left natural sexual intercourse with
females and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Males committed
shameless acts with males and received in their own persons the
appropriate penalty for their perversion. And because they did not think
it worthwhile to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them over to a
worthless mind to do what is morally wrong.
- 1 Corinthians
6:9-10 HCSB Do you not
know that the unjust will not inherit God's kingdom? Do not be deceived:
no sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes,
homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, revilers, or swindlers
will inherit God's kingdom.
[Note: Posek K. Pauley interjects: Many will take the meaning of Romans 1:24
and 26’s statement “God delivered them over” to mean that once a person
practices homosexuality there is no hope for them. We do not believe that to be
the appropriate midrash for 1 Corinthians 6:11 goes on
to say:
- 1 Corinthians 6:11 HCSB Some of you were like this; but you were
washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Clearly it is possible to overcome any of
the sins listed in the previous verses. Once a person repents of their sins,
turns to the Messiah for salvation and makes Him the King of their lives,
living in obedience to His precepts, they will find that d’vekut is once again
a possibility.]
So, in conclusion, God
does not accept worship from one who stubbornly continues to practice
homosexuality in contradiction to God’s revealed will.
Posek: L. Pauley