Author "A Marked Destiny"
No Longer Condemned
I
grew up in the church, and when I was a small child, I knelt on a school
playground and used a swing for an altar, inviting Jesus into my life. God
was always a part of my life and belief system. After I became an adult,
there were some things that just didn’t seem right. I had these feelings for
men and the church very plainly taught against homosexuality. In fact, if
you believed everything said from the pulpit, there was no way that I could
be saved, but rather was destined to spend eternity in hell. Something about
this didn’t seem right though because I knew in my heart that I was saved.
This meant that every time I acted on my feelings I was sinning. How could
something so wonderful be called sin? I needed love and the expression of
that love just like everyone else. Something else seemed at odds with the
church. If my sexual feelings were sin, then why didn’t God convict me when
these feelings manifested in my life? The condemnation was coming from the
pulpit of the church, not from God.
The truth on this matter was not yet known, and wouldn’t be known until I fully dealt with myself. I looked to God to “cure” me and take these feelings away. The truth is that I tried everything in the Bible to rid myself of this curse. Prayer, fasting and even a Nasserite vow (I didn’t shave for six months) didn’t cure me. Finally during a particularly troubling period in my life, my prayers to God were answered by a question from God to me. I was asked, “When are you going to get honest with the world and with me?” Suddenly, the problem was a problem about my own integrity. I was ordained, teaching Sunday school and ministering to others, but I wasn’t being an honest person.
The next few years were spent answering this question while I came out of my closet and became an honest minister with integrity. My credentials were taken away, but that didn’t mean that God had taken away his calling on my life as a minister. Sometime during this process, the following scripture became true for me.
Romans 8:1 (King James)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
What a joy! This verse had finally come true for me. And it is true for all of the LGBT community. Our salvation is a gift from God, granted to the person who believes. And this gift is for every single person that walks on the face of the earth. God is patiently waiting for all who will to respond. He does not desire that any should perish, but He also knows that some are not going to believe. This is the really sad part for our community. We have for far too long heard and believed the condemnation being preached from the pulpits. Jesus never condemned homosexuality, so it must not be that important of an issue. God is a God of relationships and our own loving relationship with that special person in our life is going to enhance and improve our ability to love and serve God. People usually want to ask the question, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer to that is that there is nothing other than believing and confessing faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is strictly a matter of faith, no more and no less.
Have you ever been given a gift or honor that was unexpected or undeserved? We all need to realize that salvation is this type of gift. God didn’t have to save us, but he wanted to save us. He wanted so much to save us that He sent his son Jesus to earth to show us the way. He was willing to sacrifice everything so that we can have a personal relationship with Him.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (King James)
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
This is a very simple but profound truth. God doesn’t see all of your faults or weaknesses when He sees you; He only sees the finished work of Christ because of your faith in Jesus Christ. Stop and think about this for a few minutes and ponder the magnificence of God’s wisdom and mercy. You are what you are because God created you that way. You have the liberty and freedom of being who you are, and because of your faith, you have a right standing with God. This right standing is called righteousness in the Bible. This means that there is nothing wrong with you, and there will be nothing in the future wrong with you because Jesus Christ paid the price for that freedom and liberty.
Some of you who read this may not have accepted Jesus as savior and asked Him to be a part of your life. Now is the time for you to make sure of your eternal destiny. Perhaps the best recognized scripture in the entire Bible is John 3:16.
John 3:16 (King James)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Jesus Christ was the Son of God and came and died for you on the cross of Calvary. He arose from the dead and ascended into heaven after three days. The reason He died was to pay the price for all of humanity, so that we are not condemned, but can live eternally in heaven. Believing this truth is all the faith that you need to have. But it needs to be the kind of faith that is heart felt. Believing in your heart includes responding with your emotions and loving God and Jesus. Is this something new to you? If so, there is one more thing that needs to happen.
Romans 10:9-10 (King James)
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
This is the simple truth that can grant to you a place where you are not condemned. Guilt and low self-esteem melt away with the power of the risen Christ. Rise up to a new beginning and put condemnation behind you. Step forward into a new journey with Jesus Christ, who will stick closer than a brother. And share with someone that you have found this new Christian life.
Check out Bruce's book "A Marked Destiny" from iUniverse!