The Seat Next to Me

Recently a well known evangelical ethicist, Dr. David Gushee (I have never heard of him until recently), has come out stating his life-long position about homosexuality in the church has changed, making the claim that he believes the Bible does not prohibit loving, monogamous, same sex couples from getting married.

Now I’m going to stop here and tell you that this is NOT a blog about

who is right or who is wrong.

The back and forth discussion from other well known theists like Dr. Robert Gagnon (yep, never heard of him either) are so far above my head that I have to dissect each sentence, check a source, translate from Greek, and sleep on it.  I’m simply not smart enough to understand the basis for most of their moral arguments.

What I did do, is took a giant step back and looked at the lengthy banter over the position and the topic. I couldn’t help but think, “Why is this so complicated?”

Does God really want us engaging in these types of discussions, which are littered with subtle and pointed condescending shots from one person to another? Is God’s Word really so complicated that only the most educated, scholarly, holy people can understand it and disseminate what it says to us lowly “baby-believers in Jesus Christ?” 

It reminded me of Jesus’ teaching in Luke 11 (also told in Matthew 23).  Jesus gives a stern warning to the Pharisees when they are taken back because He breaks one of their laws by not washing His hands before they eat. He begins by saying:

“Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.  You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.” Luke 11:39-41

Jesus goes on to blast the Pharisees about the laws and rules they so vehemently follow; yet they (the Pharisees) miss the entire point. 

He addresses this in their giving:

“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.” Luke 11:42

He addresses this in their position:

“Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.” Luke 11:43 

And one of the Pharisees so boldly replies:

“One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” Luke 11:45-46

I could keep going as Jesus continues to show them how they themselves are slaves to the law, and eventually call them out; even referring to them as a brood of vipers (Matthew 23) that cannot escape hell. OUCH! Read it for yourself

(Seriously open your bible and Read Luke 11 and

Matthew 23.  You should do this often.)

Jesus is blasting the Pharisees because they have gotten so wrapped up their law, rules, elitism that they forget the what they were created to do.  The point is that God is all about loving people, helping people, not about who knows the law better.  If we’re being honest, none of the Pharisees (or any of us) could ever come close to following the Law of Moses. 

Jesus came to destroy that mindset by fulfilling the Law (Matthew 5:17) and spoke that we are to love the Lord God with all our heart, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:34-39).

When I see Christians destroying each other over whose sin is worse, it troubles me. 

“Yea but Mark Driscoll* did (insert his sin)”

“That (insert Sin #1) is not as bad as my (insert Sin #2).”

Let me break it to you now… All sin is bad. All sin separates you from God.  Thankfully the blood that was shed on the cross, by Jesus Christ, the one and only person who could live perfectly under the Law of Moses, paid the price for my sin.

My past sin, the sin I have done today, and the sin I will do tomorrow.

It’s all paid for!

So is Mark Driscoll’s, the lady who had an abortion, a serial killer, child molester, and your sin too, if you have truly accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior!

So to those who want to argue back and forth whether homosexuals are accepted in the church and continue to frustrate each other in your banter: You’re both trying to prove each other wrong and both have excellent points throughout your arguments.

You have fun with that, though you’re probably miserable.

I’m going to focus on loving people. People the world says are scumbags, and people that are easy to love. I do this because God does this, Jesus did this, and I want to be more like Jesus in everything I do.

When nonbelievers see the Christian church treating our own brothers and sisters In Christ with such harsh and vicious words, it’s no wonder they don’t want to be a part of the church or listen to what the Bible teaches.

My job is not to judge them, tell them how to live, or be their voice of morality. I figure if I just love them, and show them the love of Jesus Christ, He will handle the moral and ethical issues as He deems fit. He did and continues to do this with me.

So I say to the homosexual, you are welcome at the church I attend. You’re welcome to come and sit right next to me. I’ll save you a seat.  I’d love to meet you, get to know you, and just be your friend.  I’m not better than you. My sin stinks just as bad as yours does.

I can accept you if you can accept me.

What would this world look like if we were as good at loving each other, 

as we are at judging each other?

*If you don’t know who Mark Driscoll is, Google it, and read for yourself.  I’m not getting into specifics about that here. It has nothing to do with homosexuality so don’t jump to conclusions. I do pray for him and love him as a brother in Christ.