The LGBT issue is beginning to cause difficulties among conservative evangelicals. All say they stand on the Bible and agree that homosexual acts are forbidden by Scripture. Yet two camps are sadly emerging – especially on the back of a US conference called ‘ReVoice’ which took place recently.
There are those who feel that same-sex attraction is something unsought by many. It is not their fault and therefore, while not expressing their attractions outwardly, they must live with it, as it were making a truce with their condition. Others feel that this position involves a compromise. All that does not conform to God’s righteous ways is to be repented of and fought, whether or not we feel it was a deliberate choice on our part. This issue was addressed directly and helpfully at the UK conference of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, by ex-football star Gavin Peacock, who is now a pastor in Canada.
Fighting inward sin
The conference took place at The Angel Church in London on Saturday 29 September and Gavin gave five lessons from the epistle of Jude on contending for the faith in the context of contemporary society, with its fluid approach to gender issues. Quoting Augustine and others, he explained that sin is never seen in Scripture as simply a matter of outward behaviour. Sin has to be fought continually in the heart. We cannot make a truce with any temptation.
