Homosexuality and Christian liberty: Question and Answer (justforcatholics.org)

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Question

I am a former Catholic who was recently saved through the grace of Jesus Christ. All my life I knew I was a homosexual. The Catholic Church told me that I had to refrain from what I was in order to be saved! I never knew that my good works meant nothing! To think, I would have spent my entire life struggling not to engage in homosexual activity, just to wind up in Hell! I now realize that salvation is through the finished work of Christ alone, and not from good works. I am now living as an active homosexual in the freedom of Jesus Christ.

Answer

Tragically you have completely misunderstood the Gospel of Grace.

It is true that a person is not saved by personal works and that salvation is completely of grace. However that does not mean that works have nothing to do with salvation. On the contrary, good works are the inevitable fruit of God's saving work in our hearts. God does not save us by our works, but He saves us so that we do good works for His glory. Let me show you from the Bible...

The apostle Paul states clearly that "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us" (Titus 3:5). Soon after, Paul shows us the other side of the coin. He states: "This is a faithful saying ... that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works" (Titus 3:8).

So you see, good works do not save. But saved people do good works.

Certainly, the grace of God that saves us does not give us the "liberty" to continue indulging in sinful passions and lusts. What kind of salvation would that be? What kind of liberty is slavery to sin? On the contrary, the grace that saves us also teaches us to abandon evil and to embrace righteousness:

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:11,12).

What you call "freedom of Jesus Christ" is just a convenient excuse for sin. It was because of homosexuality that God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God judged them that we might learn from their end. Homosexuality is not a disease or a genetic problem or an alternative lifestyle. It is a sure sign of God's wrath on obstinate humanity:

"For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due." (Romans 1:26,27).

I must warn you seriously that your profession of faith is vain; as long as you continue living in the sin of homosexuality you are lost and without hope of heaven. God speaks to you:

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9,10).

May the Lord have mercy and show you the sinfulness of your sin and the danger you are in. May He grant you repentance unto life. May He show you the sufficiency of Christ, not merely to free you from the guilt of sin, but also from the power of sin. May He give you a new heart that detests what is abominable in His sight, that seeks to live righteously and purely in this world. God can do the impossible. Immediately after that warning, the apostle Paul continues: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). That implies that some Christians in the church of Corinth were previously homosexual. Praise be to God, He changed them. He can do the same for you!

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