I have been getting prayer requests that have a lot of misinformation in them. Many people seem to think God hates gay people. I decided to write this article to reveal the truth.
All throughout history there have been people that practice homosexuality. Most have been inside the closet up until recently. They have been in the closet because there's a lot of hatred towards them.
Most of the time it's because people can be very hypocritical and hateful. Oftentimes well meaning Christians who are supposed to be the most loving, actually cause the most damage. They grow up thinking God hates gays, so they hate them too. Most of the time they believe these things because another "Christian" said it. Instead of reading the Bible for themselves they listen to what other people say. This idea that God hates gays is actually wrong.
Does God hate Gay People?
To sum it up for those that like to skim through things, God does NOT hate gays, homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender, liars, thieves, murderers, rapists, or any other person you can think of. God loves people, but hates sin.
Many of you reading this might be a parent, but if you aren't let's pretend you are one. Lets say you told your child that it's wrong to lie and steal and doing so would be breaking the rules. You have a special plate of chocolate chip cookies sitting on the counter that you were saving as a treat to share with friends that are coming over later.
Your child knows it's wrong to lie and steal. They have heard it many times. The problem is that they also have a strong craving for chocolate chip cookies. There are other cookies to eat, but they especially love that kind of cookie. They try to withhold from taking them because they know it's wrong, but they can't stop thinking about them and even fantasize about eating them.
Finally they can't take it anymore and give into temptation! They reach over the counter and grab a handful to eat! Later on, mom and dad go into the kitchen to the plate half eaten. They immediately go to the child and ask if they took the cookies. Because of guilt and not wanting to get it trouble the child says, "nope, I don't know who did it."
Eventually the truth comes out and the child confesses. Since the child broke the rules, does this cause the parents to hate the child? OF COURSE NOT! The parents still love the child, but they hated the act of them stealing and lying.
This is how God feels about homosexuality. He hates the sin, but loves the person. The act of homosexuality is a sin, just like lying is a sin.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NASB) Says "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God."
This tells us that not only homosexuals will go to hell, but even those that drink too much, and those that are verbally abusive. How many of you have found yourself being verbally abusive towards someone else? I know I am guilty.
Do you know what saves us from our sin? It's not us, but the one Whom God sent, Jesus. Jesus died for our sins because we can never be perfect enough to enter the kingdom of heaven.
The next verse after 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (vs.11).
When we believe in and accept who Jesus is and what He said, we become born again (Romans 10:9-10). This alone sets us apart and makes us Holy enough to enter into the kingdom of God. This happens immediately and if you die right then, you would go to heaven.
But what if you don't die right away and you keep sinning? Jesus said "if you love me you will keep my commandments" (John 15:15). He also said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul (Matthew 22:36-40). So essentially if you willingly sin after believing in Jesus, then you aren't following His commandments and aren't loving Him.
We all make mistakes and fall short. We will sin until the day we die, but what separates us from those that love Jesus and those that don't, is that those that love Jesus try not to sin. When they do sin, they go to God in prayer and ask forgiveness and try not to do it again.
So the real question is, do the people that willingly live a homosexual lifestyle love God? The answer to that is no, because they don't keep His commandments. How about habitual liars, do they love Jesus? The answer to that is no, because they don't keep His commandments. The same goes for any sin, big or small.
This may sound like legalism but, as best as I can explain it, it's just about loving Jesus. Let's go back to the child that stole the cookies. Did that child love their parents when they stole the cookies? Yes they did. What if that child stole and lied from them all the time, even to when they were adults?
Would you believe that child loved their parents? Many could say the answer to that is no because if you love someone you will try to follow their wishes. Children often times don't know any better, but adults do. Sometimes it's really hard, but they at least try to follow the person they love's wishes.
If someone continually cheated on their spouse and never tried to change, we can assume that they love cheating more than they love their spouse. Real love does what is right and overcomes the urges to do wrong against that person. Overall anyway, as I said no one is perfect. God has grace for everyone, but those that willingly choose sin over God are walking outside of His grace.
You may ask, what about those that have lived this lifestyle for most of their life, how can they just stop? God has grace for you. He is a supernatural God that can change you from the inside out. There are many testimonies of people giving or re-giving their lives to God and He instantly took away addictions, same sex attractions, beliefs, and many other things.
if God could create the world out of nothing, don't you think He can help you in your struggles? Of course He can, but just like you need faith to believe He is real, you have to believe that He can help you. The currency of heaven is faith. Read about what happened to the people that didn't believe in Jesus doing miracles here. Those that believed were healed, those that didn't, weren't.
So to wrap up the question does God hate gays or does God hate homosexuals, the answer is NO. He loves them just like a parent loves a kid that makes a mistake. In fact He loves them way more than a human can ever love.
If you are a homosexual reading this, I want you to know that God does love you. You can have a relationship with Jesus. God is jealous for you. He longs for you to know each other. Please pick up the Bible and read about Him. Start in the New Testament before you read the old, otherwise it might not make sense.
While you do that, pray to God and ask Him to teach you more about Him. If you are ready to truly love Him you can make a commitment to Him and say the Romans 10:9-10 prayer here.
Don't pay attention to anyone that says God hates gay people. They don't know what they are talking about. Did you know that most people that are Christians don't even read the Bible? How can you follow someone if you don't know their teachings? If you are ready to follow Christ, then be sure to read the Bible. Then you can ACTUALLY know what He says. Don't just listen to others, find out for yourself!
For those contemplating suicide, check out this article that helps answer the question of will you go to hell if you commit suicide.
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