Kathryn A. Frazier
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Are Gay People Going to Hell?
Third and final blog on the topic, A minister and a rabbi walk into a lesbian wedding. . .
We talked about the initial attack: “God judged Sodom and Gomorrah and he will judge gay people the same way.” [Read it here.] Then the counter-attack: “God made Adam and Eve. The rest of the world was populated by incest.” [Read it here.]
Now for the finale: “Gay people are going to hell!” For the sake of discussion, let’s assume that the ones who say this mean all LGBT people.
If you don’t believe in a literal hell, you aren’t concerned over who will end up there, so I won’t go into whether or not hell exists.
I’m a Christian. As a Christian, I believe the words of Jesus. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Not whoever lives an acceptable lifestyle.
Not whoever goes to church.
Not whoever lives in a straight, monogamous marriage.
According to Jesus, LGBT people who believe in him will not perish, but have eternal life.
It’s pretty simple, really. Jesus divided all people of the world into two categories, and it wasn’t gay and straight. He said, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:17-18
Two categories of people that Jesus recognized:
1. whoever believes in him–not condemned
2. whoever does not believe in him–condemned already, because they have not believed
Eternal life comes through faith. While some people are nicer than others, we all have it in us to do the wrong thing. Because no one is righteous, God counts our faith as righteousness. “What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’. . . to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” Romans 4:3-5
Whether you are gay or straight, think about which category you fit in. Are you among those who believe in Jesus and are not condemned? Or are you among those who do not believe and stand condemned already–not because of lifestyle, but because of unbelief?
You can talk to God in the privacy of your own thoughts. You can choose to believe in his mercy. If you do, by the authority of God’s word, you will not perish, but you will have eternal life. No matter what anyone else says about you.
January 29, 2012–This post was edited by the writer to make it easier to understand.
11 Comments on “Are Gay People Going to Hell?”
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Kathryn A. Frazier 
Kathy, this is a tough one. This is how I see it. Anyone who repents and asks Jesus to be their saviour is saved. What they do after that is a choice. I am convinced most mental illness, violence and crimes are committed as a result of demon possession. I believe that includes the choice to become gay. Genesis speaks of a man and woman; God didn’t create them to be otherwise. The murderer, thief, prostitute, or the one who commits fraud, are no different from those who choose to be homosexual. It is a choice. It is driven by allowing the enemy to filter through our lives to the point we take advantage of the free will God gave us and use it for self satisfaction. It is set upon self gratification or selfishness which has taken over our society. The theory is that if I can’t get what I want this way, I will attempt it that way even if it is wrong or hurts others. James 3:13-16
As far as being saved and then straying, I know all about that. God’s mercy is infinite; so there is hope for everyone no matter what they have done. As for me, I don’t want to just barely get in the gate, I want a mansion with a beach behind it once I am there.
The truth is that when we sin, as Jesus told the prostitute, Go and sin no more. In other words if someone is a practicing homosexual but says they believe in Jesus as their savior, they are saved but the consequences of their sin remain in tact while on earth. It is the same for a drug addict or alcoholic who claims to be a christian, but continues to do drugs and drink alcohol excessively. I can say that because my sister is a 25 year sober alcoholic/drug addict. If you had asked me while she was drunk all the time if she was a christian I would have had to say yes, because she accepted Jesus before that. She has however, suffered greatly because of her sin.
As a christian, and I do this, we need to pray for those who have been caught up in the homosexual lifestyle. They can be delivered by the grace of God.
Interesting site. As a Jewish-Christian gay man (yup, all three!) who has been around the block a time or two on this, I actually deal with subject in some detail on my blog. Thought you might find some of the posts of particular interest.
-Alex Haiken
http://jewishchristiangay.wordpress.com
Alex- Your site is costing me so much time! I find it well-written, knowledgeable, relevant and interesting. I’m wondering, did you get more flack when you came out as a gay man or when you embraced Jesus as a Jew?
Kathryn, thank you for your kind words. Great question! The two events were actually several years apart. Some obviously went berserk when I came out gay. But I must say that for the Jews who went berserk when I came out gay, it paled in comparison to their reaction when I embraced Jesus as a Jew. As I may have mentioned in one of my posts, for a Jew to come home and announce to his family, for example, that he’s embraced Christ as the Jewish Messiah as somewhat akin to a black man coming come and announcing that he’s joined the Klan. This, of course, is because of the perception that it’s the “Christians” who are responsible for all the persecution and anti-Semitism they have been subjected to. But while it’s true that many horrendous things have been done in the name of Christ, we must be able to separate who he is from some of those who have claimed to represent him.
Anonymous- Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate you putting into words what so many in the church feel. Often Christians who “love the sinner, but hate the sin” have a hard time expressing that.
To be honest, when you said there is no difference between a murderer and a gay person or a thief, that made me uncomfortable. As a Christian, I understand the Christian teaching that sin is sin is sin. That is, we have all sinned–whether great or small–and fallen short of the glory of God in some way. I think that’s what you meant. At least, I hope so. I hope you weren’t suggesting that the kid who shoplifts should be treated the same as the one who lies in wait for innocent blood.
I think in the case of Jesus telling the adulterous woman to “go and sin no more,” he was our example. He showed the crowd that it was not their place to take action against this woman, but it was his place to tell her how to live. I think, too, that he was showing us the beginnings of the new covenant (New Testament) law of love, as he chose not to stone her, even though he was the only one without sin, eligible to do so.
I’m glad to know you are praying. God hears. And a big mazel tov (congratulations) to your sister. May God bless her and strengthen her.
Howdy! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.
Thank you for your interest. Sorry, I’m not on Twitter.
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