In the cross hairs of his judgment

In the cross hairs of his judgment

A June 10 letter about the Boy Scouts decision on gays, titled, “Two versions of Christianity,” concluded wrongly about the Bible. My focus isn’t on the Scouts, but to address the writer’s assertions about the Bible which he said the Scouts cited as a basis for their decision.

The writer stated that the passages in Leviticus are the only ones in the Bible that mention homosexuality, as though somehow this diminishes their import. The Ten Commandments, the basis for the moral Law, are also in the Old Testament, and they are still valid in the New Testament. In Matthew 5:17 Jesus says, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”

New Testament passages, e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 discuss sexual perversion, having already been defined in the Old Testament so that many good translations use the word, “Homosexuality.”

The writer also posited, ”There must be two kinds of Sunday school. One has God smiting everyone and the other is a much gentler one by Jesus.” All Law vs. all Love — pick one, is a false dichotomy. It’s both simultaneously. That’s precisely why Jesus went to the cross, because God does not disregard our sins, but his love forgives them by imputing his righteous-wrath onto Jesus and Jesus’ righteousness to us. Not a fair trade to be sure but one for which I will be eternally grateful.

Homosexual desires or temptations of any kind are not sins. Jesus was tempted in the desert but he resisted it. Giving in to temptation produces sin. Intentionally negating what God has called sin equates him to a liar and puts one in the cross hairs of his judgment.

Brian Van Dine

Carol Stream