Pray for Ray Boltz

One of the first Christian Contemporary cassettes I ever purchased as a teenager was "The Altar" by Ray Boltz. Who in "evangelical-world" hasn't heard someone sing "Thank You" or "Watch the Lamb?" (The former was actually sung at Mother Teresa's funeral.)

This past Friday, Ray Boltz announced that he is gay. Boltz has divorced his wife and moved to Fort Lauderdale, saying it was a place where he could live anonymously and live a "normal gay life." In a coming out article in a homosexual publication, he said, "If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live...I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself."

Several issues here. First of all, the Bible defines homosexuality not as someone who is attracted to the same sex, but as someone who engages in homosexual activity. (For example, if you're merely tempted to rob a bank, that doesn't make you a bank robber if you never give in to the temptation.) The fact that Ray Boltz has same sex attractions does not make him homosexual. The fact that he has chosen to embrace a lifestyle that is contrary to the Bible makes him homosexual. Homosexuals frequently use the "God made me this way so it must be okay" argument. Boltz himself makes the same argument in the above quote. However, we do not experience temptation because God intends for us to indulge in it, we experience temptation because we have a sin nature as a result of the fall. Temptation is to be resisted, not gratified. James 1:12 says "Blessed is the man who endures temptation..."

Unfortunately, many Christians will hear this news and err on one of two extremes. Some will elevate his sin above that of the fornicator or adulterer, as if some sins are cleaner than others. Homosexuals are not a "special class" of sinners. The Bible places the sin of homosexual activity right alongside other sins that we have all committed. Others will embrace his actions without realizing the hypocrisy of claiming to follow Scripture while living a lifestyle that contradicts its teachings. (Some try to explain away the Bible's condemnation of homosexuality in Romans 1, but you have to butcher the text in the worst possible way to come up with any conclusion that even remotely endorses - or even allows for- homosexuality.) You cannot, in good conscience, claim to accept the authority of the Bible and endorse homosexual behavior.

Boltz made another statement that I believe gives us a window into his future. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that if evangelicals were wrong about homosexuality, then they were probably wrong about others things as well. And on that, he has a point. If we can't trust what the Bible says about homosexuality, how can we trust what it says about life, death, heaven, hell, forgiveness, salvation and eternity? The truth is, we can't. There is a reason why the overwhelming majority of Christians who fall into this particular sin eventually deny the faith altogether. It is the logical conclusion once you accept homosexual behavior.

What do we do as believers? How do we respond?

#1 - We refrain from elevating Boltz's sin above the sins of others.

#2 - We communicate the positive message of hope for the homosexual in Jesus Christ.

#3 - We define homosexuality Biblically, not as the media would instruct us. The man/woman who is attracted to the same sex yet remains abstinent out of obedience to God's Word is not a homosexual in God's eyes.

#4 - We must reject the notion of homosexual orientation. The issue is temptation, not orientation.

#5 - We can financially support ministries that help homosexuals experience God's redemption and grace. Here's a good place to start.

#6 - We must properly define success for the homosexual. Success is not enabling a gay man to become an ogling skirt chaser. Success is helping the homosexual flee sexual sin of all types and be obedient to Christ. Often times, God will provide an individual of the opposite sex who is attractive to the once gay man or woman. God is more than capable of doing that if it is His will.

#7 - We must practice church discipline. In First Corinthians Five, we are told about a church member who engaged in sexual immorality without repenting. The church was to hand this man "over to Satan" (verse 5), was "not to associate" with him (verse 9) and to "expel him" (verse 13). By the second epistle, repentance had taken place and Paul encourage the church to receive the restored sinner.

#8 - We must pray for Ray Boltz and others who have strayed from God's pattern for human sexuality.