 Can a homosexual go to heaven? Or can a person who's struggling with the thoughts of homosexuality, can that person go to heaven? Welcome back, smart Christians. A question that gets asked often, and there's, I guess for a good reason, because we see this explosion, this the LGBTQ movement being put at the forefront in our face, virtually everywhere we go, we're gonna see that. It's what the question naturally is for us as Christians. Can a person who is either homosexual or struggling with those thoughts, can that person go to heaven? Well, we know clearly, according to the Bible, according to Romans chapter one, that is a sin. It's been a sin from the very beginning as we look through the Old Testament and as we look to the New Testament, the Bible says for this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions for their women exchange the natural function for that, which is unnatural. And in the same way, also men abandon the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the dupe penalty of their error. So that is an issue that God does not tolerate. God has made it clear, he's made it clear that homosexuality is a sin. Now there are gonna be some people that are gonna say, well, wait a second, but this word homosexuality is a newer word and that maybe this word didn't exist. That truth be told is moving or deflecting from the actual argument, whether the term that we use homosexuality is fairly recent or not. There are some debate as to that, but what's not up for debate is the act that is described that we've come to know as homosexuality. One such place you'd find this is in 1st Corinthians chapter six, starting in verse nine, it says, or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Now I wanna come back to this point, this unrighteous in just a little bit, but do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals. Now this effeminate, this melancholy, these are men who tend to be on the, we would call the soft side for lack of a better way of putting it because that's really what the word refers to, soft and soft in their clothing, effeminate, acting men. But then also this word here for homosexual, where we get the Greek word, it's made of two words, arsenicoyti, which is a combination of two words, man and bedding. So the act is described whether we think that the word homosexual is an incorrect term, but the act itself is described and that is a saying, men bedding other men, similarly women bedding other women. Now as we go back to it, notice it states that those people that do those things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now it's not just them also, there's other people that are also named in that, but I wanna focus on this here where he says that the unrighteous, those people that are not in right standing. So the issue is, if a person is in right standing with God, then that person goes to heaven. If a person is not in right standing, that person will not go to heaven. The question is though, can a homosexual be in right standing? Well, what's required to be in right standing? That you place your faith in Christ. Now there's this mental sense, this mental understanding of all the facts that Jesus did, that we're sinners and that he died for us because we couldn't pay the debt and placing faith in his shed blood would mean that we would now be in right standing. Anyone can make a mental ascent, an understanding of those facts, but that's not really getting to the point. The point is, have you placed your faith in that? In other words, have you resigned your life to be in him? Now how that shows up is that if a person is genuinely saved, then they are also repentant of their sin. They do not like their sin and they don't want to relish and live in that sin. It's not the person who says that, yes, I know I'm wicked, I know that I'm sinful, I'm knowing all these different things and Christ died for me, so I'm good, so let me continue to live in these things. No, that means a person really has not placed their faith in Christ, that person does not have repented heart and that person would much rather be or live the way that they are, rather than be as Paul says, a changed person, a new creature. In Galatians five, we see what's the result of those who walk according to the flesh and those who walk according to the spirit, the fruits of the spirit, compared to the less of the flesh, what happens if a person fulfills the fruits of the flesh or the results of walking in the flesh, those particular people cannot be saved, those people are unsafe, those who practice doing those things. And I want to keep on that particular word for a moment. In first John chapter three, verse nine, it says, no one who was born of God practices sin. And this word here is harmataean u poie. So sin not poie, which is doing, this word right here is in the present active indicative. So a person that is doing these things, which is why we have the word practicing, if a person who practice those things, a person who is doing those things, that particular person cannot be saved. Why? Because he makes a practice of doing those things. And if we go back to Galatians five, look in verse 21, it says he's going through the list. And look what he says, it's just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. And this word right here, this Greek word, which is prosantes, it is a present active participle. So it means that person is in the habit, the practice, a state of doing these things. They practice, they live like these, they are the, it's the ING. So they are whatever it is in this case, being sexually immoral, the ING attitude that make good English, but you understand the point I'm getting to. And that is those who live that way. Now again, it's not just homosexuality because anyone that is practicing sin, that lives a lifestyle of sin, that person is demonstrating whether we can see it ourselves, but at least that person can and certainly God can also, that that person has not placed their faith in Christ. That person is not in right standing. So now the question goes to now, what about a person? Forget the person who's doing those things. That person cannot go to heaven. But what about the person who struggles with those thoughts? That would be a little bit more tricky because truth be told, we all at some time may, and I say may because it varies from person to person, may struggle with thoughts, temptations and so forth where these things are in our minds and so forth. And yes, Jesus does say that if a person looks at a woman with lust and he has created or he has committed adultery in his heart, can the same thing be said for the person who has these homosexual thoughts? Well, obviously the same can be said for that person as well. The issue is what do we mean by having these thoughts in our mind lessing after them? Is it that you notice that this person of the opposite sex is attractive or what have you? Is that a sin? Probably not. But what about if in your mind you're running through all these different things that you can do that would be qualified as sin if you actually did them? Well, then yes, I think that would qualify as an actual sin. And what do we do? The Bible gives us remedies for those things to think on Christ, think on whatever is noble, whatever is lovely, whatever is a just report, think on those things. And so there is a remedy to deal with that if a person is dealing with sexual sin, flee, run to God, draw near to him and he'll draw near to you. And what will happen? Satan will eventually move away. So the issue is gonna be what does a person make a practice of doing? These thoughts may show up. The evil one that the devil may try to tempt you, put things in your face, bring people before you, but you'll indicate to us, to yourself and to God, more importantly, who you are, what you're practicing by what you do, where your faith is. Your faith is gonna dictate what you run to and where you lean to. You may succumb. You may have these thoughts, but then as they come, what do you wanna do? You want to move towards God because it is your practice. Those who practice righteousness, those are the ones who are in right standing. Those will be the ones that will inherit the kingdom of God. And so running to God in the midst of trials and temptation, that's righteousness. Dealing with them, confronting these sinful thoughts, staying with them, not coming to God. That is a person who is not in right standing because in their mind, they don't even think to go there because why they have not placed true faith in that person? And so if a person, obviously the person is practicing, they have a habit, a lifestyle of that, that person cannot enter the kingdom of God. But a person who's struggling, and when I say a struggle, I mean an actual legitimate struggle, but they are going to Christ as often as they possibly can, ultimately to be delivered from that because I do believe that there is deliverance from any thoughts, sexual or any other nature. There is deliverance from those things. And so can a person who struggles with those thoughts also go to heaven? That is if the person is genuinely struggling and they're leaning on Christ, well then I believe so. But if a person is struggling with the thoughts and they are not giving them over to Christ, which indicates it's not really a true struggle, then I don't think that that person could also be saved either.