Nothing's changed, yet everything needs to!

Because Nothing has Changed, 2000 by Anya Gallaccio

Installation at Lehmann Maupin, New York. Private Collection.
Photo courtesy Lehmann Maupin, New York

Nothing's changed, yet everything needs to!

Yeah, that is a play on Brian McLaren’s book Everything Must Change, and to a degree this is about that book… but more this is about correcting a few things that have been stated lately about me.

I have recently decided to make a more conscience effort to reach out and accept Gay people. Gratefully, I have been able to do an interview with a controversial figure, and it seems that interview marked me as “embracing sin”.

My issue with all this is that nothing has really changed in my views. I still believe that one must be saved through Jesus Christ and that the Holy Spirit changes a person from the inside out. I still believe that the core issues are acceptance and identity. Yet, I find some stating awful things about me. Nothing's changed.

I define sin as “anything that comes between a person and God that keeps them from having a close, intimate, loving relationship with Jesus.” This may include being gay when the person’s conscience is not free of guilt. Yet, (and this is the sticky point) a person may be gay and God has other things He is working on of MORE importance. Does this mean a gay person will change their sexual attraction? Sometimes… but not always. Yet, if same sex attraction does not go away and the person still confesses Jesus as their savior… and fails or maybe gives up trying to change in “that” way, what are we to do with that person. Some say cast them out… yet… is it their failure or ours? And then there is this...

We accept all sorts of “sin” in the church. Divorce is a sin… yet there is the same amount of divorce in the “Christian” world as there is in the rest of the world. Yet, there are not many who will stand up and denounce a couple who were divorced and have remarried someone else. (I would not either to tell you the truth). The Bible clearly teaches that if this happens, adultery has happened… and get this… most churches let unrepented divorced adulters attend their church, serve in the church and sometimes…. even pastor a church! Again… for some reason most will fall back on grace for that sort of thing, yet why “Grace” for unrepentant divorced remarried couples and not for struggling or non-struggling gay people? Does grace stop at some point? I hope not… otherwise it is not grace, but works. If God only accepts us by grace then what I think about someone who is gay does not matter… God accepts them, loves them, and wants the best for them… and if I am a true imitator of Jesus, so should I! (Please understand this is an example of how there is a double standard concerning Grace, I am not condemning anyone who has divorced and remarried.)

The Gospel is the Gospel that gives life. In fact, if one confesses Christ and comes to faith, the bible is clear as to what happens.

Ephesians 1: 13. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14. who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

Therefore, to not accept someone who believes in Jesus and is gay seems to me, misses the point of Grace…

So, now let us go back to the topic of sin. If someone is in sin, Paul tells us how to approach him or her.

Galatians 6: 1. Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Yet, it seems that depending on the type of sin, gentleness seems to not matter to some, let alone that we are to carry each other’s burdens. I might also add that there are many verses on patience and longsuffering, yet most also ignore these. If someone is in sin, most likely the already know it or have justified it or just keep themselves in denial. To tell them they are in sin will tend to make them hold on to that very sin even tighter. The only real way to free anyone from sin, is to have the Son set them free. This goes for ANY sin. If we spend our time focused on sin, then Jesus is not our focus. In fact, to focus on our sin is denying that the Lamb who was slain took our sin away. If someone must focus on sin, then it should be his or her own sin, yet even that is wrong! Paul states:

1 Cor 4: 3. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

Even if we have a clear conscience, it does not mean we are innocent, so how we judge ourselves may not be accurate. We could see ourselves as right when we are wrong or wrong when we are just fine. We truly need to let Jesus be the judge and instead look to ourselves to make sure we are not falling victim to self-deception.

Finally, I want to ask those who disagree to at least agree with these words from Paul which are my prayer for you, me and anyone else who calls themselves followers of Jesus.

1 Peter 3: 8. Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

Ephesians 1: 2. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

It is not my job to diagnose and then try to fix anyone else. I cannot even do that with myself. It is my job though, to assume “the sick need a doctor” and that I too need that same doctor. We all need Jesus. We all need Jesus not just to get to heaven, but also to Live… To live now and for eternity. My job is simply to be one that needs the doctor who helps others who need that same doctor and walk side by side with them as they are being cured. Meanwhile, always remembering, I have not fully arrived yet, or totally healed and need help from the other person to walk at times. This is what needs to change in our thinking about anyone different from us. Jesus removed the “other” from the Christian vocabulary and changed it to brother (and sister of course ) = ) This new life is no longer about separation, but reconciliation... and that we now walk supporting each other as we become more like Christ and walk in God's Kingdom come to earth.