Transgenderism, Homosexuality, and 1 Corinthians 7 Question(s)

[mattfivefour]

Excellent exchange! And excellent responses by @Work4Peanuts!

Indeed, we are saved exclusively and entirely by what Jesus did, not by anything we do.That is why the Holy Spirit in Hebrews 8:6 refers to the New Covenant as "a better covenant." The Old Covenant was weak in that it depended on man to keep it. (God knew man could never keep it, which is why He also instituted the blood sacrifices at the same time as He made it.) The New Covenant is better in that it is kept by God, not man. Once we accept the gift of salvation earned by Christ and offered freely to us, our part is done. God secures us from that point on. (If someone has difficulty believing that, the entire deal is laid out clearly in Colossians 1:21-23.)

For those who want to dig into this a little deeper, a study of Scripture reveals that salvation actually has three parts. But the first is the most critically necessary part for us, and is the part many think of as the entirety of salvation-- namely our being set free from the penalty of sin. By this act of Jesus Christ --which we receive by faith, through repentance and confession-- the barrier that separated us from God is removed. From this point on we are Christ's and we are God's, secured for all eternity. But salvation doesn't stop there.

By what we call salvation, we have been saved from the penalty of sin. By what we call sanctification, we are being saved from the power of sin. And when we leave this life and enter eternity (in other words at our glorification) we will be saved from the presence of sin itself. As I said, for us here and now, that first part is the most important in that, having accepted Christ by faith, we are now forever free from the penalty of sin. Sin thus having been totally dealt with forever, we are therefore now secure in God's Presence forever. Sin can no longer separate us from Him! Glory to God!!!

Sadly, those who do not believe in OSAS fail to understand the completeness of God's work in that first part. Thus, to them, sanctification is as important to our acceptance by God. But it isn't, at least not as far as His accepting us. Don't get me wrong: sanctification IS important. Very important. But not to our acceptance by God. It is important to our usefulness by God. It is important in our bringing glory to His Name through our life here on earth. And surely that is the purpose we should be concerned with here. If we are saved, then surely gratitude and a desire to please the One who saved us should be our motivating impulse. After all, Scripture says that we love Him because He first loved us. And if His love indeed dwells in is, then it should flow forth out of us to others. After all, doesn't Scripture says that our love for one another is proof we are His? (John 13:24-25; 1 John 3:14) Does it not say that if we know God then we WILL love others? (1 John 4:7-11)

But love and obedience is another topic. All that is important for this thread is to understand that at the moment you truly accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, ALL penalty for your sin is gone. Forever.

Everything else is something else that can have many ramifications for you, but NOT the loss of your salvation. That gift is yours for all eternity.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

@mattfivefour -
Do you have any insight about what someone should do about the practical Earthly consequences and ramifications if he or she finds him or herself in a situation I described in the OP?

 

[mattfivefour]

@mattfivefour -
Do you have any insight about what someone should do about the practical Earthly consequences and ramifications if he or she finds him or herself in a situation I described in the OP?

Were I to pastor them, I would offer the same advice as @Work4Peanuts gave in a couple of her posts upthread. Rather than summarize what she wrote, I will post the relevant parts below.

"According to the Bible homosexuality is a sin. The Bible also has established terms for marriage. Homosexuality is not included in the Biblical definition of one man and one woman of free agency united in matrimony under God. Forget appearance. It is a sin for a man and a man to live together as "husbands" (likewise for women.) The Bible tells us to flee immorality in 1 Cor 6:18. A man who has turned to God for salvation from his lifestyle of homosexual sin is not fleeing sexual immorality if he remains in the unsanctified relationship, even if he remains celebate. The temptation will be there."​

"A Christian is to no longer derive their sense of self in their past sins. To say that one is a "homosexual Christian" implies that the person has not given that sin up and recognized it as sin. We are to die to self daily. We take on Christ's righteousness and when God sees us, He sees His righteousness. We don't go around modifying "Christian" with the name of other sins. There is no half-way. We either turn it all over or we have offered God nothing and must at that point consider whether we are truly saved."​

"If (a) person is clinging to a pet sin, so much so that they draw their identity from it and call themselves by that sin, even to the point of putting it before calling themselves Christian, they may need to examine themselves and see if they have truly repented and turned to Christ as Lord."​

I would suggest that the points our sister makes are exactly the right points to use with anybody in a homosexual/lesbian lifestyle or a homosexual/lesbian marriage who gets saved and says they do not know what to do.
@Tall Timbers also nails it with his response:

"Marriage is between a man and a woman ... therefore, marriages between individuals of the same sex are just two or more people pretending at the idea while in rebellion against God. Should one become saved, it might take some time before they come to understand and embrace the Truth, especially since the world will continue to tell them something else."​

@Ghoti Ichthus, both our brother and our sister have clearly identified the core issues at the heart of the situations you describe. Those are exactly what I see, too. Therefore I would have to give the same advice. The fact is that God is emphatic that all Christians --regardless of how we may feel and what we may think-- must learn to deny ourselves and follow God's Word instead. That may sound harsh, and it is hard for many of us, but it is the only road that leads to more and more victory in our lives and more and more glory for Jesus Christ. So I would give the above counsel firmly...but in gentleness and love, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to lead the person or persons before me into His truth and righteousness.

I pray this helps you.