I know this is a tough topic. There are a lot of emotions tied up in this subject. Some of us likely have gay friends or family. Some of us may even identify as LBGTQIAP ourselves.

Before we go any further I have to tell you something very important. God loves everyone. He loves the Lesbian the same as he loves the straight dude the same as he loves the asian little person. These labels are ours, not His. He loves you for you just as you are.

Also there are people who can do this message so much better than me. Check out this talk by Jonathan Pokluda or this one by David Marvin.

My Answer

I decided to breakdown this question in order to get a more unbiased look at it. As a result my two new questions will put the spotlight on all people not conforming to the standard of the bible, in other words… everyone.

This is tough so I’m going to start with a prayer.

Father, let the words that I’m typing be true and if they are not true would you encourage the readers to overlook them or to challenge me with scripture so that I may be sharpened in my understanding of you. Please help our defenses to go down and let your word cut its way into our life. Help me to yield Your Word with grace and mercy and please forgive me where/if I have misused it. I need you! Amen

A Breakdown

The question ‘can someone embrace homosexuality and still be saved’ can be split into two more generalized questions: 1) What does it take to be saved? 2) Can someone embracing sin still be saved?

What Does It Take To Be Saved?

There are several scriptures that lay out what is required in order to be saved. John 3:16 is world famous, but the another good verse is Romans 10:9 NIV: “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

You might ask, “don’t you need to repent and be saved?”

The interesting part about these verses is the absence of the term repentance. However, when we study the book of Acts particularly focusing on the narratives regarding people coming to salvation we start to notice a trend. Acts 2:38, 3:19, 11:18, 17:30; 20:21; 26:20. Do you see it? Where there was salvation there was repentance!

Therefore, I have come to conclusion that salvation and repentance are two side of the same coin. In order to get salvation you must have repentance. Thus, one is saved when they declare Jesus as Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead and as a result of that salvation we should see some level, even a tiny amount, of repentances as evidence of one’s new faith.

Can Someone Embracing Sin Still Be Saved?

To embrace an idea is to believe something is true or make the concept one with us. For example, if we say Bryan has really embraced vulnerability we would mean that Bryan has taken the concept of vulnerability and applied it to his life. If Bryan did this well we would be able to say, “Bryan is a vulnerable person.” The embraced concept becomes a part of who he is, so to embrace sin is to make it part of our identity.

As stated at the beginning of this post I wanted to remove the focus on homosexuality and focus on how this question affects all people. When we generalize the original question we can turn it into a fill in the blank.

Can someone embracing (___INSERT SIN___) still be saved?

We need to really think about this question. How does this apply to us? Can I really keep embracing my disrespectful attitude toward my boss and still be saved? Can I continue pursuing these lustful fantasies and still be saved? Your questions could also look like the following?

Conclusion

When we believe in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and declare Him as Lord we are instantly saved. We are made completely new in the eyes of God, but we still have many, if not all, of our flaws. We don’t just stop sinning the moment we are saved. We are continually convicted and shown our old and new sin in a process of sanctification. We are saved, but we continue to sin through moments of weakness/ignorance/disobedience. We live our lives and then when we are confronted with our sin we should confess it (sometimes over and over again) and find healing. We should not see our sin, justify its existence, then accept it as who we are. When we embrace sin we are declaring our desires as Lord, rather than Jesus.

However, if one can be ignorant to God’s teaching then maybe they can be saved while embracing their sin. However, I have deep concern for anyone’s salvation who knows they are sinning and chooses to keep sinning anyways. That reaction to Jesus seems like the response of a person who is choosing a life of what they want rather than surrendering to God’s wants for their life. In essence they believe in God, but they declare themselves as Lord.

~ Daniel F. Grey

MORE ANSWERING HARD QUESTIONS
Is My Unbelieving Loved One In Hell?
How Can A Good God Allow Suffering?
How Do You Admonish Someone Who Is Not A Believer?
How Do You Direct A Stranger Who Wants To Take The Next Step As A Believer?
Why Do Christians Obey Some OT Laws & Ignore Others?

OUTLINE

1. What does it take to be saved?
   1. John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Romans 10:9 – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
   2. What about repentance?
      1. Whenever I was looking through Acts on how people got saved I saw a trend – where there was salvation there was often repentance. Acts 2:38, 3:19, 11:18, 17:30; 20:21; 26:20.
      2. We also see that bible warns against unrepentance and the result of unrepentance. It also says that we are suppose to cut sin from our lives. Romans 6:1,12,15; 8:2; 1 Corinthians 6:18, 15:32; 2 Corinthians 12:21; 1 Timothy 3:20; Hebrews 10:26, 12:4
   3. Considering a and b together I have come to the conclusion that salvation and repentance are two sides of the same coin. In order to get salvation you must have repentance.
      1. Therefore one is saved when they declare Jesus as Lord and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead and as a result of that salvation we should see some level, even a tiny amount, of repentance as evidence of their new faith.
2. Can someone embrace sin and still be saved?
   1. I have now generalized the question so that we can apply this to everyone. So the new question might read as such 
      1. Can someone embrace gossiping and still be saved?
      2. Can someone embrace stealing time at work and still be saved?
      3. Can someone embrace sex before marriage and still be saved?
      4. Can someone embrace coveting others possessions and still be saved?
      5. Can someone embrace homosexuality and still be saved?
      6. Can someone embrace _____sin______ and still be saved?
         1. I’m not including addictions on this list on purpose because at the point when someone is addicted I don’t know if that person is capable of choosing what is right and what is wrong.
   2. To embrace an idea is to believe something is true or to make the concept one with us (for example if we were to say Bryan has really embraced vulnerability, we would mean that Bryan has taken the concept of vulnerability and applied it to his life so that one could easily say, “Bryan is such a vulnerable person” – the embraced concept becomes a part of who he is) so to embrace sin is to make it part of our identity.
   3. When we believe in Jesus resurrection from the dead and declare Him as Lord we are instantly saved. We are made completely new in the eyes of God, but we still have many if not all of our flaws. We don’t just stop sinning the moment we are saved. We are continually convicted and shown our old and new sin in a process of sanctification. We are saved, but we continue to sin through moments of weakness/ignorance/disobedience. We live our lives and then when we are confronted with our sin we confess it (sometimes over and over again) and find healing. We should not see our sin, justify its existence, then accept it as who we are. When we embrace sin we are declaring our desires as Lord rather than Jesus. However, if one can be ignorant to God’s teaching then maybe they can be saved while embracing their sin. I would have deep concern for someone’s salvation if they know they are sinning and choose to sin anyways. That response to Jesus seems like the response of a person who is choosing a life of what they want rather than surrendering to God. In essence they believe in God but they declare themselves as Lord.

SOURCES

The Bible (NIV)
Matthew 5:48
John 3:16
Romans 10:9
Acts 2:38,3:19,11:18,17:30,20:21,26:20
2 Corinthians 5:17
Romans 3:23, 6:1-2
James 5:16
1 John 1:8-10
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