Page 900 … First on 1 Timothy
Then you reference 1 Timothy 1:9-11, a passage which says in large part that – “the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient; for the godless and the sinful, for the unholy and the profane — for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the gospel of the blessed Lord.”
This passage is very similar to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and its illuminations are similar as well. Consider first of all that that – just like in 1 Corinthians 6 – it is not homosexuals or homosexual couples (or even homosexual desires) that are condemned in this passage, but rather arsenokoites – the Greek word that is translated as “sodomites” in some texts (and incorrectly as “homosexuals” in others); a Greek word that literally means “a male who is actively engaging in same-gender sexual activity” (see Strong’s #733) … As such, once again, we have a verse that does not apply at all to homosexuals who are not actively engaged in gay sex, and thus a verse that does not apply at all to the original image of Oliver Clyde Allen and his husband that started this conversation – and thus, a verse that canNOT be used by you, my good man, to rationalize refusing to hear Oliver preach the Word of God on Sunday!
Secondly, these two verses have their author listing quite a few groups of people who are guilty of other equally “unholy” sins – among them the sexually active, those who tell lies, and those who violate “whatever else is contradictory to the sound teaching” of the law. Needless to say, these prohibitions apply to almost every human being on the planet at one time or another (including every single heterosexual preacher you would go and hear preach on Sunday), and as such it can be safely stated that it is a clear expression of bigotry (and in all likelihood a clear expression of hypocrisy as well) to focus solely on the one at the exclusion of the others!
“For there is no one who does not sin … We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” ~ 2 Chronicles 6:36a + Isaiah 64:6
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” ~ Romans 3:23
“Anyone who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin” ~ James 4:17
“If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, & the truth is not in us.” ~ 1 John 1:8
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged … Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own? … You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbor’s …
Truly I tell you, unless you change and become [humble] like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” ~ Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:1-3 + Matthew18:3)
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