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Today's Post
Pure Passion
Pure Passion
I recently wrote the forward for David Foster’s autobiography, which will come off the press in 2014. His Father was a third-generation Presbyterian pastor, but David never received the love and acceptance he longed for. His anger toward God and his parents led to drugs and sexual immorality. He headed for Hollywood and became a bit actor and a male prostitute. All he wanted was love and acceptance and thought he found it in a cult with a false Messiah. But the “Hound of Heaven” dogged him and a trip to the Holy Land opened his eyes to the true Messiah.
Climbing out of that life style has taken years, and now David is making a major contribution to the church with his ministry (see www.PurePassion.us and www.MasteringLife.org). There are three issues that we must keep in mind helping others like David. First, it is extremely difficult to be part of a real Christian community when you have same-sex attraction. The true church doesn’t compromise the gospel and rightly holds to a biblical morality. However, that can be conveyed in such a way that those who are struggling may be driven underground. Imagine what it is like to have these struggles and everyone around you is abhorred by any sexual deviancy. It is like a modern day leprosy. You would probably feel guilty, ashamed, and frightened to death that someone may find out your inner conflicts.
Second, the vast majority of those struggling with same-sex attraction have been abused; sexually and otherwise. The last thing we want to do is to add more abuse, criticism, or rejection. Actually, I have more empathy for those struggling with same-sex attraction than I do with Christians who have cheated on their spouses. People don’t just decide one day that they would like to be gay, and most are confused as to the origin of their problem.
Third, in our ministry we seek to help people find their identity and freedom in Christ through genuine repentance and faith in God. If we are successful they are forgiven and have become new creations in Christ. They are no longer gay and they should not identify themselves as such, but they still retain old flesh patterns, which they need to crucify and learn to grow out of. Reparative therapy that shows sexual pictures of the opposite sex is only harmful. We are not trying to replace one lust for another. In a similar fashion those who have overcome alcoholism are no longer alcoholics, they are children of God who will likely still crave alcohol, but have learned how to overcome those cravings. Eventually the attraction of alcohol and immoral sex fades away as they grow in grace. Our flesh patterns do not define who we are in Christ.
Dr. Neil
For Spanish, see http://www.ficmm.org/blog
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