Homosexuality - HG Bishop Youssef

Introduction

• When we speak about the sin of homosexuality, we are accused of lacking love, lacking acceptance, lacking tolerance, condemning, if we are without sin let us stone them with the first stone, etc.
• The Sin of Lying
  • If someone is struggling with lying and comes to the Church and says "I am struggling with lying, help me to overcome this sin" - definitely, the Church will accept him and help him to overcome even if he struggles for many years. As long as he is fighting the good fight, he is part of the Body of Christ and through the grace of the Holy Spirit, God will give him victory over this sin in the proper time according to the economy of God
  • If someone is struggling with lying and comes to the Church and says "Lying is not a sin. Lying is something good. Lying has helped me get out of many problems. You should not condemn lying. You should accept lying as something normal and if someone is struggling with lying, you should tell them it's lying." The Church should absolutely not accept this.
  • Those who say darkness is light and sin is good
• We are not speaking about people struggling with homosexuality but they know it is sin and they are fighting the good fight to overcome this sin as with any other struggle in our spiritual life
• We are speaking of those who want to normalize homosexuality and call it an "alternative lifestyle"
• When we say something sinful is not sinful, this is the problem
• We are accepting the homosexuals, but we are not accepting homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle.
• We love them - and BECAUSE we love them, we tell them this is wrong because it will put your eternity at risk. True love is to tell them that this way is wrong and they need to repent.
• We tolerate the sinner because we are all sinners. If St Paul said "I am chief among sinners" then who are we?
• The Bible is the final authority and the authority of God
  • This is why we see homosexuality and atheism go together - because if I deny the existence of God and the authority of the Scripture, then homosexuality can be an alternative lifestyle

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