January 12, 2012

Disclaimer: I don’t watch or read anything made by Joel.  I don’t claim to have a good understanding of what he usually preaches or believes. It’s not that I don’t like him, he’s just not for me.  So I can’t say whether most of what he says is right or wrong.

But the other day, he got it right.  Joel recently appeared on Oprah’s new show and faced some difficult questions.  The difficult questions every preacher sooner or later faces.  It seems like the media spends a lot of time focusing on the people who only gets one out of two of the questions Oprah was getting at right.

The first question: Is homosexuality a sin?  Answer: Yes.
The second question: Does that mean a gay person will got to hell.  Answer: Maybe.

Maybe?  Yes, maybe.

Joel answers perfectly when he says essentially that sometimes we make homosexuality into a bigger sin than it is.  It is made into something more than it is.  Homosexuality is a sin.  So is lying, so is cheating, so is stealing, so is many other things.  The truth is, homosexuality is not on some other level than these other sins.  All sin exists on the same level.  Sin is sin is sin, no matter which category you try to put it in.

So why the maybe?

The very nature of God is perfect.  Joel says that God doesn’t categorize sin, and in many ways he is right.  But it’s more than that.  Far more than that.  The very nature of God is complete perfection.  Sin is imperfection.  For something to be perfect, there can be no imperfection near it or associated it.  Sin (and therefore sinners) is(are) completely incapable of approaching God.  But God was unwilling to accept that.  So God found a way to approach sinners.  Through covering our sin with the sacrifice of the Son.

What does that mean for someone who is gay?  The same as it does for all other sinners.  If you accept the truth that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and ask forgiveness for your sins then your sins (all of them) will be forgiven.  And if you don’t, then they won’t.  All sinners could go to Hell.  No sinner has to.

Those who would make homosexuality out to be something greater than any other sin is misguided, and probaby forgetting of their very own sins.  Yes, we should strive to stop sinning.  We should lead a perfect life as possible.  Habitual sin is not good, and we should all strive to stop it.  But many of us commit habitual sin, so we should stop throwing stones and first take care of our own sins.

Did Joel get anything wrong?  Maybe.  I’m not sure.  His comment on “many paths to Jesus” is a little worrisome.  It could be entirely correct, or entirely wrong.  But I didn’t see any elaboration on exactly what he meant.  Did he mean that Jesus is available to all people in all the world?  Then yes, that’s correct.  Did he mean something else?  I don’t know.  So I can’t say either way until I see elaboration.

But in the mean time, good job Reverend Joel.  It’s about time someone prominent spoke out and got both answers to the two questions often asked correct.