 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
Click here
|
When a Friend Falls 8/6/2003 Commentary
The following article is about Michael Johnston, the former founder and president of Kerusso Ministries, based in Newport News, Virginia. Kerusso, with which both Concerned Women for America and Americans for Truth worked, is now defunct. After this commentary was published without mentioning Johnston by name, the story about Johnston’s moral falling broke in the homosexual newspaper Southern Voice and in the "gay" media.
You may soon be reading about a conservative Christian activist who came out of the homosexual lifestyle but recently had a severe moral failing. His ex-"gay” ministry has since closed its doors as he seeks to restore his relationship with God.
Homosexual activists will surely charge that this latest falling “proves” that homosexuality (“sexual orientation”) cannot be changed, and that ex-“gay” ministry is a failure. Of course, such reasoning is fallacious, and is tantamount to asserting that Alcoholics Anonymous is a fraud because some of its adherents slip back into drinking.
The truth is that many men and women have overcome homosexuality and lead contented, obedient lives that are pleasing to God. Some get married. Others stay single. Some, such as Stephen Bennett, no longer have homosexual attractions. Others still struggle with unwanted desires but lead chaste lives in accordance with their faith.
Homosexual activists, with a compliant media in tow, have a simple strategy: dwell on those “ex-gays” who’ve fallen back into homosexuality but ignore those who successfully leave the “gay” life. Far from being fraudulent, the success of the ex-“gay” movement is evinced by the testimonies of so many people who have abandoned homosexuality despite all the cultural propaganda working against them. Yes, some have stumbled, or even returned fully into a “gay” life, but tens of thousands of others have found new life in Christ. (See Exodus International’s website to read some of their wonderful stories.) Natural or inborn “gay” identity is a myth.
Another consideration is that most men and women who once practiced homosexuality have no interest in talking publicly about their former lives. Christians in churches across the world have heard salvation testimonies from people who once thought they were “gay.” These stories rarely reach the public airwaves, in contrast to the clamorous voices of homosexuals who proudly proclaim their “gayness” as a political act. The disparity is compounded by the media who sometimes purposely do not identify former homosexuals as such; see this AFA online story for an example of how he was victimized by the CBS program Sunday Morning.
Repentance
The person in question is a good friend of mine. I am told he is repentant and in a strict accountability program as he tries to get his life back together. I have not spoken to him since the news broke, but one of his family members tells me that my friend is seeking to restore his trust in the Lord. His fall into sexual sin was the result of trusting in himself, rather than God, she said. I can only hope and pray that my friend is on his way to spiritual wholeness.
God is so full of grace and mercy that He offers healing and redemption even when we fall deeply into sin. The flip side is that our rebellion has lifelong consequences. My friend preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to millions, but he has now lost his public ministry and his reputation due to his actions. He caused pain for many others. These are the burdens he will have to carry for the rest of his life due to his selfish choices.
On the matter of sin and redemption, some words are in order, especially for our secular-minded critics: Christianity is unique among the major religions in that the Messiah we worship took our sins upon Himself and died a painful death to give us everlasting life. We can't earn our way to heaven. The grace of Christ did not come cheap, yet some dismiss the Christian faith precisely because of the complete forgiveness it offers, even to those guilty of the most heinous crimes.
I trust that my friend's repentance is genuine and that he is benefiting from God’s ever-present mercy and lovingkindness. Unlike “gay” advocates such as the newly elected Episcopal bishop Rev. Gene Robinson, my friend is not seeking to justify his sin—or worse, say it is godly. In fact, he would be the first to say—even today—that failing to live up to God's moral standard does not discredit the standard itself. He would also say, as he used to tell me, that man’s feelings or weaknesses do not determine truth. That comes from a holy God, as revealed in the Bible.
Sinful hearts
Although I was very angry at my friend when I first heard what he had done, I have since reflected on how easy it is to cast stones—just as it is easy to act with self-righteous superiority toward unrepentant homosexuals without admitting that “there but for the grace of God go I.” Most of us don’t struggle with homosexuality, but every human being has a sin problem in need of a holy solution, Jesus Christ. To the proud, Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Mark 2:17). My friend’s fall, and the potential for each of us to commit sinful acts, and harbor downright evil thoughts, is explained by this Old Testament verse that is as out of fashion today as it is true:
Please pray for my friend, for those like Exodus who minister the love of Christ to homosexuals, and for the pro-family movement as it faces a new round of attacks from activists who will use his fall to deliberately misrepresent the truth.
Peter LaBarbera is senior policy analyst at the Culture & Family Institute, and editor of the Culture & Family Report. He is the president of Americans for Truth.
|
|
Concerned Women for America 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: (202) 488-7000 Fax: (202) 488-0806 |
Feedback / Questions? || Problem with this page? || Archives
