EX-GAY: Fact, Fraud, or Fantasy ?

"Ex-gay" is a term which always brings a response. For the most part, the

gay community believe this is a total lie. They deny that it is possible

to become ex-gay. It is their belief that "ex-gay" is a fraudulent term.

Most come from the stand-point that a homosexual orientation is inborn,

that it cannot be changed. They frequently equate the homosexual

orientation with being left-handed, or with the colour of one's skin.

Others who are not so hostile believe that ex-gays are simply engrossed in

a fantasy situation. They think that one day, the "former homosexual" will

come back to reality and realize that he is still just as gay as he ever

was. Each time an ex-gay falls back into sexual sin, the skeptical critics

hold this up as proof of their position that the ex-gay was living in a

state of euphoria, that he was simply brain-washed and has finally come to

his senses.

Understanding The Term.

What is the meaning of this term that many people are using to announce

that their life has been changed? To begin to understand the meaning of

"ex gay", we can correlate it with the sanctification process described in

1 Corinthians 1:10, "Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth

deliver: in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us." The ex-gay knows

that something has definitely happened in his life. Change has come.

Perhaps the most important change is that he has come into agreement with

God that homosexuality is a sinful pattern of moral behaviour. Attitudes

have also changed, so that what was once called love is now seen as

possessiveness. The ex-gay can agree with Paul. that he has been

delivered. So there is now a new position in Christ, where the ex-gay is

freed from sin by the atoning blood of Jesus on the cross. God now views

that person through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. At the same time, the

change is also a process of growth that goes along day by day, even minute

by minute.

What About temptation?

Becoming ex-gay does not guarantee that there will be no stumbles. Daily,

each Christian needs to be delivered from tempting thoughts and sexual

availability. He knows that Jesus will deliver him from these things,

because Christ has already begun the change process in his life. When one

has already seen the Hand of God at work in his life, it is easier to trust

God and to rely on Him in times of trouble.

The Future.

"I will yet be delivered." The ex-gay person sees his homosexual responses

diminishing and has the confident hope that he will be fully delivered in

the future. But nowhere does the Bible promise that a person will come to

the place where they are never again tempted. In fact, the Scriptures

promise just the opposite: the Christian faces a lifetime of trials and

temptations. We must rejoice in our trials, for they build Christian

maturity. The former homosexual who enters into temptations also rejoices,

for he has seen God deliver him and he knows that each time God provides

the way out of the temptation, he becomes stronger in his faith.

Our Goal

In Love In Action, we do not attempt to make heterosexuals out of

homosexuals. Rather, we attempt to change a person's identity, the way a

person looks at himself. It is not Biblical to use our past sin as our

God-given identity. We encourage the former gay to drop the label

"homosexual" from his life. However, we do not ask him to become dishonest

about his struggle with homosexuality. He is a Christian who has a

homosexual problem, rather than a homosexual who believes in Jesus Christ.

It is our hope that a person struggling with homosexuality will come to a

place of wholeness in Christ. Then, from a position of strength, he can

decide whether to marry or whether to remain single. We hope that each

person will keep an open mind on marriage until they come to that place of

maturity where they know that they could handle a marriage situation

properly, if God led them into it.

What Do We Really Want ?

An important part of the change process is the "belief principle". Jesus

said in Mark 11:24, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe

that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." We encourage people to

joyously welcome Christ into their heart, to have a positive spirit about

Christ and to expect changes to occur. We point out that Christ works

daily, even minute by minute. An awareness must be developed to see what

He is doing. He has not abandoned us, but is daily cleansing us. If it is

the desire of your heart to marry and raise a family, Christ most certainly

will make this possible. We have seen this happen time and time again. It

is disbelief that traps and discourages and brings on a state of

hopelessness. Disbelief effectively stops the change process and blocks

the Holy Spirit when He attempts to reach us, to bring important life-

changing messages. II Corinthians 5:17 in the Amplified Bible reads,

"Therefore if any person is in Christ, the Messiah, he is a new creature

altogether, a new creation; the old previous moral and spiritual condition

has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!"

"Ex-Gay"

Why is it that the term "ex-gay" so threatens the gay community? It

implies that one remains homosexual by choice. So the gay person need not

continue in the homosexual lifestyle. It is far easier to believe that

there is no way out, than to contemplate the rigours of the change process.

Let no one deceive themselves by thinking that leaving the homosexual

lifestyle is an easy thing to do. It is extremely difficult. It is only

when we totally give up and say, "Lord, I can't do it on my own", that we

allow God the opportunity to come in and begin to remake our lives. The

process is slow and the gay person encounters much in the way of spiritual

warfare. The enemy does not allow anyone to easily slip out of his

control. Indeed, the ex-gay person passes through the fire.

How do we, those of us who are ex-gay, bear up under such a label? First,

I have never found anyone who is enthusiastic about the label. It is a

scar on the side and nail prints in the hands. It is insufficient identity

and a poor trade-off for the former identity of being a homosexual. Again,

just as it is not valid to use our sin as our identity, it is also not

valid to use our former sin to form our identity. We are Christians who

were formerly homosexuals. We may be Christians who still struggle with

homosexuality, but we are first and foremost Christians. We are the

property of Jesus Christ, no longer our own. Why then the label "ex-gay'?

What purpose does it serve? It is our witness to the life-changing power

of Jesus Christ. It is the ray of hope that flickers within the gay

community that homosexuality is not a terminal condition, In itself, it

says, "There IS a way out!"

Change Is Real.

The changes Christ makes in a life are fact, not fraud or fantasy. The

changes continue from the moment we accept Christ as Lord of our life until

the day we see Him face to face. We can never expect perfection in this

life, yet we can have every reason to expect continual change that brings

us ever closer to the image of Christ. The idea that the ex-gay person is

claiming to have arrived at perfection is a wrong comprehension of the

term. What does "ex-gay" mean? It is a statement of fact: I am no longer

the same. God has changed me, He is changing me, and He most certainly

will continue to change me.

- - Frank Worthen

 

For further information about homosexuality or about other areas of sexual

brokenness, please contact:

LOVE IN ACTION

G.P.O. Box 1115

ADELAIDE SA 5001

Phone (08) 371-0446

This article is reprinted by permission from:

Love In Action

P.O. Box 2655

San Rafael California 94912

U.S.A.



MINISTRY TO HOMOSEXUALS


Database Listing - Ministry To Homosexuals.
Christian Resources on Homosexuality on the web


These documents are free from
BelieversCafe.com
the complete christian resource site with more than 5000 webpages.