LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 437

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ADDITIONAL THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS—OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 437

foundly impact their temporal and eternal welfare. Dealing with
‘teenagers requires of a pastor that he make sure, in every way, that
the Gospel, specifically applied to their situation in life, has pre-
dominance (as Dr. Walther urges in The Proper Distinction of Law
and Gospel) in his ministry to them.

With regard to homosexual feelings, the Law must be allowed
to say that homosexual behavior (in thought, word, and deed) is
sin. In letting the Law speak in this way, all hearers of it (espe-
cially, but not exclusively, teenage hearers) must be shown that the
condemnation they feel over specific sins that they identify as their
own is intended by God to show a larger problem than just this sin-
ful deed or that sinful thought. The Law condemns our sinfulness,
our sinful nature.

The specific sins over which the Law brings condemnation are
but results of the true dilemma, namely, that “I am a sinner, through
and through.” Teenagers struggling with homosexual feelings, or
even with homosexual acts, need to be shown that their real prob-
lem is not homosexuality (however this condition might arise) but
rather is the fact that they are in bondage to sin just like everyone
else. And ¢his problem cannot be fixed on this side of the grave.
This problem can only be dealt with by the forgiveness of sin in
Christ Jesus. Thundering the Law of God, however correctly artic-
ulated, without clarifying the true situation of the sinner that the
Law is given to reveal, only engenders the despair that leads either
to rebellion or to hypocrisy but not to the Gospel.

Goal Two

To assure the repentant sinner of forgiveness in Christ.

This goal assumes that the person has heard the Law and feels
troubled about his or her behavior. Care needs to be exercised in
encouraging repentance. Many Christians who experience homo-
sexual] temptations or feelings have been repenting since they
began to have homosexual thoughts and feelings, praying that God
would change them. Without the comfort and power of the Gospel,
however, such repentance only pushes the person further into de-
spair. Again, persons will ordinarily fall into one of two groups:

I. Active members who are troubled by their orientation or be-
havior: This signals that the person is looking for a resolution to
his struggles. The person may feel that his sin is unforgivable, or
that his lapses negate forgiveness. The pastor needs to point out
that no sin is unforgivable except impenitence (see John 8:3-11;
Luke 15:11-32).

2. Inactive members who are troubled by their orientation or be-
havior: Again, the question needs to be asked, why is the person
inactive? He may not feel worthy. He may not feel that the church
cares. He may not feel that he can be forgiven. The suggestions
given above (under Goal One) may be used in this case. Be careful
that the inactivity does not lead the person into acceptance and
support by groups of persons that would further alienate him or

her from the church.
Goal Three

To help the individual to rely on Christ’s love and strength
in order to abstain from homosexual behavior.

God does not appoint a person—heterosexual or homosexual—
to a life whose dominant theme is sexual activity or orientation. Sex-
ual behavior and orientation is not the centerpiece in God’s design.
In the divine economy, every life has a mission and purpose. Help
each person to recognize the gifts which he or she is divinely en-
dowed with, and encourage them to use these gifts to build up the
body of Christ, to spread the Gospel, and to serve the community.

It is especially important that sanctification results from the
Gospel and not the Law! Only the Gospel can effect change and
give the person power to live a God-pleasing life (see Romans 6).
The Law produces either despair or self-righteousness.

Based on Holy Baptism, a Christian’s first relationship is with
Jesus Christ. In this relationship all are on the same standing before

God and equal to one another (Gal. 3:26-28). Because of this equal-
ity that comes to Christians by way of Holy Baptism, there is no
place in the church for valuing people based on sex. But this equal-
ity is not identity, and the relationship that Christians have to one
another is not gender neutral. In the Christian life, Christ Jesus
calls us to virtues that are common to male and female but are ex-
pressed in ways that are unique to sexual identity. (See, for exam-
ple, the “Table of Duties” in the Small Catechism, particularly the
words addressed to husbands and to wives.)!?

People will vary in their ability to live out their baptismal voca-
tion by leaving their homosexual behavior behind. There will be
those who have no problem (humanly speaking) abstaining from
sexual engagement, and there will be those who struggle with great
difficulty. In either case, encourage the person to continue to re-
ceive strength and support in Word and Sacrament; keep commu-
nication open and frequent; and direct the person to persons or
groups that can support him or her. For those who have difficulty
abstaining, find out if the person is deliberately putting himself into
situations where he easily succumbs to temptations to engage in
homosexual behavior. If the person is not troubled by his actions,
see the suggestions under Goal One above. If the person is trou-
bled, see Goal Two above, and go over Scripture passages like Ro-
mans 7.

Goat Four

To assure him or her of the church’s acceptance.

The homosexual person needs to understand that fears and re-
jection by church members are (1) based on what they believe the
Bible says about homosexuality, (2) due to ignorance (see the
above section “The Nature and Origin of Homosexuality,” particu-
larly the paragraphs that deal with certain myths), (3) reactions to
radical or stereotypical behavior of some homosexuals, (4) not nec-
essarily the rejection of the person.

People in the church need to see the homosexual person as
someone struggling with sin, a sin, that in God’s eyes, receives con-
demnation as any other sin. And people in the church should not set
the sexual temptation of the homosexual apart, as if it were the
worst of sins, from the sexual temptation experienced by Christians
generally, at the onset of puberty and thereafter. The church must
always accept every penitent sinner, no matter what the sin is.

What Luther says in his explanation of the Eighth Command-
ment is also helpful here:

Besides our own body, our wife or husband, and our temporal prop-
erty, we have one more treasure which is indispensable to us, namely,
our honor and good name, for it is intolerable to live among men in pub-
lic disgrace and contempt. Therefore God will nol have our neighbor
deprived of his reputation, honor, and character any more than of his
money and possessions; he would have every man maintain his self-re-
spect before his wife, children, servants, and neighbors . . . .Therefore
God forbids you to speak evil about another even though, lo your cer-
tain knowledge, he is guilty."

The pastor needs to have the attitude of Jesus, as in, for exam-
ple, John 8. He does not disown or diminish the sin, but brings all
under Christ’s call to repentance and the offer of the forgiveness
of sins.

The reason that it is so important to assure the homosexual of
acceptance in the church is that one of the greatest realities in the
lives of homosexuals is the feeling of isolation. In order to protect
themselves (from being discovered) and others (from their “conta-
mination”), homosexuals have difficulty getting close to people,
even parents or siblings. To reveal their “‘secret” is just too danger-
ous, because of the likelihood that once others know, they will re-
ject the homosexual. As a consequence, most homosexuals grow
up having few, if any, close friends.

Because of this great need on the part of the homosexual, the
best thing that the church has to offer is acceptance and inclusion in
the body of Christ. The homosexual! is already included in the body

2001 Convention Workbook