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Homosexuality and the Bible
193
can now be set aside. Others claim that various passages of Scripture
are not consistent nor in harmony with each other on this issue, and
therefore we need to move to the general principles of love or tol
erance or equality to decide this issue. But we have seen that even
those who are not evangelicals have recognized that in the area of
homosexual behavior, the Bible speaks univocally—with one voice,
consistently condemning homosexual practice.
So, the basic principles of Evangelical Protestant hermeneutics are
at stake:
sola Scriptura, tota Scriptura,
and the unity and harmony of
Scripture that allows Scripture to be its own expositor. If we reject
these Bible-based principles, then we are left at sea interpreting all the
other doctrines of Scripture that depend upon a faithful application
of these principles.
On the other hand, if we accept these principles of
sola
and
tota
Scriptura
and the unity of Scripture, if Scripture becomes the final
word to the homosexual, then Scripture becomes the way to peace
and power. Consider the testimony of my friend and colleague Elder
Ron Woolsey who has shared how, after his unsuccessful quest for
happiness and love in a gay lifestyle, he finally turned to the Word
and found the exceeding great and precious promises of God. He
memorized and personalized those promises, experienced power to
live a chaste life, and found peace with himself and his God.
Sola
Scriptura, tota Scriptura,
the unity/harmony of Scripture—these are
the doors of hope for those caught in a homosexual lifestyle.
Furthermore, these foundational principles, and especially
tota
Scriptura,
speak to us who are not struggling with homosexual im
pulses in our own lives, but have other sinful impulses we are strug
gling against, pointing out that we also need to claim the promises of
God for power to live chaste lives. We also need the instruction of the
Word, telling us how to deal with those who are struggling, how to
love unconditionally, how to act as agents of Christ to those who feel
guilty
or j sola tcd or
unaccepted. All of us need to return to the full
authority
of God'» Word,
That is a truth worth fighting for.