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bible, CCM, christian, christianity, entertainment, homosexuality, music, Ray Boltz, sexuality, sin
Let me be very clear about something before I address this announcement. There is no hierarchy of sins. Some people act as if a little white lie is no big deal, but homosexuality is practically unforgivable. That’s a distortion of God’s Word.
On one hand, no sin is “no big deal.” On the other, no sin, including homosexuality, is unforgivable (except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit). I’ve been good friends with men who were practicing homosexuals. I have never been homophobic. But homosexual behavior is a sin.
In an interview with Christianity Today, well-known Christian musician Ray Boltz announced Friday that he’s gay. Oh, and that God made him that way. In his words…
“If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be …”
I’m not sure where he got that idea. I can tell you it wasn’t from the Bible.
I want to attempt a brief response to Boltz’s announcement by asking two questions.
- Is it possible that some people have a genetic predisposition toward certain types of behaviors? I think it’s not only possible but likely. I believe that could be true whether we’re talking about sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, drunkenness, violence, or any number of other behaviors the Bible describes as sin
- Does that relieve anyone of the responsibility for their behavior? No. A predisposition to violence does not make it okay to kill someone. A predisposition to sexual promiscuity does not make it okay to cheat on your wife. A predisposition to homosexuality does not make it okay to engage in homosexual behavior.
Pray for Ray Boltz, and pray for those who will be deceived by his rhetoric. It has an air of tolerance and acceptance that makes it appealing. But it is dead wrong.
The Bible is very clear.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
The good news of the gospel is that all of our sins can be forgiven, and that anyone can be transformed by the power of God’s Spirit, through faith in Christ. The next verse says:
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)
Let this announcement cause you to have compassion for those who are deceived by sin, and to love them and pray for them. And let it make you fearful of compromising with sin in your own life.
NOTE: Revised on 9/15 to move CT article link to end of post. (Read the CT article)
I don’t know who Ray Boltz is, but this is pretty sad. I wonder how his fans are responding to it. This story reminds me of an Episcopal bishop, that I saw on TV once, who believes that God created him gay [I agree by-the-way that humans can have a genetic tendency toward something that isn't right]. He has chosen to stay celibate because he can’t justify living the homosexual lifestyle due to all the condemnation of it in the Bible. If only more Christians, regardless of their sinful tendencies, would follow that lead more.
This news breaks my heart. For years I’ve loved Ray Boltz’s music. From Thank You to I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb. If this is truly what Ray now believes then he has just rewritten his song to read, I Pledge Allegiance to the Flesh. selahV
Of all the responses I have ever heard you have used every scripture to state that this is not acceptable and I commend you for not sugar coating it but getting straight to the point. One of my co-workers who is not a Christian stated to me one day” Even I know that homosexuality is an abomination. I love him and I can only hope that he changes.
Very well written. I think my biggest issue with this news is not that he has announced his homosexual tendencies, but that his announcement effectively ended a 33 year long marriage. He might be gay, yes, but he also took vows. My prayer at this point is for the family. So I most wholeheartedly agree with you that just because he has homosexual tendencies does not justify engaging in homosexual behavior.
Ray Boltz was not interviewed by Christianity Today. They merely reported on the interview he had with the gay magazine, The Blade.
I will be praying for Ray Boltz. It is sad to know that he has struggled with this his entire life and finally CHOSE to be homosexual. Rejecting sin is a MINUTE BY MINUTE CHOICE. We are all tempted and we all have to make a choice what we will do about it. Just because the rapist or murderer believes they are justified in their actions does not mean God smiles on it. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is a just and holy God. He will not tolerate Ray’s sin, just as he will not tolerate the lies many of us tell everyday. We all need to realize that God sees sin as sin, not as white or black, not as big or small. Sin is sin and we will all either repent or stand in judgment for it. Ray Boltz is not beyond God’s forgiveness and reconciliation.
The Christian World seems to be hit by this kind of news everyday at the moment. First, Todd Bentley, then Michael Guglielmucci and now this.
Indeed, we need to pray for them and for ourselves, that as we so easily over-focus on other people’s sins which become public knowledge, we don’t forget that all sin is sin in God’s eyes, and that we will one day have to give account of the things we did and not what someone else did. In other words, let us focus all our energy in growing our own character and in praying for this people and ourselves. Judgement belongs to God.
God bless you all!
http://www.ransom33.wordpress.com
Some people think being gay is linked to reincarnation.In other words if you were a woman in another life and your a mannow you might carry some of the traits from your former life or vice versa. I’m a christian too. We can be open to discovery of new spiritual frontiers can’t we? Otherwise were dead and not growing.
murrowcronkite,
Are you being comical on purpose or are you serious? You say you are a Christian, but the Bible is clear about many will say they are ‘Christians’ but God will say He doesn’t even know them. Christians are to be known by their fruit, by the testimony of their lives…and being ‘open’ to ‘spiritual frontiers’ that are in direct opposition to what God says, is either mere foolishness, deception or outright rebellion. It is an oxymoron of the highest degree to think you can believe in reincarnation and be a Christian at the same time. The Bible makes it very clear that if we do not believe in Jesus’ resurrection (not his reincarnation), there is no ‘Christianity.’
In the same manner, the Bible is very clear about homosexuality being in opposition to God’s purpose and design, so ‘spiritual frontier openness’ is just another phrase for ‘looking for an excuse to sin.’
To murrowcronkite,
God’s Word — nothing more, nothing less — defines the boundaries of our beliefs, and the Scriptures are clear.
1) All sexual immorality (including homosexuality) is sin. See the verse I quoted in the original post.
2) There is no reincarnation. “…it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
To all,
Thank you for your comments. Please continue to pray for Ray, his family, and the entire Christian community.
Comments are still open and welcomed.
that’s the first time i’ve noticed “nor men who practice homosexuality”. interesting. i commented a few times on ray boltz piece over at jt’s ‘between two worlds’ blog.
and where i struggle with this subject is, oddly enough, an area on which you might have unintentionally shed some light.
i do not believe God set up laws of shalls and shall nots only to test obedience. anything that we believe has come from Him as a ‘do as He says’ was provided because there are likely consequences if we ‘do as we do’.
drinking is not prohibited. drunkenness apparently is, but why? not drinking at all, to me, as a recovering alcoholic, is a good option, because one doesn’t know what will happen once the genie is uncorked in one’s life, so to speak. but all the verses around drinking are, in the end, there to protect us from consequences that may occur.
weirdly, i always saw this the same way with homosexuality – and, oddly enough, male homosexuality in particular. men and women have evolved and have inherent natures that work well for re-creation of the species: man, for better or worse, spreads the seed; the woman nutures the child. like a dandelion throws a hundred floaters into the air to increase the chances of one taking root, so man and not necessarily women are ok with brief romances and keeping sex at a somewhat shallow level. men are very visual – just look at any convenience store and see the number of men’s magazines behind the counters compared to playgirl – and men have little problem envisioning prey after prey after prey or partner after partner after partner.
a gay man in britain wrote an article last week about the decadent gay scene there – drugs and hookups run amok.
i can clearly see how two of me – two men with my mindset and two men intent on letting that mindset turn to sex – could easily become complete slaves to that sex god to the ruin of the rest of their lives.
and yet, some people can drink without consequence; i cannot.
i’m of the mind that two men can have a relationship without consequence, but for the aforementioned reasons i can see why God might have thought it best to tell us not to uncork that genie.
but i never could see how the female-female relationship faced those same consequences, see? so why the apparent warning from God?
maybe the verse you gave sheds some light on it.
mike rucker
fairburn, georgia, usa
mikerucker.wordpress.com
i believe that homosexuality is caused by a strong demonic spirit that attempts to fool people that they were made this way.
i was attending university where i came across alot of homosexuals and i started to feel that maybe i was a lesbian and attracted to women, but it is blatantly wrong.
its a spiritual thing people need to be aware,
GOD did not make us GAY,we were made for men and vice versa.
he cant be allowed to lead worship, he’d be spreading his filth over the congregation, a spiritual force that is deceitful.
Someone should address this immediately.
Greater is He that is in us..
how can he be leading worship if he cant discern the voice that’s speaking to him?
its a shame what Christians have allowed filter into our ministries.
First Ray Boltz says God made him that way. Now, Clay Aiken in People magazine says, “I still consider myself a born-again Christian, and I am absolutely comfortable with that and comfortable with my salvation.” The day we become comfortable with our sin is the day we become comfortable with the torture Jesus went through to save us from it.
What a sad situation with Boltz. I do hope the Christian world will pray for him and also exhort him. Remember that we are called to exhort one another when we see a brother in sin. Here’s a fictional conversation between Ray Boltz and Jesus…
http://shawnbarr.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/ray-boltz-talks-to-jesus/
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Thanks for pointing me to this post. I like how you addressed the issue…I think some Christians have the tendency to vilify sins like homosexuality beyond reason, and that can set the tone for how non Christians see all of us.
It’s sad to see a professing Christian demonstrate a theology that is far removed from the good words of our Lord. It’s a caution to all of us to be even more well-versed in the Scriptures.
Thanks, Ronnica. It really is a caution to all of us to know God’s Word, and to avoid any compromise with sin in our own lives.
I am so sad to hear this news about Ray Boltz. I have loved his music so much and especially The Anchor Holds. It is very sickening to hear this. I am a born again Christian and I agree in the bible that this is sin. It is in the Old and New Testament. I will be praying for him. The enemy has him blinded. The word of God says that many will fall away in the last day from seducing spirits. We need to really pray for him. I will not listen to his music again. My heart cries out for him and to think how much it hurts the heart of God. God made Adam and Eve and told them to produce. Not man and man or woman or woman. This is a soul that needs to come to repentance and back to God or he will burn in the lake of fire. We need to pray like we have never prayed before for him and for all christians and our world. We are living at the close of the door when Jesus will step through. Are we all watching. Will Jesus find faith from his chosen ones when he comes back. Ray, please I pray and plead that God will open your eyes and show you that you are living a life of a lie and sin.. I know that God can deliver you. He is our deliver and there is nothing that he can’t do.
I tried being a Christian when I was 15 but had fallen away by the time I turned 17. I went through many years without Christ as my Savior, even though I acknowledged Him in my head and believed I was a Christian. But then I really met Him in 1988. At times, I’ve gotten lukewarm. I let the world get between me and the Lord. Now, I finally know Him because I stopped making excuses for my sins. We all have tendencies toward sins – starting in the Garden.
I am so saddened for Ray Boltz and for everyone who now feels let down – like so many of us, he has given in to his tendency for this particular sin.
I found out about his coming out of the closet a week ago and have gone through what I call mourning. His songs were such lovely ones, but now seem untrue and ring hollow, filled with a spirit of deception. I’m heartbroken for his family, and for all who so loved his songs. So much of the body of Christ (me included) has slipped away to sin tendencies. My prayer is that the deceiving spirits that are afflicting Mr. Boltz and all of us are driven out of us by the fiery zeal of true love for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, that we walk in His ways, and cast aside the sins that so easily beset us. Blessings to all.
You’re right, RobinK. Every one of us are in a fight to the death with sin. Either we kill sin, or sin kills us, as one of the Puritans put it. One of the saddest things that can happen is when a professed Christian not only quits fighting his sin, but also quits even considering his sin a sin.