By Peter Larson
TE, Midwest Presbytery
“Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” (Luke 17:32-33)
One of the most sobering stories in the Bible is the judgment of Lot’s wife. While fleeing from Sodom, she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt:
“Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19:24-26)
To modern readers, this seems extremely harsh. Did Lot’s wife deserve such a terrible punishment? Was her sin really so bad? As Lot’s wife, you would think she would enjoy some kind of immunity. And yet, she looked back and perished. Just one look, that’s all it took.
Why did she look back? Probably, she had friends in Sodom. Probably, her identity was rooted in that place. Probably, she was feeling homesick. Although it seems quite innocent, that backward glance revealed a desire to return to Sodom. As a result, she suffered God’s fearful judgement. It was a fatal attraction.
Was she punished too severely? John Calvin, in his commentary on Genesis, ponders that question. Calvin writes:
“Now, if we can weigh all the circumstances, it is clear that her fault was not light. First, the desire of looking back proceeded from disbelief; and no greater injury can be done to God, than when credit is denied to his word. Secondly, we infer from the words of Christ, that she was moved by some evil desire; (Luke 17:32) and that she did not cheerfully leave Sodom, to hasten to the place where God had called her; for we know that he (Christ) commands us to remember Lot’s wife, lest, indeed, the allurements of the world should draw us aside from the meditation of the heavenly life. It is therefore probable that she, being discontented with the favor God had granted her, glided into unholy desires, of which thing also her tardiness was a sign…
If the severity of the punishment terrifies us; let us remember, that they sin, at this day, not less grievously, who, being delivered, not from Sodom but from hell, fix their eyes on some other object than the proposed prize of their high calling.” 1
God looks at the heart. It isn’t just outward obedience the Lord desires but a pure and contrite heart. Scripture makes this abundantly clear. Jesus described the Pharisees as whitewashed tombs — clean on the outside but filthy on the inside, full of death and decay (Matthew 23:27). Where the Pharisees prided themselves on outward piety, Jesus saw only inner filth and hypocrisy:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25).
In other words, holiness does not consist of outward actions alone, a message Jesus hammered home in the Sermon on the Mount. Sin begins in the human heart, with our wrong and unholy desires.
The sin of Lot’s wife was not trivial. It was, in fact, a stubborn refusal of God’s grace. In his boundless mercy, God offered her salvation — a way out of Sodom. More than that, God sent an angel from heaven to warn and bring her to safety. And yet, she ultimately rejected God’s grace. In a strange way, the punishment fit the crime. Refusing the gift of salvation, she became stuck and frozen forever between Sodom and salvation. In the words of C.S. Lewis, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’” In the end, Lot’s wife got her way.
What does this story teach us? Currently, the EPC is studying whether we should allow homosexual pastors into our denomination. Although they claim to be celibate, they identify as homosexual. In addition, they claim that same-sex attraction is a biological fact — something that cannot be changed, cured, or healed. In other words, there is nothing wrong with identifying as homosexual as long as you abstain from same-sex relationships. This position is known as “Side B Christianity” (the term first came into use about 20 years ago). By contrast, so-called “Side A” Christians affirm same-sex marriages and believe that homosexuality is just one of many forms of sexuality that the church should welcome and celebrate.
Not surprisingly, this issue has caused conflict in the EPC. For some, it is an issue of grace. All of us have sinned, they argue. All of us struggle with lust and temptation, they claim. If that is true, why should we focus on one category of sin? To exclude homosexual pastors and deny them ordination would be ungracious and unloving, they argue.
And yet, this argument is utterly unbiblical. All of us are sinners, it is true. But the Bible tells us we must repent of our sin, turn to Christ, and receive the new life he offers. If we refuse to repent and renounce our sinful life, we are refusing the gracious gift of salvation. If Christian baptism has any meaning at all, it means that we have died to the old life and begun a new one. Regeneration does not consist of outward actions but a changed heart. If our hearts are unchanged and we seek to justify our sin, it is doubtful that we have received the saving grace of God.
To claim that we are Christian but identify as homosexual is a contradiction. It is simply impossible to have one foot in Sodom and the other foot in the Kingdom of God. Between salvation and Sodom there is no middle ground, no safe place to dwell. The Bible tells us to flee from temptation, not flirt with it. To find my identity in Sodom is a fatal attraction and it leads not to life but to judgement. God offers us a way of salvation and we dare not linger or look back.
The problem with Side B Christianity is that it seeks to normalize homosexuality. Proponents of Side B would have us believe that homosexuality is no different from heterosexual sin. They claim that same-sex attraction in itself is not wrong or immoral. However, the Bible tells us that homosexuality is not normal or natural. In truth, it is a complete rejection of God’s design in creation. God created us male and female and to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:27-28). In other words, our sexuality is not something we choose for ourselves: it is God-given and binary. As human beings, we are wired to desire the opposite sex. To be sexually attracted to the same sex is unnatural and a departure from God’s design.
In the Book of Romans, the Apostle Paul singles out homosexuality as the worst and final stage of human depravity. When we deny the truth, when we exchange God’s truth for a lie, when we worship the creature instead of the creator then, Paul says, the result is same-sex attraction.
Men will desire men and women will desire women (Romans 1:18-27). Homosexuality is not just another sin; it is the lowest form of human depravity. To identify as homosexual or celebrate this identity is, in fact, the supreme act of rebellion against God and His created order.
For thousands of years, Christians regarded homosexuality as something shameful. It was considered a crime and a perversion. In recent decades, there has been a movement to normalize homosexuality as being compatible with the Christian faith. Instead of revulsion, many Christians now celebrate “gay pride” and fly the rainbow flag. Instead of speaking about unnatural lust and sodomy, we have created the euphemism of “same-sex attraction.” All of this is done in the name of tolerance, hospitality, and grace. However, it is a cheap grace that does not call sinners to repentance but instead affirms them in their sin.
Rosaria Butterfield was a professor at Syracuse University and an outspoken leader in the gay and lesbian community. Then, she encountered Jesus Christ and everything changed. Butterfield says she gave up everything — her job, her community, and her lesbian partner — to gain Christ. It was nothing short of death: dying to her old self and identity. Today, she is married to a Presbyterian pastor and a powerful witness to the transforming power of the gospel. By contrast, Side B Christianity requires no death. Instead, it clings to the old sinful nature and identity. According to Butterfield, Side B Christianity is a corrosive influence that undermines the church. She warns:
“Side B teaches against homosexual practice, but only for the sake of Christian tradition. While Side B seeks to uphold sexual standards, because it sees sexual orientation as an accurate category of personhood … their theology in no way allows for an understanding of why homosexuality, even at the level of desire, is sinful and needing the grace of repentance. To the Side B Christian, homosexuality is a sexuality — one of many. Over the years, we have seen many Side B Christians defect for Side A, declaring that God sanctions gay unions. And I predict that we will see many more defectors, since the theology behind Side B is biblically untenable. How can any of us fight a sin that we don’t hate? Hating our own sin is a key component to doing battle with it.” 2
There is power in Jesus Christ to transform fallen sinners. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Of course, Satan tells us that we cannot change, that we are trapped in our sinful nature and that holiness of life is just an illusion. And yet, Jesus calls us to a new and different life, transformed from the inside out by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. When God calls us out of darkness and into his glorious light, we must not hesitate or refuse.
This truth is made abundantly clear in the Gospels. When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, at first Simon Peter refused. “You shall never wash my feet.” To which Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” (John 13:8). In other words, sanctification isn’t optional; it is essential. If we refuse to allow Jesus to wash and cleanse us of sin, we exclude ourselves from the Kingdom of God.
To ordain self-identifying homosexuals to serve as teaching and ruling elders is not spiritually wise, biblical, or consistent with the gospel. The fact that we are even studying this issue reveals how far we have drifted from a biblical understanding of human sexuality. Yes, the church has an obligation to love and care for sinners — including homosexuals. However, in the name of caring we must not ordain those who refuse to repent and who justify their sinful desires as normal and consistent with the Christian life. As we consider this issue, we would do well to remember the words of our Savior: “Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”
1 John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries, Volume 1, pages 514-15. Calvin Translation Society, reprint (Edinburgh, Scotland: Baker Book Company, 1989), 514-15.
2 Rosaria Butterfield, What is Wrong with gay Christianity? What is Side B and Side A anyway? From website, www.Rosariabutterfield.com.
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