Should an Openly Homosexual Person be Baptized?

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This week’s Monday Morning Insight contained an article with the intriguing title Should An Openly Homosexual Person be Baptized? The article is worth reading mostly for the comments that follow it. The article itself is based on a blog entry by Pennsylvania pastor Brian Jones.Here is my take on the subject …1. This really isn’t a question about homosexuals and how the church should treat them. It isn’t really about homosexuality at all.2. The operative word–the only important word, really–is "openly." The word means to publicly act in a certain manner. That is, to commit homosexual acts and then to defend those actions as morally acceptable. It is the opposite of doing something in secret, or doing something and then being ashamed of it. To be "openly" homosexual is the opposite of asking forgiveness and seeking God’s help and the help of others so that you may overcome temptation.3. I pause here to comment that pastors are fooled from time to time, and not just about homosexuality. Despite our best efforts, we occasionally admit people into the church who later prove to be unfit for membership. Jesus warned about wolves in sheep’s clothing so we shouldn’t be surprised when unregenerate people show up in our churches.4. The point being, people don’t always tell the truth, sometimes they cover up facts, sometimes serious character flaws emerge, and sometimes persistent sinful behavior shows up after years of concealment.5. Churches that oppose homosexuality will have to deal with it in their midst, sometimes among their leaders. To say that is simply stating an obvious fact. Sin happens, and sin by its very nature is deceptive.6. But the word "openly" takes us into an entirely different arena.7. I can imagine baptizing people with all sorts of moral issues, past failures, and current struggles. If we wait to baptize perfect people, we’ll never baptize anyone.8. But why would you baptize someone who "openly" rejects (by precept and action) what the Bible teaches? A person who is "openly" homosexual can hardly be said to have repented, and yet repentance is clearly the prerequisite for baptism (Acts 2:38).9. The attitude of the heart matters a great deal. But since only God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart, we are left with words and deeds. Even there we can be fooled. But in this case, no one is trying to fool anyone.10. The person who is "openly" homosexual and seeking baptism may be saying, "I know what the Bible says, and I reject it." Or they might mean, "I don’t believe homosexuality is sinful."11. I can respect the position of a person who says, "I am a homosexual, I know what the Bible says about it, and I reject it." I can respect that position, but I won’t baptize a person who holds that position. Nor will I baptize a person who "openly" twists the Word of God to justify their sin.12. I have long felt that the debate about homosexuality isn’t really about sexual behavior as much as it is about biblical authority and whether or not we will place ourselves under the authority of God’s Word no matter what the culture says or what our personal desires may be.13. My final answer to the answer to the question, "Should an openly homosexual person be baptized?" is no. But that no would go for anyone who "openly" rejects God’s Word.14. It’s a bad thing to be fooled, but it is far worse to lower our standards intentionally.15. Without repentance (a change of mind and heart that leads to a change of life) there can be no true baptism. Without repentance you’re getting a sinner wet but doing him no good.

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May 14, 2008, 9:17 AM Paul Barreca says:
	Ray, Thanks for the biblical, logical and loving words on baptizing one who flaunts their sin - any sin. We must define the standards for interpersonal relationships and human behavior from the Word of God, and there is no ambiguity in Scripture regarding the sin of homosexuality. How would you answer the question, “Is it right to baptize a person who previously practiced homosexual behavior and still struggles with victory in that area of their lives?”
May 14, 2008, 1:00 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	Skip, thanks for your encouragement. I like the way you put it. In the end all sin has devastating consequences. It’s not just about homosexuality. This is really an issue of whether or not we will submit to what God’s Word says. When we do, we are blessed. If we refuse, then baptism is not appropriate. I appreciate your very wise words. Ray
May 14, 2008, 1:22 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	Paul, it depends on the circumstances, but I would say that heart attitude toward the Lord and his Word matters greatly. I have no problem baptizing someone who struggles with sin because that precisely describes all of us. The struggle itself is a sign of new life within. What I won’t do is baptize someone who says, “I reject what the Bible says about homosexuality but I want to be baptized anyway” or “I personally believe that God approves of homosexuality” or “I believe homosexuality is not a sin.” In those cases, I would be giving tacit support to immorality were I to baptize such a person. Words matter. Actions matter. I would want to know, Do you accept God’s judgment that homosexuality is wrong and do you renounce sin and cling to Christ as your only hope of salvation? If I believe that the answer is yes, I will gladly baptize such a person, knowing that their struggles may continue and in fact will continue in various ways because there is no growth without struggle. We don’t baptize perfect people but rather imperfect people who accept God’s judgment on their sin and cling to Jesus alone for salvation. Ray
May 14, 2008, 8:40 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	Cathryn, thanks for your note and for your thought-provoking comments. Actually, I don’t believe that all sins are equal. That’s a statement we throw around without thinking about it carefully. It’s like saying, “All trees are equal.” What does that mean? A pine tree is not “equal” to a redwood. A magnolia isn’t equal to a birch. To say “all trees are equal” means only “all trees are trees.” All sins are sinful, but not all sins are equal in their consequences. Some sins clearly bring greater judgment from God. I only discussed homosexuality because it came up in the column from Monday Morning Insight and we can’t escape the fact that homosexuality is a huge issue in our culture today. You asked if I would baptize someone having sex before marriage. First of all, that presumes I actually knew about it—which I often wouldn’t know. Remember the key word to me is “openly.” It implies a brazen disregard for moral standards and a willful refusal to submit to what the Bible says. Sleeping around is bad enough, but many people who sleep around know that it is wrong but do it anyway. But it is worse to say, “I sleep around and I do not think it is wrong.” I would not baptize such a person because they have chosen the path of immorality. The same would be true of any person who “openly” denies the moral teachings of the Bible. It’s one thing to sin and feel sorry about it and wish you could stop. It’s something else to celebrate your sin and proclaim good what God calls evil. That is profoundly wicked. There ought to be no room inside the church for people who call good evil and evil good. And that goes for others sins besides homosexuality. Thanks again for your comment because you raised an important point. Ray
May 14, 2008, 8:47 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	Tom, let me repeat the point again. The key word is “openly.” I didn’t make up the question. It wasn’t even on my mind until I read the discussion elsewhere on the Internet. A pastor is under no obligation to baptize everyone who wants to be baptized. If he has any sort of spiritual discernment, he will take the facts before him and consider them on a case by case basis. He will do what pastors do in virtually every situation. He will ask hard questions . . . *Does this person understand the gospel? *Do they understand what it means to repent and trust Christ? *Do they understand what baptism means? *Or are they playing games? *Do they truly intend to become a Christ-follower? *Are they willing to live under the authority of God’s Word? *Do they want to be part of the visible church of Jesus Christ? I also stipulated that no pastor can know these things infallibly, yet we expect our pastors to do “due diligence” and not simply to baptize people willy-nilly with no consideration of the circumstances. No pastor does his job who does not ask these sorts of questions. No pastor should baptize a person if they are convinced that person continues to “openly” live in rebellion against the Word of God. That includes—but is not limited to—homosexuality. It could apply to the sorts of cases you also mentioned. As a matter of fact, I have on more than one occasion refused to marry a couple because I felt they were not ready or were not living according to God’s standards. At one point in my ministry when couples asked me to marry them, I said no more often than I said yes. I can remember several very painful cases where I refused to marry people who were close friends. No man can be faithful to his calling who does not say no occasionally to those who come to him for baptism or for marriage. Ray Pritchard
May 14, 2008, 8:57 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	Tyler, thank you for writing. Your comments from Romans 6 put the matter in its appropriate biblical and theological context. Beautifully said. Ray
May 14, 2008, 10:01 PM Helen says:
	Interesting topic. Pastor Ray, my comments are not intended to disagree with yours, only to explore some of the many issues this topic raises. To repent of a specific sin a person has to be convicted about that specific sin, right? Which sins must a person have been specifically convicted about and changed before they are baptized? What about overeating? Being unloving to a spouse? Having an unbalanced life? I think the difference between your view and Brian’s is, you consider it impossible for a person to be truly repentant and be continuing in a homosexual lifestyle. But what role does conviction have? Is there any Christian who hasn’t been told a certain thing is wrong a bunch of times, but doesn’t accept it until a while later when they are somehow personally convicted about it? Having said that, I don’t think any pastor should ever baptize anyone they believe is not qualified for baptism. If being openly homosexual rules out being qualified as far as you’re concerned I completely agree you shouldn’t baptize them. Brian seems comfortable assuming that a person who is generally repentant WILL be brought to repentance over specific sins in time, and so it’s fine to baptize them now, based on their general repentant attitude. Even if the specific sin is an openly homosexual lifestyle. This interests me because we often seem to assume all we have to do is tell someone something is wrong and they should agree with us and fix it. But in reality it’s not that simple. If we’re honest we can probably all think of things we were told were wrong for years before we finally agreed. And until we agree (are convicted that what they’re saying is right), we are sure everyone else is telling us something erroneous and we feel free to ignore what they are saying, since we’re right and they’re wrong (of course!)
May 14, 2008, 10:03 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	Helen, you raise some very important questions. One important distinction comes to mind. There is a difference between being convicted of a particular sin ("I am guilty of doing X") and believing in the existence of the sin itself ("I believe that doing X is wrong"). I don’t know many people who think that overeating is okay. They may not think that they overeat or they make make excuses for their overeating, but they don’t deny the existence of the standard itself. Not many people argue against the sheer existence of the sin of gluttony. Most overweight people would like to be thinner. Ditto for being unloving to your spouse. Most people agree that “it’s wrong to be unloving to your spouse” even if they are in fact unloving to their spouse. But if someone said, “I think it’s fine to treat your spouse like dirt,” I wouldn’t baptize that person either. I am reminded of the famous quote that “hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue.” We are all hypocrites to one degree or another (probably more than we know or can imagine), but the very concept of hypocrisy implies a moral standard being violated. It is one thing to say, “I have lived as a homosexual but I acknowledge that it is wrong even though it remains a temptation in my life,” and it is another completely different kind of statement to say, “I believe homosexuality is not sinful and therefore do not believe I have anything to confess.” Indeed, you can only repent of sin. You don’t repent of righteousness. I am quite willing to give leeway to people (as I give to myself) who struggle in various areas, who admit the standard but don’t live up to it. But there is really no common ground—and thus no reason for baptism—with people who deny the existence of the standard itself. By the way, I agree wholeheartedly with Brian’s point that it is only the Holy Spirit who can bring about change in the heart. As a side note, I think part of the discussion revolves around varying views on what baptism represents—but that’s a discussion for another day. Ray
May 14, 2008, 10:34 PM Matt says:
	Excellent response. Homosexuality is a sin, but not any more of a sin than any of the others listed in the Bible. The key, as you stated, is the attitude of the person towards their sin. Openly living in sin and proud of it, excludes a person from the fellowship of the church. Denying that their sin is, in fact, a sin is misinformation that can be corrected through scripture. If the person rejects scriptural correction, then they should be excluded from the fellowship of the church - but not without leaving the door open for reacceptance once they have repented. Restoration should be the goal, not condemnation.
May 15, 2008, 4:59 AM Ken says:
	I agree with Ray. Homosexuality is a sin according to the Bible. Homosexuals/Lesbians should not be baptized unless they ask God for forgiveness and quit their sinful lifestyle.
May 15, 2008, 5:00 AM Nancy says:
daughter of The King	Ray Number one rule, never judge others.
May 15, 2008, 6:42 AM Ray Pritchard says:
	Thanks to everyone who has commented so far. I appreciate your feedback. Let me offer a few comments here and there . . . Dr. Brandon, you have hit the nail on the head with your comment. Not every issue is of paramount importance, but this one is because it goes to the question of whether or not we will accept God’s judgment on our moral behavior or whether we will choose to follow our feelings, which as often as not, lead us astray. To Dan Campbell . . . Thank you for your comment. I appreciate your frankness in calling yourself a Christian and an openly gay man. That’s a self-designation that stands in direction opposition to what God’s Word says. I wish you no harm whatsoever and in fact should we ever meet in person, I will be happy to greet you. But what you believe and what I believe are two different things—two different worldviews. Between us there is no middle ground. We can be neighbors and even friends, but there is no common ground of Christian fellowship between us. Am I your enemy because I tell you the truth? Mr. Haynes, the church will be a stronger witness for Christ when those of us in the church live up to what we say we believe. Jeff, you put it so well that all I can do is say Amen. Matt, thanks for you wise emphasis on the importance of restoration. Laura, I think you meant your comment for Brian Jones and not for me. I must say that I have no interest in finding God by searching my own heart (see Jeremiah 17:9). I would rather stick with the Bible. Baba, pastors must exercise discernment or else why even have spiritual leaders? Discernment is a spiritual gift desperately needed in our churches today (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). Jesus warned us to “Beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15). That means paying attention to what people say and do and protecting the flock from false teachers and those promote an evil way of life. Read Acts 20:28-31 for Paul’s warning about false teachers who will lead people astray. We must “be on guard” against those who would bring corrupting influences inside the church. KingReef, see the comments above. Nancy, see the comments above. Thank you all for writing, including those who wrote to disagree. Ray Pritchard
May 15, 2008, 8:21 AM Dr. Tina Thornton Smith says:
	Ray. I agree completely with your statements about homosexuality; however, it doesn’t matter if I agree. I really feel that what you wrote is in harmony with the teachings of the Bible. I have strong views about this subject which I will share with you some time when I’m not responding to something being read by lots of people. Tina
May 15, 2008, 10:11 AM Ray Pritchard says:
	Tina, thank you for writing and for saying it the way you did. As you put it, it’s not about our feelings or whether or not we agree, but does the Bible say? That’s what matters. Our goal is exactly as you said—to live in harmony with the Bible. It’s refreshing to see it stated that plainly. Blessings, Ray
May 15, 2008, 10:23 AM Jurie Blom says:
	Ray Thank you for your website. I am a minister in the Reformed tradition and evangelical ( andrew murray ) in my thinking. One thing that I find disturbing is that when we proclaim the word , the reaction of some people is that we must’nt judge. We are not dealing with people but with an issue e.g. homosexuality. According to the Bible we cannot position ourselves positively about the issue. I personally think to accommodate everything in the church is contray to the word. I support your view on homosexuality as based on the Word. Keep going, keep believing God bless you
May 15, 2008, 11:19 AM Ray Pritchard says:
	Jurie, thanks for your encouragement. It’s clear that the real issue here is not homosexuality. It’s biblical authority. Will we have the courage to stand on the Bible against the prevailing winds of our own culture? God bless you for your courageous stand for the truth. Blessings, Ray