Homosexuality, the Grace of God, and the Ongoing Struggle
Albert Mohler
Posted: Thursday, June 29, 2006

Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, clarifies the biblical understanding of homosexuality in "A New Testament Perspective on Homosexuality" published in the current issue of Themelios, a journal published by the Religious and Theological Studies Fellowship in Great Britain [article not available online].

In his essay, Schreiner rightly points to the unambiguous opposition to homosexual practice that is found throughout the Bible, but he brings his expertise as a New Testament scholar to some of the most important questions related to homosexuality and the church.

In so doing, he sets the record straight concerning the continuing battle against sin that marks the Christian life. This is intended as a word of grace and warning to those who struggle with homosexual desires. As Schreiner writes:

The tension of Christian experience surfaces here. We are new creations in Christ and liberated from the power of sin, but at the same time, we await the fullness of our redemption. The newness of our redemption in Christ does not mean that we are completely free of sin. Rather, as believers, we continue to battle against, and struggle with sin every day. First Peter 2:11 says, 'Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.' Notice that the passions and desires from the flesh are still powerful in all believers. They are so strong that they war against us.

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