Almost everyone will have heard by now of the recent announcement by Jason Collins, an otherwise unheralded pro basketball player, that he is “gay” (i.e., homosexual). This has made him famous; he has become the darling of the media.
Many have noted the contrast between the way the media have treated Tim Tebow and the way they are treating Collins. One political cartoon has Tebow saying, “I’m a Christian,” and the media guy responding, “Keep it to yourself.” Then the cartoon has Collins saying, “I’m gay,” and the media guy gushing, “My hero!”
This whole tawdry episode has reminded me of what the Apostle Paul says about the pagan world in Romans 1:18-32. He declares that even those who have never had access to the Bible know, from what God has written on our hearts (Rom. 2:15), that certain kinds of behavior are sinful. These include the list of sins he names in Romans 1:24-31, where he gives special attention to homosexualism (vv. 26-27).
In verse 26 the Apostle specifically condemns lesbianism: “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.” This is the only specific reference to female homosexualism in the Bible, but it is clear enough. Then in verse 27 Paul turns to male homosexualism and declares it to be wrong in many ways: “And in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”
Then, after naming over a score of other sins, Paul affirms that we all know that these things—including homosexualism—are wrong: “They know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death” (v. 32a). When Paul says, “they know,” he means every human being: we all know that homosexual behavior is wrong because God has written it upon our hearts. Nevertheless, as the Apostle says in verse 18, it is characteristic of ungodly and unrighteous men to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
The widespread presence of all the sins mentioned in verses 26-31, especially homosexual behavior, indicates the depth to which our culture has sunk. But the Collins affair has turned the spotlight on another, even more demonic aspect of evil as mentioned by Paul in verse 32b, namely, that when someone is seen to be guilty of such sins, his fellow sinners “not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
This “hearty approval” is what we have been witnessing ever since Collins made his announcement. This man has been not just defended but praised, congratulated, and indeed made into a hero for something that is the epitome of sin. Thus the guilt, the shame, and the condemnation fall not just upon the man himself, but also upon all who have spit into the face of God by glorifying and exalting this man and his sin.
In my Commentary on Romans (College Press, 1996), I said this about Romans 1:32: “Here Paul indicates that there is something worse than committing the sins named here. . . . Paul makes it clear that applauding and encouraging indulgence in sin is a serious aspect of the depravity of the Gentile world. The word means ‘to be pleased along with, to consent with, to give approval to, to applaud.’ Paul uses this very word to describe his participation in Stephen’s death, though he did not throw any stones (Acts 22:20; see Acts 8:1). What makes this so evil is well described by Cranfield: ‘Those who condone and applaud the vicious action of others are actually making a deliberate contribution to the setting up of a public opinion favourable to vice, and so to the corruption of an indefinite number of other people’ (I:135). The best modern example of this is the plethora of movies, TV programs, books, musicians and entertainers in general who openly and brazenly promote all the forms of ungodliness and wickedness described here, and more” (I:168).
To the list in this last sentence we can add journalists, bloggers, sports writers, athletes, politicians, comedians, and talk show hosts, along with any others who “not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (v. 32b, NIV).
I have said elsewhere that there is a difference between having homosexual tendencies (i.e., “being” homosexual) and living a homosexual lifestyle (i.e., engaging in homosexual behavior). The latter is sinful; the former is not. I do not know for sure into which category Mr. Collins falls. If the former, God bless him. I think it is safe to say, though, that if he were simply confessing that he is a non-practicing homosexual, he would not be attracting all the praise and attention that is being heaped upon him by our pagan culture.
We all need to be conscientious regarding our attitudes toward sin. It is indeed important to avoid sins themselves. But how often do we find ourselves laughing at others who indulge in sins, or joking about sinful behavior—whether in real life or in fiction? How often do we catch ourselves being nonchalant and unconcerned about the ever-expanding cesspool of evil that threatens to inundate our world? To be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16) includes hating sin with the same passion that God hates it.