Harley, do you have any idea what an “intent” is? A temptation is not an intent. If you decide, “Man, I want to sleep with that woman,” but you do not because she wouldn’t sleep with you, that is a lustful intent. On the other hand, if a very sexy young woman wearing next to nothing has just broken up with her boyfriend and is pleading, “I just don’t want to be alone tonight, please hold me,” and you stammer and sweat as you explain why it wouldn’t be right, that is temptation, not lustful intent.
Yet, this exchange is informative to me. I have often wondered why certain Protestants get so worked up over homosexuality, compared to, say, abortion. I go on pro-life marches in majority-Protestant DC region, and see 80% Catholics and wonder, ‘Where are all the Protestants?’ I hear preachers on the radio go on and on about gays, and wonder, “seriously, how many of their parishioners are even tempted by this sin?” I hear all the talk about the homosexual agenda, and think, “No, it’s agenda to separate sex from life; the gays are just the shock troops on the front line, because sex is inherently separate from life for them.”
To you, though, it’s actually not about the sinfulness of the action, though... it’s a sign of fantastic depravity, am I right?
All sin is depravity. That includes whatever we think and whatever we do. The 10th commandment, “You shall not covet”, speaks directly to the heart’s attitude-not to our actions. If we could keep all the other commandments, not to murder, lie, steal, etc, we still would break the last commandment. That is our desire and choice to rebel against God’s will. As the rich young ruler found out, we harbor these sinful behavior.
In your example of the young woman plead, as you’ve described it, I would agree-it is not lust but temptation. But let’s suppose the young woman pleaded with this man, and he dwelled on the possibility and fantasied about it. But in the end he still said “No”. Would you say that he committed sin simply because he didn’t have sex with this woman? Or would you say that he did commit sin in his heart?
One could reverse your question and ask why you get worked up over abortion and not homosexuality? Sin is sin and people simply don’t want to call it for what it is. That includes abortion, homosexuality or many others.
I will say from day one of my salvation I’ve recognized my depravity. This isn’t false humility or some piety. It’s simply an honest appraisal of myself that God Himself revealed to me as He does with every Christian. And every day I live with this knowledge. I understand exactly what goes on in my head and wonder why on earth would I think something like that. I do things that I wonder why would I do that as a Christian. I feel that I’m a poor testimony to God’s love and mercy, yet I’m saved by His grace. I wish others could see Christ in me but I’m far from that. I wish other non-believers could truly understand the love of God through me and come to that saving grace in Christ. The fault isn’t God but me. Yet God is rich in His mercy in understanding and works through my failures.
What shocks me is that other Christians seem not to 1) recognize their depravity, or 2) simply want to deny it exists. Non-believers call us hypocrites not understanding that we are simply the same sinful creature as they are yet saved by God’s grace. We don’t help the charge when we deny our failures and only talk about God’s love in our lives.
In truth, we are an evil lot of people and God can only deal with our sin when we recognize ourselves for what we are. That is why we are to repent of our sin and ask for His help through Christ Jesus. We are not to ignore it or brush over it. It is then we see the light of God.