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Would The Apostle Paul Have Lunch With A “Gay” Pastor?

Written by Steve on January 8, 2015

Would The Apostle Paul Have Lunch With A “Gay” Pastor?

 

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I had a very interesting question e-mailed to me this week:

“Steve, in light of 1 Corinthians 5: 8-12 do you think Paul the Apostle would break bread (have a meal and fellowship) with a gay pastor?”

Now for those needing a refresher course, that particular scripture deals with Paul instructing the Corinthian church not to fellowship with people acting immoral while calling themselves Christian:

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

1 Cor 5:9-13

A hard word to be sure…but before we apply it to having lunch with a gay pastor, lets first put the verse in context.

When Paul is writing this portion of scripture he is obviously pretty irritated. He loves the Corinthian church but they keep doing stupid stuff.  And he is particularly furious about a incident that he has heard about that he needs to address:

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?

1 Corinthians 5: 1-2

Some guy who is claiming to be a disciple of Christ is sleeping with his mother! (or step mother) And if that isn’t enough, the church not only seems to condone it…they are proud!  You can almost picture Paul pulling his hair out of his head as he writes this he is so mad.

1corinthians

And here is the kicker:  Paul is basically saying that your actions are making even the pagans squirm.  Now understand, Corinth was a major commerce city in Greece and the Corinthians were known for their …um…well…let’s just say they were into a lot of weird stuff.  The kind of stuff that should make any follower of Jesus Christ a little uncomfortable.

Paul turns the table on the Corinthian church and tells them they are making the Corinthian unbelievers uncomfortable.  “You disciples of Jesus are doing stuff that even makes the pagans squirm.”  One can almost imagine a Corinthian saying to his buddy down at the pub, “Hey, I may visit the temple prostitutes 3 times a week but man, even I draw the line somewhere.  Sleeping with your mother? Those Christian folk are crazy!”

So in light of this Paul tells the church not to associate with a person who calls himself a Christian but is proudly acting in a way that causes pain to others and the Good News of Jesus Christ to be ridiculed by “the world”.

This is what wise Christians are supposed to separate themselves from.

Lunch with a Gay Pastor

So back to the original question of whether Paul the Apostle would have lunch with a gay pastor?

In 1 Cor 5:9-11 among sexually immoral people who claim to be believers it also mentions greedy, idolater, swindler etc.  Interestingly enough I never get asked if I would break bread with a pastor who is a swindler.  Somehow the gay pastor gets singled out these days, but how many greedy pastors should I have not had lunch with?

Most gay friends and acquaintances I have, whether Christian or not, are NOT engaged in a relationship with the idea of sinning against God or man.  They want to love and be loved.  They are not causing pain to people nor are they embarrassing the Good News of Jesus with those around.

I don’t believe monogamous, loving relationships was what Paul was addressing in 1 Cor 5 so to answer the question I’d say yes, Paul the Apostle would break bread with a gay pastor.

But even more confidently I can say what I would do when asked if I would break bread with a gay pastor?

“I have, I will, and I will continue to do so.  They are my brothers and sisters in Christ!”

Peace,

Steve

 

 

13 comments

  • Bernice

    January 8, 2015

    You rock Steve!

    • Steve

      January 8, 2015

      Ha! Thanks Bernice!

  • Adrian

    January 9, 2015

    I wonder what a 21st century Paul might write to the church these days… something like this, perhaps…

    …It is actually reported that there are those amongst you who would exclude another, based upon their sexual orientation. Are you so proud! Have you not learned that just because something can be justified from the scripture, that doesn’t make it right? Or do I need to remind you again of the crusades, slavery and the oppression of women and how the scriptures were once used to justify evil deeds such as these?

    • Steve

      January 9, 2015

      Very sobering and thoughtful comment Adrian. Puts things in proper perspective..Thanks!

  • Caryl

    January 9, 2015

    Just a thought…..every person whom Jesus came in counter with (ate with), who was an outright sinner, came away totally changed and sinned no more. Is it all right for us to go out with these friends just to be good buddies and love and accept them, or to shine our light in their lives? A pastor is a leader and should be living morally correct as he would have followers and should be leading people to the throne of God. To be friendly towards him and show him the Father’s love is admirable and correct and exactly what we should be doing, but to be friends with him and ‘break bread’ with him as a fellow believer….isn’t that condoning his immoral lifestyle?

    • Steve

      January 9, 2015

      Hi Caryl, Here’s the thing. We don’t know that after these encounter’s with Jesus, that they sinned no more. We see Zacchaeus,the Samaritan woman, the woman caught in adultery and we think it was “and they all lived happily ever after”. But I’m sure they all had on going challenges. We know this because the disciples who walked with Jesus still struggled with various sins. What we Christians end up believing is there is some one living in “outright sin” (as you indicated)…they have an encounter with Jesus…and then they live a life of “sin management” at a level tolerable for us to accept someone as a Christian.

      I believe the Good News and the Life Christ brings is SO much better than that religious paradigm!

      Here is a section from my post “Freedom Not to Judge” When Jesus says not to judge it should be seen as another aspect of His grace. Because when you do, you are taking on a burden that is very difficult to carry and in many cases, often comes back to bite you.
      God gives you the freedom NOT to judge. When you begin to see people without judging them, a whole new world of relational opportunity opens up. People can’t receive grace from you at the same time they are receiving judgement. Only one water tap can be turned on at a time. If you want to bring salvation to those around you, if you want to bring them Life, then you have to enjoy the gift Jesus gives…
      …so turn off the “judge” tap, it really is a HUGE relief! http://www.stevehackman.net/freedom-not-to-judge/

  • Lankymax

    January 9, 2015

    Admit it Steve, they threw you out of the US for being too liberal, didn’t they 😉
    Glad you’re here making HK a better place.

    • Steve

      January 11, 2015

      I don’t know if they threw me out Max…but they might not let me back 😉

  • Andrew

    January 10, 2015

    Thank you so much for this insightful article having lived in the gay lifestyle and coming to Christ getting married and yet facing the challenges of identity issues. Undergone treatment galore loving Jesus with all my heart and even so much more today…this is a very sensitive issue for many in the lifestyle but love the Lord like any other person who espouses Christ but still deals with tendencies of various kinds. Thanks for your heart and understanding.

    • Steve

      January 11, 2015

      Hi Andrew…it’s meeting people like you that has helped transform my thoughts on this issue. Glad the article was a blessing

  • daryl

    January 10, 2015

    This is a tough one for me.Some of the points are well taken.Sin is sin. I see a big difference in a fellow believer struggling with a particular sin whether or not they are a pastor, and a fellow believer openly practicing that sin.I could not break bread and have regular fellowship with an openly gay pastor or believer.Likewise i could not fellowship with fellow believers who were openly greedy,swindling others,and in my view hurting people and contributing to the breakdown of families. I admittedly do not understand homosexuality.I do not condone mistreating them,but i feel Scripture is very clear that it is not something believers should be practicing. Well, i certainly have enough boards in my eye to be worried about the speck in someone else’s,so i will have to give more thought to all this.I think Jesus or the apostle Paul would have lunch with an openly gay pastor,but they would rebuke him ,not pretend all was well and encourage him to teach others that it is ok to practice homosexuality,greed,swindling,idolatry,or any other sin.

    • Steve

      January 11, 2015

      Hi Daryl, Thanks for your honest comment. In fact what you wrote is pretty much what I would have expressed 7 or 8 years ago. See what you have to look forward to 😉

  • daryl

    January 13, 2015

    Thanks for the response,but i’m not totally clear. Are you saying you think homosexuality is ok?In 1Cor.5:9-13,I believe certainly homosexuality would be included in “sexually immoral”,Paul in Romans 1,calls it degrading of the body,shameful lusts,abandoning natural relations for unnatural,indecent acts,and perversion. While i can certainly have compassion towards someone with identity issues,and various tendencies,I don’t feel that those things carry more weight than scripture.

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