Top o’ the Mornin’ to Ya!
TLDR: Discover the profound truth that separates people from God – it’s not the specific sin but the lack of relationship with Jesus Christ. Learn why this distinction matters for Kingdom Family Leaders sharing the Gospel with those convinced their particular struggles disqualify them from heaven.
What?
“You’re not going to hell because you’re a lesbian, you’re going to hell because you don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ.”
One of the men at Bible study this morning commented on my Chosen shirt. I said “Thank you, you must be Chosen.” He said “Yes, I am.” Then another guy said “That’s his shirt” and I’m like “Oh yeah, by the way, I took your shirt, you’re no longer Chosen.” If you haven’t had a chance, go check out The Chosen TV series – it’s just the story of Jesus Christ.
He also shared this morning that their neighbor at their cabin is a lesbian. They have open conversations and treat each other well. She is treated well by this guy. They get into the truth and have conversations about life, spiritual relationships, and eternity.
She says in the conversation “Well, I know I’m going to hell anyway because I’m a lesbian.” When I get in that conversation, I’m like “I don’t know what to say to help them.” I’ve spoken to a lot of gay people that go to church and have that same conclusion – “Well, I just can’t get to heaven.” That’s her judgment, not my friend’s judgment.
The comment he made was so key because he didn’t know what to do with it in that space. But what he did say can help. What he said was “You’re not going to hell because you’re a lesbian. You’re going to hell because you don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ.”
That’s so true because Jesus does the transformation. The Holy Spirit does the transformation. He already has the judgment. With a relationship with Jesus Christ, they have the power and ability and the thoughts and the encouragement and the love to have that relationship with Christ and want to change the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Why?
I share this because Kingdom Family Leaders often encounter people who have disqualified themselves from God’s grace based on their specific sin. Whether it’s sexual orientation, addiction, past failures, or current struggles, they’ve accepted the lie that their particular issue puts them beyond redemption.
This creates a unique evangelism challenge – they’re not rejecting Christ because they don’t believe, but because they believe their sin is too big or too specific for His grace to cover. When someone says “I’m going to hell anyway because of who I am,” traditional Gospel presentations often reinforce rather than correct this misunderstanding.
The profound truth my friend spoke shifts everything: the issue isn’t the specific sin, it’s the absence of relationship with Christ. This matters because it redirects focus from behavior modification to relationship transformation.
Lesson
The fundamental Gospel truth is that all sin separates us from God equally, and all sin is covered by Christ’s sacrifice equally. There’s no hierarchy where sexual sin is worse than pride, or addiction worse than gossip. The separation from God isn’t caused by which sin you struggle with – it’s caused by being outside relationship with Jesus Christ.
This distinction is critical because Jesus does the transformation through relationship, not through our willpower or behavior change. When someone comes into relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit begins working on thoughts, emotions, and behaviors from the inside out. But that transformation can’t happen without the relationship.
The principle applies universally: whether someone struggles with homosexuality, heterosexual lust, pride, greed, anger, or any other sin, the answer isn’t “stop sinning and then come to God.” The answer is “come into relationship with God and He will transform you.” We don’t clean up to come to Christ; we come to Christ and He cleans us up.
This doesn’t minimize sin or suggest behavior doesn’t matter. It correctly identifies the root issue: separation from God through lack of relationship with Christ, not specific sinful behaviors that flow from that separation.
Apply
Identify one person in your life who has disqualified themselves from God’s grace because of a specific sin or struggle. Write down how you could redirect the conversation from their specific sin to the real issue: relationship with Jesus Christ. Practice saying “You’re not separated from God because of [specific sin], you’re separated from God because you don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ yet.”
This week, examine your own heart for areas where you’ve ranked sins or believed certain struggles are “worse” than others. Remember there’s no scoring scale in heaven – all sin separates equally, and all sin is covered equally by Christ’s sacrifice. The issue is always relationship, not behavior.
You be blessed!
