Of late there are many discussions about Same Sex Attractions and how the church should respond. There are various positions and they directly contradict each other. So, what should we do? How do we maintain orthodoxy and unity at the same time? This issue became more pronounced in the Diocese of Singapore when the Church of England made a decision to ‘bless’ SSA marriages in their churches. That, of course, is a big NO for DOS. A lot of discussion on breaking up with CoE then ensued.

My personal stand is to maintain a limited fellowship with CoE in the hope that we can win them back to orthodoxy. The limited fellowship does not mean that we condone what they are doing. Totally cutting off and stop communicating with them is a bit of drastic and leave no ground for helping them to repent.

Christians, here in Singapore, must be careful to deal with SSA issues. Merely using ‘love is love’ to justify acceptance of their wrongful act. SSA is an abomination to God. It should be abstained from. We still love the person but not the indulgence in the sin. An attraction not act upon is not a sin. Just like a person tempted to steal but did not do it cannot be called a thief.

Yes, you can call God discriminatory in this. But salvation is discriminatory – you need to repent of your sins and stop before you can be saved. Calling upon Jesus needs you to repent. God set the rules not us. What are we that we think so highly of ourselves to be above Him? Yes, I know Jesus mingled with the tax collectors and prostitutes. But you should know that those people went away changed and not Jesus. Jesus remained pure. It does not mean that the world is such that we should be. We must follow the Word of God.

Remember the words of St. Athanasius of Alexandria: “If the world is against the truth, then I am against the world.” We must stand in the truth of God.

God bless,
In Christ’s service,

Barry Leong

近期出现很多关于同性恋以及教会当如何应对的课题。大家有各自的立场而其中都是直接相互冲突的。那么，我们应当如何行呢？我们如何能同时维持正统及合一呢？当英国教会决定要“祝福”同性恋婚姻，这个课题在新加坡教区就更加显著了。当然，对新加坡教区而言，是绝对不同意的。随即就出现许多关于与英国教会绝裂的讨论。

我个人的立场是继续与英国教会保持有限的交流，希望藉此能赢得他们回归正统教会。有限的交流不表示我们宽容他们所作的事。但完全断绝及停止和他们联系就有点儿激烈，也没有留下帮助他们悔改的余地。

在新加坡的基督徒，一定要谨慎处理同性恋的问题。仅仅以“爱就是爱”作为接受他们错误行为的理由。同性恋是上帝所厌恶的，这是应当被弃绝的。我们仍然爱这个人但不纵容他沉溺罪中。没有行动的吸引不是罪，就如一个企图偷窃的人但没有付诸行动，就不能被称为盗贼。

是的，你可以说上帝是鄙视这事的，但救恩本是有区分的——你在得救之前就必须先从你的罪恶中悔改并停止犯罪。是上帝立下律法，不是我们。我们是谁，竟能如此高估自己过于祂呢？是的，我知道耶稣也与税吏和妓女相处，但是你也必须知道那些人离开时都改变了而不是耶稣，耶稣依然圣洁。这并不意味着世界就会像我们一样。我们必定要遵从上帝的话语。

记得亚历山大的圣亚他那修所说的话：“如果世界与真理为敌，那么我就与世界为敌。”我们必须坚立在上帝的真理上。

上帝赐福，
在基督里同工的，

Barry Leong