God Made Me This Way?

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, ESV)

(This post is one in a series interacting with Leonard Vander Zee’s presentation at an All One Body gathering on October 8, 2020. Click here to see more posts in this series.) 

God Made Me This Way

In the next portion of Leonard’s argument, he makes the statement, “Some Christians take offense when a gay person says, ‘God made me this way.’ Why? Because in their way of thinking, God didn’t make people gay, only straight.” In this section, he is making the argument that homosexual desires are not the result of the Fall. Why aren’t they the result of the Fall? Because God makes some people this way. 

As I’ve mentioned repeatedly throughout these posts, we need to ask some clarifying questions. When someone says, “God made me this way,” what do they mean? Typically, following Lady Gaga’s leadership, they’re saying they were “Born This Way” and, following Lady Gaga’s argument, they say, “I’m beautiful in my way ‘Cause God makes no mistakes.” Therefore, since God makes no mistakes, and they were born with these desires, these desires are beautiful and should be embraced.

Made vs Born

Yet, an important distinction needs to be made between being MADE a certain way and being BORN a certain way. The Heidelberg Catechism makes this important distinction. After laying out the requirements of God’s Law it asks, “Can you live up to all this perfectly?” and answers the question by saying, “No. I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbor” (HC Q&A 5). We could reword this to say, “No. I was born this way—hating God and hating my neighbor.” Then the catechism asks an important follow-up question, “Did God create people so wicked and perverse?” and answers the question with “No. God created them good and in his own image…” (HC Q&A 6). Again, we could reword this to say, “No. God made them good and in his own image.”

Do you see the important distinction? There is a separation between the way God MADE us and the way we were BORN. God MADE us good and in his own image to praise and glorify Him, but we are BORN with the tendency to hate God and our neighbor. 

We Should Take Offense

So, Leonard isn’t wrong to say some Christians will “take offense when a gay person says, ‘God made me this way.’” We SHOULD take offense at this statement. God DIDN’T make them this way. Sure, they were BORN with these desires and struggles, but God didn’t MAKE them that way. Nobody is born the way God made them. 

To be clear, Christians should take offense if ANYONE uses the phrase “God made me this way” to justify sin in their life. When my frustration boils over and I blow up in anger at someone, I should not respond, “Well, God made me this way.” Or, if someone has a natural tendency toward racism (which I’m being told we ALL do…), they should not respond, “Well, God made me this way.” If someone tries to respond that way, we should “take offense” because they are refusing to take responsibility for the sin in their life and—more significantly—they are BLAMING GOD for their sin. That is offensive. 

Ridiculous Logic

In the next paragraph, Leonard makes a statement that we should view as completely ridiculous. I’m sorry. It just is. He says, “The results of the Fall are universal, not particular. It doesn’t affect some people, but all of us. Why then doesn’t same sex attraction affect us all? Maybe it’s not related to the Fall at all.” So, here’s his argument: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but only some have same-sex attraction. Therefore, same-sex attraction must not be part of the Fall. What!?! 

In order for that logic to work, you would have to believe that the results of the Fall affect every single person in the exact same way. Every single human being would have the exact same temptations, in the exact same way, at the exact same severity. With his logic, I could remove ANY sin from being the result of the Fall. Watch: “The results of the Fall are universal. Why then doesn’t everyone struggle with molesting children? Maybe it’s not related to the Fall.” This is ridiculous. 

Here’s what he should have said, “The results of the Fall are universal. That’s why EVERYONE struggles with sexual sins in their own unique way. That’s why EVERYONE needs to be redeemed by Jesus Christ.”

ReBorn & Made Anew

This is the beauty of the Gospel. We do not need to settle for the condition in which we’re born. It doesn’t matter whether you are born with a natural tendency to steal, to blow up in anger, or with homosexual desires. Sure you were BORN that way, but you can be BORN AGAIN through Jesus Christ—“he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Peter 1:3). 

More than just being born again, through Jesus Christ, we are also being MADE new: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is why Paul can so passionately say that you may have been born with idolatrous, adulterous, and homosexual desires “BUT you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11). 

God Made Me This Way

Through our rebirth, and the process of being made new, our lives begin to change. The Bible calls these changes the Fruit of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22–23). The only ones who can truly say “God made me this way” are those who’ve been born again and made new. Then, as you begin to see the Fruit of the Spirit in your life, you can look at THOSE ATTRIBUTES and say, “God made me this way through the work of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.” Thanks be to God!