<> Ask the Pastor The Rev'd Walter Snyder A week from next Saturday is commemorated as Reformation Day, marking the posting of ninety-five theses, or debate topics, on a church door in Wittenberg, Saxony by Martin Luther. Their translation and publication led to the Evangelical (Lutheran) Reformation. This also was the impetus for many other reform (and, sometimes, revolt) movements in Western Christendom. While Lutherans and Lutheranism are a distinct minority in my part of the world, Martin Luther and the Reformation are integral parts of world history. Life magazine's recent millennium edition ranked both the man and the event high on its lists. According to the magazine's rankings, Luther followed only Thomas Edison and Christopher Columbus in historical importance. The Reformation was likewise listed as third in impact, behind the invention of the printing press (which became an integral part of the spread of the Reformation) and the discovery of America. Q: I'm a college student. I've been struggling with persistent sexual thoughts and temptations and want to be free of them. God and I have spent a lot of time with this but I never seem to escape. Can you help? A: Sexuality---expressed in many ways and usually by extremely pleasurable feelings---is an area in which Satan most tempts people--- especially young people---enslaves them, and holds them in bondage to sin. Another question this week goes even farther, so I'll continue answering yours along with the next. Q: I moved away from home to complete a master's degree. I answered an ad for a roommate and this is when things got complicated. My roommate and I became very close. In fact we became more then friends; I was alone and she helped me a lot. For the past four months we have been engaged in what would be considered a lesbian relationship. I cannot tell my parents about this, they are deeply religious and would freak out! I almost feel like I'm doing something wrong according to God, yet we have a relationship that feels so right!?! She was brought up Roman Catholic but has never been a religious person and has difficulty understanding my conflict! Am I committing a sin? If so, what can I do? I really love her and can't imagine ever being with a man! I also really love God and want to do right by him as well. A: With the person above, you are also a victim of sexual temptation. God planned sex as an integral part of the human experience. However, he established it to be expressed within the bounds of a marital relationship, as part of the union of man and woman in marriage. In many things you are, as Scripture says, "not far from the kingdom." Sex does feel good. However, a lesbian relationship is not "almost" wrong. The Apostle not only calls it sin, but says in Romans 1 that sexual sin is part of God's judgment on an idolatrous world: "As they followed the lusts of their hearts, God handed them over to live immorally by dishonoring their bodies with one another. He did this because they traded the truth of God for this lie, namely, they worshiped and served what was created instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen! (vv. 24--25)" To be in the grips of sexual sin (temptation or action) is to be enmeshed in one's own sinfulness and entrapped in the judgment of God. Satan would have you disbelieve this judgment by keeping you focused on your own feelings. However, in matters of sin and divine wrath, feelings usually mislead. Temptation and commission of sin occur more through "good" feelings than "bad." Few lie, steal, or engage in illicit sex to feel bad---in fact, the "bad" feelings are gifts from God. They show that the conscience has not been totally overwhelmed. Sexual sin is not the only bondage to which sinners were handed over. Verses 29--31 catalog other evils. However, Paul emphasizes women who exchange "natural relations for the unnatural," and men who "have given up the natural relations with a woman and burned with lust for one another. (vv. 26--27)" After outlining all manner of sins of thought, word, and deed, Paul concludes, "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only continue to do them but approve of others who do them. (v. 32)" For my first questioner, who already suffers from guilt, I beg you to continue turning in prayer to the Scriptures. Do not look, however, for a means to help yourself. Rather, seek the forgiveness that is there for you. On a pragmatic note, be on your guard for people and situations that increase your temptation. Flee as you are able that which would drag you down. Fly instead to the cross, to your baptism, and to your church. For my second questioner, you are still not sure that what you do is truly sinful. As Paul says, you will find precious few in all of North America (or the world) who will honestly yet lovingly stand to tell you that you are wrong in your desires and their expression. Yet wrong you are, and not only does an unrepentant sinner "deserve to die," that sinner dies eternally. Listen to God's Word: What you do will bring your destruction. Neither God nor any Christian desires that for you. Go to a caring church and pastor for help. Turn from your roommate; turn to your Savior, who stands ready to forgive, to remove your guilt, and to strengthen you against further sin. Your eternal life depends upon it. Behold! He stands knocking at your door. Will you listen to him or to your own heart? That's it for now. You can submit questions by mail to "Ask the Pastor," PO Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or just stop me on the street. Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches in Jasper and Woodville, Texas and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1998 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.