On Thursday, February 16, the film Journey Interrupted was broadcasted on 3ABN. On Sunday, February 19, it will be broadcasted again at 3:00 PM Central Time. I highly recommend this film—it is relevant to those who have questions about how Christianity and homosexuality ought to relate to each other, of course, but it is also a ray of light and clarity amidst an overwhelming flood of confusion, and an amazing testament to all sinners of the saving power of the Gospel.
In the film, Wayne Blakely, Michael Carducci, Danielle Harrison, and Ron Woolsey, all part of the team at ‘Coming Out’ Ministries, give their testimonies and explain how God led them out of the gay culture and into a daily walk with Him. For those who have trouble relating to gay people, the testimonies are a touching glimpse into the struggles of gay people everywhere. For all of us, the film is a powerful call to overcome, as Revelation says, “by the blood of the Lamb.”
The wisdom common in our society claims that gays cannot, and should not be asked to, overcome the sin of homosexual practice. Even from Christian sources, we hear that God would never require such an unfair thing of a person. The not-so-subtle message to the rest of us is that God does not require us to put away our sin either. This film strikes at the heart of these destructive messages. As Ron said in the film, God’s law is a law of liberty. If we are free from God’s law, then we are free from liberty, and if we are free from liberty, what does that make us?
Another message that constantly bombards us (again, even from Christian sources), is that sexuality is the core of our identity. God couldn’t possibly ask someone to go against his or her nature, could He? Anglican pastor Sam Allberry has a simple but profound response:
“Sexuality is not a matter of identity for me. And that has become good news. My primary sense of worth and fulfillment as a human being is not contingent on being romantically or sexually fulfilled, and this is liberating. The most fully human and complete person who ever lived was Jesus Christ. He never married, He was never in a romantic relationship, and never had sex. If we say these things are intrinsic to human fulfillment, we are calling our Savior sub-human.”
As Wayne said in the film, the Christian, and human tendency is to create a hierarchy of sins. To expand on this idea, Satan tempts us to believe that overcoming some sins is far more urgent than overcoming others, and to believe that we have good reasons (reasons that God understands) for hanging on to our favorite sins. (Typically, of course, it’s the sins of others that need to be overcome rather than our own.) The testimonies of these four individuals, however, shows this deception for what it is.
One vitally important point that this film brought home is that, as Michael Carducci said, “temptation does not equal sin.” We will, ironically, be tempted to believe that it does, but we need to stay grounded on the Word of God, and rely on Christ’s power to defeat temptations before we sin by acting on them or allowing our minds to dwell on them.
As Danielle said, God showed each of them, one step at a time, how to walk with Him and ultimately become more like Christ. That is what God wants to do for each one of us. None of us can see how to get from where we are to where Jesus is, but if we follow God when He shows us the direction in which we ought to go, He will lead us into His marvelous light.
Both Ron Woolsey and Wayne Blakely have written many articles for us in the past. Their messages are full of hope for those who wish to be free from slavery to sin and self.