My husband’s sister is homosexual and is living with a partner. My son’s wife is best friends with a homosexual woman who is married to another woman. As a Christian who believes that everything Christ taught and everything the Bible says is true, I know this is wrong. My question is this, I love both of these ladies but knowing they are choosing a lifestyle that is not biblical, am I wrong when I have them over to my house for dinner or celebrations? In my heart, I feel it would not portray the heart of Christ if I excluded them. Both of these ladies know where I stand on their lifestyle. I’m worried that by including them it appears that I’m OK with their lifestyle, but if I don’t include them it doesn’t portray the love of Christ. The fact that my husband and I disagree with them has caused some strife here and there but we can still get together.<\/p>\n
I would love to know what your opinion is on this. Am I correct in how I’m handling this?<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n\t
“I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother<\/strong> if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler–not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves<\/em>” (I Corinthians 5:9-13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The key point is whether either of these people claims to be Christians while living a sinful life.\u00a0Paul’s statement is that we cannot treat a brother who is in sin as if that sin doesn’t exist. A difficult decision is what to do with people who claim to be Christians but are not even following the biblical teachings regarding becoming a Christian. I personally consider them not to be Christians since a claim alone is not enough to make a person a Christian.<\/p>\n
Family members, who are not a part of the church, would be treated just like any other worldly person. I know some homosexuals in my community, I know lots of atheists, and I doubt I can number how many fornicators I know. To each I only have limited social ties — we just don’t have that much in common because the differences in our beliefs will always be a barrier between us. I’m polite, but when opportunities arise I speak about my beliefs and my Lord. Some people tolerate that while others do not.<\/p>\n
In your case, there is no reason to invite your daughter-in-law’s best friend to dinner. You can be polite when you come across her at gatherings, but there is no reason to develop a close tie with someone blatantly living contrary to the teachings of Christ. Similarly, you might have your sister-in-law over if she is not a Christian, but I personally would not extend the invitation to the partner because that gives the impression that you don’t see anything wrong with their relationship. If you meet them at a gathering, you should be polite to them.<\/p>\n
Jesus met with people who were still in their sins, but you don’t find Jesus condoning sin by words or actions.<\/p>\n\t
Response:<\/h2>\n
Thank you for your response.<\/p>\n
I always want to make sure I am doing what is right in the eyes of Christ (not that I always succeed, I’m sure). It’s such a difficult situation. My husband’s family is going through so much already. We found out that my father-in-law had been cheating on my mother-in-law most of their married life. This family is certainly under attack by Satan. If I may ask, would you please say a prayer for everyone in this family?<\/p>\n
Thank you again and God bless your ministry and the website. It has been so useful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: My husband’s sister is homosexual and is living with a partner. My son’s wife is best friends with a homosexual woman who is married to another woman. As a Christian who believes that everything Christ taught and everything the Bible says is true, I know this is wrong. My question is this, I love…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[173,35],"class_list":["post-17707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-family","tag-homosexuality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94142,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-i-left-the-homosexual-lifestyle\/","url_meta":{"origin":17707,"position":0},"title":"Why I Left the Homosexual Lifestyle","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tony Horton via Gospel Truths I abandoned homosexuality because I want to spend eternity in heaven. This life is like a vapor. We're not on this earth very long (James 4:14). We are here to serve God and do His will (John 6:38), and if we remain faithful unto\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68096,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-have-a-homosexual-family-member-living-at-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":17707,"position":1},"title":"Is it wrong to have a homosexual family member living at home?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question that I would like your understanding and advice on. I have Christian relatives who denounce homosexuality but have a daughter who is a lesbian. Being family, they have, at times, allowed the lesbian daughter and her \"partner\" to live together in the house with them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6942,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-homosexuals-going-to-hell-because-they-found-themselves-to-be-homosexual-yet-remain-chaste\/","url_meta":{"origin":17707,"position":2},"title":"Are homosexuals going to hell because they found themselves to be homosexual, yet remain chaste?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 20, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When Jesus said to love your neighbor, he did not distinguish between gay and straight, sinner or saint. He said to love your neighbor. I have gay and straight neighbors. Jesus himself\u00a0 welcomed \"sinners.\" The article treats homosexuals as if they were a great downfall to society. I know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20266,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-let-a-congregation-know-that-the-preachers-son-is-homosexual\/","url_meta":{"origin":17707,"position":3},"title":"Should I let a congregation know that the preacher’s son is homosexual?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I know of a preacher in a Church of Christ, whose son is living a homosexual lifestyle. No one in the church knows this. (By the way, I do not belong to this church, I live in a different state.) I am aware that the preacher and his family\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13481,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-view-of-the-bible-should-churches-accept-homosexuality\/","url_meta":{"origin":17707,"position":4},"title":"In View of the Bible, Should Churches Accept Homosexuality?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Abraham Smith Homosexuality has infiltrated more and more churches. Will homosexuality be normalized as an acceptable and legally sanctioned lifestyle? Or, will those who practice it be identified as sinners in need of redemption? Will those who regard homosexuality as a sin and therefore refuse to accept homosexuals as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18160,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-roman-catholic-priest-attempts-to-defend-homosexuality\/","url_meta":{"origin":17707,"position":5},"title":"A Roman Catholic priest attempts to defend homosexuality","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I found your article concerning homosexuality and the Bible, under the title \"Is homosexuality condemned in the Scriptures?\" I would like to clarify something, and perhaps provide a new perspective. You stated that \"the reason that the Bible doesn't mention \"gay love\" is that such a thing does not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17707\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}