Because I have been serving God for some time as a missionary to women in prison, I have become very concerned about the popularity of lesbianism among prison residents. Because I really care about you, I want to make sure that you know the truth about lesbianism. Satan is a great liar, and many people are believing the lies that he is teaching in our society; but the Word of God is the absolute truth, and every woman needs to know what God says about lesbianism.

The Bible teaches us that God loves us all very much, so much that He sent His own dear Son into this world to die for us: "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Yes, God loves us all; but He hates our sin. You see, it was sin that brought death into the beautiful world that God created; and it was sin that nailed Jesus to the cross of Calvary; "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree. . ." (I Peter 2:24). Sin and death came into this world as a result of a lie which Satan told to Eve in the garden of Eden. Satan is still telling lies in order to keep people away from God. In our modern world, homosexuality and lesbianism are becoming accepted lifestyles. This is the work of Satan, because such a lifestyle is not acceptable to God — it is sinful. Some women believe that they were born to be attracted to other women. This is a lie that Satan wants you to believe. The truth from God’s Word is this:

If you are a lesbian, you were not born that way; and if you think back far enough, you will realize that you were influenced by another person. If you could have been born gay, God would not call this sinful activity "against nature." What you are born with is natural; but God says that the women did change the natural, and He calls such relationships "vile affections." The word "vile" means something that is evil and disgusting. Read Romans 1:24-26 again. Are you going to believe Satan’s lie or God’s truth?

Satan wants you to believe that the gay life is harmless, but the Bible tells us that God has a great hatred for sexual sins. We read in Ephesians 5:3l, "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." Marriage between a man and a woman was established by God; "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge"  (Hebrews 13:4). In Leviticus chapter 18, God gave to Moses many laws forbidding sex between those who are not man and wife, including homosexual acts: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination" (Leviticus 18:22). God calls all these sexual sins "abominations," which means that they are acts that He hates. In Genesis chapter 19, we read of how God destroyed two cities because of the sexual perversion that was practiced in them. Verses 24 and 25 say, "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and all that which grew upon the ground." God sure was angry with these cities! If you are involved in a romance with another woman, or thinking about starting such a relationship, God is angry about it, and such sin will eventually destroy you!!

Now that you know the truth about lesbianism, what should you do? In Old Testament times, the punishment for homosexuality was death: "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them" (Leviticus 20:13). But when Christ came into the world, He gave His life upon Calvary’s cross to pay the penalty that God requires for sin. He died in our place because of God’s great love for us. Lesbianism is just one kind of sin, but we are all guilty of breaking God’s laws. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." This is why Jesus said, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). You see, without the Saviour, we are all lost and bound for hell because we are all sinners. But this is why the dear Lord Jesus gave His life. He says in Luke 5:32, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Jesus is calling YOU to repentance. Repentance means to be truly sorry for your sin, and to be completely willing to turn from doing things your way, to doing things God’s way. If you are willing to admit to God that you are a sinner, and ask Him, with a repentant heart, to forgive you and to save you, He will. The Bible says in Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." If you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins, and rose from the dead so that you could have eternal life, you ought to accept Him as your Lord and Saviour quickly. Without Him you will suffer sin’s penalty -- eternal destruction in the lake of fire; but God’s love has made a way to escape hell: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). If you can feel God tugging at your heart, why don’t you bow your head right now, repent of your sins, and ask God for His forgiveness and salvation?

Now that you know God’s truth about lesbianism, you must make a decision. Are you going to do your own thing, or are you going to do what’s right according to God? If you are saved, you are not a lesbian — you are a Christian. As a prison resident, you may experience some temptation to have a sexual relationship with another woman, but you will not be comfortable with it because you know that God hates this sin. If you would rather engage in this activity, than live a life more pleasing to God, you are not a saved woman. You may have some strong religious beliefs, but your religion will never get you to the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." When you receive Christ as your Saviour, His Spirit comes and lives within you, and changes you. Please don’t let Satan lie to you and make you believe that you are saved, if you have not changed.

I know that some women turn to other women for romance because they have been frightened and hurt by an abusive man. These things happen because we live in a sinful, cursed world; but it makes no sense to fear all men because some of them are abusive. If you have given your heart and life to Jesus, the Bible will teach you how to be a godly woman; and some day God just might give you the love of a godly man who will treat you right.

If you hate men because you have been sexually abused in the past, then you have let your pain and anger make you bitter. Bitterness is a sin that causes a lot of suffering and trouble in our lives. If you are a Christian, you should admit to God that your bitterness is wrong, and ask Him to forgive you for it, and take it from you. You must do this in order to have the spiritual strength that you need to forgive the man who has abused you, and to stop hating men. Some counseling sessions with your chaplain will help you to deal with the problem of bitterness. Do not hold on to your hatred — God says that you must put it away from you: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:31-32). Because of the blood that Jesus shed on Calvary’s cross, we can be forgiven, and we can forgive.

I Corinthians chapter 6, verses 9 and 10, give a long list of people with sinful habits, including homosexuality; but verse 11 says, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Oh, what a wonderful miracle God works in us when He saves us: we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus, we are taught how to live holy lives by the Word of God and by the work of the Holy Spirit, and the death sentence that God’s justice requires has been pardoned, because Christ died in our place! Hallelujah, what a Saviour!!

If you are a saved, Christian woman, you can be free of lesbianism and any other sin that keeps you from living a life that pleases God. When you were saved, your spirit was brought to life for all eternity, but your flesh (physical body) was not changed — it is sinful in nature. But the Bible tells us in Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Here is a wonderful promise from God that says it is possible to overcome the sinful desires of our flesh. By feeding ourselves spiritually we can grow to be strong Christians with plenty of control over the wicked lusts of our flesh. This strength comes not from ourselves, but from the Holy Spirit which is within us. Read Galatians 5:16-26 to see how this works. Here are some things that you must do to feed yourself spiritually:

1. Begin every day with prayer, and pray often during the day. Ask God to keep you from temptation and sin, and yield yourself completely to Him every day. Study and memorize Romans 6:12-13, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." Be sure to pray also before you go to bed, in case someone comes to you at night. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil . . ." (Matthew 6:13).

2. Read and study the Bible every day. Have a special time set aside for this, and do not let anything interfere with it. Psalm 119:11 says, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

3. Attend worship services and Bible Study classes often. You will meet other Christians who will really help you to overcome the loneliness of prison life. It is important that you no longer spend time with unsaved friends, for they will be a bad influence. Just let them know that you belong to Jesus now, and they will eventually leave you alone. Take a stand for what you know is right according to God, and you can trust Him to help and protect you. Remember — you are a child of God: a Christian, not a lesbian. There can be no such person as a Christian lesbian because in I Corinthians 6:9-10, the Bible tell us that no one who practices homosexuality will be part of the kingdom of God. The Word of God also says in II Corinthians 5:17, "Wherefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." If you make friends with other straight, Christian ladies, and give your life to God, you will discover that the unconditional love of God and of His people will satisfy your need to be loved. Pray for those old friends, invite them to church services, tell them what Jesus has done for you, and otherwise leave them alone.

4. As you learn to walk in the Spirit, be careful that you do not feed your flesh. Absolutely do not watch sexy TV shows, read romance novels, look at dirty pictures, or join in vulgar talk about sex and romance. The reality of being in prison means that there is no opportunity to be intimate with your husband (if you have one), so it is dangerous spiritually to do these sinful things which will make you think about sex and romance. The Bible says in Romans 13:14, "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." If you allow yourself to think about it, you will not be able to resist when temptation comes.

Now I must give you a final word of warning which is very important. If you decide to reject what the Bible says, and choose to believe Satan’s lies that homosexuality is not a sin against God, but just a sickness or an alternate lifestyle, you are going to suffer for it. Let’s look at Romans 1:26-28: "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly [shameful], and receiving in themselves that recompence [penalty] of their error which was meet [suitable]. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate [condemned] mind, to do those things which are not convenient [proper]." Here the Bible is saying that God will give you up to your vile affections, you will receive an appropriate punishment for your sin, and God will give you up to a way of thinking that has no real knowledge of Him, and NO HOPE of salvation.

Please, please do not involve yourself in this way of life that God calls abomination. God loves you, and sent His Son to save you from sin and hell. Through the power of the blood, which He shed on Calvary’s cross, it is possible to be truly free from any sin. The choice is yours.