In an interview with Julian Hardyman published in British newspaper Evangelicals Now this week, well-known author and evangelical leader Vaughan Roberts has described his long-term struggles with same-sex attraction.
The very honest, personal, and candid interview explains how Vaughan views this as a temptation to be resisted, and does not seek to self-identify as homosexual or gay.
Vaughan, who is the minister of St Ebbe's Anglican church in Oxford, published a book called Battles Christians Face which included a chapter on homosexuality. In a revised edition published in 2012 he said in the introduction that he had struggled with all eight temptations in the book.
Julian: Does the disclosure that same sex attraction is one of your personal battles mean you are defining yourself as a homosexual?
Vaughan: No, it doesn’t. It’s important to reiterate that I have acknowledged a struggle in all eight of the areas the book covers and not just in one. The brokenness of the fallen world afflicts us all in various ways. We will be conscious of different battles to varying degrees at different moments of a day and in different seasons of our lives. No one battle, of the many we face, however strongly, defines us, but our identity as Christians flows rather from our relationship with Christ.
All of us are sinners, and sexual sinners. But, if we have turned to Christ, we are new creations, redeemed from slavery to sin through our union with Christ in his death and raised with him by the Spirit to a new life of holiness, while we wait for a glorious future in his presence when he returns. These awesome realities define me and direct me to the kind of life I should live. In acknowledging that I know something of all eight battles covered in my book, therefore, I’m not making a revelation about my fundamental identity, other than that, like all Christians, I am a sinner saved by grace, called to live in the brokenness of a fallen world until Christ returns and brings all our battles to an end.
We applaud and support Vaughan's courage for making known this personal struggle, which will undoubtedly help other believers who struggle with the same issues. It is often a lonely battle to stay faithful to Christ and the scriptures, when there are many voices urging them to see these desires in a different way. But we also support Vaughan in the way he is using this opportunity to engage directly with this very live debate in the church, and to encourage believers to welcome those who similarly wrestle this temptation.
Vaughan has already become the target for criticism on some blogs for the stance he has taken. Please join with us at The Good Book Company in supporting, praying for and honouring Vaughan for his leadership in this area. And join us in encouraging our churches to offer the good news of gospel forgiveness and love to those who struggle with this issue and any others.
Tim Thornborough founded The Good Book Company in 1991. Today his roles include Chairing The Good Book Company Trust and working with the Rights team to grow TGBC's international reach. He is the author of The Very Best Bible Stories series and has contributed to many books published by TGBC and others. Tim is married to Kathy, and they have three adult daughters.
