"Why," he asked, "is so much emphasis put on homosexuality in the list?"
Everyone is a sinner: Christians and non-Christians alike. Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, we have been born with a sinful nature. That means we were born with sinful tendencies. I have things on the 1 Corinthians list that I struggle with (shoplifting is not one of them, by the way. That was just used to make a point). But I'm not proud of my sin, and I'm not asking for people to change their views or accept my sin as okay and allow me to keep on sinning. Instead I ask God for strength to overcome those sinful tendencies.
Does God like that we are born with a sinful nature? Absolutely not! That is why he made a way out for us through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ. Becoming a Christian doesn't eliminate the sinful nature, but it gives you strength to stand up to those temptations. We will still fail from time to time, but we aren't proud of those failures.
Pro-gay people tend to lean on the thought that homosexuality isn't a sin. They quote various "contradictions" in the Bible as proof that either the Bible can't be trusted or that times have changed, and we have to change with those times. Christians view the Bible as the moral authority and believe it is the word of God, given to various people to write down so we could have a glimpse into His very being. So called "contradictions" in the Bible must be taken into context. The Old Testament (or old covenent) was made with a specific group of people, the Israelites (or Jews as we call them today), in order that they might stand out among the people of the time as a people set apart to God. This was a very rule-based covenent, where the Israelites had to follow God's many rules in order to stay in favor with God. The New Testament (or new covenent) was made to all people, Jews and Gentiles (that's anyone who isn't a Jew), so that God can have a relationship with all of mankind (if they choose to accept that relationship). This is a very relationship-based covenent. Even the early church had trouble determining what rules from the Old Testament needed to be followed (read the book of Acts to see the struggles the early church had to determine what part of the law still had to be followed by the Gentiles who accepted Christ).
In both the Old Testament and New Testament, though, homosexuality is listed as a sin. It was called an abomination in the Old Testament, and whole cities (Sodom and Gomorrah) were destroyed because of that sin. There are no contradictions when it comes to homosexuality in the Bible. Just because the Pope says "it's okay to be gay" doesn't mean God has the same view. And it is God, not the Pope, who will make the ultimate judgment as to who is accepted into heaven. In Hebrews 10, it says, "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries."
The reality of the situation is that people who commit the other sins on the 1 Corinthians list usually aren't proud of their sin. In fact, they often are ashamed of it and try to stop the behavior. Take "drunkards" for example. We have Alcoholics Anonymous and detox programs that help alcoholics rid themselves of their sin. They aren't organizing pride parades and saying they're proud to have this affliction.
What did Jesus have to say about homosexuality? Jesus was mostly silent on the issue, maybe because it wasn't as prominent in his time. Although the "sinners" Jesus ate with could very well have included homosexuals. But he never condoned any of the behavior of the sinners he associated with. On the contrary, his message was always "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Think of the story of Zacchaeus.
"And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham." (Luke 19:2-9 ESV)
Jesus accepted Zacchaeus as a person, even though he was a sinner who had defrauded much of the population in order to get rich. But he didn't accept the sinful behavior that Zacchaeus had participated in. Instead, he praised Zacchaeus for repenting of his sin and turning from his sinful ways.
So it should be with homosexuals. Okay, so you were born with sinful tendencies toward people of the same sex. But that doesn't mean you should be proud of that and continue in that sin. Instead, you should repent and ask God to give you strength to overcome those tendencies.
So to answer the man's question from the beginning: we aren't singling out homosexuality on the 1 Corinthians list. The homosexual community is singling it out by refusing to repent, continuing in their sin, and being proud of it.
1 John 3:6 says, "Those who live in Christ don’t go on sinning. Those who go on sinning haven’t seen or known Christ." When people repented of their sin to Jesus, he said "Go and sin no more."
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